restaurant scheduling software

Sling vs Homebase

Sling and Homebase are the two free-to-start scheduling apps an independent reaches for when the goal is a clean roster and a working time clock without a real monthly bill. Both cover the essentials well: drag-and-drop scheduling, a mobile and kiosk time clock, shift swaps, overtime and labor-cost alerts, and team messaging. And both are honest about what they are, more automation than deep AI. The split is ownership and scope. Sling is owned by Toast and is built to plug natively into Toast's register for sales-based labor optimization. Homebase is a POS-agnostic all-in-one for hourly teams that reaches further into the back office, bundling payroll and hiring alongside the schedule.

That difference decides who each one is for. If you already run, or plan to run, Toast as your POS, Sling's native tie-in means your schedule reads the same sales data your register already holds, and the price stays very low. If you want one low-cost app to also run payroll and hiring, Homebase does more out of the box, priced per location rather than per user. Neither is the tool to buy if a deep AI scheduling engine is the point (that is the Deputy and 7shifts conversation); these two compete on being cheap, simple, and good enough on a 3-5% net margin business where labor already runs a median 36.5% of sales.

Sling compared with Homebase, dimension by dimension
	Sling	Homebase
Pricing model	SlingA free tier (with a user cap) plus low per-user paid plans (Premium around $2 and Business around $4 per user per month). Cheap to run, though the per-user model grows with a large hourly crew.	HomebaseA genuinely usable free Basic tier for a single location, then per-location plans from roughly $24 to $96 per month billed annually, with payroll a separate add-on. You pay per restaurant, not per head.
POS integration	SlingNative to Toast. Owned by Toast and built to read its sales data for sales-based labor optimization, so it is strongest for operators already on the Toast register.	HomebasePOS-agnostic, integrating with a range of registers rather than favoring one. Better if you are not on Toast, or want to keep your scheduler independent of whichever POS you run.
Scope	SlingFocused: scheduling, time clock, and team communication for shift-based teams. It does the roster and the crew chat cleanly and does not try to be your payroll or hiring system.	HomebaseBroader, aiming to be the all-in-one for hourly teams: scheduling, time clock, hiring, and payroll in one app, so more of the labor back office lives under one login.
AI and automation	SlingMostly automation, by its own positioning: auto-assigning open shifts, swap and time-off workflows, and labor-cost and overtime alerts, plus Toast POS sales-based labor optimization. No marketed deep AI scheduling engine.	HomebaseAI-assisted scheduling that auto-builds shifts from staff availability and labor budgets, plus AI-assisted hiring tools. Much of the rest (GPS and photo time clock, PIN codes against buddy punching, overtime alerts) is straightforward automation.
Payroll and hiring	SlingNot its job. Sling leaves payroll to Toast Payroll or an outside provider and does not run hiring, keeping its footprint to scheduling and communication.	HomebaseBuilt in. Homebase adds payroll (as an add-on) and hiring tools, which is the main reason to choose it: fewer separate systems for a small team that turns over often (the sector's quits rate sits near 4.1% quits rate).
Best fit	SlingToast-POS operators who want free-to-start scheduling and crew messaging tied to their own sales data, at the lowest possible cost.	HomebaseIndependents on any register who want one affordable app to schedule, clock, hire, and run payroll for an hourly team, with predictable per-location pricing.

Sling profile Homebase profile Scheduling buyer guide

The verdict

Which one, and the catch either way.

Bottom line

The choice comes down to your register and how much you want one app to hold. Sling is the natural pick if you run Toast: it is nearly free, ties your schedule to your own sales data, and keeps things simple. Homebase is the pick if you want one low-cost, POS-agnostic app that also runs hiring and payroll, and you would rather pay per location than per employee. Neither markets a deep AI scheduling engine, so if AI-driven, compliance-aware rostering is the priority, weigh Deputy or 7shifts instead. But whichever you pick, they all share one boundary: they run the staff, not the guest. Your website, online ordering, reservations, review replies, loyalty, and marketing sit entirely outside the scheduler.

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Questions

What buyers ask.

Is Sling or Homebase better for a small restaurant?

It depends on your POS and your scope. Sling is the better fit if you run Toast, since it is owned by Toast and reads your sales data natively, and it is nearly free. Homebase is better if you want one POS-agnostic app that also handles hiring and payroll, priced per location. Both start free, so test each on a real week before committing.

Are Sling and Homebase really free?

Both have real free tiers, with limits. Sling offers a free plan with a user cap, then low per-user paid tiers (around $2 to $4 per user per month). Homebase offers a free Basic plan for a single location, with paid per-location plans (roughly $24 to $96 per month) once you need more, and payroll as a separate add-on. For a tiny single-location team, either can genuinely start at no cost.

Do Sling or Homebase handle my website, ordering, and marketing?

Only add another tool when a specific job is missing from your current setup. Check the exact plan, add-ons, and supported connections for the products compared here; features can overlap. Walk through one real booking, order, or guest follow-up before committing, and compare the full recurring cost. More software is not automatically a better operation.

Keep comparing

Other scheduling matchups.

7shifts vs HotSchedules 7shifts vs Homebase When I Work vs 7shifts Homebase vs When I Work Deputy vs 7shifts HotSchedules vs Homebase

References

Every figure on this page drills down.

3 sourced statistics cited here across 3 publications. Each number links to the research hub, and each entry there links out to its primary source.

Term Point of sale (POS)Tool Sling Tool Homebase Tool Toast Tool Deputy Tool 7shifts

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