Overview

For businesses where staffing changes from week to week, Homebase ties schedule planning to attendance and payroll, with hiring, onboarding, HR, compliance, and team communication also in its product mix. That breadth is a practical advantage for restaurants, shops, and other hourly employers that would rather coordinate these tasks in one system. The catch is that its headline free option is tightly capped, and some capabilities are separately priced add-ons.

Key features

Scheduling and shift changes: Availability collection, auto-scheduling, time-off management, open shifts, and shift swaps cover the cycle from building a rota to adjusting it. That makes Homebase a strong fit for managers juggling variable availability, though Basic's 10-employee ceiling can quickly rule it out for a growing team.
Time clocks: Employees can clock in and out through mobile or tablet time clocks, with PIN, photo, and GPS or geofencing verification. Multiple verification options help businesses choose how closely to validate attendance, especially across different work locations.
Payroll: Approved hours feed into payroll calculations for wages, overtime, tips, and taxes, with tax filings handled. This can reduce handoffs between timekeeping and pay processing; payroll is an add-on, however, rather than a feature included in every plan price.
Hiring and workforce administration: Homebase also covers hiring, onboarding, labor cost management, HR, compliance, and team communication, with higher tiers and add-ons determining access. Its integrations include Square, Toast, Clover, Shopify, ADP, Gusto, and QuickBooks, useful for businesses already relying on one of those systems.
Access and security: Homebase says it uses encryption at rest and in transit, two-factor authentication, SSO, password-less login, and role-based access control. It also says it runs annual penetration tests and monthly vulnerability scans. Its Trust Center lists SOC 2 Type 2, SOC 3, PCI DSS v4.0.0, CCPA, PIPEDA, and NIST CSF.
Support and extensibility: Homebase lists 24/7 AI chat support and a Help Center, with live chat and phone support available in plan comparisons. Customers can also use its API to build custom integrations, a useful option for businesses whose workflows need connections beyond the named integrations.

Pricing

Homebase has a freemium model, and its pricing note gives a 14-day trial. Basic is free for one location and up to 10 employees, with basic scheduling, basic time tracking, and POS integration; payroll is available as an add-on. That cap makes it a reasonable starting point for a very small operation, but not a lasting fit once a team or location count grows.

Essentials: 30.00 USD per month, billed per location, with unlimited employees, advanced scheduling, advanced time tracking, and team communication. Payroll is available as an add-on. This is the clearest upgrade for a larger team that mainly needs stronger scheduling and timekeeping.
All-in-One: 120.00 USD per month, billed per location, with unlimited employees, employee onboarding, labor cost management, HR, and compliance. Payroll remains an add-on. It suits employers seeking more administrative coverage alongside scheduling.
Plus: 700.00 USD per month, billed per location, with unlimited employees, an AI-powered Scheduling Assistant, PTO and time-off controls, and departments and permissions. The page also advertises six months free with payroll. The steep price makes this a specialized choice for employers that need those additional controls, not a default upgrade.

Add-ons carry separate charges: Task Manager is 13.00 USD per month; Tip Manager is 25.00 USD per month; Hiring Assistant is 99.00 USD per month, with a first-month-free offer shown; Payroll is 496.00 USD per month, with a first-six-months-free offer shown, then a base fee plus a per-employee charge. Background checks are 30.00 USD per once, and job post boosts are 50.00 USD per once. The add-ons can extend the system to specific workflows, but payroll's additional per-employee charge means its displayed base price is not the whole ongoing cost.

Platforms

Homebase is available on Android, iOS, and the web, giving managers and employees access across mobile and desktop contexts. Mobile availability also supports its phone-based clock-in workflow.

Who it's for

Homebase is aimed at small, hourly, shift-based businesses, including restaurants, retail, beauty and wellness, medical, and home services. It is most compelling when scheduling, time clocks, and payroll coordination are recurring operational needs. A business with one location and no more than 10 employees can start with Basic; employers with more staff can move to paid tiers with unlimited employees per location. It is less suited to buyers who only need a narrow payroll or invoicing tool, or who want payroll included in the headline plan price.

Pros and cons

Pro: Scheduling, time tracking, and payroll are connected, so approved hours can flow into pay calculations rather than requiring a separate manual handoff.
Pro: Basic provides core scheduling and timekeeping at no subscription cost for one location and up to 10 employees.
Pro: PIN, photo, and GPS or geofencing checks give employers several ways to verify clock-ins.
Con: The free tier's one-location, 10-employee limit is restrictive for multi-site businesses or teams that are already scaling.
Con: Payroll is an add-on, and its stated monthly base is followed by a per-employee charge, making total costs depend on workforce size.
Con: Separate charges for hiring, tips, task management, and other add-ons can make a broad deployment costlier than the core plan price suggests.

Alternatives

Restaurant Labor Management Software is a relevant category to compare for restaurant-specific labor needs.
Restaurant Scheduling Software is the category to explore when restaurant scheduling is the primary requirement.
Restaurant Tip Management Software is worth comparing when tip handling is the main need rather than a broader workforce system.
Time and Attendance Software is a category option for buyers focused on attendance and clocking.
Gym Staff Scheduling Software is a category option for gym scheduling needs.
Nonprofit Payroll Software is a category option for nonprofit payroll needs.
Wave is a better match for freelancers who need free invoicing and bookkeeping records, with online card payments priced at 2.9% + $0.60 per transaction, rather than shift-based workforce management.
CDM+ is a paid alternative with a 25.00 USD per month Essentials plan for one program and one user.
PayFWDs uses custom pricing tailored to business needs, so it is an alternative for buyers who prefer a payroll quote based on their operation.
Rippling offers a custom-priced platform with products that can be purchased separately, a different model for businesses considering modular workforce software.
ADP Workforce Now offers paid payroll and HR plans with custom pricing, including a tier with benefits administration.
Employment Hero is another paid workforce option, with custom-priced tiers differentiated by AI video interview volume.
RUN Powered by ADP is an alternative for businesses seeking payroll processing, tax filing, direct deposit, employee access, and multi-jurisdiction payroll.
Workday Benefits is another paid option to consider.

Verdict

Homebase is a strong choice for small hourly employers that want scheduling, verified timekeeping, and payroll coordination in one operating system. Basic is a practical entry point for a single small location, while paid plans expand employee capacity and administrative tools. Look elsewhere if payroll must be included in the core subscription or if add-on costs make a broad deployment hard to predict.

	Homebase	Knit Payroll
Free plan	No	No
Free trial	Yes	Yes
Paid from	$13/mo	$4/mo
Open source	No	No
Platforms	Android, iOS, Web	Web
Free plan	Yes	No
Paid from	30 /mo	—
Tax filing included	—	Yes
Time tracking	—	Yes

Homebase vs Knit Payroll

Homebase

Knit Payroll