Deputy pricing: per-user costs, Lite vs Core vs Pro, free trial, and buyer questions

Name: Deputy
Brand: Deputy
Availability: InStock

How much does Deputy cost?

Deputy costs $5, $6.50 or $9 per user per month for Lite, Core and Pro billed annually, or $5.50, $7.25 and $10 billed monthly. Monthly plans carry a $30 minimum spend per invoice. Add-ons such as HR ($2 per user) and US payroll raise the total.

Prices verified Sep 2026. Sources: Deputy pricing page, AI Tools Bakery: Deputy review (Sep 4, 2026), monthly rates and add-ons, Connecteam: Deputy review (trial length).

Deputy publishes its pricing on its website. There are three plans: Lite at $5, Core at $6.50 and Pro at $9 per user per month billed annually, or $5.50, $7.25 and $10 billed monthly. Lite covers scheduling, timesheets and time clocking; Core adds auto-scheduling, demand forecasting and labor budgets; Pro adds SSO, advanced admin controls and 24/7 support. Monthly plans have a $30 minimum per invoice, and some features such as HR and payroll are paid add-ons. For buyers who want to model costs before a sales call, the published rates are a real advantage.

This pricing breakdown covers what each plan includes, when Pro makes sense over Core, what the add-ons cost, and how Deputy's total cost of ownership compares to When I Work, Homebase and Connecteam, including how payroll changes the total.

Written by Maya PatelFact-checked by ChandrasmitaReviewed Jun 10, 2026Last updated Jun 10, 2026

Use this Deputy pricing page to understand what buyers actually pay, what changes the cost, and what to verify before procurement.

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Trial: Free trial, no credit card (sources cite 30 to 31 days).

Deputy pricing overview: what the published pricing actually includes

Deputy's pricing structure is simple: three published per-user plans, with a 10% discount for annual billing. Lite is $5, Core $6.50 and Pro $9 per user per month billed annually ($5.50, $7.25 and $10 monthly). There are no per-location fees. On Core billed annually, a 50-person business pays $325 per month and a 100-person business pays $650, and the math scales linearly. Monthly plans have a minimum spend of $30 per invoice, which matters for teams under six users.

Core, the most popular plan, covers the full scheduling suite: schedule builder, auto-scheduling, micro-scheduling, shift swapping and demand forecasting, plus timesheets with auto-approval, biometric time clocking, advanced labor law compliance and wage and labor budgets. Lite drops auto-scheduling, forecasting and budgets but keeps scheduling, time clocking, basic compliance and payroll and HR integrations. Integrations with payroll platforms such as ADP, Gusto, Paychex, Xero and QuickBooks are included on every plan.

Pro at $9 per user billed annually ($10 monthly) adds custom access levels, advanced timesheets, location hierarchies, pay centers, SSO, a sandbox environment, 24/7 live chat and a dedicated customer success manager, and bundles the Analytics+ and Messaging+ add-ons. For businesses under 200 employees, Core usually covers every operational need. Pro becomes relevant when you need SSO, multi-level location structures or round-the-clock support.

Deputy offers a free trial of about a month with no credit card required; sources cite 30 or 31 days, and you can earn extra days by completing setup tasks. That is long enough to run two or three scheduling cycles with real employee data and more generous than many competitors' 14-day trials. Use it to test auto-scheduling, compliance rules and your payroll integration before committing.

Deputy plans and prices, verified Sep 2026
Plan	Price	Billing unit	What's included
Lite	$5 per user/mo billed annually; $5.50 monthly	per user per month; $30/mo minimum on monthly plans	Scheduling, timesheets, time clock, shift swap, leave management, basic reporting and payroll integrations.
Core	$6.50 per user/mo billed annually; $7.25 monthly	per user per month; $30/mo minimum on monthly plans	Adds auto-scheduling, demand forecasting, biometric clock-in, wage and labor budgets.
Pro	$9 per user/mo billed annually; $10 monthly	per user per month; $30/mo minimum on monthly plans	Adds custom access levels, location hierarchies, SSO, sandbox, 24/7 live chat, Analytics+ and Messaging+.
HR add-on	$2 per user/mo	per user per month	HR records and document management on top of a scheduling plan.
Deputy Payroll (US)	$49/mo + $8 per user	per month plus per user	US payroll for Core and Pro customers on annual plans.

What Deputy costs for 10, 50 and 200 employees

Deputy estimated monthly cost by company size
Plan	10 employees	50 employees	200 employees
Lite	$50/mo	$250/mo	$1,000/mo
Core	$65/mo	$325/mo	$1,300/mo
Pro	$90/mo	$450/mo	$1,800/mo
Deputy Payroll (US)	$129/mo	$449/mo	$1,649/mo

Monthly cost in USD before tax, add-ons and implementation fees. “n/a” means the plan does not serve that headcount or the vendor does not publish a figure for it.

Prices verified Sep 2026. Sources: Deputy pricing page, AI Tools Bakery: Deputy review (Sep 4, 2026), monthly rates and add-ons, Connecteam: Deputy review (trial length).

