RotaCloud alternative for a pub: what it costs and what else fits

I run a pub, and RotaCloud is one of the names that comes up every time landlords talk rotas in the Facebook groups. Usually the question is either “is it worth the money” or “what else is there”. So I checked RotaCloud’s own pricing page today and lined it up against the alternatives.

What RotaCloud charges (checked 1 November 2026)

RotaCloud prices by how many employees you have, and they ask you to count yourself and every admin and manager too. Pay yearly and you pay ten months’ worth.

30-day free trial, no payment info required. No set-up fees, per their page. The page doesn’t say whether VAT is included. SMS notifications are a further add-on.

What RotaCloud does better than most

• Standard already includes holiday management, time off in lieu, sickness tracking, shift swapping, staff availability and daily, weekly and monthly labour costs.
• Pro adds labour forecasting (staff costs as a percentage of sales) and budget caps while you schedule.
• Unlimited sites on every plan, and free phone and live chat support from a UK team.
• Published prices. You know what you’ll pay before you talk to anyone.

Why pubs look for an alternative

• Clocking in costs extra. Timesheets and the payroll export sit in the Time & Attendance add-on.
• Band jumps. Go from 20 to 21 people and Standard goes from £40 to £60 a month. Pubs carry a lot of casual weekend staff, so this bites.
• Wages against takings is on Pro. If that’s the bit you care about, you’re on the dearer plan.
• Some landlords only want the cost per day, not a full HR system.

RotaCloud alternatives for a pub, side by side

List prices from each vendor’s own page on 1 November 2026. Deputy excludes taxes; the others didn’t say.

ShiftComplete

£1.49 per staff member per month, every feature, no per-site fee, no contract. Free for 60 days, no card. It does rotas from staff availability, shift swaps, holiday requests, clocking in and labour cost while you build the rota, plus temperature logs, allergens and daily checks. It doesn’t run payroll or link to EPOS or payroll software, by its own description.

Planday

Per user per month. Starter £2.99 (minimum 5 users). Plus £3.99 plus a £30 monthly subscription fee (minimum 10 users). Pro is custom. Billed in bundles of five users. 30-day trial of Plus, no card. Plus is the plan with leave management and revenue reporting, which is the closer match to RotaCloud Pro.

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. Dearer than RotaCloud for most pubs, but Core gives you auto-scheduling and demand forecasting, which RotaCloud doesn’t list.

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.

Rotaready and Bizimply are also options if you run several sites. Both are demo-led; I’ve covered them in the full rota app comparison.

If you only want to see whether each day pays

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.

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.

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