Homebase vs Sling vs Connecteam: which one for a small team in 2026
In short
- Which is better, Homebase or Sling?
- Homebase is more complete, with scheduling, hiring and payroll, and is free for one location up to 10 employees. Sling is free up to 30 users but without time tracking. Choose Homebase for a single location that wants one tool for everything, Sling for a team of 10 to 30 that mainly needs to schedule.
- Is Connecteam free?
- Free forever up to 10 users, with all hubs included and no crippled features. Above 10 users it is billed per hub, starting at 29 dollars per month for the first 30 users on Basic. Covering scheduling and communication means paying for two hubs.
- Do all employee scheduling apps require staff to download an app?
- Homebase, Sling and Connecteam all do: each employee installs the app and creates an account. Link based tools such as Squadra Planning do not, which matters most for teams with seasonal staff or high turnover.
The short answer
Sling if you have between 10 and 30 people and mainly need to schedule. Homebase if you want scheduling, hiring and payroll in one place on a single location. Connecteam if your team needs more than a schedule: training, checklists, forms. All three require every employee to install an app and create an account, which is the thing to check before anything else.
Prices below were taken from each vendor's public pricing page in August 2026.
The free plans, side by side
| free up to | what is missing | first paid tier | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Homebase | 10 employees, 1 location | second location | $30 per month per location |
| Sling | 30 users | time tracking | $2 per user per month |
| Connecteam | 10 users, all hubs | nothing under 10 | $29 per month per hub |
Read that table twice, because it is where the money is. The three plans stop at completely different places, and the one that fits depends entirely on your headcount and whether you have one site or several.
Homebase
What it is good at. It is the most complete of the three. Scheduling, time clock, hiring, and payroll as an add on. If you want one login for everything in a single restaurant or shop, it is hard to beat. The free tier is real, not a trial.
Where it stops. The free plan is one location. Open a second and you are at $30 per month per location, then $70 on Plus and $120 on All in One. Payroll is $39 per month plus $6 per employee on top.
Who should pick it. A single location business that wants to consolidate tools and is willing to pay for it as it grows. More on the alternatives to Homebase.
Sling
What it is good at. Thirty users free is the most generous headcount on the market, and nothing else comes close. Scheduling, time off requests, open shifts and messaging are all in the free plan.
Where it stops. Time tracking is not included. It starts at $2 per user per month on Premium, $1.70 billed annually, and the Business tier at $4 adds a time clock terminal and reporting. Per user pricing is clear but it scales with your team: 25 people on Premium is $50 per month.
Who should pick it. A team of 10 to 30 that needs a solid schedule and internal messaging, and can live without clocking in.
Connecteam
What it is good at. Under 10 users you get everything, not a stripped down version. And it goes well beyond scheduling: training modules, checklists, forms, documents. For a deskless team it covers ground the other two do not.
Where it stops. Past 10 users you pay per hub, and hubs add up. Basic is $29 per month for the first 30 users, Advanced $49, Expert $99. Scheduling and team communication are two different hubs, so a business needing both pays twice.
Who should pick it. A field team that needs operations, not just a rota, and either stays under 10 people or accepts the per hub model.
The question none of the three answers
All three are app first. Every employee installs the app, creates an account, and accepts an invitation before seeing a single shift.
For a stable team of ten that is a one time annoyance. For a cafe with seasonal staff, a shop with student weekend cover, or any business with turnover, it is a permanent tax on the manager. The person who never finished signing up is the person who misses a shift, and you find out on the day.
This is worth testing before you commit, and it takes ten minutes: pick the newest member of your team, send them the invitation, and see how long it takes before they can tell you what time they start on Saturday. The account question decides adoption more than any feature list.
Where Squadra fits
Squadra Planning takes the opposite approach on that one point. The team does not install anything and does not create an account: the manager sends a link, each person taps their first name once, and sees their week. Free up to 10 employees. Time tracking exists but is switched off by default, because most small businesses want a clear shared schedule first and discover they never needed a clock.
It is not the right answer for everyone. If you want payroll in the same tool, Homebase does more. If you have 25 people and want them free, Sling does that. If you need training modules, Connecteam wins.
How to choose in ten minutes
- Count your team today and in six months. That number, crossed with the table above, eliminates at least one option immediately.
- Decide whether you actually need time tracking now, or whether you need everyone to simply see the schedule.
- Test the onboarding on your least tech confident employee, not on yourself.
The third step is the one people skip, and it is the one that predicts whether you will still be using the tool in six months.
Ready to simplify your scheduling?
Try Squadra Planning for free. Scheduling, iPad time clock, meal vouchers, €29/month, up to 200 employees.
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