How to evaluate Deputy pricing before you talk to sales

Deputy pricing should be evaluated in the context of team size, operating complexity, and the commercial metric that makes cost rise over time.

Buyers should use this page to understand more than the headline price. The real decision usually depends on implementation scope, support level, add-on exposure, and whether the pricing model still makes sense once the team grows.

Clarify whether cost scales by employee count, recruiter seats, payroll runs, locations, or another metric.
Confirm what implementation, premium support, compliance, or service add-ons do to total spend.
Model pricing against the actual team size and operating complexity expected over the next 12 months.

Deputy plan breakdown: Lite vs Core vs Pro

For most shift-based businesses with 20 to 200 employees, Core at $6.50 per user per month billed annually is the right choice. It includes auto-scheduling, forecasting, advanced compliance and labor budgets. Choose Lite at $5 if you only need scheduling, timesheets and a time clock. Use the free trial to validate the fit, and only move to Pro if you hit a specific need around SSO, access levels or dedicated support.

Pro makes sense for multi-location operations with 200-plus employees where location hierarchies, custom access levels, SSO and 24/7 support add real operational value. If you run 10 or more locations across states with different break laws, Pro's admin controls may justify the extra $2.50 per user over Core. For everyone else, Core delivers the full scheduling product.

Deputy Lite and Core — what they include and why Core covers most use cases

Lite at $5 per user per month billed annually ($5.50 monthly) includes scheduling, timesheets, time clocking, labor law compliance, shift swap, leave management, basic reporting, messaging and payroll and HR integrations. Core at $6.50 ($7.25 monthly) adds advanced scheduling, timesheet auto-approval, biometric time clocking, advanced labor law compliance, micro-scheduling, auto-scheduling, demand forecasting, labor optimization, wage and labor budgets and a customer success manager. For most shift-based teams, Core is the plan with no meaningful gaps.

Deputy Pro — when the upgrade is actually necessary

Pro at $9 per user per month billed annually ($10 monthly) adds the features that matter at scale: custom access levels, advanced timesheets, location hierarchies, pay centers, SSO, a sandbox environment, 24/7 live chat, a dedicated customer success manager, and the Analytics+ and Messaging+ add-ons. The $2.50 per user premium over Core adds up: for a 500-person business, the difference is $1,250 per month. Pay it only when one of the Pro features is a real requirement.

Deputy hidden costs and what the per-user price does not cover

Payroll and HR are add-ons, which changes the total cost

The main cost consideration with Deputy is what the base plans leave out: payroll processing and HR management are sold separately. Deputy's HR add-on costs $2 per user, and its US payroll add-on costs $49 per month plus $8 per user for Core and Pro customers on annual plans. A 50-person business on Core billed annually pays $325 per month for scheduling, and adding Deputy Payroll brings the total to $774. Compare that with Homebase, whose payroll add-on is $49 per month plus $6 per employee paid, or with your current payroll provider. The multi-tool math matters.

iPad kiosk hardware is a separate expense for on-site time clocks

Deputy's kiosk time clock runs on an iPad, and the hardware is not included in the subscription. Each kiosk location needs its own device, so multi-location operations should budget a one-time hardware cost per site. The expense is modest compared to dedicated time clock hardware, but it belongs in the budget. Also note the $30 minimum monthly spend on monthly plans, which raises the effective per-user cost for very small teams.

How Deputy pricing compares to When I Work, Homebase, and Connecteam

Deputy vs When I Work on price

When I Work offers Essentials at $2.50, Pro at $5 and Premium at $8 per user per month, with time tracking as a $1.50 to $2 per user add-on. Deputy Core at $6.50 per user billed annually includes time clocking, auto-scheduling, demand forecasting and advanced compliance, while When I Work Pro with time tracking costs $7 per user. For businesses that only need basic shift scheduling, When I Work Essentials at $2.50 is half the price of Deputy Lite. For businesses that need compliance, labor cost management and auto-scheduling, Deputy Core delivers more for a similar or lower price.

Deputy vs Homebase on price

Homebase offers a free plan with basic scheduling and time tracking for one location with up to 10 employees. Paid plans run $30 to $120 per location per month, or $24 to $96 billed annually, not per user. For a single-location business with 20 employees, Homebase Essentials costs $30 per month versus $130 for Deputy Core billed annually. For a 5-location business with 100 employees, Homebase's paid plans run $150 to $600 per month versus $650 for Deputy Core. Homebase usually wins on price, but it lacks Deputy's auto-scheduling, compliance depth and forecasting.

What the pricing gap means for shift-based businesses

Deputy sits in the value tier of scheduling software: more capable than free and budget tools, and well below the cost of enterprise workforce management suites like UKG or Dayforce. At $5 to $9 per user billed annually, you get a complete scheduling and time tracking platform with real labor cost management. The real question is whether you need Deputy's scheduling depth enough to pay for separate payroll and HR, or whether an all-in-one platform with basic scheduling alongside payroll and HR gives better total value.

