If 7shifts isn't working for your restaurant, there are ten rota apps worth a look, and the right one depends on whether your headache is building the rota, tracking clocked hours or keeping kitchen and floor staff in the loop. Shortlist two that match your sites, run a real week in both, and keep the one your managers don't fight.
Restaurant rotas break in ways office schedules never do. A server calls in sick an hour before Friday service, the kitchen porter swaps with a friend by text, and nobody tells the manager until the pass is already backed up. If 7shifts no longer fits how your place runs, it's worth knowing what else is out there before you renew.
Who this rota list is for: restaurant and hospitality owners
This list is for restaurant, cafe, bar and hotel owners who schedule hourly staff week after week, often across front of house and kitchen. You're not looking for a corporate HR suite. You want a rota that's quick to build, easy for staff to check on their phones, and honest about who worked what. If you run a single small site, keep the shortlist short. If you've got several venues, the gap between the apps gets much wider.
Shortlist by the job that's hurting most
Owners usually switch because one thing has become painful. Start from that pain, not from a feature grid:
- Building the rota and covering gaps: Humanity, Quinyx, Rotacloud and Sling lean hardest on planning the week itself.
- Rota plus time clock and payroll hours: Deputy, Homebase and Hubstaff put more weight on clocked hours and what happens to them afterwards.
- Rota plus messaging for front and back of house: Connecteam, Planday and When I Work bring team chat and updates into the same app.
Ten 7shifts alternatives, A to Z
These are listed alphabetically, in no particular order. Each one gets a single line on who it fits, taken from how the vendor describes its own product.
Connecteam
Best for: Frontline teams who want scheduling, time tracking and staff chat in one mobile app instead of three separate tools.
Deputy
Best for: Owners who want rotas, HR records and payroll-ready hours together, with AI forecasting of how many people each shift needs.
Homebase
Best for: Small hourly teams that want schedules, time clocks, payroll and hiring handled in one easy app.
Hubstaff
Best for: Managers whose main worry is tracking approved hours and turning them into pay, more than building the rota itself.
Humanity
Best for: Venues with shifting demand that want scheduling automated to cut staffing errors and last-minute gaps.
Planday
Best for: Hospitality groups wanting scheduling, time tracking, team messages and staff admin in one platform.
Quinyx
Best for: Larger multi-site operators looking for a cloud, mobile-first workforce management platform with AI built in.
Rotacloud
Best for: Cafes and bars that want simple online rotas, leave requests and attendance, with staff apps included.
Sling
Best for: Owners who want easy shift planning and a clear way to message staff about changes.
When I Work
Best for: Busy restaurants that want shifts, clock-ins and team messaging in one app staff will open.
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The ten side by side
Use this as a quick filter. If your main pain doesn't appear in the last column, that app probably isn't your first call.
| Tool | Main job | Look at it if |
|---|---|---|
| Connecteam | Rota, clock and chat | Your staff live on their phones |
| Deputy | Rota, HR and payroll hours | You want forecasting tied to the rota |
| Homebase | All-in-one for hourly teams | You run one or two small sites |
| Hubstaff | Time tracking first | Hours matter more than the rota |
| Humanity | Automated scheduling | Covers and gaps keep catching you out |
| Planday | Rota plus staff admin | You manage several venues |
| Quinyx | Workforce management | You've outgrown a simple rota app |
| Rotacloud | Online rotas and leave | Holiday requests eat your Mondays |
| Sling | Shift planning | Simple planning and messaging is enough |
| When I Work | Rota, clock-in and chat | Getting staff to check the app is hard |
Weekly hours, breaks and the 48-hour rule
If you've got staff in the UK, scheduling isn't only about filling shifts. GOV.UK explains that workers cannot usually be made to work more than 48 hours a week on average, normally worked out over 17 weeks, unless they've chosen to opt out. Hospitality is exactly where that creeps up on you: a keen chef picks up extra doubles for a month and the average quietly climbs.
So when you look at any of the apps above, check whether a manager can see each person's hours across several weeks, not just the current rota. Ask how it flags someone who's close to the limit, and whether opt-outs can be recorded against the staff member. That one check will save you more grief than any colour-coded calendar.
My advice for a restaurant switching rota apps
Don't move everything in one go. Pick two apps, build next week's real rota in both, and ask your busiest shift lead to use each for a few days. The one your managers stop complaining about is usually the right one. If you also need staff to clock in, make sure the time records and the rota live in the same place, or you'll be reconciling two systems every week.
If you're still mapping out the wider picture, my roundup of time tracking software covers the clock-in side in more depth, and these free staff schedule templates are handy while you trial. For appointment bookings rather than staff shifts, see my guide to online booking and scheduling tools.
Do you make rota or shift scheduling software for restaurants? Tool makers can ask to be considered for a featured place on this list.
Want your tool on this list? Featured spots and reviews here are paid partnerships. Here's how to partner with me.
Related: the restaurant page.
Frequently asked questions
What should a restaurant look for in a 7shifts alternative?
Start with the job that's hurting most: building the rota, tracking clocked hours or keeping staff informed. Then check the staff app is quick on a phone, that managers can approve swaps easily, and that weekly hours are visible over several weeks if you employ people in the UK.
Can I run kitchen and front of house rotas in the same app?
Most of the apps on this list let you set up different roles or positions and schedule them together. Ask during a demo how roles, locations and skills are handled, because some apps make it easy to see who can cover which station and others don't.
Do these apps help with UK working time rules?
GOV.UK says workers usually can't average more than 48 hours a week, normally over 17 weeks, unless they opt out. Not every app tracks that average for you, so check whether you can see hours across a reference period and record an opt-out before you commit.
How long should I trial a new rota app?
Give it at least one full rota cycle with real shifts, real swaps and at least one busy weekend. A quiet Tuesday tells you nothing about how the app copes when three people call in sick.
Is this list ranked?
No. The apps are listed A to Z in no particular order. Each line says who the tool fits, based on the vendor's own description, so you can shortlist by your situation.
