The best alternatives to Sling

Thinking of leaving Sling, or choosing between it and something else? Start with what Sling is, then see how it stacks up against the 1 alternative we have compared with it side by side, plus 5 more scheduling software worth a look.

Read the full scheduling buyer guide

At a glance

What Sling is, and who it suits.

What it is: Free-to-start shift scheduling and team communication from Toast, with native Toast POS labor optimization.
Best for: Restaurants on Toast POS wanting free-to-start scheduling that ties into their sales data.
Pricing: Free tier available (with a user cap); paid Premium around $2 and Business around $4 per user per month. Confirm current pricing with vendor.Indicative and changes often. Confirm current pricing with the vendor.

Full Sling profile

Head to head

Sling vs Homebase.

Each verdict comes from our full side-by-side comparison, where every claim drills down to its source.

Sling vs Homebase

Homebase profile

Best fit: Sling compared with Homebase
Best fit: Sling	Toast-POS operators who want free-to-start scheduling and crew messaging tied to their own sales data, at the lowest possible cost.
Best fit: Homebase	Independents on any register who want one affordable app to schedule, clock, hire, and run payroll for an hourly team, with predictable per-location pricing.

Verdict

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.

Full Sling vs Homebase comparison

The rest of the field

5 more scheduling software to weigh.

Other scheduling software to weigh against Sling, and what each is built for
Tool	Built for
7shifts	Employee scheduling, time-clocking, tip management, team communication and payroll for 55,000+ restaurants.
HotSchedules	Established and multi-unit restaurants that need labor forecasting and compliance-aware scheduling.
When I Work	Small restaurant teams leaving spreadsheets who want simple scheduling, a time clock, and messaging.
Deputy	Operators who want AI to auto-build compliant, cost-optimized schedules from real demand data.
Push Operations	Multi-location or larger restaurant groups consolidating payroll, HR, and scheduling in one system.

Before you switch

There is rarely one winner: the right pick depends on your format, your budget, and how much lock-in you can live with. Before you leave Sling, price the whole move: getting your data out, any payment-processing contract, hardware, and the other tools it connects to. If Sling does its main job well, fixing one weak spot may beat switching. Describe that specific need in the builder and check the connections before going live.

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