Which Scheduling Software program is Higher on your Restaurant?

Each deal with scheduling nicely, however they take completely different approaches. 7Shifts leans closely on automation and works finest for bigger, multi-location groups. Sling is extra handbook and hands-on, which makes it a greater match for smaller eating places the place the proprietor or supervisor prefers extra direct management.

On this comparability, I’ll break down what every app does, how they differ, and when to decide on one over the opposite — so you could find the appropriate match on your restaurant. Learn on for all the small print.

At a Look: Fast Abstract

Sling is designed to assist handle workforces in numerous industries. It’s excellent for small and medium-sized companies in industries like retail, healthcare, and hospitality. The platform stands out due to its beneficiant free plan that lets enterprise house owners use important options and add as much as 30 staff without cost. Be taught extra in our full Sling evaluation. 

7Shifts, in contrast, is made to assist handle workforces within the restaurant sector. What actually units it aside are the AI-powered auto-scheduler and computerized labor forecasting options. These instruments let restaurant house owners steadiness protection and labor prices to maintain operations operating easily whereas defending the underside line. Be taught extra in our full 7Shifts evaluation. 

Pricing and Plans

Sling and 7Shifts have completely different pricing fashions. Sling makes use of a versatile per-user pricing mannequin that retains prices predictable because you solely pay for lively customers. It fits fast-growing eating places or areas with seasonal peaks, the place workers measurement modifications usually. 7Shifts, alternatively, costs per location, which is nice for full-service eating places with giant workforces working underneath one roof. 

Small eating places on the lookout for primary scheduling instruments can use both Sling or 7Shifts with out paying a dime, because of beneficiant free plans. Sling’s free plan is barely higher, because it permits 30 staff, in comparison with the 15 staff 7Shifts permits. 

What’s extra, Sling gives a 15-day free trial, whereas 7Shifts’ trial lasts 14 days. You can begin a free trial on both platform without having a bank card. This lets you take a look at their options with out the concern of auto-renewals. 

Execs and Cons

The next professionals and cons offer you a sneak peek into the strengths and weaknesses of each apps: 

Sling Execs

• Beneficiant free plan
• Has a kiosk app

Sling Cons

• Restricted integrations
• Restricted customizations

7Shifts Execs

• Time monitoring with facial recognition and geofencing
• Automated labor forecasting and scheduling instruments

7Shifts Cons

• Requires separate app for job administration and time monitoring
• Cellular apps don’t have an offline mode

Use Circumstances

Whereas Sling and 7Shifts share quite a bit in widespread, their variations make them higher suited to distinctive use instances: 

Sling is finest for:

• Monitoring time on a shared system: Sling has a kiosk mode that lets a number of staff clock in/out on a shared system. That is useful in locations the place staff can’t use smartphones throughout work, reminiscent of waiters on the ground. 
• Price range-friendly workforce administration: Sling has a really beneficiant free plan. It lets small lodges and eating places handle as much as 30 staff and use important options with out paying a dime. 

7Shifts is finest for:

• Information-backed labor forecasting: 7Shifts’ Optimum Labor instrument analyzes previous gross sales knowledge and scheduling patterns to provide exact labor forecasts. This helps guarantee that there’s no understaffing on busy shifts and no overstaffing throughout sluggish durations.
• Correct time and attendance monitoring: 7Shifts makes use of clock-in restrictions, geofencing, and facial recognition to verify timecards match the hours staff truly work on web site. This helps cut back time theft.

Facet-by-Facet Function Overview

Whereas 7Shifts is designed for the restaurant trade, Sling works throughout a number of industries, together with lodges, healthcare, hair salons, and extra. To degree the enjoying discipline, I’ll evaluate how every software program’s options help restaurant and resort administration. Let’s dive straight into it: 

Scheduling — Winner: 7Shifts 

When you’re on the lookout for an intuitive and efficient restaurant scheduling software program, you may’t go mistaken with both Sling or 7Shifts. Each platforms have a drag-and-drop operate, shift templates, and recurring shifts. These options velocity up workers scheduling, serving to you obtain full protection in minutes. 

