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It's a split decision.
Choose When I Work if you need scheduling plus team messaging, or want a per-user starting price of $2.50 monthly. Its time-tracking add-on has no published price. Choose When to Work for a scheduling-focused tool and a 30-day trial; its introductory plan covers up to 10 employees and costs $28 monthly or $205 yearly. The listed standard rates are $38 monthly or $273 yearly. Neither product has a free plan.
01Side by side
| When I Work | When to Work | |
|---|---|---|
| Starting price | $2.50 per user monthly | $28 monthly introductory; $38 standard |
| Free plan | No free plan; 14-day trial | No free plan; 30-day trial |
| Best for | Hourly teams needing scheduling, tracking, and messaging | Teams focused on employee scheduling |
| Core strength | Scheduling, time tracking, and team messaging | Scheduling, shift coverage, and AutoFill |
| Learning curve | Ease-of-use score: 6.5/10 | Ease-of-use score: 7/10 |
| Integrations/data | API access and webhooks on Premium | Integrations not listed |
| Team/seat costs | Per-user pricing; time-tracking add-on unpriced | Subscription covers up to 10 employees |
| Support | Support score: 5/10 | Support score: 5/10 |
When I Work Choose When I Work if
- Choose When I Work if you need scheduling and time tracking together.
- Choose When I Work if team messaging is part of the workflow.
- Choose When I Work if per-user pricing suits your team.
When to Work Choose When to Work if
- Choose When to Work if scheduling is your main requirement.
- Choose When to Work if you want a 30-day trial.
- Choose When to Work if your team fits the 10-employee subscription.
02Pricing compared
When I Work starts at $2.50 per user per month on Essentials, according to its pricing page. Pro is $5 per user monthly and Premium is $8; Enterprise pricing is custom. Annual prices are not published. The time-tracking and attendance add-on has no published price, so teams needing that feature should confirm its cost before comparing totals. There is no free plan, but a 14-day trial is listed.
When to Work lists an introductory price of $28 monthly or $205 yearly for up to 10 employees. The yearly price works out to $17.08 per month. Its listed standard rates are $38 monthly or $273 yearly. The plan includes unlimited use by managers and employees, and a 30-day trial. Neither product offers a free plan. Compare the employee cap and billing total, not just the monthly equivalent.
03Features and depth
When I Work covers more than schedule building: its listed features include team messaging, shift swaps, time-off approvals, auto scheduling, and labor forecasting. GPS clock-ins, geofencing, breaks, and attendance tracking are also described, but time tracking and attendance are a paid add-on with no published price. Its Essentials plan includes auto scheduling, multi-location scheduling, templates, and messaging; Pro adds scheduling rules, role permissions, custom reporting, and time-zone controls. Premium adds API access, webhooks, and SAML/SSO.
When to Work is more focused on scheduling. Its feature list includes drag-and-drop schedules, reusable templates, AutoFill that considers preferences, time off, and overtime, plus availability, shift trades, time-off requests, and coverage monitoring. Staff can access schedules on mobile, and the product lists automated emails, texts, and shift alerts. It offers spreadsheet, calendar, and multi-location schedule views. For scheduling alone, both cover core shift coordination; When I Work has broader listed scope, while its time-tracking costs are unclear.
04Ease of use and learning curve
When to Work lists drag-and-drop scheduling, reusable templates, and spreadsheet, calendar, and multi-location views. Those options may suit managers who want to build schedules directly and choose how to review them. Its 30-day trial gives teams more time to assess the workflow before paying.
When I Work combines scheduling and messaging in the same platform, with additional controls on higher plans. That may mean more features to learn if a team only needs a rota, but it also avoids treating staff communication as a separate product. Our review scores rate ease of use 7/10 for When to Work and 6.5/10 for When I Work. Those scores are a useful signal, not a guarantee for your team; test the actual schedule and approval process during each product’s trial.
Questions people ask
Do you have to pay for When to Work?
Yes, after its 30-day free trial. The listed introductory subscription for up to 10 employees costs $28 monthly or $205 yearly; the listed standard rates are $38 monthly or $273 yearly. The published pricing information does not list a free plan.
Which is better, WFO or WFH?
That question is about work arrangements, not these scheduling products. If you mean When I Work versus When to Work, choose based on your needs: When I Work includes messaging and scheduling, while When to Work focuses on scheduling and offers a 30-day trial.
What is the best employee scheduling software?
There is no single best choice for every team in the published information. When I Work lists scheduling, messaging, and a time-tracking add-on; When to Work focuses on scheduling and includes a 30-day trial. Compare required features, employee limits, and the full price after introductory rates.
Who owns When to Work?
The materials for this comparison do not name When to Work’s owner. They describe it as online employee scheduling software and provide plan and feature details, but no company ownership information. We can’t verify an owner from the published sources.