Deputy charges per user: Lite is $5.50 per user per month billed monthly ($5 billed annually), Core is $7.25 ($6.50 annually) and Pro is $10 ($9 annually), with a $30 minimum monthly spend per invoice on monthly plans. On Lite, a 10 person team pays $55 a month ($50 on annual billing) and a 25 person team pays $137.50 ($125 on annual), because the owner, managers and supervisors all count as users. This guide lays out each Deputy plan, works the bill at 10, 25 and 50 people with the arithmetic shown, explains the minimum invoice and the add-ons, and puts Deputy next to Homebase, When I Work and ClockOut at the same headcounts. All Deputy prices were checked October 15, 2026 on Deputy’s pricing page.
Deputy pricing in 2026, plan by plan
Deputy sells three published plans, Lite, Core and Pro, all priced per user per month in US dollars, before tax. Its pricing page opens on the annual view, which Deputy says is “billed upfront or in monthly installments”. The monthly view is “billed monthly” and costs about 10% more. There is no free plan. Lite and Core have a free trial button; Pro is sold through sales. The table keeps to the features an hourly team of 10 to 50 people usually asks about.
| Lite | Core | Pro | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Per user, billed monthly | $5.50 | $7.25 | $10 |
| Per user, billed annually | $5 | $6.50 | $9 |
| Minimum on monthly plans | $30 per invoice | $30 per invoice | $30 per invoice |
| Scheduling | Basic scheduling | Advanced, plus auto-scheduling and demand forecasting | Same as Core |
| Open shifts and shift swaps | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ |
| Clock-in apps (phone, tablet, web, watch) | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ |
| Geofencing (blocks clock-in by location) | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ |
| Biometric kiosk (face unlock) | ✗ | ✓ | ✓ |
| Timesheets | Basic | Adds auto approval | Advanced, plus auto approval |
| Labor law compliance | Basic | Advanced | Advanced |
| Leave and availability | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ |
| Wage and labor budgets | ✗ | ✓ | ✓ |
| Location hierarchies, pay by location | ✗ | ✗ | ✓ |
| Payroll integrations | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ |
| Deputy Payroll (Paycor) add-on | ✗ | Annual plan only | Annual plan only |
| Single sign-on, sandbox, 24/7 live chat | ✗ | ✗ | ✓ |
Source: deputy.com/pricing, checked October 15, 2026. Prices are in USD and exclude “all applicable taxes”. The pricing page does not name a separate GPS row; geofencing (“Prevent employees clocking in based on geolocation”) is the location control, and it is checked on every plan. Deputy AI is shown as “introductory free” on every plan, and Deputy says its price and availability may change. Deputy changes packaging from time to time, so re-check before you sign.
Who counts as a user
Deputy’s page is direct about it: “All users/administrators/supervisors are considered users and will be counted in your total user number.” So a restaurant with 22 hourly staff, two shift leads, a general manager and an owner who approves timesheets is a 26 user account. ClockOut counts the same way (owners and admins are people on the bill), so the comparisons on this page are like for like.
Monthly or annual billing
Annual billing saves 50 cents per user on Lite, 75 cents on Core and $1 on Pro, every month. At 25 people on Lite that is $12.50 a month, or $150 over a year ($1,650 billed monthly against $1,500 on annual). The annual plan can still be paid in monthly installments, so the trade is the commitment, not the cash flow. One more reason teams pick annual: Deputy Payroll is only offered on annual Core and Pro plans.
What Deputy costs at 10, 25 and 50 people
Every figure below is the number of people times the per-user rate. Each cell shows the monthly-billing price first and the annual price (as a monthly amount) after it. One location, before tax, no add-ons.
| Deputy Lite | Deputy Core | Deputy Pro | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 10 people | $55 / $50 | $72.50 / $65 | $100 / $90 |
| 25 people | $137.50 / $125 | $181.25 / $162.50 | $250 / $225 |
| 50 people | $275 / $250 | $362.50 / $325 | $500 / $450 |
| 50 people, per year | $3,300 / $3,000 | $4,350 / $3,900 | $6,000 / $5,400 |
The arithmetic
- 10 people. Lite: 10 × $5.50 = $55 a month, or 10 × $5 = $50 on annual ($600 a year). Core: 10 × $7.25 = $72.50, or $65 on annual. Pro: 10 × $10 = $100, or $90.