The recurring shift function is nice for scheduling jobs that comply with the identical sample over weeks or months. For instance, you may schedule a sushi chef as soon as and set their shift to repeat each week. This protects you the trouble of getting to create a brand new shift every time. 

Sadly, they solely help every day recurring duties, so you may’t set complicated recurring cycles. For instance, you may’t set duties to repeat twice per week or on an irregular cycle, like deep cleansing, stock counts, and gear checks. 

Sling vs. 7Shifts scheduling variations

Sling allows you to implement relaxation durations between shifts, so staff aren’t scheduled to shut late and return early the following morning. This not solely retains your small business compliant with labor legal guidelines but in addition protects staff from fatigue and burnout. This retains your workforce more healthy and extra productive. Sling additionally has an AI-powered function that auto-assigns open shifts to save lots of time.

7Shifts doesn’t allow you to set a minimal relaxation interval between shifts, which is off-putting for eating places in states like Oregon, the place such breaks are legally required. Nonetheless, 7Shifts is an efficient match for ‌compliance-conscious companies. Its battle detector flags and shows labor exceptions, additional time, and compliance points on the high so you may handle them earlier than publishing a shift. 

7Shifts’ standout scheduling function is the auto-scheduler. It analyzes previous patterns, factoring in gross sales forecasts, worker availability, and labor legal guidelines to match staffing ranges to demand. The insights make scheduling each environment friendly and cost-effective. You gained’t be short-staffed throughout sudden visitor surges or overstaffed throughout sluggish durations. 

Verdict: The auto-scheduler provides 7Shifts the sting. As a result of it adjusts staffing to modifications in visitor visitors, 7shifts helps management labor prices higher than Sling.

Time monitoring — Winner: Sling

Each Sling and 7Shifts enable you monitor worker common time, breaks, and additional time for honest wage funds, however one is way more highly effective than the opposite.

7Shifts vs. Sling time monitoring variations

The most important disadvantage is that 7Shifts doesn’t embody time monitoring in the primary app. Managers can activate time monitoring in 7Shifts, however staff need to clock out and in in your POS or in a separate app referred to as 7Punches. 

That two-app setup feels awkward. It splits the expertise, can confuse workers, and a few staff gained’t wish to obtain a second app simply to clock in.

Sling, in contrast, has a strong built-in time tracker that works seamlessly within the internet, cell, and kiosk apps. The kiosk app lets a number of customers clock in/out on a shared system. It’s excellent in workplaces the place smartphones are both restricted or impractical to make use of. 

On the subject of implementing breaks, Sling works higher. It reminds staff to start out and finish breaks, prevents early returns, and requires staff to attest to whether or not they took their mandated breaks. In case of a meal break violation, Sling robotically provides premium pay to the worker’s earnings, stopping potential authorized disputes.

By comparability, 7Shifts solely features a instrument that asks staff to verify that they took their breaks. This helps defend your eating places from potential lawsuits, nevertheless it lacks break reminders and early-return restrictions, which might be problematic for companies trying to implement strict break legal guidelines. 

Verdict: In my opinion, Sling wins this spherical, because of a wider vary of monitoring choices and superior break controls.

Clock-in restrictions — Winner: 7Shifts

Sling and 7Shifts share quite a bit in widespread in the case of clock-in/out restrictions. Each apps can forestall early clock-ins and robotically clock out staff who overlook to cease the timer on the finish of the shift. This retains timesheets correct and helps forestall payroll errors that may quietly improve labor prices. 

We additionally discovered geofencing in each apps to work nicely. Geofencing means staff can solely clock in or out once they’re truly on the restaurant. This stops individuals from clocking in a couple of blocks away, helps you monitor late arrivals extra precisely, and reduces timecard padding that may increase labor prices.

The distinction? Facial recognition

7Shifts allows you to activate selfie verification for clock-ins, however provided that your workforce makes use of the 7Punches app. When it’s on, 7Punches takes a photograph at clock-in and clock-out and attaches it to the punch on the timesheet for supervisor evaluation.

