Honest Breakroom Review 2024: Pros, Cons, Features & Pricing

Breakroom Pricing 

Breakroom offers a simple, fixed-rate pricing model that doesn’t charge for extra features. For $25 per month, you can access all features and manage unlimited employees. While the app looks affordable, it doesn’t offer a lot of bang for your buck, primarily because of its limited feature set and mediocre performance. 

Pricing/plan	Monthly
Monthly	$25
Annual	$300
Features	Shift scheduling Chat and messaging Time-off and availability Compliance and control Team management

The 14-day free trial doesn’t impose any usage limit. I used the free trial for this review, and I was able to test all of Breakroom’s features. The only minor issue with the pricing model is that there are no extended pricing plans, which means no discounts if you stick with the tool for a long time. 

Since you can only choose the monthly billing cadence, the initial investment is significantly low. However, you will likely pay a higher fee in the long run than you would have paid with an extended billing cycle. 

Plan	Breakroom	7Shifts (The Works)	Hubstaff (Team)	Connecteam (Advanced)
10 users	$25	$79.99	$100	Free
20 users	$25	$79.99	$200	$49
30 users	$25	$79.99	$300	$49
50 users	$25	$79.99	$500	$79

Breakroom Usability and Interface

Breakroom is easy to use mainly because the user interface (UI) sports an intuitive design, and there are only a handful of features. I used the web and Android apps, and both offered a flat learning curve; beginners won’t struggle to find their way around. 

Setting Up Breakroom

Setting up Breakroom is a breeze. But remember that the software is available only in the United States and doesn’t support email signup and login. To sign up, you only need to enter your phone number and click “submit” to get the six-digit verification code. 

Once you sign up, you access Breakroom’s setup page to complete account configuration. The four-step initial configuration process leads you through the requisite steps, including inviting coworkers, sending a message, publishing schedules, and downloading the mobile apps. 

Managers don’t have to create employee profiles on their end, which saves time and allows them to focus on other meaningful administrative tasks. When you invite employees, they receive a text message with a link to download the mobile app from Google Play or Apple App Store. Breakroom adds users to your organization once they verify their mobile numbers. 

Breakroom doesn’t offer text or video walkthroughs to help first-time users understand its features. While this is a glaring oversight, it doesn’t significantly impact usability because most features lack advanced configuration options. 

Breakroom Web App

I found Breakroom’s web app UI easy to navigate, so users won’t require extensive onboarding training. The key features on the menu panel — schedule, chat, files, team, locations, and roles — are clearly labeled with names and easy-to-identify icons to simplify navigation. 

I noted that the web app is stripped down to the basics. Some features, such as availability approvals and meeting scheduling, are only available on the mobile app. While the lean features set is an advantage for beginners, it can be off-putting for seasoned users looking for advanced customization options. 

It’s also worth noting that Breakroom doesn’t offer accessibility features for users with impaired vision and hearing. However, since the web app is straightforward to navigate, most users, regardless of their technological knowledge, will easily find their way around.

Breakroom Mobile App

During my testing, I experimented with Breakroom’s mobile app on my Android smartphone. However, the Android and iOS apps have identical designs and features, so the descriptions below apply to both. 

The mobile app is simple and intuitive, with the key features — chat, schedule, files, and team — neatly organized on the menu at the bottom of the screen. The mobile app is more powerful because it offers features you won’t find on the desktop version, which is interesting.

When employees first log in, they land on the conversations page, where they can see and respond to unread direct messages, announcements, and notifications. This helps employees keep up with company and team events and ensures the entire team is on the same page. 

Employees can also view schedules, request time off, create conversations, and request shift covers. By default, Breakroom allows employees to invite coworkers. Thankfully, managers can turn off this functionality by toggling the “only manager and account owners can add coworkers” button on the mobile app.