- 25 people. Lite: 25 × $5.50 = $137.50 a month, or 25 × $5 = $125 on annual ($1,500 a year). Core: 25 × $7.25 = $181.25, or $162.50 on annual. Pro: 25 × $10 = $250, or $225.
- 50 people. Lite: 50 × $5.50 = $275 a month, or 50 × $5 = $250 on annual ($3,000 a year). Core: 50 × $7.25 = $362.50, or $325 on annual. Pro: 50 × $10 = $500, or $450.
Lite covers what most hourly teams buy a scheduling app for: a weekly schedule, open shifts, swaps, a mobile time clock with geofencing, leave requests and payroll integrations. The jump to Core (about 30% more per user) buys auto-scheduling, demand forecasting, wage budgets, timesheet auto approval and the face-unlock kiosk. Pro is for larger operators that need location hierarchies, pay by location and single sign-on.
The $30 minimum invoice, explained
Deputy’s page states “a minimum monthly spend of USD $30 ... per month per invoice on our monthly Lite, Core & Pro plans”. In practice it is a floor: if your users times the rate comes to less than $30, you pay $30.
- Lite ($5.50): 5 users = $27.50, billed as $30. At 6 users the bill is $33 and the minimum stops mattering.
- Core ($7.25): 4 users = $29, billed as $30. At 5 users the bill is $36.25.
- Pro ($10): 3 users = exactly $30. Only 1 or 2 users fall under the floor.
Add-ons and costs that are easy to miss
The per-user rate is not always the whole bill. These are the extras listed on Deputy’s pricing page, with the cost worked at 25 people.
- Deputy Payroll, enabled by Paycor: $8 per user per month plus a $49 monthly base fee, “available on annual Core and Pro plans in the US”. Deputy adds that the “monthly base and per employee fee varies by business size”, so treat the list price as a starting point. At 25 people: $49 + 25 × $8 = $249 a month, on top of at least $162.50 for annual Core, so about $411.50 a month for scheduling, time and payroll.
- HR: $2 per user per month billed monthly. At 25 people: $50 a month.
- Messaging+: $1.95 per user per month billed monthly, included on Pro. At 25 people: $48.75 a month.
- Analytics+: $1.50 per user per month billed monthly, included on Pro. At 25 people: $37.50 a month.
- Features that move you up a plan. The face-unlock kiosk, auto-scheduling, demand forecasting and wage budgets are Core. Location hierarchies and pay by location are Pro. Deputy Payroll needs Core or Pro on an annual term.
- Managers on the bill. Every admin and supervisor is a paid user. If 25 hourly staff report to 3 managers, you pay for 28 users, not 25.
- Tax and promotions. Prices exclude tax. The page was also running a switching promotion when we checked; promotions come and go, so every number on this page is the list price.
What Deputy does well
Deputy is a mature, widely used product, and several things on its pricing page are genuinely strong.
- Lite is a complete starting plan. Open shifts, shift swaps with find-a-replacement, geofenced clock-in, leave and availability, messaging and a news feed, labor law compliance and payroll integrations are all on the cheapest tier. Nothing basic is held back for Core.
- Scheduling depth on Core. Auto-scheduling that builds and fills shifts from business needs and staff availability, demand forecasting, micro-scheduling and wage and labor budgets. For a busy restaurant or store that staffs to expected demand, this is the reason to buy Deputy.
- Clock in from anywhere. Deputy’s clock-in apps run on tablet, phone, web and watch, on every plan.
- No location fee. Because Deputy prices per user, three sites cost the same as one. The pricing page shows no plan gate on running more than one location.
- Payroll from the same vendor. Deputy Payroll, enabled by Paycor, lets a US business on annual Core or Pro run payroll without a separate provider.
- Built to scale up. Pro adds single sign-on, a sandbox, custom access levels, location hierarchies, pay centers and 24/7 live chat. A multi-region operator with hundreds of staff needs these. ClockOut does not offer single sign-on.
When Deputy is the better buy
- You run several sites and only need the basics. Deputy Lite has no location fee. ClockOut puts multiple locations on Pro, so across three sites Deputy Lite is cheaper at every size here: $55 against $69 at 10 people, $137.50 against $159 at 25, and $275 against $309 at 50 (monthly billing).