It takes an image when somebody clocks in or out and provides it to their timesheet for the supervisor to evaluation. It doesn’t confirm id or block buddy punching robotically, so it nonetheless takes time to examine manually — particularly with a bigger workforce. Sling doesn’t provide this function in any respect.

Verdict: Each platforms begin on equal footing with sturdy geofencing and clock-in restrictions. Nevertheless, 7Shifts edges forward, because of its facial recognition function, a perk you don’t get with Sling. 

Job administration — Winner: 7Shifts

Sling and 7Shifts are each good for managing duties in ‌fast-paced environments. Each allow you to create duties and break them into subtasks (job lists) to carry construction and consistency to restaurant operations. Nonetheless, there are some small however essential variations that might sway your determination.

Sling vs. 7Shifts job administration variations

The principle distinction is that with 7Shifts, staff have to put in a separate app (7Tasks) to view and handle duties. Sling, alternatively, allows you to deal with all the things in a single app, together with job administration. This all-in-one setup helps keep away from the confusion and friction that comes from switching between a number of instruments.

Regardless of having separate apps, 7Shifts has a greater person expertise. It’s extra intuitive to make use of, and staff can begin ticking off duties without having to learn by means of any manuals. 

However, Sling hides its duties tab within the shift overview, making it way more tough to entry duties.

One other distinction is how the platforms deal with shift duties. Whereas 7Shifts allows you to assign recurring job lists based mostly on shifts, the duties themselves aren’t embedded contained in the shift the best way they’re in Sling. This creates a refined separation between scheduled hours and assigned duties, which may work nicely for aspect duties like cleansing or opening checklists, however might really feel disconnected once you’re attempting to outline core shift tasks.

7Shifts additionally allows you to set deadlines and a time window when staff should full every job, one thing Sling doesn’t at the moment provide. This helps maintain duties on schedule and reduces delays that may disrupt service. You possibly can even assign subtasks to completely different staff, making it simpler to divide work and maintain everybody accountable.

Verdict: Regardless of having a separate app for duties, 7Shifts is, definitely, the higher job supervisor than Sling. It has all of the options you’ll want to assign duties to boost accountability, set deadlines to maintain operations on monitor, and monitor progress to guarantee that nothing is ignored. 

Labor value optimization — Winner: 7Shifts

Each Sling and 7Shifts allow you to create schedules with labor prices and projected gross sales in thoughts, which helps you keep on finances and keep away from over- or understaffing.

That stated, the best way every platform handles labor value optimization is kind of completely different.

7Shifts vs. Sling labor value administration variations

The important thing distinction is that Sling requires you to enter projected gross sales manually, whereas 7Shifts calculates projected gross sales based mostly on previous knowledge. In my opinion, 7Shifts saves extra time and delivers extra correct forecasts. 

When you’ve entered the projected gross sales, Sling asks you to resolve what share of your earnings you want to spend on labor. As you create schedules, the platform screens these limits in real-time and highlights any violations. This makes it simple to identify overspending in time and steadiness protection to maintain schedules inside finances. 

7Shifts takes a special strategy to preserving labor prices in management and aligning staffing wants with enterprise calls for. Its Optimum Labor instrument analyzes previous gross sales and schedule knowledge to advocate the appropriate staffing ranges for every shift. It prevents overstaffing that causes pointless labor bills, and understaffing that may wreck company’ experiences. 

Simply keep in mind that the Optimum Labor instrument requires a major quantity of previous knowledge and may not be useful for brand spanking new companies. 

Verdict: 7Shifts’ labor value optimization is extra dependable as a result of it generates suggestions based mostly on previous knowledge. Because of this, its forecasts are extra correct, and it’s excellent for eating places with complicated labor forecasting wants. Sling is helpful for smaller eating places and newly opened areas. 

