When I Work Staff Scheduling vs Shyft
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
Shyft
This app helps employees manage their work schedules, swap shifts with colleagues, and communicate with their team. It allows users to find coverage for shifts they can't work or pick up extra shifts for additional income. Managers can also use it to post open shifts and manage team schedules.
- Swap shifts with team members
- Message coworkers
- Manage work schedules
- Find coverage for shifts
- Pick up extra work shifts
- Request time off
- Post open shifts (admin)
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Shyft empowers employees to swap their shifts, message team members, and manage schedules, all from their mobile device. Every day, users rely on Shyft to help make real time adjustments to their work schedule and stay connected with their team. Whether you need one important shift covered, or you are looking to broadcast thousands of shifts, Shyft is here to help. VIEW YOUR WORK SCHEDULE Access and manage your work schedule on your mobile device. View shifts you are working, all shift details, and get push notification reminders before each shift. FIND COVERAGE FOR YOUR SHIFT Can’t make it to work? No problem! Post your shift on the Shift Marketplace and find coverage from another team member. Once a manager approves, you are off the hook! PICK UP EXTRA WORK SHIFTS Looking to earn extra income? Pick up shifts by browsing available work opportunities on the Shift Marketplace. Tap on a shift to apply. Once you are approved, head in to work! COMMUNICATE WITH YOU TEAM Stay connected without trading phone numbers with your coworkers. Access the Community tab to send direct messages or post multimedia on team channels. REQUEST TIME OFF Make time off requests for days you need off in your calendar. View accrual balances, and submit the request for managers to approve. TAKE VOLUNTARY TIME OFF When VTO opportunities are made available, tap to apply and offer to take the day off. Once approved, enjoy your day off! ADMIN FEATURES: POST OPEN SHIFTS Broadcast 1 or 100s of open shifts with the tap of a button. If you need team members to work, post a shift, add a description, and select the group. Then manage applications as they come in. APPROVE AND DENY SHIFTS Review and approve or deny shift swap applications between team members, and for manager posted shifts. Manage multiple applications all on one shift card. VIEW TEAM ROSTERS Manage the daily roster and see which employees are working when. View job positions and shift start/end times. Add Open Shifts and VTOs directly from the roster card. POST ANNOUNCEMENTS Post announcements with read receipts. Send announcements to your location on a team channel, and see who has marked the announcement as read. SHARE PHOTO SCHEDULES Still using paper scheduling? Take a photo of a printed schedule to send to your team. Team members will be able to view the schedule in their shift calendar. MANAGE USERS & GROUPS View all location team members and approve or deny users into the location. Create new groups for shift posting and communication channels to send messages. Have a question? Tap Send Feedback in the app or visit support.myshyft.com.
Screenshots
Verdict
When I Work Staff Scheduling and Shyft 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 35% of Shyft's. When I Work Staff Scheduling also leads on update cadence (every 9 days vs monthly) and chart position (#102 vs unranked). Shyft's advantage is in-app purchases (none vs 10) and iOS requirement (11.0 vs 17.0). On price, rating, ratings volume and ads 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. Shyft 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 4.8 for Shyft. Both are backed by a comparable volume of ratings — 57K and 31K respectively. Written reviews are what separate them: 90% of When I Work Staff Scheduling's written reviews are positive against 35% of Shyft's.
When I Work Staff Scheduling ships an update every 9 days, Shyft monthly. Both last shipped on September 26, 2026.
| Parameter | When I Work Staff Scheduling | Shyft |
|---|---|---|
| Price | Free | Free |
| Rating | 4.8 (57K ratings) | 4.8 (31K ratings) |
| Positive reviews | 90.0% of reviews — better | 35.5% of reviews |
| Number of ratings | 57K — better | 31K |
| Update frequency | Every 9 days — better | Monthly |
| Ads | No | No |
| In-app purchases | Yes | No — better |
| Monetization | Free with in-app purchases | Free — better |
| Best chart rank | #102 — better | — |
| Devices | iPhone, iPad | iPhone, iPad, iPod — better |
| Requires iOS | 17.0 | 11.0 — better |
| Further details — not scored | ||
| Size | 229 MB | 44 MB |
| Age rating | 4+ | 12+ |
| Developer | When I Work, Inc. | Shyft Technologies, Inc. |
Customer experience
When I Work Staff Scheduling
Shyft
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
Shyft
From 31K App Store ratingsWhat we love
- 🚀 Easy to use for shift swapping and scheduling
- 💡 Helpful for managers and employees
- 🚀 Streamlines communication and shift coverage
Room to improve
- 🐛 Buggy and glitchy after updates
- 🤔 Confusing and less user-friendly interface after updates
- 🤔 Difficult to navigate and find information
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
Shyft
Reported bugs
3 issues- Notifications not working properly
- Shifts disappearing from the app
- Constant log-out issues
Requested features
3 requests- Ability to sync work schedule to personal calendar
- Option to cancel shift coverage requests
- Improved real-time schedule updates
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
Shyft
No in-app purchases
Questions
Is When I Work Staff Scheduling free?
Is Shyft free?
Which has better reviews, When I Work Staff Scheduling or Shyft?
Do When I Work Staff Scheduling or Shyft have ads?
Which is updated more often, When I Work Staff Scheduling or Shyft?
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