ClockRota vs HotSchedules
ClockRota
clockrota.com
HotSchedules
fourth.comSide by side
| Figure | ClockRota | HotSchedules |
|---|---|---|
| Price from | £9/mo | — |
| Free plan | Yes | — |
| Free trial | Yes | Yes |
| Open source | — | — |
| Web | Yes | Yes |
| iOS | — | Yes |
| Android | — | Yes |
| Plans published | 5 | 1 |
| Spec score · Restaurant Scheduling Software | 9.0 (#3) | 7.9 (#13) |
| Compliance | ClockRota says it complies with UK GDPR and the Data Protection Act 2018. | HotSchedules provides predictive scheduling, labor-law alerts and built-in reporting for compliance management. |
| Headquarters | Grange Farm, Grange Lane, Flockton, Wakefield, West Yorkshire, WF4 4BA, United Kingdom | Austin, Texas, United States |
| Purpose | ClockRota provides staff rota, clock-in and payroll tools for UK pubs, cafés and restaurants. | HotSchedules is a workforce-management platform for restaurants and hospitality businesses covering hiring, payroll, scheduling, compliance and team management. |
| Security | The privacy policy says data is transmitted over HTTPS, passwords and PINs are hashed with Argon2, and the database is hosted on Supabase with encryption at rest. | Fourth says it uses secured communication channels, password protection, limited-access systems and per-user least-privilege access controls. |
Plans
ClockRota
- Public betaFree
- Band 1£9 a month
- Paid plan (up to 5 staff)£9 a month
- Band 2£19 a month
- Paid plan (6–10 staff)£19 a month
In their own words
ClockRota
ClockRota provides rota planning, clock-in, attendance, and payroll export tools for UK pubs, cafés, and restaurants. Managers can create weekly schedules in a grid by dragging, dropping, and duplicating shifts. Publishing a rota sends staff push and email alerts, and employees can arrange shift swaps for a manager to approve or decline. Attendance tools show who is working, who is late, and hours worked. ClockRota exports clocked hours as a CSV for payroll; no specific payroll integrations are named. Rota planning, staff clock-in, and payroll export work in a browser on phones, tablets, and computers. The site says a native app is in development, so clock-in currently uses the browser. The public beta is free for its duration, with every feature unlocked and no usage limits. After the beta, the listed plan for up to five staff is £9 per month; the 6–10 staff plan is £19 per month. Owners and managers count toward the team size, which determines the applicable staff band.
HotSchedules
HotSchedules is workforce-management software for restaurant and hospitality operators, covering hiring, payroll, scheduling, compliance and team management. Managers can create schedules using sales and labor data, while employees receive mobile access and real-time updates. Predictive insights help match staffing to demand, with the stated aim of reducing overtime and waste. Compliance tools include predictive scheduling, labor-law alerts and reporting. POS integrations synchronize sales and labor data; named systems include PAR POS, Toast, Oracle Micros and NCR Aloha. Fourth also lists a wider partner set, including Lightspeed U Series, Revel and Simphony. Separate iOS and Android apps are available, each listed at $2.99 in its app store. The HS Team application requires a valid user account provided through the employee’s employer. Fourth’s hospitality pay solutions include instant digital tip payouts and early access to earned wages. HotSchedules runs on web, Android and iOS. Pricing is on request, there is no free plan, and a free trial is listed.