Comparison

HotSchedules vs Paylocity

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

Paylocity

Access HR and payroll information, manage time and expenses, and stay connected with colleagues. This app offers a unified platform for employees and supervisors to handle essential work tasks securely and efficiently.

Highlights
  • View paychecks and historical pay info
  • Clock in/out and review timesheets
  • Submit and approve time-off requests
  • Manage and submit expenses/receipts
  • Access company directory and org chart
  • Collaborate via social hub
  • Request earned wage advances
Features
Currently charting
Read full description

The Paylocity Mobile App gives you the tools you need to stay connected and access HR and payroll information, all in one intuitive experience. Easily view paychecks, clock in and out, check schedules, update personal information, access messages, and complete tasks, all from a personalized home screen. Submit receipts, reconcile expenses, and use company cards with built-in controls. It’s just another way Paylocity helps you handle it all with one unified platform. Why employees love it: - Secure access to everything you need — with just one login - Edit personal info, search the company directory, or view current and historical pay info  - Receive push notifications for activities like time-off request approvals, checks becoming available, chats, and more - Access Community, Paylocity’s social collaboration hub, to get important updates from leaders and connect with peers - Request access to a portion of earned wages before payday - Track expenses and card use - Review schedules and timesheets - Clock in and out - View an interactive org chart to check organizational structure and reach out to colleagues Why supervisors love it: - Experience one, unified platform - Submit, view, and approve time-off requests with real-time push notifications - Review and approve expense reports and timecards - Manage Journal entries for direct reports - Create, view, and edit schedules and shifts Security features: - Biometric functions are available for secure quick logins - All activities are encrypted and routed safely to secure Paylocity servers - Sessions will time out if inactive to prevent unauthorized access - Excessive failed login attempts will lock a user account App usage: To use the Paylocity Mobile App, your employer must be a Paylocity client, and you must be an authorized user with Paylocity credentials. Security role rights, specific access to the Paylocity mobile application, and functionality listed below may vary from company to company.

Screenshots

HotSchedules4 screens
Paylocity4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is price: Paylocity at Free against HotSchedules's $2.99. Paylocity also leads on review sentiment (51% vs 21%) and rating (4.8 vs 4.6). HotSchedules's advantage is chart position (#1 vs #21). On update cadence, 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

Paylocity 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

Paylocity holds the better App Store score, 4.8 against 4.6. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: Paylocity has 668K ratings behind it against 67K, 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 51% of Paylocity's.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

HotSchedules ships an update every 2 weeks, Paylocity fortnightly. Both last shipped on September 25, 2026.

Scorecard5 real differences · 6 level
HotSchedules versus Paylocity: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterHotSchedulesPaylocity
Price$2.99Free — better
Rating4.6 (67K ratings)4.8 (668K ratings) — better
Positive reviews20.7% of reviews51.3% of reviews — better
Number of ratings67K668K — better
Update frequencyEvery 2 weeks — betterFortnightly
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesNoNo
MonetizationFreeFree
Best chart rank#1 — better#21
DevicesiPhone, iPadiPhone, iPad, Apple Watch — better
Requires iOS17.116.0 — better
Further details — not scored
Size59 MB243 MB
Age rating12+4+
DeveloperHotSchedulesPaylocity

Customer experience

HotSchedules

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

Paylocity

All ratings667,916 ratings
Positive96.4%
Neutral1.8%
Negative1.8%
Written reviews1,151 reviews
Positive51.3%
Neutral7.9%
Negative40.7%

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

Paylocity

From 668K App Store ratings

What we love

  • 👍 Easy to use
  • 🚀 Convenient for clocking in/out
  • 💡 Helpful features like viewing paystubs and time off requests
  • 👍 User-friendly interface
  • 👍 Reliable and stable app

Room to improve

  • 🐛 Login issues and frequent logouts
  • 🐛 Glitchy punch in/out functionality
  • 🔒 Security concerns with personal information display
  • 🔍 Limited functionality compared to web version
  • 🤔 Confusing navigation and menus

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

Paylocity

Reported bugs

5 issues
  • Unreliable GPS location detection for punches
  • Disappearing or lost punch data
  • Password reset issues and inability to change passwords
  • Inconsistent app performance and frequent crashes
  • Outdated or incorrect employee information display

Requested features

5 requests
  • Add calendar integration and scheduling features
  • Improve punch in/out process with customizable defaults
  • Allow editing of past punches and notes
  • Provide ability to view schedules for all departments
  • Implement multi-factor authentication and better security

In-app purchases

None

HotSchedules

No in-app purchases

None

Paylocity

No in-app purchases

Questions

Is HotSchedules free?
HotSchedules costs $2.99, with no in-app purchases.
Is Paylocity free?
Paylocity is free to download, with no in-app purchases.
Which has better reviews, HotSchedules or Paylocity?
Paylocity is rated higher. HotSchedules averages 4.6 out of 5 from 67K ratings, while Paylocity averages 4.8 from 668K ratings.
Do HotSchedules or Paylocity have ads?
Neither HotSchedules nor Paylocity shows ads.
Which is updated more often, HotSchedules or Paylocity?
HotSchedules ships an update every 2 weeks, and Paylocity fortnightly. Most recently, HotSchedules was updated on September 25, 2026 and Paylocity on September 25, 2026.
Which is more popular, HotSchedules or Paylocity?
HotSchedules currently peaks at #1 in the App Store charts, and Paylocity at #21. Chart position reflects recent download velocity rather than total install base.

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