7shifts Review 2026: Pricing, Pros and Cons
Reviewed November 1, 2026 by Loïc Joachim
Restaurant scheduling software with a separate time clock app called 7punches.
| Best for | Restaurants that need scheduling, tip pooling and POS integrations. |
|---|---|
| How staff clock in | Tablet kiosk, Mobile app |
| Free plan | Yes |
| 20 staff | Free |
| 50 staff | $69.99 / month |
| 100 staff | $69.99 / month |
| Made in | Canada |
| Website | 7shifts.com |
Prices are in US dollars for the cheapest plan that includes a time clock, as of our last review. Check the vendor's site for current pricing.
Our 7shifts review
7shifts is scheduling software made for restaurants, and it shows in the details: tip pooling, labour cost against sales, and integrations with most restaurant POS systems. The time clock runs in a separate app called 7punches on a tablet or phone, with photo verification and geofencing.
There is a free plan for a single small location, with paid plans priced per location. Prices and plan names have changed several times recently, so check the current pricing page carefully.
For restaurants it is a strong option. For anyone else, most of the value is in features you will not use, and having the time clock as a separate app is one more thing to set up and support.
Pros
- Built specifically for restaurants, with tip management and POS integrations
- Free plan for a single small location
- Photo verification and geofencing on the clock in app
Cons
- The time clock is a separate app (7punches), which adds setup friction
- Priced per location with plan prices that have changed several times in 2026
- Not a good fit outside hospitality
7shifts features
- Tablet kiosk app
- Clock in from a phone
- Desktop app
- Proprietary hardware clock
- Paper card punching
- PIN entry
- NFC cards or tags
- Face recognition
- Fingerprint reader
- GPS location checks
- Cloud based
- Ongoing subscription
- Locks you into their hardware
Looking for something simpler?
Timeclock.Kiwi was built by people who were fed up with time clocks that take three screens and a training session to use. Staff tap their name and a PIN on any tablet, a photo is taken in the background, and hours export straight to your payroll. You pay per kiosk, not per employee, from $5 a month.
Free for 3 months, no credit card required.
7shifts alternatives
- Homebase A broad scheduling, time clock and HR toolkit for hourly teams, with a free plan for small single location businesses.
- Connecteam An all in one app for deskless teams with a time clock, scheduling, chat and forms, priced with a flat base for the first 30 users.
- Gusto A leading US payroll provider whose time tools and kiosk come with the Plus and Premium payroll plans.
- Smartplan A UK scheduling app with a punch clock on tablet and mobile.