Homebase vs When I Work 2026: Per-Location or Per-User?

Homebase is the cheaper choice for one location with more than 12 hourly staff, because Essentials costs $30 per location a month with unlimited employees. When I Work is cheaper for small crews, starting at $2.50 per user a month for single-location teams, so 10 people cost $25. Homebase also has a free plan for one location up to 10 employees, which When I Work does not offer.

Those prices are as of October 2026, read on 18 October on Homebase's pricing page and When I Work's pricing page. The pricing model is the whole comparison: Homebase charges for each physical site and ignores headcount, When I Work charges for each person and ignores sites. Which one is cheaper depends on how many people you schedule at each location, and the break-even is easy to compute.

Toolradar data: in Toolradar's October 2026 snapshot, When I Work's entry price ranks #2 of 16 per-user-priced tools in its peer group, against a $5.50 per-user median, while Homebase is listed as an alternative to 11 other tools. In short, When I Work is among the cheapest per-seat schedulers Toolradar tracks, and Homebase is a common reference point for small teams comparing scheduling and payroll tools.

At a glance

How the two pricing models compare

Homebase prices by location. Its pricing page lists Essentials at $30 a location a month, Plus at $70 and All-in-One at $120 on monthly billing, or $24, $56 and $96 billed annually, all with unlimited employees. Separate physical addresses count as separate locations.

When I Work prices by person. Its pricing page lists Essentials at $2.50 a user a month, Pro at $5 and Premium at $8, with unlimited users on every plan and Enterprise priced by quote. The FAQ ties the Essentials rate to single-location teams and the Pro rate to multi-location businesses, and that you can add or reduce seats or cancel at any time with no contract.

The break-even is 12 people per location. At 12 users, When I Work Essentials costs exactly what one Homebase Essentials location costs on monthly billing; each extra person makes When I Work dearer, and each person fewer makes it cheaper. On Homebase's annual rate the break-even drops to under 10 people, because $24 buys 9.6 users on When I Work Essentials.

Which is cheaper for one location?

For a single site, headcount decides it. A shop with 8 hourly staff pays nothing on Homebase Basic (one location, up to 10 employees) or $20 a month on When I Work Essentials. Homebase Basic is the cheapest answer for any single location of 10 people or fewer, as long as basic scheduling and time tracking are enough.

Past 10 staff, Homebase needs a paid plan. A cafe with 20 staff pays one Essentials fee on Homebase, $288 a year on annual billing, against $50 a month and $600 a year on When I Work Essentials. A restaurant with 40 staff still pays that single site fee on Homebase and $100 a month on When I Work.

The gap widens on the higher tiers. A single site with 20 staff that wants Homebase Plus pays $70 a month, while the same team on When I Work Pro pays $100, so even Homebase's middle tier undercuts When I Work's middle tier once a location passes 14 people.

Which is cheaper across several locations?

Multi-site businesses with few people at each site are where When I Work wins. Because its FAQ puts multi-location businesses on the Pro rate, the fair comparison is Pro against Homebase's per-site fee. Three locations with 6 staff each (18 users) cost $90 a month on When I Work Pro and $90 on Homebase Essentials monthly, or $72 on Homebase's annual rate.

Spread thinner and the per-user model pulls ahead. Five kiosks or pop-ups with 3 staff each (15 users) pay $75 a month on When I Work Pro against $150 on Homebase Essentials at monthly rates. Every new Homebase site adds a full fee even when it holds two people, which is the cost to watch for franchises, clinics and seasonal stands.

Rule of thumb: count people per site, not total headcount. Under about 6 people per site on monthly billing, When I Work Pro tends to be cheaper; above that, Homebase's flat site fee wins. Our best shift scheduling software ranking covers other tools with either model.

Features: what each plan actually buys

Homebase's ladder is built around adding HR to scheduling. Basic covers basic scheduling, basic time tracking and point-of-sale integration. Essentials adds advanced scheduling, advanced time tracking and team communication. Plus adds an AI-powered Scheduling Assistant, PTO and time-off controls, and departments and permissions. All-in-One adds employee onboarding, labor cost management and HR and compliance tools.

When I Work's ladder is built around scheduling depth. Essentials includes auto scheduling, multi-week scheduling, schedule templates, forecast tools, in-app team messaging, OpenShifts and shift swapping, live chat help and payroll and POS integrations. Pro adds advanced scheduling, scheduling rules, role permissions, labor sharing, custom reporting and time-zone switching. Premium adds API key access, webhooks and SAML/SSO.

