Comparison

HotSchedules vs LINC Learning

Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both apps, side by side — with what reviewers say about each.

Head to head
About

HotSchedules

This app simplifies employee scheduling and team communication. It allows for easy shift management, time-off requests, and calendar syncing. Managers benefit from faster schedule creation and performance monitoring, while teams stay connected through messaging.

Highlights
  • Shift swapping and pickup
  • Time off requests
  • Automatic calendar sync
  • Manager schedule building
  • Sales and labor monitoring
  • Team messaging
Features
Read full description

HotSchedules is the industry's leading employee scheduling app because it’s the fastest and easiest way to manage your schedule and communicate with your team. Team members love it because they can swap, pick-up or release shifts with one click. Work-life balance is easily managed with automatic shift pick ups when you want more hours, and time off requests for when you don’t. Calendar sync and notifications keep your Schedules and the roster automatically updated to your phone with any manager-approved changes. Managers appreciate the 75% time savings when building schedules and one-click approvals for shift changes. The ability to monitor business performance with sales and labor snapshots from anywhere, keeps them out of the back office. And most importantly, staying connected with broadcast and one-to-one messaging makes for a happy and productive team culture. NOTE: The HotSchedules application REQUIRES a valid HotSchedules user account through your employer. Need help? Contact Customer Care 24x7x365

About

LINC Learning

Provides restaurant team members with instant access to job training, company communications, and broadcast videos. Leaders can monitor team performance on learning modules. Requires a valid username and password for access.

Highlights
  • Job training access
  • Company communications
  • Broadcast videos
  • Team performance tracking
  • Learning module monitoring
Features
Read full description

LINC gives Chili’s Team Members instant access to job-related training, communications, broadcast videos and much more! The LINC app also enables leaders to view their team’s performance on modules and other learning activities. To access LINC, Chili’s Team Members must have a valid HotSchedules username and password. A Wi-Fi connection is strongly recommended to avoid using cellular data. For assistance with anything related to LINC, please email LINC Support (LINC@brinker.com). NOTE: Download and usage of the LINC app is entirely optional. If you prefer not to install/use it on your personal device, ask your leader about the option of accessing the LINC app from your restaurant’s designated training iPad.

Screenshots

HotSchedules4 screens
LINC Learning4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is price: LINC Learning at Free against HotSchedules's $2.99. HotSchedules's advantage is rating (4.6 vs 2.1) and update cadence (every 2 weeks vs every 4 months). On review sentiment, ads, in-app purchases and monetization model there is nothing between them.

Scored on Price · Rating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings · Update frequency · Ads · In-app purchases · Monetization · Best chart rank · Devices · Requires iOS

CostPrice · In-app purchases · Ads · Monetization

LINC Learning is free to download; HotSchedules costs $2.99 up front. Neither carries in-app purchases, so what you see is what you pay.

ReceptionRating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings

HotSchedules holds the better App Store score, 4.6 against 2.1. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: HotSchedules has 67K ratings behind it against 153, so its average is the more settled of the two. Written reviews point the same way: 21% of HotSchedules's written reviews are positive against 14% of LINC Learning's.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

HotSchedules ships an update every 2 weeks, LINC Learning every 4 months. The most recent releases landed on September 25, 2026 and September 21, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard5 real differences · 6 level
HotSchedules versus LINC Learning: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterHotSchedulesLINC Learning
Price$2.99Free — better
Rating4.6 (67K ratings) — better2.1 (153 ratings)
Positive reviews20.7% of reviews — better14.3% of reviews
Number of ratings67K — better153
Update frequencyEvery 2 weeks — betterEvery 4 months
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesNoNo
MonetizationFreeFree
Best chart rank#1 — better—
DevicesiPhone, iPadiPhone, iPad
Requires iOS17.117.0 — better
Further details — not scored
Size59 MB255 MB
Age rating12+17+
DeveloperHotSchedulesSchoox, Inc.

Customer experience

HotSchedules

All ratings67,277 ratings
Positive90.1%
Neutral3.4%
Negative6.4%
Written reviews372 reviews
Positive20.7%
Neutral12.9%
Negative66.4%

LINC Learning

All ratings153 ratings
Positive26.8%
Neutral2.6%
Negative70.6%
Written reviews14 reviews
Positive14.3%
Neutral0.0%
Negative85.7%

Bugs and requests

HotSchedules

Reported bugs

4 issues
  • Login issues after updates
  • Calendar sync problems
  • Disappearing messages and data loss
  • Incompatibility with dark mode

Requested features

5 requests
  • Show shift end times
  • Categorize and filter inbox messages
  • Ability to view full team schedules
  • Automatic shift rotation algorithm
  • Integrated payroll and earnings tracking

LINC Learning

Not enough reviews yet to summarise bugs or requests.

In-app purchases

None

HotSchedules

No in-app purchases

None

LINC Learning

No in-app purchases

Questions

Is HotSchedules free?
HotSchedules costs $2.99, with no in-app purchases.
Is LINC Learning free?
LINC Learning is free to download, with no in-app purchases.
Which has better reviews, HotSchedules or LINC Learning?
HotSchedules is rated higher. HotSchedules averages 4.6 out of 5 from 67K ratings, while LINC Learning averages 2.1 from 153 ratings.
Do HotSchedules or LINC Learning have ads?
Neither HotSchedules nor LINC Learning shows ads.
Which is updated more often, HotSchedules or LINC Learning?
HotSchedules ships an update every 2 weeks, and LINC Learning every 4 months. Most recently, HotSchedules was updated on September 25, 2026 and LINC Learning on September 21, 2026.

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