Paid time-off (PTO) administration — Winner: 7Shifts 

When you’re trying to automate unpaid time-off, each Sling and 7Shifts can do it nicely. You possibly can add unpaid time-off in keeping with inside insurance policies and simply outline who’s eligible. On the subject of PTO, it’s a special story.

Time-off administration variations

To start with, each Sling and 7Shifts allow you to give staff a set quantity of paid time without work for the yr, however with huge variations in how the balances reset. Sling allows you to select whether or not PTO balances reset on a set date for everybody, or on every worker’s rent date. I really like the second possibility because it aligns the reset cycle with an essential worker’s milestone, encouraging loyalty. 

In distinction, 7Shifts can solely reset PTO balances at first of the calendar yr. However when a brand new worker joins mid-year, 7Shifts robotically provides them a smaller quantity of PTO based mostly on their begin date. For instance, somebody who joins midway by means of the yr would get about half the standard days off. 

7Shifts additionally helps hourly PTO accrual, which is good for part-time or hourly staff. 

One other factor I like about Sling and 7Shifts is that each allow you to set a required discover interval for time-off requests. In different phrases, you may ask staff to submit time-off requests a sure variety of days prematurely. This offers you adequate time to regulate schedules to stop last-minute scrambles that disrupt operations.

 From the worker perspective, 7Shift has a greater expertise. Its time without work tab is simple to entry from the primary menu, which makes it simple to view time-off balances and submit requests. In Sling, the time-off web page is hidden contained in the shifts tab, making it a bit more durable to search out. 

Verdict: 7Shifts has the leg-up on Sling, because of its hourly accrual and intuitive time-off tab. 

Staff communication — Winner: Tie

Sling and 7Shifts each present the instruments you’ll want to guarantee that your workforce is pulling in the identical course. Whether or not you wish to begin 1:1 or group chats, or make company-wide bulletins, each apps have the instruments you want. 

Under are among the options you get with each apps: 

• Emojis: You need to use emojis so as to add tone and readability to each message and make communication extra participating. 
• @Mentions: Each apps allow you to use @mentions to direct messages at particular staff.
• Threaded replies: Whereas Sling and 7Shifts threads aren’t as organized as Slack’s, I discovered them useful. They maintain associated discussions organized, making it simple for individuals who see the messages late to comply with the dialog. 

Past these similarities, the 2 opponents differ in a number of key methods. 

Staff communication variations

Sling’s chat interface feels extra user-friendly than 7Shifts’. I discovered it fairly simple to create teams, begin conversations, and format messages with Sling.

I used to be notably impressed by its message formatting choices, like italics, daring, headings, and in-message hyperlinks. The choices allow you to emphasise key directions and spotlight pressing updates so staff don’t miss essential particulars. Sadly, 7Shifts doesn’t have these formatting choices — as an alternative selecting to stay to plain textual content. 

That stated, 7Shifts has perks of its personal. It has learn receipts for one-way bulletins, which allow you to see which staff learn essential messages. 7Shifts additionally allows you to schedule messages and create nameless and multiple-answer polls. 

Verdict: Each apps carry out nicely the place it issues essentially the most: creating distinctive channels for several types of communication. Past that, the apps’ distinctive benefits steadiness out to ship the matchup right into a tie. 

Integrations — Winner: 7Shifts

On the subject of integrations, each help native, Zapier, and API integrations. Nevertheless, their alternatives differ considerably. 

Sling integrates natively with seven enterprise instruments solely, together with: Toast, Sq., Shopify, and Gusto. Whereas it covers a number of widespread payroll and POS options, the checklist may be very restricted and should not meet the wants of eating places with an increasing tech stack. Fortunately, it helps Zapier and API integrations, so you may hook up with virtually any software program with some effort and technical data. 

7Shifts, alternatively, integrates natively with over 50 third-party options. The checklist contains common POS, payroll, and analytics software program. If the checklist doesn’t cowl each instrument in your tech stack, you should use API and Zapier integrations to make sure all programs work in sync. 

Verdict: 7Shifts is the outright winner as a result of it integrates with many extra third-party apps than Sling. 

