Shiftly and When I Work solve the same problem from opposite directions: one is source-available software you can own outright for $29, the other is a subscription at $2.50/user/mo run entirely on someone else's servers.
Head to head
| Shiftly | When I Work | |
|---|---|---|
| Price | $29 once | $2.50/user/mo |
| 20 employees, 1 year | $29 | $600 |
| Drag-drop schedule | Yes | Yes |
| Availability + time off | Yes | Yes |
| Shift swaps + open shifts | Yes | Yes |
| Labor cost + budget alert | Yes | Paid tier |
| Self-hosted, data stays yours | Yes | No |
| Works offline / on your LAN | Yes | No |
What Shiftly does well
- Drag-drop weekly schedule — Drag shifts between employees and days; shift templates like Morning or Close fill a week in two clicks.
- Availability and time off — Weekly windows and approved time off, with unavailable, time-off and double-booked conflicts flagged red on the grid.
- Shift swaps — Employee-to-employee swap requests with manager approval; approving reassigns the shift instantly.
- Open-shift pickup board — Post unfilled shifts and assign a claimer in one click.
What When I Work still does better
There's a real reason When I Work costs what it does: a bigger team, broader integrations and dedicated support behind it. If that ecosystem is genuinely what you need, it's worth paying for.
Which one should you pick
If your workflow depends on When I Work's specific integrations or you'd rather not run anything yourself, stay put — that's a legitimate call. If you're comfortable owning the tool and want to stop paying $2.50/user/mo for a job your own hardware can do, Shiftly pays for itself and then some: one month of scheduling one small team more than pays for Shiftly, and it never bills per head again.
Try Shiftly — $29, once
Self-hosted drag-drop scheduling, swaps, open shifts and live labor cost — no per-employee fees.