Overview

SignUp.com is an online service for organizing volunteer shifts, events, and other group activities. It is a strong fit for schools, parent groups, and community organizers who want participants to claim slots without passwords. Its broad scheduling tools are useful, but the free plan’s single-organizer limit makes it less suitable for groups that need shared administration.

Key features

Scheduling and participation

Recurring assignments, multi-day copying, shift swaps, and automated reminders cover common scheduling changes without requiring organizers to manage every slot manually. Participants can sign up without passwords, and plans include unlimited participants and SignUps. The practical constraints are instead on the number of organizers and custom questions available at each tier.

Calendar sync and embedding help keep schedules visible alongside other calendars. Organizers can include links to Dropbox, Zoom, and Drive, and share through social media. Participants can use a mobile browser without downloading an app; optional organizer apps are available for iPhone and Android.

Payments, security, and support

Plans include collecting payments and contributions, but payment collection is unavailable outside the U.S. and Canada. That limits its usefulness for international groups that need to collect money through the service. SignUp says it regularly backs up its servers, protects them with security systems, and uses industry-standard SSL encryption for data transmissions. It also says its services are not directed to children under 13 and that it does not knowingly collect their personal information.

Basic includes email support. Paid plans list priority email support, and some include coaching calls, which may matter to organizers who want help setting up coordination workflows.

Pricing

SignUp.com uses a freemium model. The free Basic plan costs 0.00 USD per free and includes one primary organizer, one custom participant question, one group page, and email support. It is a reasonable starting point for a single organizer, but the one-organizer and one-question caps leave little room for a group with several coordinators or more tailored participant intake.

Paid plans trade higher capacity or specialized tools for annual charges:

Starter: 99.99 USD per year, billed $99.99 annually. It provides one assistant organizer per SignUp, two custom participant questions, unlimited group pages, and priority email support. This suits a small operation that needs more pages and support but only modest administrative sharing.
Plus: 20.83 USD per year, billed $249.99 annually. It includes five assistant organizers, three custom participant questions, waivers, participant check-in, and priority email or coaching calls. The listed annual billing amount is substantially higher than Starter’s, in exchange for more assistants and check-in and waiver features.
Max: 41.66 USD per year, billed $499.99 annually. It includes 15 assistant organizers per SignUp, 15 custom participant questions, advanced hours tracking and reporting, and custom SignUp URLs. It is the tier for groups that need greater staff capacity and more detailed tracking.
Campus: 99.00 USD per year for K-12 schools. It includes 150 organizer upgrades, 15 assistant organizers per SignUp, and priority email or coaching calls. Its school focus and organizer capacity distinguish it from the general plans.
Ad-Free: custom pricing. This is an optional upgrade available with any account type.

The plan prices are shown with annual terms, and the stated billing amounts clarify the annual charge for Starter, Plus, and Max. The free plan’s caps, rather than participant volume, are the clearest reason to upgrade.

Platforms

SignUp.com is available on Android, iOS, and the web. Participants can use a mobile browser without an app, while organizer apps are optional on iPhone and Android.

Who it's for

Parents, teachers, community organizers, and team leaders coordinating volunteer shifts or group events are the natural audience. Password-free sign-up and reminders reduce friction for participants, while calendar tools and recurring assignments support repeat activities. It is less compelling for an organization that needs payment collection outside the U.S. or Canada, or multiple organizers on the free plan.

Pros and cons

Pros: Password-free participant sign-up, unlimited participants and SignUps, recurring scheduling, shift swaps, and reminders make it suitable for ongoing volunteer coordination.
Pros: Calendar tools, social sharing, and links to Dropbox, Zoom, and Drive give organizers practical ways to distribute and connect signups.
Cons: Basic allows only one primary organizer, one custom question, and one group page, so collaborative teams may need a paid tier quickly.
Cons: Payment collection is unavailable outside the U.S. and Canada, limiting its usefulness for international groups that need in-service payments.

Alternatives

For a broader comparison, see Volunteer Scheduling Software.

POINT is another freemium option with a free plan and free trial; its free plan includes unlimited volunteers and admins, signups and scheduling, event, contact, and group management, messaging and reminders, and time tracking.
VolunteerMark is worth considering if its free plan’s limit of 50 volunteers and single administrator fits your group; it also offers unlimited event creation.
Vome is another freemium service with a free plan and free trial; its Recruit plan includes one application form and one onboarding sequence, alongside unlimited volunteers and admin seats.
JoinToServe offers free-forever scheduling for nonprofits with no seat limits, plus attendance tracking and payroll reporting.
Better Impact Volunteer Impact is a paid alternative with custom pricing.
Get Connected by Galaxy Digital offers a free plan and custom pricing that is not based on volunteer count.
Civic Champs is a paid alternative with a 49.00 USD per month plan for 1–49 active volunteers, billed annually with a one-time setup fee.
VolunteerLocal is a paid alternative with a free trial and a 200.00 USD per once single-event plan.

Verdict

SignUp.com is a sensible choice for schools and community groups that need recurring volunteer schedules, participant self-sign-up, and reminders without requiring accounts. Its best reason to choose it is the combination of flexible scheduling and unlimited participants and SignUps; its main drawback is that shared administration and more participant questions require a paid plan. Look elsewhere if your organization needs international payment collection or a free plan with multiple organizers.

	Shift	SignUp.com
Free plan	No	Yes
Free trial	Yes	No
Paid from	$39/mo	$1.74/mo
Open source	No	No
Platforms	Android, iOS, Web	Android, iOS, Web
Free plan	No	Yes
Paid from	39 /mo	—
Self-service signup	Yes	Yes
Recurring assignments	—	Yes
Automated reminders	—	Yes
Shift swapping	—	Yes

Shift vs SignUp.com

Shift

SignUp.com