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The price hangs on the billing model, not on the range of features
There are two models in the rostering market, and they cost different amounts for the same size of business. Some bill per person, others per site per month. A business with eight employees at one site does better on the per-head price, a business with thirty at one site on the per-site price.
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The second factor is the minimum purchase: Planday starts at five people, Shiftbase is free up to fifteen users and then jumps to a monthly price.
| Provider | Entry price | Roster | Absences | Hosted in Germany |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| gastromatic | from 69.50 euros a month | yes | yes | yes |
| MEP24 | from 99 euros a month | yes | yes | no |
| Ordio | from 89 euros per site per month | yes | yes | partly |
| Papershift | from 4 euros/user plus 39 euros a month for support | yes | yes | partly |
| Planday | from 2.99 euros/user, from 5 people | yes | yes | no |
| Planerio | on request | yes | yes | partly |
| Shiftbase | 0 euros up to 15 users, then from 30 euros a month | yes | yes | no |
| MetronHR | from 5 €/user, Professional from 10 € | yes | yes | yes |
As of 15/09/2026. Prices and hosting details come from the surveys under lib/constants/competitors, evidenced against the providers' pages and privacy policies. "no information" means no verified statement is available on the point, not "no".
gastromatic
- Entry price
- from 69.50 euros a month
- Roster
- yes
- Absences
- yes
- Hosted in Germany
- yes
MEP24
- Entry price
- from 99 euros a month
- Roster
- yes
- Absences
- yes
- Hosted in Germany
- no
Ordio
- Entry price
- from 89 euros per site per month
- Roster
- yes
- Absences
- yes
- Hosted in Germany
- partly
Papershift
- Entry price
- from 4 euros/user plus 39 euros a month for support
- Roster
- yes
- Absences
- yes
- Hosted in Germany
- partly
Planday
- Entry price
- from 2.99 euros/user, from 5 people
- Roster
- yes
- Absences
- yes
- Hosted in Germany
- no
Planerio
- Entry price
- on request
- Roster
- yes
- Absences
- yes
- Hosted in Germany
- partly
Shiftbase
- Entry price
- 0 euros up to 15 users, then from 30 euros a month
- Roster
- yes
- Absences
- yes
- Hosted in Germany
- no
MetronHR
- Entry price
- from 5 €/user, Professional from 10 €
- Roster
- yes
- Absences
- yes
- Hosted in Germany
- yes
As of 15/09/2026. Prices and hosting details come from the surveys under lib/constants/competitors, evidenced against the providers' pages and privacy policies. "no information" means no verified statement is available on the point, not "no".
Does the planning check working time law
That is the difference between a plan and a plan that holds. A roster that does not know about eleven hours of rest between two shifts (section 5 ArbZG) produces breaches that only surface in the evaluation, and by then the shift has been worked.
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Four points have to be checked: the daily maximum working time of eight hours, exceptionally ten with compensation (section 3 ArbZG), breaks from six hours (section 4 ArbZG), the eleven-hour rest period (section 5 ArbZG) and Sunday work (section 9 ArbZG). For young people and pregnant employees the Youth Employment Protection Act and the Maternity Protection Act come on top, and that is precisely the case fewest tools model.
- At Shiftbase the basic legal check sits in the Enterprise package, and the full check costs extra as an add-on.
- At gastromatic and planerio the compliance cell is only partly evidenced, see the table above.
- Anyone employing young people should check expressly: the Youth Employment Protection Act has limits of its own, and planning without them is a real risk in retail and catering.
Planning and time recording belong together
A planned shift is a target figure, the recorded time the actual one. Where the two sit in different systems, the work arises at the interface: who worked longer than planned, whose shift was cancelled, which hours go into payroll.
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For the selection that means: a pure planning tool necessarily needs time recording alongside it and a solid link between the two. A system holding both saves that link and the reconciliation.
Information about competitors comes from their publicly available pages and can change. This is not legal advice; for a specific case in your business it is better to ask someone with a licence to practise.