Planday Starter is good value at £2.99 per user per month, but the Plus plan most pubs want has a £30 monthly fee on top and a 10-user minimum (checked 1 November 2026). For 20 staff that’s £59.80 on Starter or £109.80 on Plus.
Cheaper options: ShiftComplete (£29.80 for 20) or RotaCloud Standard (£40). For the cost of each day only, try the free pub rota maker.
I run a pub, and Planday is built with hospitality in mind, which shows. It’s a proper option. Landlords usually start looking elsewhere when they see the Plus plan’s monthly fee, or when they realise they’re billed in blocks of five. Here’s what Planday’s own pricing page said today.
What Planday charges (checked 1 November 2026)
| Plan | Price | Minimum | What you get |
|---|---|---|---|
| Starter | £2.99 per user/month | 5 users | Scheduling, simple time tracking, working time rule warnings, basic payroll reporting, team messaging |
| Plus | £3.99 per user/month + £30 monthly fee | 10 users | Adds leave and absence, payroll reporting and integrations, revenue integration and reporting, documents |
| Pro | Custom | n/a | Auto-scheduling, custom planning metrics, phone support |
A user is anyone with a login, billed in bundles of five (23 users is billed as 25). Monthly or quarterly billing. Paid onboarding available, and SMS messages are charged. 30-day free trial of Plus, no card. The page doesn’t say whether VAT is included.
What Planday does better than most
- Built for shift-based businesses like pubs, with lots of UK hospitality customers.
- Starter is one of the cheapest per-user prices from a big name.
- Plus links your revenue so you can see wage cost against sales, and handles leave and absence properly.
- Working time rule warnings even on Starter.
Why pubs look for an alternative
- The £30 monthly fee on Plus. For a small team, that’s a big chunk of the bill.
- Holiday management is on Plus, not Starter.
- Five-user bundles. You pay for empty seats.
- Extras. SMS charges and paid onboarding if you want help setting up.
Planday alternatives for a UK pub
| Option | 20 staff, per month | Holidays included | Trial |
|---|---|---|---|
| Planday Starter | £59.80 | No, Plus only | 30 days (Plus) |
| Planday Plus | £109.80 | Yes | 30 days |
| ShiftComplete | £29.80 | Holiday requests, yes | 60 days |
| RotaCloud Standard | £40 (£58 with clocking in) | Yes | 30 days |
| Deputy Lite | £72 (£65 annual) | Leave accruals, yes | Up to 31 days |
| Connecteam | Free to 10 users | Check their site | 14 days |
| Free rota maker | £0 | No | Free |
List prices from each vendor’s own page on 1 November 2026. Deputy excludes taxes; the others didn’t say.
RotaCloud
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. Standard includes holidays and swaps, so it’s the closest match to Planday Plus for less, as long as you don’t need the revenue link (that’s RotaCloud Pro).
ShiftComplete
£1.49 per staff member per month, every feature, no per-site fee, no contract. Free for 60 days, no card. No payroll or payroll software link, by its own description, so hours go out as a spreadsheet.
Deputy
Per user per month, GBP excluding taxes. Lite £3.25 (annual) or £3.60 (monthly), Core £4.25 or £4.75, Pro £6.50 or £7.25. Minimum spend of £20 per invoice on monthly plans. Trial up to 31 days, no card.
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.
For multi-site groups, Rotaready and Bizimply are covered in the full comparison.
If the revenue link is what you’re paying Plus for
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.
Pop next week into the free rota maker with your usual takings in your head. You’ll see straight away which shifts are carrying the week and which ones aren’t.
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 Planday cost for a pub?
On 1 November 2026 Planday’s page showed Starter at £2.99 per user per month (minimum 5 users) and Plus at £3.99 per user per month plus a £30 monthly subscription fee (minimum 10 users). For 20 staff that’s £59.80 or £109.80 a month.
Does Planday have a free trial?
Yes, 30 days of the Plus plan with no credit card details, per Planday’s pricing page.
Why does Planday bill in fives?
Planday says users are billed in bundles of five, so 23 users is billed as 25.
Is holiday management on Planday Starter?
Leave and absence management is listed on Plus, not Starter.
Can StockTap replace Planday?
Not if you rely on holiday booking, payroll reporting or shift swaps. StockTap is stocktaking first with a simple rota, clock in and out and a weekly wages as % of takings board.