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Zchedule vs Deputy

Deputy covers scheduling, timesheets and time clocking, with labor-law compliance, shift swaps and leave management on its entry plan. Higher plans add auto-scheduling, demand forecasting and wage budgets, and payroll, HR and messaging are add-ons. It's priced per user.

Zchedule is smaller in scope: the weekly schedule, availability, swaps and coverage, a schedule generator, and a time clock with GPS zones and a tablet kiosk. There's no demand forecasting or labor-law engine, and it's priced per team.

Reviewed September 29, 2026 from Deputy's public pages. Plans and features change, so check their site for current details.

Side by side

Zchedule and Deputy compared, feature by feature
Feature	Zchedule	Deputy
Pricing model	Flat monthly price per team, not per user. Starter covers up to 30 people; Pro is unlimited.	Priced per user, per month, with a monthly minimum
Free plan	Up to 10 people, no time limit	Free trial
Shift scheduling	Weekly board, templates, publish check	Scheduling; advanced scheduling on higher plans
Automatic scheduling	Schedule generator, four modes (Pro)	Auto-scheduling on higher plans
Employee availability	Hours, days off and blocked dates	Leave and availability management
Shift swaps	Swaps (Starter); coverage requests (Free)	Shift swap and find replacement
Time clock	App, browser and kiosk (Starter)	Timesheets and time clocking
GPS / geofenced clock-in	Zones with warn, review or block (Pro)	Check their site
Shared tablet kiosk	PIN kiosk on a tablet (Pro)	Check their site
Team chat	Announcements and notifications, no chat	Messaging add-on
Payroll	No payroll; hours export as CSV	Payroll add-on
Hiring, onboarding, HR	No	HR add-on
Demand forecasting	No	Demand forecasting on higher plans

Pricing model: ZcheduleFlat monthly price per team, not per user. Starter covers up to 30 people; Pro is unlimited.DeputyPriced per user, per month, with a monthly minimum
Free plan: ZcheduleUp to 10 people, no time limitDeputyFree trial
Shift scheduling: ZcheduleWeekly board, templates, publish checkDeputyScheduling; advanced scheduling on higher plans
Automatic scheduling: ZcheduleSchedule generator, four modes (Pro)DeputyAuto-scheduling on higher plans
Employee availability: ZcheduleHours, days off and blocked datesDeputyLeave and availability management
Shift swaps: ZcheduleSwaps (Starter); coverage requests (Free)DeputyShift swap and find replacement
Time clock: ZcheduleApp, browser and kiosk (Starter)DeputyTimesheets and time clocking
GPS / geofenced clock-in: ZcheduleZones with warn, review or block (Pro)DeputyCheck their site
Shared tablet kiosk: ZchedulePIN kiosk on a tablet (Pro)DeputyCheck their site
Team chat: ZcheduleAnnouncements and notifications, no chatDeputyMessaging add-on
Payroll: ZcheduleNo payroll; hours export as CSVDeputyPayroll add-on
Hiring, onboarding, HR: ZcheduleNoDeputyHR add-on
Demand forecasting: ZcheduleNoDeputyDemand forecasting on higher plans

“Check their site” means we couldn't confirm it on Deputy's public pages, not that it's missing.

The main differences

Compliance and forecasting: Deputy lists labor-law compliance and demand forecasting. Zchedule flags overtime and availability conflicts before you publish but doesn't model labor laws or forecast demand.
Pricing: Deputy charges per user with a minimum monthly spend. Zchedule charges one flat price per team.
Add-ons: Deputy sells payroll, HR and messaging as add-ons. Zchedule doesn't offer those; hours export as a CSV.

Which one might suit you

Deputy may suit you if

You need labor-law rules (breaks, predictive scheduling) enforced by the scheduling tool.
You schedule from sales or demand forecasts, or run many locations.

Zchedule may suit you if

You want scheduling, availability, requests and the time clock, and don't need chat, HR or payroll inside the same tool.
You'd rather pay one flat price for the team than a price per person. Free covers up to 10 people.

Try Zchedule with your own team

Build a real week on the free plan. It takes a few minutes, and you'll know quickly whether it fits the way you schedule.

Start free See all features

Harbor Cafe

Jun 22 – Jun 28

DraftPublish

TeamMon22Tue23Wed24Thu25Fri26Sat27Sun28

MayaMaya R.32h / wk8–4Opening8–4Opening8–4Opening8–4Opening

JordanJordan K.45h / wk2–10Closing2–10Closing11–7Mid2–10Closing2–10Closing9–2Short AM

PriyaPriya S.29h / wk9–2Short AM11–7Mid11–7Mid8–4Opening

LuisLuis M.24h / wk11–7Mid8–4Opening2–10Closing

Jordan K. is scheduled for 45h, 5h over the 40h limit. Fix it, or publish anyway.

The weekly board. You build it on the web; your team checks it on their phones.

FAQ

Questions worth answering up front.

It warns about overtime (8 hours a day and 40 a week by default, both adjustable) and availability conflicts before you publish. It doesn't encode local labor laws the way Deputy's compliance features aim to.

It depends on team size. Deputy charges per user; Zchedule charges one flat price per team. Check both pricing pages with your headcount.

Sources

Deputy pricing (read September 29, 2026)

Pricing
Free for small teams, then one flat monthly price per team, not per person.
Employee scheduling
Build the week on one board, check it, and publish it to your team's phones.
Employee time clock
Clock in from the app, a browser or a shared tablet. Every punch is matched to a shift.
Compare
How Zchedule differs from Connecteam, Homebase, 7shifts, When I Work and Deputy.

See how your week looks in Zchedule.

Free for small teams, one flat price per team above that.

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