When I Work Staff Scheduling vs Square Team
Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both apps, side by side — with what reviewers say about each.
When I Work Staff Scheduling
Streamline employee scheduling, time tracking, and team communication. This app helps reduce chaos and costs by improving accountability, facilitating shift trades, and providing instant notifications for schedule changes. It's designed for shift-based workplaces to enhance team management and boost productivity.
- Employee scheduling
- Time clock
- Team messaging
- Shift trades
- Time off requests
- Auto scheduling
- Labor forecasting
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Join more than 200,000 workplaces running on When I Work to reduce chaos, costs, and turnover with employee scheduling and time tracking for the modern workforce. When I Work is an employee scheduling app that does more than just save you time on scheduling. It also helps you improve communication, eliminate excuses, boost accountability among your staff, track time and attendance, and grow your business. “2026 Shortlist” - Capterra “2025 Category Leader” - Getapp "Fastest Implementation" - G2 Crowd MANAGERS LOVE IT: • Easy to use time clock to clock in and out • Message with staff 1:1 or in groups • Monitor and approve shift trades and time off requests • View the entire staff schedule anywhere at anytime • Create a work calendar to efficiently plan schedules • Quickly alert staff of changes and updates to the schedule • Messaging and scheduling permissions for easier management • Geofencing features to prevent buddy punching EMPLOYEES LOVE IT: • Clock in and out of shifts from the app • Instantly trade shifts with coworkers • View work schedules from anywhere at anytime • Pick up extra hours with open shifts • Check the work calendar to easily request time off • Privately message coworkers 1:1 or in groups within the app • Easily check who's working which shifts WHEN I WORK FEATURES: When I Work is employee-focused and built exclusively for shift-based workplaces. We monitor our systems 24/7/365 to give you and your employees peace of mind that your data is safe and secure. Choose When I Work to get the best in: • Team management - Onboard new employees, approve time off requests, review shift trades, and fill shifts in seconds. • Team accountability - Shift confirmation, mobile clock in, shift task lists, team task lists, and chat ensure everyone is on the same page. • Team communication - Notify your team of changes instantly and communicate with coworkers 1:1 or in group chats. • Team empowerment - Your team can manage availability, submit time-off requests, and collaborate on shift trades. • One-click scheduling - Build your entire work schedule in one click with Auto Scheduling. • Confident shift coverage - Receive shift confirmations from employees and be notified immediately of swaps and drops. • Share schedules - Publish the schedule and your whole team is instantly notified of their shifts. • Labor forecasting - Easy-to-use labor tools help you manage your labor budget efficiently. • Control overtime costs - Get overtime alerts and labor reporting to make managing labor costs easier. • Schedule enforcement - Limit clock ins to shifts and locations to ensure that everyone is where they need to be at the right time. • Payroll integration - Import your timesheets to quickly and accurately process payroll. • Labor reports - Use labor distribution to manage costs and forecast for the future. Terms of use: https://wheniwork.com/terms Privacy policy: https://wheniwork.com/privacy
Square Team
This app streamlines team communication, scheduling, and time tracking for businesses. Employees can clock in/out, view shifts, and check estimated pay. Employers can manage schedules, send announcements, and process payroll.
- Clock in/out on mobile
- Real-time team messaging
- Shift scheduling and management
- View timecards and estimated pay
- Broadcast announcements
- Payroll processing for W2 and 1099
- Access pay stubs and tax forms
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Square Team app is the one place for your team to communicate, manage schedules, access timecards, and stay in sync — all on the go. It also allows them to see their hours worked, breaks, overtime, and estimated pay. Built for businesses using Square, the app enables employees to clock in and out on their phones instead of at the POS, which saves time and eliminates the need for team members to crowd around the POS to clock in. Employers can manage teams more easily, adjust schedules, and empower their employees by putting critical shift information at their fingertips. Employers using Square Payroll can easily pay their team, automatically importing timecards, tips, and commissions. Your whole team can chat using real-time messaging and employers can send out important updates and announcements so the whole team stays in the know. Team members can see when and where they’re scheduled to work, pick up open hours, and make sure their work schedule fits with their personal one. It also allows them to see their hours worked, breaks, overtime, and estimated pay. And if team members are paid through Square Payroll, they have access to their pay stubs and tax forms right on their mobile phones. Home Screen • Clock-in: Team members can clock in for an upcoming shift directly through Team app • Weekly Snapshot: Team members can get a quick snapshot of when and where they’re scheduled to work • Estimated pay: Team members can also see hours worked, breaks, overtime, tips and estimated pay Messages and Announcements • Messaging: Real-time messaging for the whole team, eliminating the need to share phone numbers. • Announcements: Easily broadcast important announcements, news, and updates to everyone on the team. Shifts • Team-initiated scheduling: Empower your team to request time off, swap shifts, and claim open shifts directly from the Square Team app. • Timecards, schedules and estimated pay: Team members can view timecards, scheduled hours, and view estimated pay. • Clock in and out: Enable team members to clock in and out, take breaks, and get notifications. Payroll • Owners using Square Payroll can easily pay W2 employees and 1099 contractors, automatically importing timecards, tips, and commissions • Our team of specialists will take care of the rest—we pay your team, file your payroll taxes, and send your tax payments to federal and state tax agencies. My Pay • If team members get paid through Square Payroll, they can: • See estimated earnings, even before they get paid • Get paid faster via Cash App • Download tax forms • Update their bank account or personal details • And all staff information is stored securely Team Management • Quickly see all of the team members at your location, edit team member information directly in the app, or resend invites to the team. More • Team members can update personal and account settings on the go. Download the Square Team app and invite your team members now.