- You schedule to demand. If you want the software to forecast demand and build the schedule from it, Deputy Core lists demand forecasting and auto-scheduling.
- You want payroll processing in the same product. ClockOut does not run payroll; it exports payroll-ready files. If you want one vendor for the schedule, the clock and the paychecks, Deputy Payroll on annual Core is a real option.
- You want a biometric kiosk. Deputy Core has a face-unlock kiosk. ClockOut deliberately does not use biometrics; its kiosk uses a PIN or a QR badge.
- You need single sign-on. Deputy Pro has it; ClockOut does not.
Where ClockOut is the better fit: one location, 10 to 50 hourly people, and you want the clock, the schedule and timesheet approval in one plan. ClockOut Starter is $19 a month for up to 5 people, then $3 per extra person. That is $34 at 10 people, $79 at 25 and $154 at 50 on monthly billing, which is $21, $58.50 and $121 a month less than Deputy Lite. Starter includes geofenced clock-in, a GPS stamp on every punch, a tablet kiosk with PIN or QR badge, open shifts and shift swaps, availability, PTO, timesheet approval, an exception inbox for late arrivals and missed clock-outs, break tracking, overtime alerts, team chat and announcements. There is a free plan for up to 2 people, a 14-day Starter trial with no card, and annual billing takes 20% off. Pro is $39 a month for up to 5 people, then $6 per extra person, and adds multiple locations, payroll runs and payroll-ready exports in ADP, Gusto and QuickBooks formats.
The full feature head-to-head is ClockOut vs Deputy, and if you run stores see the best Deputy alternatives for retail.
Deputy vs Homebase vs When I Work vs ClockOut
The same three team sizes on each tool’s cheapest plan that has a weekly schedule and a mobile time clock that checks location. Prices are list prices from each vendor’s pricing page, checked October 15, 2026: Deputy, Homebase, When I Work. ClockOut prices are from our pricing page.
| Deputy Lite | Homebase Essentials | When I Work | ClockOut Starter | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| How it is priced | Per user | Per location, unlimited employees | Per user | Base fee for 5 people, then per person |
| Free plan | None | Basic: 1 location, up to 10 employees | None | Up to 2 people, no time limit |
| 10 people, monthly | $55 | $30 | $25 | $34 |
| 25 people, monthly | $137.50 | $30 | $62.50 | $79 |
| 50 people, monthly | $275 | $30 | $125 | $154 |
| 10 / 25 / 50, annual (per month) | $50 / $125 / $250 | $24 / $24 / $24 | Not published | $27.20 / $63.20 / $123.20 |
| 25 people across 3 locations, monthly | $137.50 (no location fee) | $90 (3 locations) | $125 (multiple locations plan, $5) | $159 (Pro, needed for multiple locations) |
| Open shifts and swaps | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ |
| Location check at clock-in | Geofencing | Location-based clock-in | GPS or geofencing | GPS stamp on every plan, geofence on Starter |
| Payroll | Deputy Payroll: $49 + $8 per user (annual Core or Pro) | Homebase Payroll: $49 + $6 per employee paid | Payroll integrations, no own payroll priced | Payroll-ready exports (Pro); does not run payroll |
| Free trial | Yes; up to 31 days per Deputy | 14 days of All-in-One | 14 days | 14-day Starter trial, no card |
When I Work: the $2.50 single location plan, or $5 per user for multiple locations; its FAQ says every plan includes scheduling and time and attendance with GPS clock-in, and it publishes no annual price. Homebase: Essentials is $30 per location monthly or $24 on annual, and “each physical business address counts as one location.” Deputy’s trial length is not on its pricing page; one of Deputy’s own industry pages says “Up to 31 days, no credit card required”.
Read the table plainly. On its entry plan, Deputy is the most expensive of the four at every headcount. Homebase is the cheapest at one busy location, because its price does not grow with staff. When I Work is the cheapest per-user tool. ClockOut sits between When I Work and Deputy at one location, with geofencing, a kiosk, open shifts, swaps and timesheet approval all on Starter. Deputy earns its higher price when you will use Core’s forecasting and auto-scheduling, its payroll, or its enterprise controls. For the wider market, including Connecteam, Sling and 7shifts, see what employee scheduling software costs.