I appreciate that the manager’s version lets admins perform all administrative tasks available on the web app. They can invite employees, schedule shifts and meetings, add conversations, create team roles, and approve time-off requests. However, the mobile app offers additional features and settings you won’t find on the mobile app, including:

• Option to edit employee profile
• Schedule access settings
• Open shift settings
• Meeting scheduling
• Availability approval
• Shift cover approval

One drawback is that the Breakroom mobile app doesn’t work without an internet connection. While users can see existing details, such as schedules, messages, and time-off requests, they can’t publish new shifts, send messages, or approve requests without an internet connection. In addition, settings configured during the offline mode will sync when the device is reconnected. 

Breakroom Core Functionalities

I dissected the Breakroom’s system to discover its strengths and weaknesses, and compiled my findings in this section. 

Shift Scheduling

Breakroom shift scheduling prioritizes simplicity and core functionality over complex customization. While it doesn’t offer a drag-and-drop scheduling tool, creating shifts is child’s play. To create a shift, open the schedule page and click on the + (plus) sign on the respective day. A page similar to the one below will pop up. 

Add the shift time, assignee, and relevant role from the pop-up window. You can also include notes to ensure assignees know what is expected of them. Breakroom allows you to add break time for compliance, but there’s a caveat. The break tracker doesn’t cut it for businesses in states with strict regulations like California. 

Breakroom makes up for the missing drag-and-drop feature with the copy shift tool, designed to expedite the scheduling process. Simply click “copy to,” select the week you want to copy the schedule to and click “copy” in the pop-up window. Breakroom auto-populates the week’s schedule, saving you hours of manual and tedious work. 

The shift cover feature gives employees some control over their scheduling by allowing them to put their shifts up for grabs. The employee only needs to open the shift on mobile, click the three dots at the top right, and select “request coverage.” 

Breakroom notifies everyone in the team to help the employee quickly find shift coverage. However, the coverage request can’t go through without the manager’s approval. Ensuring shift transactions get the manager’s approval prevents employees from requesting shift coverage willy-nilly. 

Scheduling Issues

During my testing, Breakroom didn’t notify employees when I published schedules on the web app. However, the notification system worked just fine when I published schedules on a mobile app. In addition, schedules published on the mobile app offered timely shift reminders. The peculiar notification issues indicated a buggy or half-baked web application.

Some features, such as open shifts, aren’t up to scratch. For example, when an employee claims an open shift, Breakroom notifies the manager immediately. The best scheduling apps assign the open shift to the requester once the manager approves the request, eliminating the manual and tedious schedule update process. With Breakroom, the manager assigns the open shift manually.  

The open shift feature on the web app doesn’t prevent schedule conflicts. Breakroom doesn’t alert the employee (or manager) when they claim an open shift that overlaps with scheduled shifts, which can cause conflicts and potential staffing issues. 

Another issue is that when you approve employee availability requests, the details don’t sync to the web app. As a result, managers can easily schedule shifts when the employee is unavailable, causing potential understaffing problems. Thankfully, the mobile app alerts you when you attempt to assign shifts to unavailable employees (see the image below). 

Time-Off and Availability Management 

Sometimes, employees will inevitably need to step away from their jobs to handle personal matters, such as sickness, rest, travel, and more. The Breakroom time-off feature allows employees to send in requests when unavailable to prevent personal issues from impacting operations. I found the time-off request and approval process to be seamless.

When an employee submits a time-off request, Breakroom notifies the manager immediately. My favorite part is that Breakroom enables managers to approve or reject time-off requests from the notification center. The app also embeds pending requests on the team’s schedule, allowing managers to approve them in just one click. 

I appreciate that Breakroom displays employees’ time-offs on the team schedule. It also makes those time slots unavailable for scheduling, preventing managers from assigning shifts when a worker is on time off. However, the time-off feature could be better. 

The app could benefit from an option to set a deadline for time-off requests. The limit prevents employees from sending requests too close to the time off. As a result, the manager gets ample time to reorganize the schedule to prevent staffing issues and enhance operational efficiency. 

The app should also allow employees to manage their time-off balances to eliminate favoritism and ensure fair time-off management. 

