Work schedule instability affects 69% of workers, forcing them to stay available for shifts at short notice, leading to compliance risks and inefficiencies. Without the right tools, companies struggle with miscommunication, payroll errors, and operational disruptions.
Workforce management software like Deputy and Planday helps businesses automate scheduling, improve shift coordination, and ensure compliance. However, they serve different purposes, each with its own strengths. Deputy is designed for businesses needing structured workforce management and compliance tracking, while Planday offers strong payroll integrations and flexible clock-in rules.
This guide provides a detailed comparison of Deputy vs Planday, covering features, pricing, and key benefits to help you determine the best option for your business.
Deputy Vs Planday: At A Glance
Features
Deputy
Planday
Time And Attendance Tracking
Time Clock app with GPS and facial recognition
Automates break tracking, ensuring labor law compliance
Employees can view their own timesheets
Punch Clock with GPS and facial recognition
Requires manual break adjustments after shift approval
Employees cannot view their timesheets
Scheduling
AI-powered auto-scheduling optimizes shifts based on availability and labor costs
Allows automated shift swaps and replacements
Compliance-driven scheduling based on work regulations
Shift swaps require manual approval or are first-come, first-served
Onboarding
Fully digital onboarding with document submission, bank details, and contract signing
Structured onboarding with profile creation and login credentials
No built-in document submission or e-signatures
Pricing
Starts at $4.50/user/month
Starts at €2.99/user/month
What Is Deputy?
Deputy Software is a workforce management platform designed to automate employee scheduling, track time and attendance, and ensure labor law compliance for businesses. It is now used by more than 320,000 workplaces worldwide to simplify workforce management and enhance productivity.
Companies like Mud Bay use its automation to save 30-90 hours per week on scheduling, improve shift coverage, and reduce store closure by 85%. This makes it ideal for industries with dynamic staffing needs, such as retail, hospitality, and healthcare, where efficiency and compliance are crucial.
Standout Features Of Deputy
Shift Pulse+: This feature allows businesses to collect real-time employee feedback at the end of each shift. Managers can ask custom questions, analyze team sentiment, and track engagement trends over time from a centralized dashboard, helping to boost retention and improve workplace morale
Compliance Hub: Deputy’s compliance hub serves as a go-to resource for labor law updates across the U.S. It provides businesses with state-by-state breakdowns of employment laws, including minimum wage regulations, helping organizations stay compliant with evolving labor requirements
Document Expiry Alerts: The software automatically notifies employees when their documents are nearing expiration. This ensures timely renewals, helping businesses maintain compliance with workforce certifications, contracts, and regulatory paperwork without manual tracking
Pros And Cons Of Deputy
Pros
Syncs with mobile calendars and sends timely reminders to keep employees informed about their work schedule
Support multi-state employers by enabling customizable timecard attestations to comply with various state laws
Employees can easily swap shifts without going through the lengthy approval process
Cons
No notification for admins when an employee drops a shift
Users have to manually input start and end times for leave instead of simply entering total hours, which can be inconvenient
What Is Planday?
Planday is a cloud-based workforce management software that enables employers to create and manage shifts, track employee hours, handle payroll integrations, and improve team collaborations. It's widely used across hospitality, healthcare, retail, and call centers, reducing administrative time while improving workforce flexibility.
As per the testimonial by the general manager at Stockled Park, Alexia Rushton-Earl, the company reportedly saved over 260 hours annually on rota planning using this platform, reducing costs by approximately £3,000. This level of efficiency not only enhances workforce productivity but also helps businesses stay ahead in a competitive market.
Standout Features Of Planday
Electronic Signature: Instead of printing, scanning, or emailing contracts, users can review and sign documents digitally on both the website and mobile app directly within platform. Once signed, documents are securely stored and easily accessible for future references
Custom Clock-In Rules: Businesses can set location-based clock-in requirements, ensuring employees can only clock in when they meet specific conditions, such as being within a set GPS range (e.g., 400 feet from the workplace) or connected to the company wi-fi. This prevents time fraud and ensures accurate payroll processing
Pros And Cons Of Planday
Pros
The software has a built-in messaging system that allows group messaging with private replies, preventing unnecessary notifications
Managers have an option to approve employee shift trades to ensure that all changes align with company policies
Provides an accurate record of owed wages, ensuring compliance with termination payouts
Cons
The system does not show if the employee has another shift when swapping, forcing managers to manually check for conflicts
Automated break tracking is not currently available in the Punch Clock feature, requiring manual adjustments
Deputy Vs Planday: Key Feature Comparison
Time And Attendance Tracking
Deputy’s ‘Time Clock App’ allows employees to clock in and out effortlessly with GPS location stamps and facial recognition for attendance verification. The platform automatically generates timesheets, reducing manual work for managers. It also includes real-time attendance tracking, so managers can instantly see who’s on shift, who’s late, and who’s on break.
A major advantage of Deputy is its built-in break tracking automation. The system enforces break rules directly within the scheduling system, ensuring compliance with labor laws. If an employee misses a break, managers receive an alert, which prevents wage law violations before they happen.