Consumer Rankings

Sling

• ⭐ 4.6/5 on Capterra (201 critiques)
• ⭐ 4.4/5 on G2 (87 critiques)

7Shifts

• ⭐ 4.7/5 on Capterra (1,202 critiques)
• ⭐ 4.5/5 on G2 (122 critiques)

* Evaluations have been final checked in November 2025.

Safety & Compliance

Each Sling and 7Shifts have by no means had a knowledge breach or safety incident, which is an efficient signal. Even so, I feel 7Shifts has a slight edge due to its sturdy encryption requirements. It makes use of AES 256-bit encryption for knowledge at relaxation and SSL/TLS 1.2 for knowledge in transit, and encrypts all knowledge at relaxation.

Sling, in contrast, doesn’t reveal the encryption cipher it makes use of to safeguard knowledge in transit. Even worse, the seller claims that each one knowledge is saved with out encryption, apart from passwords and worker IDs. This raises severe considerations concerning knowledge safety. 

Worse nonetheless, a help agent advised me that Sling doesn’t help any type of multi-factor authentication (MFA). As an alternative, the platform depends on the usual e-mail + password login to authenticate customers. That is in contrast to 7Shifts, which helps two-factor authentication (2FA) so as to add a layer of safety to person accounts. 

The variations apart, each platforms are GDPR compliant, which means that they’ve put measures in place to safeguard delicate knowledge. Neither is HIPAA-compliant, which isn’t an enormous deal for those who’re taking a look at them on your restaurant or resort enterprise.

Setup and Onboarding

Throughout my testing, I discovered it fast and straightforward to arrange 7Shifts. The platform takes you thru a 5-step quick-start course of, permitting you to configure all important settings in minutes with out bouncing between tabs. This, coupled with the pre-configured restaurant departments and roles, quickens the entire course of for multi-location enterprises. 

Even higher, staff don’t must learn guides to be taught 7Shifts. All they want is to click on “see it in motion” beside every function within the quick-start information. This opens a walkthrough that reveals them how scheduling and time monitoring options work in a sensible, easy-to-follow context.

Equally, Sling allows you to add roles and staff earlier than you even land in your workforce’s dashboard. When you’re on the dashboard, the platform takes you thru a seven-step guided setup to get your workforce up and operating with out a fuss. Throughout ‌setup, you create shifts, outline wages, allow time clocks, and set schedule guidelines with out switching between tabs.

It took me lower than 20 minutes to arrange a workforce. Nevertheless, in contrast to 7Shifts, Sling doesn’t include pre-configured restaurant roles, most likely as a result of it’s not explicitly geared towards eating places. Sadly, the platform doesn’t provide a guided tour both, so customers need to discover the platform on their very own, which might be intimidating for much less skilled customers. 

Assist and Buyer Service

Each Sling and 7Shifts provide assist by means of stay chat, e-mail, and a assist middle. 7Shifts gives cellphone help, which is an enormous benefit. 

My solely situation is that whereas each provide a stay chat seven days per week, it’s restricted to particular hours. You could find yourself ready for assist longer than you’d like. Fortunately, when the brokers are on-line, they normally reply in underneath two minutes, which is nice by stay chat requirements.

Whereas neither app has group boards, they do present guides and tutorials to get customers up to the mark with the options. Sling backs up its choices with webinars, stay on-line periods, and in-person coaching. 7Shifts’ Academy, alternatively, offers guided classes for restaurant workers, house owners, and operators. 

Who Wins: Sling or 7Shifts?

Our take:

Sling and 7Shifts allow you to create dynamic, versatile schedules that simply adapt to ‌unpredictable buyer circulation, however their approaches differ considerably. Your finest match will in the end rely in your workforce measurement, finances, and distinctive operational wants. 

Select Sling for those who’re simply beginning out and want dependable restaurant scheduling software program that delivers effectivity with out draining your finances. Sling’s free plan allows you to handle as much as 30 staff and use primary scheduling instruments with out paying a dime. It additionally has ‌reasonably priced per-user pricing, so you may pay just for the customers you want. 