Availability Management

The best apps, like Connecteam, allow employees to set availability on specific dates and times. Breakroom treads a different path as it allows employees to set weekly availability only. If an employee configures to be unavailable on Mondays, the availability will apply on all Mondays unless changed. 

This is beneficial when employees have a lingering issue they have to deal with on a specific day of the week. For example, when an employee has to attend therapy every Tuesday for months, they can set unavailability on Tuesday. Sadly, Breakroom won’t be helpful when an employee wants to request unavailability on a specific date.   

That said, I encountered an issue with the availability management feature. Breakroom doesn’t notify the manager when an employee sets their weekly availability. Worst still, you can only approve the requests on a mobile app, and the approval feature is tucked away in an unintuitive place. I had to reach out to customer support to find it.

Team Communication

Breakroom helps you streamline team communication to foster collaboration and get everyone on the same page. One thing I liked about the communication module is that it helps set a clear boundary between individual and company-wide communication.

The company-wide communication channels let you share messages, events, or updates with just a few clicks. You can use the channels to announce promotions, new hires, changes in ownership, changes in hierarchy, and other company-related news to keep everyone in the loop. 

In addition, Breakroom allows you to create one-on-one or group message channels. These channels enable managers to issue instructions and feedback, ensuring teams pull in the same direction to reach organizational goals. Team members can also use the chat to brainstorm ideas, assign tasks to one another, give project updates, and share documents. 

Employees can use emojis to acknowledge important messages with appropriate work-related reactions. Emojis add a dose of fun to team communication and make messages more engaging and expressive. Breakroom doesn’t track engagement, but you can request employees to react to a message with a specific emoji, making it easy to follow up with team members who have not read it. 

Breakroom’s kudos feature lets you recognize employees for their performance, making them feel valued. However, the feature is available only on the mobile app. In addition, the app automatically sends employees messages on birthdays and work anniversaries. Employees must add their birthday and hire date to the profile for this feature to work.

Breakroom Security Features

Besides company data, Breakroom handles sensitive employee data like personal phone numbers, which underpins the need for solid data protection measures. I combed through the company’s privacy policy and terms of service for information about data protection. 

Breakroom says it uses SSL encryption, firewalls, data encryption, access controls, and strict rules to safeguard user data.

Regarding user authorization and authentication, Breakroom enables you to assign different roles to control data access. Sensitive information, such as phone numbers, is hidden from the public: not even account owners and managers can see employees’ phone numbers. 

Information about Breakroom’s compliance with industry regulations is scant. I didn’t find details about the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) and Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA) compliance. I contacted Breakroom’s support for details, and I will update this section accordingly once I get the feedback. 

Breakroom Reporting and Analytics

Breakroom doesn’t offer a reporting and analytics module, which is disappointing. At first, I thought the feature was hidden in unfamiliar places, so I contacted Breakroom customer support for help locating it. The agent confirmed that the app doesn’t offer the module, but the feature is on their roadmap. 

Breakroom Customer Support

Breakroom offers the support channels I have come to expect from reputable providers, including phone, email ticket, chat, and knowledgebase. However, I don’t like how some of these channels are set up.

The knowledge base offers only a handful of guides that don’t cover all bases. I appreciate that the help articles are organized by categories, but this could do with the addition of other guides. The vendor should consider adding detailed guides for features like scheduling, availability, and team communication.

Breakthrough doesn’t offer the usual chat feature. Instead, the vendor provides a chat option called “Breakroom customer support,” which can be found under the conversation feature. I interacted with support agents through this channel, and I wasn’t overly impressed. 

Sometimes, the agents were highly responsive, responding to my messages in under a minute. Other times, I had to wait more than 30 minutes to get a response, which was disappointing. 

Instead of a ticket system, Breakroom offers a web form where you can launch your complaints. When you fill in and submit the form, Breakroom replies via the chat tool. I used the web form several times and was impressed with the speedy response. The agent answered my queries on the form in under one hour, which is good. 

What are Breakroom’s Review Ratings from Review Sites?

