A Buddy Punch alternative for businesses with 2–5 locations
A good Buddy Punch alternative for 2–5 locations is one where scheduling is not an add-on on top of a base fee: Buddy Punch Starter plus scheduling costs $228.70/month for 30 staff, while Homebase Essentials is $90 (3 × $30) and ZoomShift Starter $75 (30 × $2.50). Buddy Punch's strengths are the time clock, GPS on punches and a built-in payroll add-on.
Cost at 3 locations and 30 staff
Example: Buddy Punch charges per user plus a $19 base fee, and scheduling is a $1 per user add-on on Starter. 30 × $5.99 + $19 + 30 × $1 = $228.70/month on monthly billing; billed annually, 30 × $4.99 + $19 + $30 = $198.70. Pro includes scheduling: 30 × $7.99 + $19 = $258.70/month. Administrators are free; managers are paid users. Starter allows 1 group (Pro 3, Advanced unlimited), which may matter for organizing 3 locations. For comparison, Homebase Essentials is 3 × $30 = $90/month and ZoomShift Starter is 30 × $2.50 = $75/month (cost of 10 scheduling apps at 3 stores and 30 staff).
Verdict
Choose Buddy Punch if the time clock and payroll come first: GPS on punches from Starter, geofencing from Pro, time-off tracking on all plans, and a payroll add-on ($8/user/month + $49 base) that handles W-2s, 1099s, tax filings and direct deposit.
Choose Assistlify if you want cash-drawer counts and stock counts per location in the same app as the schedule, time clock and time-off requests, one flat monthly price per business instead of a per-user price plus a base fee, and setup done for you: we load your current schedule and staff. It has no shift swaps, payroll, POS integrations, GPS or SMS. Assistlify's price is not yet published, so we cannot say whether it costs less. It is in early access; you can try it in the preview workspace.
Side by side
| Item | Buddy Punch | Assistlify |
|---|---|---|
| Pricing model | Per user per month plus a $19 base fee on every plan; admins free, managers paid; scheduling is a $1/user add-on on Starter | One flat monthly price per business, not per location or per user |
| Cost at 3 locations / 30 staff | Starter + scheduling: 30 × $5.99 + $19 + 30 × $1 = $228.70/month (monthly billing); billed annually 30 × $4.99 + $19 + $30 = $198.70 | One flat monthly price per business; Assistlify's price is not yet published, so we cannot say whether it costs less. |
| Free plan | None: all plans are paid after the free trial | Not published; in early access, with an open preview workspace to try |
| Scheduling | Yes: $1/user add-on on Starter, included in Pro and Advanced | Yes: weekly schedules built by hand or generated from staff availability and approved time off, then published to the team; staff can be assigned to one or more locations |
| Time clock | Yes, all plans | Yes: clock in/out with breaks; attendance CSV export |
| Shift swaps / open shifts | Shift trades and covers in the scheduling add-on; open shifts must be assigned by a manager (employees cannot claim them) | No |
| Time off | Time off tracking on all plans | Yes: requests from the phone; approval flags overlapping shifts |
| Payroll | Yes: payroll add-on $8/user/month + $49 base (W-2s, 1099s, tax filings, direct deposit); QuickBooks, Gusto and ADP integrations | No (attendance CSV export only) |
| POS integrations | Not found on Buddy Punch's site | No |
| GPS / geofence | GPS on punches on Starter; basic geofencing from Pro; real-time GPS $2/user add-on | No |
| SMS | Not found on Buddy Punch's site | No |
| Cash-drawer counts | Not found on Buddy Punch's site | Yes, per location |
| Stock counts | Not found on Buddy Punch's site | Yes, per location |
| Setup and trial | 14 days free, no credit card | We set it up for you: we load your current schedule and staff. Staff join by link or QR code and use it in the browser on iPhone, Android or desktop |
Vendor cells come from Buddy Punch's own pages, checked November 12, 2026. "Not found" means we did not find it on those pages, not that it does not exist.
Related: cost of 10 scheduling apps at 3 stores and 30 staff, Homebase alternative for 2–5 locations, cash drawer count calculator.
Questions
How much does Buddy Punch cost for 30 employees?
Starter is $5.99 per user per month plus a $19 base fee on monthly billing; adding scheduling at $1 per user makes 30 staff $228.70/month.
Does Buddy Punch have a free plan?
No. Buddy Punch says all plans are paid after the free trial, which is 14 days with no credit card.
Can employees pick up open shifts in Buddy Punch?
No. Its help doc says employees cannot claim open shifts themselves; a manager must assign them.
Sources
- Buddy Punch pricing (checked 2026-11-12)
- Buddy Punch help: create and assign open shifts (checked 2026-11-12)
- Buddy Punch integrations (checked 2026-11-12)
- Homebase pricing (checked 2026-11-12)
- ZoomShift pricing (checked 2026-11-12)