Select 7Shifts for those who run a multi-location restaurant chain, the place data-backed selections are important. Its Optimum Labor instrument analyzes previous gross sales knowledge and scheduling patterns to offer exact labor forecasts. This lets you align staffing wants with buyer calls for to regulate prices and defend your backside line. 

Connecteam vs. Sling vs. 7Shifts

If you end up undecided, use Connecteam. It’s an all-in-one workforce administration app that provides the perfect of each Sling and 7Shifts — plus provides highly effective automation and customization options that may suit your distinctive operational wants. Right here’s how Connecteam compares to Sling and 7Shifts on ‌key fronts: 

Correct, compliant time monitoring 

Connecteam’s time tracker precisely tracks common time, additional time, and break time for honest wage cost and compliance. Like Sling, it lets staff monitor time utilizing its intuitive internet, cell, and kiosk apps. Higher but, it makes use of geofencing, facial recognition, and superior clock-in restrictions to boost timesheet accuracy and forestall payroll leakages. 

Its break tracker has superior controls you gained’t discover with both Sling or 7Shifts. It reminds employees to start out breaks on time and prevents early return, stopping potential violations. Furthermore, Connecteam’s Kinds function allows you to create a break affirmation type that must be crammed out at clock-out. This requires staff to verify that they took their mandated breaks.

Moreover, Connecteam’s additional time instrument tracks even essentially the most complicated additional time guidelines, together with vacation pay and additional time for the seventh consecutive day labored. My favourite function is that the platform calculates worker additional time pay for you, so there’s no must do it manually. When pay day rolls round, you’ll solely must obtain the timesheets and add them into your payroll software program — all the things’s able to go. 

Cellular-first onboarding and coaching

If you use Connecteam for worker coaching, you don’t want to collect everybody in a single room. As an alternative, you may create a mobile-friendly course and share it with related staff. You can even embody quizzes on the finish of every course to check data and guarantee every worker understands the course. 

Staff can full the coaching at their very own time and tempo to remain compliant with rules and inside coverage. Managers, alternatively, can monitor progress on a centralized dashboard to see who has accomplished obligatory programs. Doing so saves you the hefty value and repair disruption brought on by in-person coaching. 

AI-powered computerized scheduling

Connecteam scheduling is tailor-made particularly to deal with the complexity of restaurant workforce scheduling. What stands out to me is that compliance and labor optimization are baked into its core. 

The platform allows you to predefine scheduling guidelines like shift limits, shift most hours, and protection necessities. You possibly can have completely different schedules and guidelines for various areas. The foundations guarantee every schedule aligns with the underlying labor wants and rules. 

Creating and assigning shifts can be a breeze, whether or not you do it manually or utilizing the AI-powered Auto-Scheduler. Handbook scheduling is quick and straightforward, because of useful instruments like shift templates, recurring shifts, and drag-and-drop performance. Staff can even discover shift replacements on their very own with self-service shift swaps.

Connecteam’s Auto-Scheduler allows you to assign a whole lot of shifts in minutes based mostly on worker availability, {qualifications}, and preferences. This protects you a number of handbook work and improves service high quality by making certain every workers member handles shifts suited to their expertise. 

Glorious buyer help

One other space by which Connecteam outshines each Sling and 7Shifts is buyer help. Fundamental choices like stay chat, cellphone, and e-mail can be found 24/7. Once I final examined Connecteam’s stay chat, I acquired a reply in underneath a minute, which was spectacular. 

Furthermore, Connecteam has a paid help possibility referred to as Connecteam Execs. With Professional, the supplier connects you with a setup and customization knowledgeable who will get your workforce up and operating in minutes. Most significantly, they make sure you get essentially the most out of each function from day one, together with some you’d by no means uncover by yourself. 

Select Connecteam over Sling and 7Shifts to expertise ‌smarter, compliance-first scheduling for restaurant workers. Attempt Connecteam without cost.

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