The time clock is the line to check before you buy When I Work. Its plan cards show Time Tracking and Attendance as a switch you turn on for each plan, and the price changes with it; check the current price on When I Work's site with the switch on, because a per-user add-on moves the break-even. Homebase includes time tracking from the free plan.

For a hiring-and-HR shop, Homebase's All-in-One is the deeper product. For an operation that needs SSO, an API or webhooks into its own systems, only When I Work Premium offers them at a listed price. Our Homebase review and When I Work review cover each product's weaknesses in detail.

Payroll: built in or connected

Homebase runs its own US payroll as an add-on: $49 a month base plus $6 per employee paid, or $29 a month for teams of up to 5, with a promotion of the first 6 months free shown on the pricing page in October 2026. A 15-person team running payroll in Homebase pays $139 a month for payroll on top of the scheduling plan.

When I Work has no payroll of its own. Essentials and up include payroll integrations, and the pricing page promotes a partner offer of 6 free months of Rippling payroll and HR. If you already run payroll in another provider, When I Work's integration route avoids paying twice. If you have no payroll yet, Homebase keeps scheduling, time sheets and pay in one bill; our guide to small business payroll costs and Gusto pricing put that $49 base in context.

Trials and commitment

Both offer 14-day trials without a credit card. Homebase's trial runs on All-in-One, its top tier, so you see every feature before choosing a plan; When I Work's trial gives full access to its scheduling and time clock. Homebase saves 20% on annual billing across paid plans, while When I Work offers monthly or annual billing without a published annual rate.

When I Work's flexibility suits seasonal businesses: you can reduce seats in the off-season and pay only for active staff. Homebase's per-site fee stays the same whether a location has 4 people in February or 30 in July, which is a bargain in peak season and dead weight in a quiet one.

Which one should you choose?

Choose Homebase if you run one or a few locations with more than about 12 staff each, want payroll inside the same app, or can stay on the free Basic plan with 10 or fewer employees at one site. Its pricing rewards headcount growth at a fixed site, and its higher tiers add onboarding and HR tools.

Choose When I Work if you schedule small crews across many sites, need SSO or an API, already run payroll elsewhere, or flex headcount by season. Price the time and attendance switch first, because it changes the per-user math.

Comparing a third option? Homebase vs Deputy covers the other per-user rival, Homebase pricing breaks down every add-on, best free employee scheduling apps lists the free routes, and best free time clock apps covers clock-in tools on their own. For per-user rivals, see Deputy pricing and Connecteam pricing.

How we compared them

Louis Corneloup, founder of Dupple and Toolradar, prepared this comparison for small business owners choosing a scheduling tool. We read the plans, prices and FAQs on Homebase's pricing page and When I Work's pricing page on 18 October 2026, and the category figures on both products' Toolradar profiles. Break-even points and scenario costs are our arithmetic from list prices, before tax. Publishing rules sit on the HRpresso about page.

FAQ

Is Homebase or When I Work cheaper?

It depends on staff per location. Homebase Essentials costs $30 per location a month with unlimited employees, and When I Work Essentials costs $2.50 per user, so the two cost the same at 12 people. Above 12 staff at one site Homebase is cheaper; below it, or with few people across many sites, When I Work is.

Does Homebase or When I Work have a free plan?

Homebase does: Basic is free for one location with up to 10 employees and includes basic scheduling and time tracking. When I Work has no free plan, only a 14-day free trial with no credit card.

How much does When I Work cost for multiple locations?

When I Work's FAQ prices multi-location businesses from $5 per user a month, the Pro plan rate. Eighteen staff across three sites cost $90 a month on Pro, the same as three Homebase Essentials locations on monthly billing.

Does When I Work include payroll?

No. When I Work integrates with payroll providers rather than running payroll itself, and its pricing page promotes a partner offer of free months of Rippling payroll. Homebase runs US payroll as an add-on at $49 a month plus $6 per employee paid.

Which is better for a restaurant?

For one restaurant with a large hourly team, Homebase usually costs less because its fee does not grow with staff, and its free plan covers locations of up to 10 people. For a group of small sites with few staff each, When I Work's per-user pricing can be cheaper, and Pro adds labor sharing and scheduling rules.

Can I switch from When I Work to Homebase?

Yes, both run month to month on monthly billing. When I Work says you can cancel at any time with no contract, and Homebase's 14-day trial lets you rebuild a schedule before paying. Export your schedules and time sheets first, so pay periods in progress are not lost.

Cite this: HRpresso, "Homebase vs When I Work 2026: Per-Location or Per-User?", October 2026.

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