A When I Work alternative for businesses with 2–5 locations
A good When I Work alternative for 2–5 locations is one that does not charge its $5 multi-location rate on every user: at 30 staff When I Work costs $150/month, while ZoomShift Starter (unlimited locations) costs $75 and Homebase Essentials (unlimited employees) costs $90 for 3 locations. When I Work includes shift swapping, open shifts and GPS or geofence clock-in in every plan in the two-plan version of the pricing page.
Cost at 3 locations and 30 staff
Example: When I Work's FAQ gives "$5 per user per month for multi-location businesses". 30 users × $5 = $150/month; if 3 managers are billed as users, 33 × $5 = $165/month. No separate annual price was shown. The page served two versions on November 12, 2026: one with a single-location plan at $2.50 and a multi-location plan at $5, and one with Essentials $2.50, Pro $5 and Premium $8 that lists multi-location scheduling under Essentials. If Essentials covers your locations, 30 × $2.50 = $75/month. Confirm with When I Work before you compare. For comparison, ZoomShift Starter is 30 × $2.50 = $75/month and Homebase Essentials is 3 × $30 = $90/month (cost of 10 scheduling apps at 3 stores and 30 staff).
Verdict
Choose When I Work if you want shift swapping, open shift planning, auto scheduling and GPS or geofence clock-in in every plan in the two-plan version of the pricing page, plus POS and payroll integrations, and $5 per user fits your budget.
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 $5 per user, 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 | When I Work | Assistlify |
|---|---|---|
| Pricing model | Per user per month: $2.50 single location or schedule; $5 multiple locations or schedules (another page version shows Essentials $2.50 / Pro $5 / Premium $8) | One flat monthly price per business, not per location or per user |
| Cost at 3 locations / 30 staff | Multiple locations: 30 × $5 = $150/month; with 3 managers billed, 33 × $5 = $165. If Essentials covers several locations: 30 × $2.50 = $75 | One flat monthly price per business; Assistlify's price is not yet published, so we cannot say whether it costs less. |
| Free plan | Not found on When I Work's site (14-day free trial only) | Not published; in early access, with an open preview workspace to try |
| Scheduling | Yes, including auto scheduling | 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, built-in time clock in every plan in the two-plan version of the pricing page | Yes: clock in/out with breaks; attendance CSV export |
| Shift swaps / open shifts | Yes: shift swapping and open shift planning in every plan in the two-plan version of the pricing page | No |
| Time off | Yes: time off and availability management | Yes: requests from the phone; approval flags overlapping shifts |
| Payroll | Payroll integrations; native payroll not found on When I Work's site | No (attendance CSV export only) |
| POS integrations | Yes, POS integrations (systems not named on the pricing page) | No |
| GPS / geofence | Yes: clock in using GPS or geofencing | No |
| SMS | Yes: schedule updates by SMS (help center); plan or cost not found | No |
| Cash-drawer counts | Not found on When I Work's site | Yes, per location |
| Stock counts | Not found on When I Work's site | Yes, per location |
| Setup and trial | 14-day free trial, 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 When I Work'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 When I Work cost for multiple locations?
When I Work's FAQ says $5 per user per month for multi-location businesses, so 30 staff cost $150/month.
Does When I Work have a free plan?
No free plan was found on its pricing page; it offers a 14-day free trial with no credit card.
Does When I Work charge for managers?
No explicit billing rule was found; its savings calculator asks for users including managers, and 33 users at $5 would be $165/month.
Sources
- When I Work pricing (checked 2026-11-12)
- When I Work help: receiving your schedule by SMS (checked 2026-11-12)
- ZoomShift pricing (checked 2026-11-12)
- Homebase pricing (checked 2026-11-12)