Comparison

HotSchedules vs Paycom

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

Paycom

Manage HR and payroll tasks like checking schedules, requesting time off, and reviewing pay. Access employee information, track expenses, and complete training. Managers can approve requests and view team data.

Highlights
  • Manage HR and payroll tasks
  • View employee information
  • Track time and expenses
  • Complete training modules
  • Managerial approval tools
  • AI-powered data retrieval
Features
Currently charting
Read full description

If you or your company use Paycom’s HR and software, the Paycom app helps you manage everyday HR and payroll tasks in one place — like checking your schedule, requesting time off and reviewing your pay. It’s available in nearly 20 languages. Some features may be enabled or disabled by your organization. For questions, contact your HR team. All your data, quickly Securely view your employee information anytime — pay, schedules, benefits, time-off balances and more. When you need data quickly, just ask IWant™, our command-driven AI engine, with a voice or text prompt and get it immediately. No navigation required. Transparent payroll Review, troubleshoot and approve your paycheck before payday. See all deductions and earnings and fix any issues early with our guided experience. Easily access pay stubs, Form W-2s and pay card information whenever. Easy time tracking and scheduling Clock in and out, submit time for approval, check time-off balances and request time off. View schedule information, swap shifts and pick up additional hours with ease. Defeat the receipt Upload receipts from your phone for reimbursement and track the status of submitted expenses. Plus, automatically track your business mileage. Learn at your pace Complete assigned training and learning paths in the app using your phone or tablet. No desktop required! Front-line manager tools If you’re a manager, you can act on hours worked, time-off requests and expenses; view org charts, team schedules and upcoming new hires; and process employee changes like promotions and transfers right from the app. Automation built for admins Real-time reporting and analytics allow for fast, usable compliance and executive strategy reporting for agile workforce management and business planning. Automatically respond to commonly asked employee questions with customizable templates and stored answers set by your organization. Empower your workforce with an experience that frees HR, engages employees and simplifies benefits and payroll for everyone involved. Contact We welcome, appreciate and listen to all feedback. Email us at MobileApp@Paycom.com.

Screenshots

HotSchedules4 screens
Paycom4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is price: Paycom at Free against HotSchedules's $2.99. Paycom also leads on review sentiment (58% vs 22%) and ratings volume (1.6M vs 67K). HotSchedules's advantage is chart position (#1 vs #28) and update cadence (every 8 days vs every 3 weeks). On rating, 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

Paycom 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

Paycom holds the better App Store score, 4.8 against 4.6. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: Paycom has 1.6M ratings behind it against 67K, so its average is the more settled of the two. Written reviews point the same way: 22% of HotSchedules's written reviews are positive against 58% of Paycom's.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

HotSchedules ships an update every 8 days, Paycom every 3 weeks. Both last shipped on October 29, 2026.

Scorecard5 real differences · 6 level
HotSchedules versus Paycom: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterHotSchedulesPaycom
Price$2.99Free — better
Rating4.6 (67K ratings)4.8 (1.6M ratings) — better
Positive reviews21.6% of reviews57.7% of reviews — better
Number of ratings67K1.6M — better
Update frequencyEvery 8 days — betterEvery 3 weeks
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesNoNo
MonetizationFreeFree
Best chart rank#1 — better#28
DevicesiPhone, iPadiPhone, iPad
Requires iOS17.116.0 — better
Further details — not scored
Size59 MB152 MB
Age rating12+4+
DeveloperHotSchedulesPaycom Payroll, LLC

Customer experience

HotSchedules

All ratings67,307 ratings
Positive90.1%
Neutral3.4%
Negative6.5%
Written reviews385 reviews
Positive21.6%
Neutral12.7%
Negative65.7%

Paycom

All ratings1,585,238 ratings
Positive94.7%
Neutral2.8%
Negative2.5%
Written reviews1,187 reviews
Positive57.7%
Neutral6.7%
Negative35.6%

User reviews

HotSchedules

From 67K App Store ratings

What we love

  • 🚀 Easy to use
  • 👍 Convenient for checking schedules
  • 💡 Ability to pick up and swap shifts

Room to improve

  • 🐛 Frequent crashes and glitches
  • ⏱️ Slow loading times
  • 🔍 Difficult to navigate and find information
  • 🔄 Constant need to update app
  • 💰 Paid app for employees

Paycom

From 1.6M App Store ratings

What we love

  • 👍 Convenient self-service dashboard
  • 🚀 Easy to access pay and financial information
  • 🔒 Secure login with biometrics
  • 👍 Helpful for tracking time and expenses
  • 👍 Allows employees to manage their own information

Room to improve

  • 🐛 Frequent logout issues without notification
  • 🤔 Confusing or counterintuitive user interface
  • 🤔 Difficult to correct missed punches or time entries
  • 🤔 Lack of visibility into hours worked per shift/week
  • 🤔 Overly complex process for requesting time off

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

Paycom

Reported bugs

5 issues
  • App crashes frequently on certain devices
  • Time entries sometimes disappear or get mislabeled
  • Issues with location tracking for clocking in/out
  • Trouble uploading documents or photos within the app
  • Inconsistent behavior when switching between employee and manager modes

Requested features

5 requests
  • Add a live clock to track cumulative hours worked
  • Provide option to set default district, school, or location
  • Allow bulk editing of time entries or expenses
  • Improve notification system for schedule changes
  • Integrate with calendar apps for easier scheduling

In-app purchases

None

HotSchedules

No in-app purchases

None

Paycom

No in-app purchases

Questions

Is HotSchedules free?
HotSchedules costs $2.99, with no in-app purchases.
Is Paycom free?
Paycom is free to download, with no in-app purchases.
Which has better reviews, HotSchedules or Paycom?
Paycom is rated higher. HotSchedules averages 4.6 out of 5 from 67K ratings, while Paycom averages 4.8 from 1.6M ratings.
Do HotSchedules or Paycom have ads?
Neither HotSchedules nor Paycom shows ads.
Which is updated more often, HotSchedules or Paycom?
HotSchedules ships an update every 8 days, and Paycom every 3 weeks. Most recently, HotSchedules was updated on October 29, 2026 and Paycom on October 29, 2026.
Which is more popular, HotSchedules or Paycom?
HotSchedules currently peaks at #1 in the App Store charts, and Paycom at #28. Chart position reflects recent download velocity rather than total install base.

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