Planday also offers robust time tracking through its ‘Punch Clock’ feature and includes GPS tracking and facial recognition like Deputy. However, where the software stands out is in its compliance controls. It allows managers to set detailed shifts and break rules, ensuring strict adherence to labor laws.
One downside, however, is that the software disables automatic breaks once a shift is approved in Timesheets. This requires managers to manually adjust breaks, which adds extra work compared to Deputy’s automated system. That said, for industries with strict labor laws, Planday’s approach could be beneficial. If an employee misses a break, the system converts the break into a manual entry upon approval, ensuring payroll accuracy.
Another hinderance faced by users is that it doesn’t allow employees to see their own timesheets, which can be frustrating for workers who want transparency over their hours.
Winner: Deputy takes the lead in this round with its fully automated break tracking and real time attendance monitoring, making compliance effortless for managers.
Scheduling
Deputy offers a highly automated and intuitive scheduling system that helps businesses create, share, and manage work schedules in minutes. The platform uses AI-powered auto-scheduling to generate optimized schedules based on employee availability, labor demand, and wage costs.
What sets it apart is its real-time labor cost tracking, which compares ‘Wages vs Sales’ to help businesses stay on budget. This feature is helpful for cost control, but it may not be as useful for businesses that lack direct sales data integration or operate in industries with fluctuating labor costs.
Deputy allows employees to swap shifts seamlessly, so if someone calls in sick, managers can find a replacement without making phone calls or texts. Open shifts can be assigned to the most qualified person automatically.
Meanwhile, Planday also allows managers to post open shifts that employees can claim on a first-come, first-served basis. Alternatively, managers can assign them manually. This makes it less efficient compared to Deputy’s AI-driven system, which automatically fills shifts based on predefined rules for better efficiency.
However, the software stands out for its compliance-driven scheduling, with a strong emphasis on labor regulations and cost control. It allows businesses to build schedules based on skill sets, contracted hours, and work regulations, ensuring compliance with local labor laws. Unlike Deputy, Planday provides a weekly, bi-weekly, or monthly salary estimate based on scheduled hours, helping managers track payroll expenses in advance.
Winner: This round ends in a tie. Deputy excels in automation and speed, while Planday is a better fit for companies that need tight labor law adherence and cost tracking.
Onboarding
Deputy offers a fully digital and paperless onboarding process, allowing new hires to submit documents, bank details, and signed contracts through the app. This ensures a seamless transition from hiring to the first shift, minimizing manual work for HR teams.
Additionally, all employee documents are securely stored in one place, making compliance and record-keeping easier. However, Deputy’s onboarding is an add-on feature that comes at an additional cost, which may not be ideal for businesses on a tight budget.
Planday provides a structured yet more traditional onboarding experience. Admins can create employee profiles, assign roles, and send login credentials, ensuring that new hires are set up properly within the system.
While it allows for basic employee profile creation, it lacks a dedicated document submission and tracking system like Deputy. This means that businesses using Planday may need external solutions to manage contracts and certifications efficiently. However, the software does offer guidance resources to help companies with hiring best practices.
Winner: Deputy wins this round due to its seamless, paperless onboarding experience that automates document collection and speeds up the hiring process.
Pricing
Deputy offers a straightforward pricing structure with four tiers to accommodate different business sizes. It provides a 31-day free trial with no credit card required, allowing users to explore the platform before committing. The pricing plans are:
Scheduling: $4.50/user/month
Time and Attendance: $4.50/user/month
Premium: $6/user/month
Enterprise: Custom pricing
On the other hand, Planday also provides a 30-day free trial with no credit card required. However, it charges additional fees for SMS messaging and onboarding services. Its pricing structure is:
Starter: €2.99/user/month
Plus: €4.99/user/month
Pro: Custom pricing
Winner: Deputy offers a straightforward pricing model with transparent costs, making budgeting easier, while Planday has a lower entry price but includes additional fees for onboarding and messaging. Therefore, this section ends in a tie.
Final Verdict: Which One Saves You More Time And Money?
In summary, Deputy takes the lead comparative capbabilities like ‘Time and Attendance Tracking’ and ‘Onboarding’, while the comparison between ‘Scheduling’ and ‘Pricing’ end in a tie. Deputy’s strength lies in its automation, offering AI-driven scheduling, real-time compliance tracking, and a paperless onboarding system that streamlines HR tasks. Meanwhile, Planday focuses on ‘Labor Law Compliance’ and ‘Cost Control’, making it a solid choice for businesses that need strict adherence to regulations.
For businesses looking for an automated workforce management solution with AI-powered scheduling and compliance monitoring, Deputy is the better fit. However, if labor cost visibility and regulatory adherence are top priorities, Planday is the stronger choice.
Ultimately, the right software depends on your business needs. If neither fully meets your requirements, explore other options like Homebase for small teams or When I Work for budget-friendly scheduling.