Deputy pricing buyer checklist: what to evaluate during the free trial

Calculate the total cost of Deputy plus your payroll provider before comparing to all-in-one alternatives

Deputy's base plans do not include payroll. Add either Deputy's own payroll add-on ($49 per month plus $8 per user) or your current provider's cost to get the true total. Compare that figure against all-in-one platforms like Homebase (free scheduling for small teams plus a paid payroll add-on) and Connecteam (scheduling, training and communication hubs). If the all-in-one total is lower and its scheduling is good enough for you, the integrated approach may be cheaper.

Use the free trial with real employee data, not test data

Import your actual team roster, set up real availability, and build schedules for the upcoming two weeks. Run Deputy in parallel with your current scheduling method to compare time spent, schedule quality, and manager satisfaction. Pay attention to the auto-scheduling feature — it needs a few cycles of real data before producing useful results.

Test the payroll integration during the trial to verify data flow accuracy

Connect your payroll provider during the trial and verify that approved timesheets sync correctly. Check that overtime calculations, break deductions, and custom pay categories transfer accurately. Integration issues found after committing are harder to resolve than during the trial when you have alternatives.

If you are in California or another state with complex break laws, validate the compliance tools

Configure the break compliance rules for your specific jurisdiction during the trial and test them against actual shift patterns. Have employees use the break tracking feature for at least one full week. Verify that the compliance documentation captures what you would need for an audit or wage dispute. For California businesses, the meal period penalty protection alone can justify the subscription cost.

Assess whether Core is sufficient before paying for Pro

Start the trial and build your schedules on Core features. Only move to Pro if you hit a specific need around SSO, custom access levels, location hierarchies or 24/7 support. Most businesses under 200 employees find Core sufficient. Pro adds $2.50 per user per month over Core billed annually, so make sure it adds real value for your situation.

Frequently asked questions about Deputy pricing

Deputy pricing is published, straightforward and fair. Core at $6.50 per user per month billed annually includes the full scheduling, time tracking and labor cost management feature set most businesses need, with Lite at $5 for simpler needs and Pro at $9 for larger organizations. For shift-based businesses with 20 to 500 employees, it is one of the better values in the scheduling market. The caveat is the stack: payroll and HR are add-ons, and Deputy plus payroll can approach the cost of an all-in-one platform. Run the total-cost math before committing. If scheduling quality and labor cost management are your priorities, Deputy's pricing is hard to beat.

Frequently asked questions

How much does Deputy cost per user per month?

Deputy has three published plans: Lite at $5, Core at $6.50 and Pro at $9 per user per month billed annually, or $5.50, $7.25 and $10 billed monthly. Lite covers scheduling, timesheets and time clocking. Core adds auto-scheduling, demand forecasting, biometric clock-in and wage and labor budgets. Pro adds custom access levels, SSO, a sandbox, 24/7 live chat and the Analytics+ and Messaging+ add-ons. Monthly plans carry a minimum spend of $30 per invoice.

Does Deputy offer a free plan?

Deputy does not offer a permanent free plan, but it offers a free trial of about a month (sources cite 30 to 31 days) with no credit card required, and you can earn extra trial days by completing setup tasks. By comparison, Homebase offers a free plan for one location with up to 10 employees, and When I Work offers a 14-day trial.

Is Deputy cheaper than When I Work?

When I Work Essentials at $2.50 per user is cheaper than Deputy Lite at $5 per user billed annually for basic scheduling. But When I Work charges $1.50 to $2 per user extra for time tracking, so its Pro plan with time tracking costs $7 per user, more than Deputy Core at $6.50. Core includes time clocking, auto-scheduling, demand forecasting and labor budgets. If you need scheduling plus time tracking and labor controls, Deputy usually gives more for the money. If you just need basic shift scheduling, When I Work Essentials is cheaper.

Does Deputy include payroll?

Not by default. Deputy's plans cover scheduling and time tracking, and they integrate with payroll providers such as ADP, Gusto, Paychex, Xero and QuickBooks so approved timesheets flow straight to payroll. Deputy now also sells its own US payroll add-on at $49 per month plus $8 per user for Core and Pro customers on annual plans. Compare Deputy plus payroll against all-in-one platforms like Homebase, which sells payroll at $49 per month plus $6 per employee paid.

How much does Deputy cost for a team of 50 people?

For a 50-person team billed annually, Deputy costs $250 per month on Lite, $325 on Core and $450 on Pro, or $3,000, $3,900 and $5,400 a year. On monthly billing, Core costs $362.50 per month. Add-ons such as HR ($2 per user) and US payroll ($49 plus $8 per user) are extra.

What does the Deputy Pro plan include that Core does not?

Pro adds custom access levels, advanced timesheets, location hierarchies, pay centers, single sign-on (SSO), a dedicated customer success manager, a sandbox environment, 24/7 live chat, and the Analytics+ and Messaging+ add-ons. For most businesses under 200 employees, Core covers the scheduling and labor features they need. Pro becomes relevant when you need SSO, complex location hierarchies or round-the-clock support.

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