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Stratum Shifts vs Homebase
Homebase is an all-in-one app for hourly teams: scheduling, a time clock, team messaging, hiring and US payroll, priced per location. Stratum Shifts does one of those jobs, building and sharing the week, from a chat with an AI assistant, for one flat price.
Prices checked 29 October 2026 on Homebase’s own pages, listed under Sources.
The short answer
For one location with up to 10 employees, Homebase Basic is free and adds a time clock and team messaging, which Stratum Shifts does not have. It leaves out availability, time-off requests and shift trades, which start on Essentials; Stratum Shifts Free has availability and time-off requests.
Past 10 employees, or at a second location, Homebase costs US$30 a location a month (US$24 billed annually). Stratum Shifts Team is US$12 a month for up to 5 workplaces with 75 staff in each.
Pick Homebase for clocking in, payroll and a staff app. Pick Stratum Shifts to have the week built in a chat and shared as one link.
Side by side
| Topic | Stratum Shifts | Homebase |
|---|---|---|
| How it charges | One flat price for the account, not per user or per location. | Per location, per month. Paid plans cover unlimited employees at each location. |
| Free plan | One workplace with up to 10 active staff: auto-fill, every check, cover lists, pay estimates, the team link and time-off requests. | Basic: one location and up to 10 employees, with basic scheduling, time tracking and messaging. |
| Paid plans | Team: US$12 a month or US$120 a year, for up to 5 workplaces with up to 75 active staff in each. | Essentials US$30, Plus US$70 and All-in-One US$120 a location a month billed monthly; US$24, US$56 and US$96 billed annually. |
| Where the week is built | In a chat with Claude. The ChatGPT plugin is waiting for OpenAI’s review. | Homebase’s own app, on the web and on phones. |
| What staff use | A team link in any phone browser and a calendar feed for each person. No account or app. | The Homebase app, once the manager adds them by phone number, or a phone browser on older phones. Schedules also go out by text and email. |
| Time clock and timesheets | None. | Yes, on every plan: clock in on tablets, computers and POS devices. Phone clock-in with a location check from Essentials. |
| Payroll | None. It estimates hours, overtime and pay before you publish. | Runs US payroll as an add-on: US$49 a month plus US$6 per employee paid. |
| Team messaging | None. On Team, you can have each scheduled person with an email address on file emailed their shifts when you publish. | Yes, from the free plan. |
| Shift swaps and open shifts | No swaps. Staff ask for time off from their own page, and you reassign shifts in the chat from a list of who can cover. | From Essentials, staff trade, cover and claim open shifts for the manager to approve. |
| AI | Runs inside Claude, with the ChatGPT plugin in review: you describe the team and ask for the week in plain words. | Its own AI Scheduling Assistant on Plus, and an in-app assistant in beta for some single-location accounts. |
Who each one suits
Homebase
Small businesses with hourly teams at one to a few locations (restaurants, shops, salons, care and trades) that want the schedule, time clock, messaging, hiring and US payroll in one app their staff install.
Stratum Shifts
A manager who builds the week by hand today and would rather describe it to Claude: filled within availability and hour limits, checked, and shared as one link that staff open without an app or a login.
The real differences
How the price grows
Homebase charges per location, so each extra site adds US$30 a month on Essentials (US$24 billed annually). Stratum Shifts Team is US$12 a month in total for up to 5 workplaces.
What the free plans leave out
Homebase Basic stops at one location and 10 employees and has no availability, time-off requests or shift trades. Stratum Shifts Free stops at 10 active staff and has availability, time-off requests, auto-fill and cover lists, but no time clock, messaging or shift trades.
What staff need
Homebase staff are added by phone number and log in to its app to see the schedule. Stratum Shifts staff open one link in any phone browser and can add a calendar feed, without logging in.
Where the AI sits
Homebase’s AI Scheduling Assistant drafts schedules inside its own app on the Plus plan. Stratum Shifts is used from the chat itself: you ask Claude for next week, and it fills, checks and publishes it.
When to pick Homebase
Staff clock in and out
Homebase has a time clock on every plan and keeps the timesheets.
You run payroll in the US
Its payroll add-on runs payroll from those timesheets for US$49 a month plus US$6 per employee paid.
Your point of sale should feed the schedule
It connects to Square, Clover, Toast, Shopify, Lightspeed and others, and All-in-One schedules against forecast sales and labor targets.
Staff swap and pick up shifts themselves
From Essentials, staff trade, cover and claim open shifts, and you approve.
You hire often
Job posts and applicant tracking are free on every Homebase plan.
Sources
Read on 29 October 2026.
- Homebase pricing
- Homebase help: what happens after the free trial (prices and the 10-employee limit)
- Homebase app (how staff join)
- Homebase payroll
- Homebase shift swapping
- Homebase integrations
Homebase is a trademark of its owner. Stratum Shifts is not affiliated with or endorsed by Homebase.
Other comparisons
- Stratum Shifts vs Sling
Sling (owned by Toast) charges per user (Premium US$2 a user a month, US$1.70 billed annually) and is free for up to 30 users with messaging; paid plans add time clocks and shift swaps.
- Stratum Shifts vs 7shifts
7shifts is built for restaurants and charges per location (Essentials $44.99 a month, $39.99 billed annually, for up to 30 employees); its free Comp plan covers one location and up to 15 employees.
- Stratum Shifts vs When I Work
When I Work charges per user, managers included (US$2.50 per user per month for one location and US$5 for several, as shown on its pricing page) and has no free plan; every plan has a time clock, messaging and shift swaps.
- Stratum Shifts vs Connecteam
Connecteam sells hubs at a flat price for the first 30 users (Operations Basic US$35 a month, US$29 billed yearly) and is free for up to 10 users; it adds a time clock, chat, forms, training and HR.
See the plans, or how it works inside ChatGPT and Claude.