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Planday’s from-price, next to Shiftbrook.
Planday’s pricing page says plans start from £2.99 per user. Starter asks for at least 5 users. Pro is marked custom. The Plus pound figure was not in the page text read on 21 October 2026, so it is not repeated here.
Prices checked 21 October 2026.
| Planday | Shiftbrook | |
|---|---|---|
| Price on the page | From £2.99 per user. Starter: minimum 5 users. Pro: custom. Plus is listed, without a pound figure in the text that was read. | Free for up to 5 staff on the first organisation. After that, or for a second organisation, £3 per active person per month, with a £15 minimum. |
| Trying it | 30 days free. The page says no credit card is required, and that you can cancel. | Free for up to 5 staff, no time limit and no card. One 14-day trial of the paid plan, also with no card. |
| Licences | Planday’s UK terms, version 1.2 February 2026, say licences are invoiced in blocks of 5 users unless the order says otherwise. | Shiftbrook counts active people. The paid minimum is £15, which is the price of 5 active people at £3. |
| Starter’s list | Scheduling, time tracking, working time warnings, basic payroll reporting, and team communication. | Rotas with drafts, clock-in on a site pin, leave, and timesheet approval. Working time warnings on a shift do not block the save. |
| Payroll | Plus lists payroll reporting and integrations. A customer quote on the page mentions a Xero integration. That quote is theirs, not a test of the connection. | CSV download of hours. Sending them to Xero Payroll UK is not available until that connection works end to end. Shiftbrook does not calculate pay. |
What was actually readable
On 21 October 2026, planday.com/pricing said you can start from £2.99 per user and try it free for 30 days with no credit card. The Starter plan was labelled with a minimum of 5 users. Plus was described as the plan with advanced scheduling, leave, payroll reporting and integrations, and an API. Pro was labelled Custom. The Plus and Pro cards did not print a pound amount in the text that was read, so this page does not supply one.
Five times £2.99 is £14.95. That arithmetic only holds if the from-price is the Starter rate you are actually sold. Confirm it on their page before you budget it. Their UK subscription terms, version 1.2 dated February 2026, say licences are invoiced in blocks of 5 users unless the order says otherwise, and that fees may or may not include transactional taxes depending on region.
Starter’s list is scheduling, time tracking, working time warnings and basic payroll reporting. Shiftbrook also warns on working time and does not turn the warning into a refused save. Shiftbrook’s timesheet is an approval and a CSV, not a payroll calculation. A quote on Planday’s page, from a named customer, says a Xero integration cut their payroll time. That is their customer’s sentence. It is not a measurement this page repeats as fact, and it is not something Shiftbrook claims for itself.
When Planday is the better choice
Choose Planday when you want payroll reporting in the product. Shiftbrook records hours and downloads a CSV. It does not calculate pay. Their 30-day trial is also longer than Shiftbrook’s one 14-day trial of the paid plan. If a procurement team wants licences in blocks of 5, that is how their UK terms describe invoicing.
Shiftbrook is the clearer fit for a first organisation of up to 5 staff that wants to stay on a free plan with no end date. Planday’s Starter card asks for at least 5 users, and this page does not invent a free plan they did not print.