Screenshots
Verdict
When I Work Staff Scheduling and Square Team both sit at 4.8 stars, but that hides the real split: 90% of When I Work Staff Scheduling's written reviews are positive against 23% of Square Team's. Square Team's advantage is in-app purchases (none vs 10). On price, rating, ratings volume and update cadence 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
Both are free to download. When I Work Staff Scheduling sells 10 one-off in-app purchases. Square Team asks for nothing beyond the download.
On the App Store both sit at effectively the same score — 4.8 for When I Work Staff Scheduling against 4.7 for Square Team. Both are backed by a comparable volume of ratings — 57K and 40K respectively. Written reviews are what separate them: 90% of When I Work Staff Scheduling's written reviews are positive against 23% of Square Team's.
When I Work Staff Scheduling ships an update every 9 days, Square Team weekly. Both last shipped on September 24, 2026.
| Parameter | When I Work Staff Scheduling | Square Team |
|---|---|---|
| Price | Free | Free |
| Rating | 4.8 (57K ratings) — better | 4.7 (40K ratings) |
| Positive reviews | 90.1% of reviews — better | 22.8% of reviews |
| Number of ratings | 57K — better | 40K |
| Update frequency | Every 9 days | Weekly — better |
| Ads | No | No |
| In-app purchases | Yes | No — better |
| Monetization | Free with in-app purchases | Free with in-app purchases |
| Best chart rank | #97 | #86 — better |
| Devices | iPhone, iPad | iPhone, iPad, Mac — better |
| Requires iOS | 17.0 — better | 17.1 |
| Further details — not scored | ||
| Size | 229 MB | 131 MB |
| Age rating | 4+ | 17+ |
| Developer | When I Work, Inc. | Block, Inc. |
Customer experience
When I Work Staff Scheduling
Square Team
User reviews
When I Work Staff Scheduling
From 57K App Store ratingsWhat we love
- 👍 Easy to use
- 🚀 Convenient for scheduling
- 💡 Helpful for shift swapping and communication
- 👍 User-friendly interface
- 👍 Effective for managing staff
Room to improve
- 🐛 Occasional bugs and glitches
- 🔍 Difficult to navigate some features
- 🔍 Lack of customization options
- 🔍 Issues with shift approval and time-off requests
- 🔍 Problems with the messaging/chat functionality
Square Team
From 40K App Store ratingsWhat we love
- 🚀 Intuitive and easy to use
- 📊 Clear timecard and payroll information
- 💰 Helpful for managing tips and earnings
- 👥 Good for team communication
Room to improve
- 🐛 Frequent crashes and bugs
- ⏱️ Slow loading times and performance issues
- 🔒 Login and authentication problems
- 🔄 Constant need to re-login and reset preferences
- 🗓️ Difficult to manage schedules and time off requests
Bugs and requests
When I Work Staff Scheduling
Reported bugs
4 issues- App crashes or freezes frequently
- Unreliable notifications and alerts
- Syncing issues between mobile and web versions
- Problems with location-based clock-in/out features
Requested features
6 requests- Allow employees to view Sunday schedules
- Improve shift drop/swap process
- Add a sick day request feature
- Provide more flexibility in availability settings
- Enhance the calendar view and scheduling tools
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- Improve the messaging/chat experience
Square Team
Reported bugs
5 issues- App crashing or freezing during use
- Inability to log in or access account information
- Incorrect or missing timecard and payroll data
- Scheduling and time off requests not functioning properly
- Inconsistent behavior across different devices and OS versions
Requested features
5 requests- Ability to save login information and use biometric authentication
- More robust scheduling and time off management tools
- In-app messaging and team communication features
- Improved calendar integration and visibility of schedules
- Better customization and personalization options
In-app purchases
When I Work Staff Scheduling
- Annual Micro Scheduling Plan$99.99
- Annual Mini Scheduling Plan$209.99
- Annual Small Scheduling Plan$299.99
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- Annual Medium Scheduling$399.99
- Annual Large Scheduling$499.99
- Annual Small Scheduling and Attendance$599.99
- Annual XL Scheduling$599.99
- Annual Medium Scheduling and Attendance$799.99
- Annual Super Scheduling$799.99
- Annual Plus Scheduling$999.99
Square Team
No in-app purchases
Questions
Is When I Work Staff Scheduling free?
Is Square Team free?
Which has better reviews, When I Work Staff Scheduling or Square Team?
Do When I Work Staff Scheduling or Square Team have ads?
Which is updated more often, When I Work Staff Scheduling or Square Team?
Which is more popular, When I Work Staff Scheduling or Square Team?
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