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Stratum Shifts vs When I Work
When I Work is a scheduling, time clock and messaging app for hourly teams, priced per user. Stratum Shifts builds and shares the week from a chat with an AI assistant, for one flat price, and staff need no app or login.
Prices checked 29 October 2026 on When I Work’s own pages, listed under Sources.
The short answer
When I Work has no free plan and charges for everyone with a login, managers included: US$2.50 per user per month for one location and US$5 for several, as shown on its pricing page on 29 October 2026, sold in bundles of 5 or 10 seats. At that price, ten users at one location come to US$25 a month.
Every plan includes a time clock with GPS, team messaging, shift swaps and open shifts. Stratum Shifts has none of those, but it is free for one workplace with up to 10 active staff, and Team is US$12 a month for up to 5 workplaces with 75 staff in each.
Pick When I Work for clocking in, messaging and swaps in one app. Pick Stratum Shifts to have the week built in a chat and shared as one link, at a price that does not rise with each hire.
Side by side
| Topic | Stratum Shifts | When I Work |
|---|---|---|
| How it charges | One flat price for the account, not per user or per location. | Per user per month, counting everyone with a login, managers included, in bundles of 5 or 10 seats. |
| 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. | None. A 14-day free trial. |
| 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. | US$2.50 per user per month for one location or schedule, and US$5 for several, as shown on its pricing page on 29 October 2026. |
| Where the week is built | In a chat with Claude. The ChatGPT plugin is waiting for OpenAI’s review. | When I Work’s web app and phone apps. |
| What staff use | A team link in any phone browser and a calendar feed for each person. No account or app. | The When I Work app or website, after registering from an email or text invitation. In 21 listed countries, staff can also text a keyword to get their next shift. |
| Time clock and timesheets | None. | Yes, in every plan: GPS clock-in and three kinds of clock (a shared terminal, a phone or a computer). |
| Payroll | None. It estimates hours, overtime and pay before you publish. | Through payroll partners such as Rippling, Gusto, Paychex, QuickBooks Online and Square. |
| Team messaging | None. On Team, you can have each scheduled person with an email address on file emailed their shifts when you publish. | Yes, in every 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. | Shift swaps and open shifts in every plan. |
| AI | Runs inside Claude, with the ChatGPT plugin in review: you describe the team and ask for the week in plain words. | Auto Scheduling assigns open shifts to eligible, available staff inside its own app. |
Who each one suits
When I Work
Hourly teams on the floor or in the field, from shops, restaurants and local businesses on one site to franchises and healthcare providers across many, that want scheduling, the time clock and messaging in one app.
Stratum Shifts
A manager of a small hourly team who wants the week built from a description, checked and shared as one link, free for up to 10 active staff and US$12 a month after that, with no logins for staff.
The real differences
Who counts toward the price
When I Work bills everyone with a login, managers included, from the first user, and has no free plan. Stratum Shifts is free for one workplace with up to 10 active staff, and Team is US$12 a month in total.
What staff need
When I Work staff register from an invitation and log in to its app or website. Stratum Shifts staff open one link in any phone browser and can add a calendar feed, without logging in.
How much it does
Every When I Work plan has a GPS time clock, timesheets for payroll, messaging, shift swaps, tips tracking and labor forecasts. Stratum Shifts builds, checks and shares the week, and estimates pay.
Where the AI sits
When I Work’s Auto Scheduling assigns open shifts inside its own app. Stratum Shifts is used from the chat itself: you ask Claude for next week, and it fills, checks and publishes it.
When to pick When I Work
Staff clock in and out
Every plan has a time clock with GPS clock-in, and timesheets that close into pay periods for export.
You want messaging and swaps in the same app
Team messaging, shift swaps and open shifts come with every plan.
You pay through Rippling, Gusto or QuickBooks
Hours go to those payroll partners, and to Paychex and Square.
You schedule across many sites
The multi-location plan covers unlimited sites, labor sharing between locations and several time zones.
Sources
Read on 29 October 2026.
- When I Work pricing
- When I Work help: account and billing questions
- When I Work help: registering with your workplace
- When I Work help: how the time clock works
- When I Work help: integrations
- When I Work automated scheduling
When I Work is a trademark of its owner. Stratum Shifts is not affiliated with or endorsed by When I Work.
Other comparisons
- Stratum Shifts vs Homebase
Homebase charges per location (Essentials US$30 a month, US$24 billed annually) and is free for one location with up to 10 employees; it adds a time clock, messaging, hiring and a paid US payroll add-on.
- 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 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.