Sling vs When I Work
Short answer: Sling costs less if you need just the schedule: it’s free for up to 30 users, and When I Work has no free plan. For the time clock and labor reports, When I Work costs less at one location: $2.50 a user against $4 on Sling Business. With several locations, When I Work is $5 a user, so Sling Business costs less.
Shift Amp schedules your whole team for free, at any size. Pro adds the time clock, labor reports and paid time off for $2 a member, half the price of Sling Business.
Head to head
| Sling | When I Work | |
|---|---|---|
| Free plan | Up to 30 users, no time clock (stronger) | None; a 14-day free trial |
| Time clock, labor reports and paid time off | All on Business, $4 per user | Every plan, from $2.50 per user (stronger) |
| Automatic scheduling | Auto-assign on Business | Auto Scheduling on every plan (stronger) |
| Shift tasks | Business, $4 per user | Every plan, from $2.50 per user (stronger) |
| 25 people at 1 location, with reports | $100 a month on Business | $62.50 a month (stronger) |
| 25 people at 3 locations, with reports | $100 a month on Business (stronger) | $125 a month |
Which to choose
Sling, When I Work or Shift Amp?
Here’s who each one suits.
Choose Sling if…
- You need just the schedule for 30 people or fewer. Sling’s Free plan covers it, with open shifts, time-off requests and messaging.
- You run several locations and need labor reports. Sling Business is $4 a user, against $5 on When I Work’s plan for several locations.
Choose When I Work if…
- You run one location and need labor reports. When I Work is $2.50 a user, against $4 on Sling Business.
- You want automatic scheduling included. When I Work’s Auto Scheduling is on every plan.
- You want shift tasks, attendance tracking and paid time off balances on the entry plan. When I Work includes them all from $2.50 a user.
Choose Shift Amp if…
- You want your whole team on the schedule for free, whether that’s 8 people or 80. Shift Amp’s Free plan has no cap.
- You want shift swaps, availability, messaging and shift tasks included. They’re all on the Free plan.
- You want the time clock, a kiosk, labor reports and paid time off for half what Sling Business charges. Pro is $2 a member a month, against $4, with no location fees.
- You want to try everything first. Every new team gets 14 days of everything, Pro included.
No credit card required.
Pricing
Is Sling cheaper than When I Work?
It depends on your team size, your locations and what you need. Try your numbers, with Shift Amp alongside.
What you need
Monthly cost for 20 people
$68 a month billed annually
$2.50 a user a month
$2 per member a month, with no location fees
When I Work costs less than Sling here: $50 a month against $80. Shift Amp Pro comes to $40, $10 a month less than When I Work and half the price of Sling Business.
| Team size | Sling | When I Work | Shift Amp | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Free | Business | One location | Several locations | Free | Pro | |
| 5 people | $0 | $20 | $12.50 | $25 | $0 | $10 |
| 10 people | $0 | $40 | $25 | $50 | $0 | $20 |
| 15 people | $0 | $60 | $37.50 | $75 | $0 | $30 |
| 25 people | $0 | $100 | $62.50 | $125 | $0 | $50 |
| 50 people | Over the 30-user cap | $200 | $125 | $250 | $0 | $100 |
| What’s included | Up to 30 users. Scheduling, open shifts, time off and messaging. | Time clock, kiosk, labor reports, paid time off, auto-assign and shift tasks. | Scheduling, time clock, messaging and labor reports. | Adds unlimited locations, labor sharing and custom reports. | The schedule, swaps, messaging and shift tasks, at any team size. | Adds the time clock, timesheets, labor reports and paid time off. $2 a member. |
Sling prices per user, and admins and managers count toward the Free plan’s 30-user cap. Billed annually, Sling Business is $3.40 a user. When I Work takes 5% off for annual billing, paid up front, and doesn’t refund cancellations.
Feature by feature
How do the features compare?
