Top 5 Crew Scheduling Apps in 2025 (In-Depth Review)

The 5 Best Crew Scheduling Apps of 2025

1. Connecteam — Best all-in-one crew scheduling software solution

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   Available on

   • Web
   • iOS
   • Android

   At the very top of my list is Connecteam’s user-friendly crew scheduling app.

   Why I chose Connecteam: 

   Connecteam is your 1-stop shop for all things crew scheduling. It has all the tools you need to easily create, manage, and publish crew schedules—even while on the go.

   Let’s look at Connecteam’s key scheduling features and how they can optimize your day-to-day.

   Drag-and-drop scheduling

   Aside from creating single or multiple shifts in the employee scheduler, you can save time by simply copying or duplicating existing ones, setting shifts as recurring, and using custom templates that can be dragged and dropped right into your shift calendar view.

   You can assign shifts or jobs based on each crew member’s registered qualifications and submitted availability.

   I love how you can also allow self-service shift replacements and publish open shifts for eligible users to claim.

   You can also share a read-only link to the schedule with clients, keeping them informed about crew assignments and project timelines. 

   In addition, you can easily manage scheduling across multiple locations without any hassle—either by using 1 master schedule across all locations or individual schedules per each location. I appreciate the flexibility here.

   Finally, you can build breaks right into schedules—which is great for giving your crews the rest they need.

   Auto-scheduling to eliminate errors and speed up the scheduling process

   One of my favorite features is Connecteam’s auto-scheduling feature, which allows you to create employee schedules in seconds. You can predefine in the app how many staff you need per shift as well as which roles you need, and the auto-scheduler will create the schedule for you, taking into consideration employee availability, preferences, skill sets, and business needs.

   You can also easily make any changes manually if you need, drastically speeding up the scheduling process.

   What’s more, Connecteam has the ability to schedule resources like equipment and vehicles alongside your team. Need to assign a van for a delivery shift or a specific tool for a job? Connecteam’s got you covered.

   Issue flagging and compliance features

   The crew scheduling app helps avoid costly scheduling mistakes by flagging conflicts and inconsistencies in your schedules. It will also highlight when an employee is double-booked, their work hours surpass your set overtime limit, or they’re scheduled for shifts they aren’t qualified for. 

   These features are great for staying on top of compliance—for example, you can ensure any overtime or breaks your crew are scheduled for align with local laws and regulations. And I think the ability to publish your crew’s schedules in advance with just a click makes it so easy to comply with predictive scheduling laws. 

   Shift instructions

   Add information or instructions for your employees to each shift, such as location, notes, tasks, and attachments, so that they have all the relevant information at their fingertips. This allows you to eliminate unclarity and unnecessary back-and-forth and streamline your processes.

   🧠 Did You Know?

   Connecteam integrates with Google Calendar so your employees can input their working shifts directly from the app into their personal calendars.

   Advanced notifications

   Connecteam’s customizable notifications ensure you and your crew never miss any scheduling updates, changes, or requests. You can, for instance, set instant notifications that you’ll receive when users accept or reject shifts, complete shift tasks, or don’t check in or out from their shift on time. I love how this allows you to stay in the loop and take immediate action when necessary.

   Employee time clock

   Your staff can clock in and out from shifts using their mobile phones by simply clicking the employee time clock button right at the bottom of each shift. This way, you can track your employees’ worked hours as well as the time spent on any specific projects, jobs, or clients, if relevant.

   It further works as a real time GPS tracker and allows you to ensure employees are exactly where they need for their scheduled shifts or jobs.

   All work hours are automatically recorded onto digital timesheets for payroll, which you can easily review, approve, and export to your payroll software or use one of Connecteam’s payroll integrations.

   In-app chat makes team communication easy

   Connecteam’s online team chat allows you and your team to instantly communicate wherever you’re working from. Reach all the right people in private, group, or company-wide chats and ensure your message comes across successfully with read-receipts.

   Integrations

   Connecteam integrates with:

   • Gusto
   • RUN Powered by ADP®
   • Paychex
   • Quickbooks
   • Xero
   • Zapier
   • Lightspeed POS
   • Wix Bookings

   And so much more…

   In addition to robust scheduling features, Connecteam offers excellent customer service, an intuitive user experience, powerful staff management tools, and full customizability, allowing you to adjust the platform to suit your exact needs.

   Connecteam also offers a free for life plan – Try Connecteam here!

   Connecteam also offers a free for life plan – Try Connecteam here!

   Key Features

   • Employee scheduler

   • Customizable templates

   • Shift notes & attachments

   • Overtime notifications

   • Time off management

   • Online team chat

   Pros

   • Intuitive and easy to use

   • All-in-one solution

   • Great customer support

   • Budget-friendly

   Cons

   • Needs internet or wifi access to work

   Pricing

   Free-for-life plan availablePremium plans start at $29/month for 30 users

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2. 