(As of September 2024)

Capterra: n/a
G2: 4.5/5
Software Advice: n/a
TrustRadius: n/a
GetApp: n/a
Google Play Store: 4.4/5 
Apple App Store: 4.7/5

Breakroom App Review

Breakroom has the hallmarks of reliable scheduling and communication software, but it doesn’t get a spot in the top echelon because of the niggling performance issues. Even though it doesn’t offer a drag-and-drop scheduler, creating and assigning shifts is a breeze. However, the schedule notification system isn’t up to par.

The communication module is arguably Breakroom’s best feature. While it is simplistic and doesn’t offer advanced options like engagement tracking, it gets the job done. I found the feature to be effective, mainly for small teams that want an easy-to-use team communication solution. 

I still can’t fathom why Breakroom made the mobile app more powerful than the web app. I appreciate that having a powerful mobile app is beneficial to field employees. However, restricting essential settings to the mobile app isn’t ideal for the managers and admins. 

While business owners can live with some of Breakroom’s shortcomings, those looking to leverage data for informed decision-making will be put off by the missing reporting module. If you value data-backed decision-making, we recommend getting started with Connecteam. Start a 14-day free trial today to learn about Connecteam’s capabilities firsthand.

Connecteam: The Better Breakroom Alternative

Breakroom offers scheduling, communication, availability, and time-off management features. However, these features are half-baked in one way or another and leave a lot to be desired. The app also misses critical features like reporting, integrations, and time tracking. 

While Breakroom’s ease of use can be a significant pull factor, its conspicuous shortcomings can be off-putting. If you’re in the market for an all-around scheduling and communication software, use Connecteam. Connecteam performs better than Breakroom in all categories and delivers benefits such as:

Effective Shift Scheduling 

The essence of employee scheduling is ensuring everyone knows where they should be to keep operations ticking along seamlessly. Connecteam scheduling is designed with this in mind, and it has the tools you need to create effective schedules and ensure that employees honor them.

Features such as a drag-and-drop scheduler and repeat option saves you hours you would have spent on tedious and time-consuming scheduling. There’s also an auto-scheduler, which takes into account employee availability and weekly hour limits to create conflict-free and labor-optimal schedules. 

In addition, Connecteam has a robust notification system. When you publish a schedule, the app notifies all employees so they stay aware of their upcoming shifts and reject/accept assignments based on availability. The app also sends timely shift reminders to prevent absenteeism and late arrivals, significantly improving team productivity. 

Connecteam ensures employees have a say in the scheduling process. For example, employees can find shift replacements when they are unable to work. However, managers can approve shift transactions to prevent employees from misusing the shift replacement process. The app also lets you offer up open shifts to encourage employees to accumulate additional hours. 

Accurate Time Tracking  

Beyond scheduling, Connecteam helps you track employee attendance and log work hours accurately. The time tracker uses geofencing and facial recognition features to curb timesheet fraud. This prevents payroll errors and ensures employees get paid for work they actually did. 

Connecteam also cares about labor compliance. For example, employers can customize the break tracking tool to track employee breaks in full compliance with the underlying labor laws. In addition, the overtime feature allows you to accurately track different types of overtime, such as daily overtime, daily double-time, and weekly overtime. 

Time Off And Availability Management

While Breakroom supports time-off and availability management, the features could be more streamlined. Connecteam offers a powerful time-off module. You can add paid or unpaid time-off policies relevant to your company. 

The good thing is that employees can submit time off on the web or mobile app. To expedite the time-off process, the app notifies the manager instantly when an employee submits a request. Once the managers approve the request, Connecteam syncs the days to the team schedule to prevent managers from scheduling shifts when the employee is unavailable.    

Breakroom Review FAQs

Is Breakroom free?
No, Breakroom is not free, but it offers a 14-day free trial. After the trial, it costs $25 per month​.

What is the Breakroom app?
Breakroom is an app designed for managing teams, offering features such as shift scheduling, employee communication, and time-off management, tailored primarily for deskless workers​.

Is Breakroom HIPAA compliant?
No, Breakroom is not HIPAA compliant and should not be used for managing protected health information​.