We show Sling on its Free and Business plans, the two that line up with Shift Amp Free and Pro, and When I Work on its plans for one location and for several. Where a feature needs a paid plan, we name the plan.
| Feature | SlingFree and Business | When I WorkOne location and Several locations | Shift AmpFree and Pro |
|---|---|---|---|
| Scheduling | |||
| Schedule builderBuild the week, then publish it. | Free plan | Every plan | Free plan |
| Week templatesReuse a whole week. | Business | Every plan | Free plan |
| AvailabilitySee who can work while you place shifts. | Business | Every plan | Free plan |
| Shift swapsYour team trades shifts in the app. | Offers on Free, swaps on Business | Every plan | Free plan |
| Open shiftsPost shifts your team can claim. | Free plan | Every plan | Free plan |
| Automatic schedulingFill shifts without placing each one. | Auto-assign on Business | Auto Scheduling, every plan | Auto-assign, Free plan |
| Time tracking | |||
| Mobile time clockClock in from a phone. | Business | Every plan, with GPS | Pro |
| Kiosk time clockA shared device by the door. | Business | Every plan | Pro |
| GeofencingCheck where people clock in. | Business | GPS clock-in, every plan | Pro |
| Attendance trackingNo-shows, sick days and late arrivals. | Business | Every plan | No-shows and sick days on Free, full tracking on Pro |
| Labor costs | |||
| Labor cost while schedulingSee what a shift costs as you place it. | Business | Every plan | Free plan |
| Labor reportsHours and wages over any period. | Business | Standard reports, every plan | Pro |
| Paid time off balancesApprove time off against what is left. | Business | Every plan | Pro |
| Team | |||
| Group messagingThreads for a team or location. | Private on Free, group on Business | Every plan | Free plan |
| Shift tasksAttach the work to the shift. | Business | Every plan | Free plan |
| iOS and Android appsFor managers and their teams. | Every plan | Every plan | Free plan |
Why Shift Amp
Where Shift Amp comes out ahead
Whether you run one small location or several, here’s where you get more for less.
Free for your whole team
- Shift Amp
- Free for the schedule at any team size, large or small.
- Sling
- Free up to 30 users, admins and managers included.
- When I Work
- No free plan. $2.50 a user from the first.
Swaps, availability and tasks included
- Shift Amp
- All three on the Free plan.
- Sling
- Not on Free. All three come with Business, at $4 a user.
- When I Work
- Included, on a paid plan from $2.50 a user.
Half the price of Sling Business
- Shift Amp
- $2 a member for the time clock, kiosk, labor reports and paid time off, with no location fees.
- Sling
- $4 a user on Business for the same four.
- When I Work
- $2.50 a user, or $5 with several locations.
No credit card required.
Switching
From Sling or When I Work to Shift Amp
Three steps, and you can run both for a week before you move everyone over.
- 1
Start your free account
Add your locations and positions. No credit card needed.
- 2
Bring your team over
Export your team list, save it as a CSV and import it, up to 200 people per file.
- 3
Build and publish the week
Rebuild your current week once, save it as a template, then publish.
FAQ
Sling vs When I Work, answered.
Is Sling cheaper than When I Work?
For the schedule, yes: Sling is free for up to 30 users, and When I Work has no free plan. With the time clock and labor reports, it depends on your locations. At one, When I Work is $2.50 a user against $4 on Sling Business; with several, When I Work is $5 a user, so Sling Business costs less.
How does Shift Amp compare to Sling and When I Work?
Shift Amp is free for the schedule at any team size, with shift swaps, availability, messaging and shift tasks included. Pro adds the time clock, labor reports and paid time off balances for $2 a member a month, half the price of Sling Business, with no location fees.
Does When I Work have a free plan?
No. It has a 14-day free trial with no credit card, then $2.50 a user for one location or $5 for several.
Who owns Sling?
Toast, the restaurant point-of-sale company, which bought Sling in 2022.
Want more detail? Read our guide, When I Work vs Sling: Scheduling, Labor Costs and Fit.
Try Shift Amp on your week.
Scheduling is free for your whole team at any size, and every new team gets 14 days of everything, Pro included.
No credit card required.
How we compared
Facts verified . We checked each product’s public plans and features using the vendors’ own pricing pages and help centers. Sling and When I Work are trademarks of their owners. Shift Amp is not affiliated with or endorsed by either.
Sources
- Sling, Pricing. Accessed Oct 23, 2026.
- Toast, Sling Pricing (non-Toast accounts). Accessed Oct 23, 2026.
- Toast, Toast Acquires Sling to Expand its Team Management Suite. Accessed Oct 23, 2026.
- When I Work, Pricing. Accessed Oct 23, 2026.
- When I Work, Switching to a Different Plan. Accessed Oct 23, 2026.
- When I Work, Setting Up a Time Clock Terminal. Accessed Oct 23, 2026.
- When I Work, Terms of Service. Accessed Oct 23, 2026.
- Shift Amp, Pricing. Accessed Oct 23, 2026.