   Buddy Punch — Good for project-based scheduling

   Available on

   • Web
   • iOS
   • Android

   

   Buddy Punch is an employee time clock and crew scheduling software designed to streamline schedule creation and save manager time. 

   Why I chose Buddy Punch: I like BuddyPunch because of the simple crew scheduling features like drag-and-drop functionality, work time tracking, and automatic break scheduling. 

   Here are its standout features:

   Simple crew scheduling

   Buddy Punch makes crew scheduling simple. You can create crew schedules on both the desktop and mobile apps, adjusting shifts as needed. This is a really popular feature on Capterra, showing just how many people appreciate this on-the-go availability. 

   What’s more, the drag-and-drop scheduling tools make it simple to create and update schedules without any hassle.

   I appreciate that you can set up the software to prevent overlapping shifts, which is really helpful when you’re scheduling large crews. You can also set it up to prevent you from scheduling employees when they’re unavailable. 

   I also like that you can build crew schedules based on jobs, projects, locations, and more. This flexibility is great for crews in fields like construction—where the work often centers around specific projects or locations.  

   Unfortunately, BuddyPunch currently lacks auto-scheduling. I think this is a big downside for businesses managing large crews that want to reduce time spent on admin. 

   Employee self service

   Buddy Punch has a few nice features that give employees more control over their schedules. For instance, employees can easily set their availability and preferences. They can also request shift trades when they’re unable to make their assigned shift. 

   I wish Buddy Punch enabled you to publish open shifts for your crew members to claim, though, as several of its competitors do.

   What users say about Buddy Punch

   Buddy Punch is making the scheduling process much more efficient. I can spend less time doing a schedule then it took in the past.

   Nellie S.
   Director

   

   Customer service is hard to get a hold of.

   Abby J.
   Alternative Medicine

   

   Key Features

   • Alerts and notifications
   • Drag-and-drop scheduling
   • GPS tracking
   • Shift swapping

   Pros

   • Easy to use
   • Good customer service

   Cons

   • Expensive for large teams
   • Lacks some scheduling formatting options

   Pricing

   Starts at $3.99/user/month + $19 base fee/month Trial: Yes — 14-day Free Plan: No

   Read our in-depth Buddy Punch review Visit Buddy Punch
3. 

   Deputy — Good for schedule visualization

   Available on

   • Web
   • iOS
   • Android

   

   Deputy’s crew scheduling app aims to be a paper-free solution to your team scheduling needs. 

   Why I chose Deputy: With the app, you can easily see when employees are scheduled to work and create customizable working schedules for your whole team. 

   Here are Deputy’s standout features:

   Drag-and-drop scheduling

   You won’t appreciate how much you need drag and drop scheduling until you don’t have it. I really like how simple Deputy’s drag-and-drop scheduler makes shift changes, shift swaps, and last-minute adjustments. It’s quick, intuitive, and easy to grasp (even if you aren’t tech savvy). 

   Deputy also offers crew schedule templates. Instead of starting from scratch every week, you can save and reuse templates to make scheduling even faster. This is especially handy if you’re managing a larger team or multiple locations. Plus, you can tweak them as needed, so they’re flexible enough to handle whatever comes your way. 

   There are some drawbacks. The scheduling interface on the mobile app can feel cluttered and confusing. Also, the scheduler doesn’t warn you when you’re scheduling shifts for employees who have pending leave requests—so you might accidentally schedule someone who’s unavailable to work. 

   AI auto scheduling

   Deputy takes information about your sales, demand, employee availability, budget, and staffing requirements to create your ideal staff schedule. With a few tweaks, you can go from creation to publishing in just a few minutes. I really appreciate this speed, especially when I’m managing busy teams.

   You can also set rules for break lengths and start times to ensure consistency and fairness for your team.

   What users say about Deputy

   I like that deputy is so user friendly and any answers I need I get them right away through the FAQ’s or the chat.

   Sana M.
   Store Manager

   

   [single_testimonial name=”Verified User” position=”Consumer Services” rating=4]I…don’t like the fact that if I am working on an unpublished schedule, my employees cannot request off a day if they have an unpublished shift at that time.[/single_testimonial]

   Key Features

   • Wage cost tracker
   • AI scheduling
   • Automatic break times
   • Templates

   Pros

   • Quick and easy to set up
   • 1-click scheduling

   Cons

   • Poor customization options
   • No security support on basic plans

   Pricing

   Starts at $4.5/user/month, for Scheduling or Time & Attendance Trial: Yes — 31 days Free Plan: No

   Read our in-depth Deputy review Compare the best Deputy alternatives Visit Deputy
4. 

