Deputy is a strong app but one of the dearer ones for a single pub. On 1 November 2026 the UK page showed Lite from £3.25 per user per month (annual) or £3.60 monthly, ex taxes. For 20 staff that’s £65 to £72 a month on Lite.
Cheaper full alternatives: ShiftComplete (£29.80 for 20 staff), RotaCloud Standard (£40) and Planday Starter (£59.80). If all you want is each day’s staff cost, use the free pub rota maker.
I run a pub, and Deputy is the app a lot of managers have used before, especially if they’ve come from a chain. It’s good. The question for an independent or a tenanted pub is whether you need everything you’re paying for. I checked Deputy’s UK pricing page today and put it next to the alternatives.
What Deputy charges in the UK (checked 1 November 2026)
| Plan | Annual | Monthly | What you get |
|---|---|---|---|
| Lite | £3.25 | £3.60 | Basic rotas, timesheets and clocking in, shift swap, leave accruals, payroll and HR integrations |
| Core | £4.25 | £4.75 | Adds auto-scheduling, demand forecasting, wage and labour budgets |
| Pro | £6.50 | £7.25 | Adds custom access levels, location hierarchies, SSO, 24/7 chat |
Per user per month, GBP excluding all applicable taxes. Every admin and supervisor counts as a user. Minimum monthly spend of £20 per invoice on monthly plans. HR add-on £2 per user per month. Free trial up to 31 days, no credit card.
What Deputy does better than most
- Even Lite includes clocking in, timesheets, shift swaps and payroll integrations, which some rivals charge extra for.
- Core will build and fill shifts for you from demand and availability, and set wage budgets.
- Very polished apps on phone, tablet, web and watch, and face-unlock kiosk clocking on Core.
- Big, established company with lots of integrations.
Why pubs look for an alternative
- Cost per head adds up. Pubs carry lots of part-timers. Every one is a user.
- The useful pub bits are on Core. Wage budgets and forecasting push you from £3.60 to £4.75 a head on monthly billing.
- Prices are ex taxes, so check what VAT does to your number.
- It’s more than some pubs need. If you write the rota yourself in ten minutes, auto-scheduling isn’t saving you much.
Deputy alternatives for a UK pub
| Option | 20 staff, per month | Forecasting / wage budgets | Trial |
|---|---|---|---|
| Deputy Lite | £72 (£65 annual) | No, that’s Core | Up to 31 days |
| Deputy Core | £95 (£85 annual) | Yes | Up to 31 days |
| ShiftComplete | £29.80 | Labour cost shown while building the rota | 60 days |
| RotaCloud Standard / Pro | £40 / £60 | Pro: staff cost as % of sales, budget caps | 30 days |
| Planday Starter / Plus | £59.80 / £109.80 | Plus: revenue integration and reporting | 30 days (Plus) |
| Rotaready Pro | about £138 + set-up | Yes, forecast vs actual | Demo |
| Free rota maker | £0 | Shows each day’s staff cost | Free |
Clocking in on RotaCloud is an extra £18/month at this size. Prices from each vendor’s own page on 1 November 2026.
If you want Deputy-style forecasting
Rotaready is the closest like-for-like. Their calculator shows Pro at £6.88 per employee per month and Pro + Forecasting at £7.82, starting at 15 employees. They call it indicative and say the set-up fee isn’t included. Premium is price on application. Demo-led, no free trial listed. RotaCloud Pro and Planday Plus give you wages against sales without auto-scheduling.
If you want something cheaper that still does the job
ShiftComplete: £1.49 per staff member per month, every feature, no per-site fee, no contract. Free for 60 days, no card. It covers rotas, swaps, holidays and clocking in, but it doesn’t run payroll or connect to payroll software. RotaCloud Standard: Priced by headcount band, including you and your managers. 11 to 20 staff: Standard £40/month, Pro £60/month (pay yearly and it’s 10 months’ money). Clocking in is an add-on, £18/month at that size. 30-day trial, no payment details.
If you’re a small team
Connecteam: Free Small Business plan for up to 10 users. Above that, the Operations hub (time clock and scheduling) starts at $29/month billed yearly or $35 monthly for the first 30 users. Shown in US dollars when I checked. 14-day trial, no card.
If you just want to see whether each day’s staff pay for themselves
The two free tools on this site do one job each. The free pub rota maker lets you lay out the week and shows each day’s staff cost as you build it, so you can see a quiet Tuesday costing more than it takes before anyone’s turned up. The staff hour cost calculator works out what an hour of staff time really costs you once holiday pay, employer’s National Insurance and pension are on top of the hourly rate. Neither one needs a sign-up.
Build next week in the free rota maker first. If the cost per day is all you were really after, you’ve saved yourself a monthly bill.
Where StockTap fits (and where it doesn’t)
I’ll be straight, because I’m the one selling it. StockTap is a stocktaking app first. Alongside the stock side it has a staff list, a simple rota screen, clock in and out on a phone, and a weekly board showing wages as a percentage of takings. That’s it on the staff side.
It does not run payroll, book holidays, handle shift swaps, send anything to HMRC, or forecast your rota for you. If you need those, use one of the proper rota apps on this page. If you already do stock and you’d like your wage % sat next to your GP on the same screen, StockTap is £19 a month at the founding price for the first 50 customers (£39 standard), with a 14-day free trial, no card.
Common questions
How much does Deputy cost in the UK?
On 1 November 2026, Deputy’s UK page showed Lite at £3.25 per user per month billed annually or £3.60 monthly, Core at £4.25 or £4.75 and Pro at £6.50 or £7.25, all in GBP excluding taxes.
Does Deputy have a minimum charge?
Yes. Deputy says there’s a minimum monthly spend of £20 per invoice on its monthly Lite, Core and Pro plans.
Is there a free trial of Deputy?
Deputy’s UK page says up to 31 days, no credit card required.
What’s the closest alternative to Deputy’s auto-scheduling?
Rotaready lists automated rota scheduling and forecast versus actual for sales and wages. It’s demo-led with a set-up fee, from £6.88 per employee per month on its calculator.
Does StockTap do auto-scheduling like Deputy?
No. StockTap has a simple rota screen, clock in and out and a weekly wages as % of takings board alongside stocktaking. It doesn’t forecast or auto-build rotas, book holidays, swap shifts or run payroll.