   Sling — Good for group scheduling
   
   

   Available on

   • Web
   • iOS
   • Android

   

   Sling sets businesses up with a simple scheduling tool to stay on top of everyday activity. 

   Why I chose Sling: I appreciate how easy this crew scheduling app makes it to create employee schedules, see employee availability, and manage shift-swapping requests.

   Here are some of its standout features:

   Shift templates

   If your team works in recurring shift patterns, you can save popular shifts as templates with designated break times, start times, and end times. This makes it quick and easy to recreate schedules week after week, saving time and reducing the likelihood of scheduling errors. 

   However, there’s a slight drawback: You can’t customize your templates beyond this. For example, you can’t assign specific tasks or responsibilities to shift templates, which may be a dealbreaker if your team requires detailed role-based scheduling. I find this frustrating. 

   There are also automated notifications alerts, preventing scheduling conflicts or overtime issues. 

   Labor cost optimization

   I appreciate Sling’s labor cost optimization tools, which allow you to assign different wages to different employees, manage your margins per shift, and track wage spend as you plan schedules. This ensures you stay within budget while avoiding costly overtime or overstaffing. You can also set labor cost targets, and Sling will notify you if you’re exceeding them while scheduling.

   That said, it’s worth noting that a few of the reviews on Capterra highlight Sling’s poor customer service. There’s an AI chatbot who can help with more generic queries, but I found that if you ask for a person, you’ll receive a response from an actual person during business hours. If you need immediate support with your scheduling, however, this setup might be less than ideal. 

   What users say about Sling

   Real fast app to send updates about shift trades.

   Mohsin D.
   Senior Account Executive

   

   It is not user friendly and has very limited capabilities.

   Heather M
   Consumer Services

   

   Key Features

   • Alerts and notifications
   • Employee database
   • Shift swapping
   • Absence, vacation, sick leave management and tracking

   Pros

   • Easy scheduling feature
   • Easy schedule distribution

   Cons

   • Messaging cannot be monitored
   • Difficult to view PDFs in apps

   Pricing

   Starts at $2/user/month Trial: Yes — 15-day trial Free Plan: Yes — Up to 50 users (Changing to 30 users from March 1st, 2025)

   Read our in-depth Sling review Compare the best Sling alternatives Visit Sling
5. 

   MakeShift — Good for AI-optimized schedules

   Available on

   • Web
   • iOS
   • Android

   

   MakeShift’s scheduling tools are designed to help managers organise budgets, track hours worked, and simplify schedule creation. 

   Why I chose MakeShift: MakeShift’s AI-powered scheduling can save so much time creating schedules. It’s a huge time-saver, especially when managing larger teams or complex schedules.

   Here are some of its other standout features:

   Drag-and-drop shift scheduling

   Drag-and-drop shift scheduling makes it simple to create and adjust schedules on the fly. You can assign, swap, or edit shifts with just a few clicks.

   Like the competitors above, MakeShift also lets you schedule right from your mobile app, making it easy to manage schedules on the go. I really appreciate this flexibility, especially when unexpected changes come up and I’m away from my desk.

   Employees can also access their schedules, pick up open shifts, and request time off straight from their phones.

   AI-powered scheduling 

   With MakeShift, you can use AI to forecast staffing levels based on historical data, employee availability, and business demands. This ensures optimal coverage while staying within budget constraints.

   Unfortunately, this feature appears to be available only in the higher-tier plans—you must contact MakeShift for pricing info. This lack of transparency frustrates me, as it makes it difficult to decide if this feature is worth the investment.

   Handy push notifications

   You can set up push notifications for available shifts, shift changes, and more to ensure everyone stays in the loop. This reduces the chance of missed shifts or miscommunication. Employees get notified directly on their phones, so there’s no excuse for missing important updates.

   While the notifications are super useful, they can feel a bit overwhelming if you’re managing a large crew with frequent changes. Thankfully, you can customize which alerts you receive to strike the right balance.

   What users say about MakeShift

   I like the ease and convenience of this app. It allows me to see my schedule and pick up shifts from my phone at any moment of the day.

   Meghan D.
   Hospital & Healthcare

   

   The dashboard is confusing and I find it hard to get to the visual schedule.

   Verified User
   Veterinary

   

   Key Features

   • AI schedule planning
   • Time and attendance
   • Mobile access
   • Push notifications

   Pros

   • Easy employee scheduling
   • Detailed forecasting system

   Cons

   • No control over availability changes
   • App can be buggy

   Pricing

   Starts at $2.75/user/month Trial: Yes — 14 days Free Plan: No

   Read our in-depth MakeShift review Visit MakeShift