Sling pricing: free plan details, Premium and Business tier costs, and what restaurants actually pay
Sling is the scheduling tool that publishes the number restaurants care about most: zero. The free plan covers scheduling, open shifts, time-off requests and team messaging for up to 30 users at no cost. No credit card, no trial countdown. For most independent restaurants that need to move off paper schedules or group texts, the free plan is permanently usable, as long as the team stays at 30 or fewer.
This pricing breakdown covers what the free plan delivers, where the Premium ($2 per user) and Business ($4 per user) upgrades become worth it, how the per-user model compares to 7shifts' per-location model, and what restaurant operators should consider before choosing a tier. Pricing is checked against getsling.com/pricing as of September 2026.
Sling pricing overview: what the free plan includes and when you need to pay
How much does Sling cost?
Sling costs $0 to $4 per user per month. The free plan covers up to 30 users, Premium is $2 per user monthly or $1.70 billed annually, and Business is $4 monthly or $3.40 annually. You pay only for active users, with prorated credit when employees leave.
Prices verified Sep 2026. Sources: Sling pricing page.
Sling structures its pricing with a free tier for up to 30 users and two paid plans: Premium at $2 per user per month and Business at $4 per user per month on monthly billing, or $1.70 and $3.40 billed annually. The per-user model means costs scale with the number of active users, not location count, and you get prorated credit when employees leave.
The free plan includes core scheduling features that many competitors lock behind paid plans: shift scheduling, long-term schedules, time-off requests, available shift posting, news sharing and private messaging. 7shifts limits its free plan to one location with 15 employees, and Homebase limits its free plan to one location with 10 employees. At 30 users, Sling's free tier is one of the most generous in the restaurant scheduling market.
Premium at $2 per user per month ($1.70 billed annually) adds what many restaurant operators need most: mobile time tracking and labor cost visibility. As you build a schedule, the system shows labor cost and overtime before you publish. For restaurants where labor is the main controllable expense, seeing what a schedule costs before committing is worth $2 per employee per month.
Business at $4 per user per month ($3.40 billed annually) adds kiosk-based time tracking, which turns a shared tablet into a punch clock, plus reports, no-show and sick call-out tracking, and PTO management. The kiosk time clock removes the need for a separate hardware punch clock. Sling is owned by Toast and integrates with Toast POS; confirm which plan includes the integration you need before buying.
| Plan | Price | Billing unit | What's included |
|---|---|---|---|
| Free | $0 | up to 30 users | Shift scheduling, time-off requests, available shifts, news sharing and private messaging. |
| Premium | $2 per user/mo monthly, or $1.70 billed annually | per user per month | Adds mobile time tracking, labor cost management, overtime tracking and calendar sync. |
| Business | $4 per user/mo monthly, or $3.40 billed annually | per user per month | Adds kiosk time tracking, reports, no-show and sick call-out tracking and PTO management. |
What Sling costs for 10, 50 and 200 employees
| Plan | 10 employees | 50 employees | 200 employees |
|---|---|---|---|
| Free | $0/mo | n/a | n/a |
| Premium | $20/mo | $100/mo | $400/mo |
| Business | $40/mo | $200/mo | $800/mo |
Monthly cost in USD before tax, add-ons and implementation fees. “n/a” means the plan does not serve that headcount or the vendor does not publish a figure for it.
Prices verified Sep 2026. Sources: Sling pricing page.
Sling pricing overview: what the free plan includes and when you need to pay
For single-location restaurants with 30 or fewer employees that just need digital scheduling, start on the free plan. Use it for at least two full scheduling cycles. Upgrade to Premium only when you need time tracking or labor cost visibility.
For restaurants that need a shared kiosk time clock, reporting and PTO management, Business at $4 per user per month ($3.40 billed annually) is the starting point. A 30-person restaurant pays $120 per month on monthly billing, or $102 billed annually, roughly the cost of one server shift.
Sling Free — what it covers and where it falls short
The free plan covers shift scheduling, long-term scheduling, time-off request management, available shift posting for employees to claim, news sharing for announcements and private messaging, for up to 30 users. Where it falls short: no labor cost visibility (you cannot see what a schedule costs), no time clock, and no reporting or PTO tracking. For restaurants that track labor cost as a percentage of revenue, the missing cost visibility is the main limitation, and teams above 30 users must pay.
Sling Premium at $2 per user — when the labor cost visibility pays for itself
Premium adds mobile time tracking, labor cost management as you build schedules, overtime tracking, private and group messaging, and calendar sync. At $2 per user per month ($1.70 billed annually), a 30-person restaurant pays $60 per month, or $51 billed annually. If labor cost visibility prevents even one overstaffed shift a month, the tool pays for itself quickly. Premium is the tier where Sling turns from a schedule replacement into a labor management tool.
Sling Business at $4 per user — the full operational suite for data-driven restaurants
Business adds kiosk time tracking (a shared tablet becomes a punch clock), reports, no-show and sick call-out tracking, and PTO management. At $4 per user per month ($3.40 billed annually), a 30-person restaurant pays $120 per month, or $102 billed annually. The kiosk time clock replaces separate punch-clock hardware. For Toast customers, check how the Toast POS integration is packaged, since real-time labor-to-sales visibility is one of the most useful metrics a restaurant can track.
Sling plan breakdown: Free vs Premium at $2 vs Business at $4 per user per month
Sling vs 7shifts on restaurant scheduling cost
Sling Business costs $4 per user per month, so $120 per month for a 30-person restaurant ($102 billed annually). 7shifts Essentials costs $39.99 per location per month billed annually and adds time clocking and labor budgets for up to 30 employees, making it cheaper at one location of that size. 7shifts Pro at $79.99 per location adds POS integration and forecasting, and Premium at $134.99 adds tip management and compliance automation. For multi-location groups, Sling's per-user model may cost more or less depending on staff per location.
Sling vs Homebase on free scheduling value
Both Sling and Homebase offer free scheduling plans. Sling's free plan supports up to 30 users. Homebase's free plan covers one location with up to 10 employees. Sling's free tier is more generous on headcount. Homebase's paid plans are priced per location ($30 to $120 per month, or $24 to $96 billed annually) with unlimited employees, which can be cheaper than Sling for large single-location teams.
What the pricing market means for restaurant scheduling buyers
Sling is one of the most affordable paid scheduling options and has one of the most generous free tiers in the restaurant market. The trade-off versus 7shifts is clear: Sling is often cheaper for small teams but lacks demand forecasting, tip management and compliance automation. For independent restaurants and small chains where scheduling cost matters more than labor optimization, Sling delivers strong value. For multi-location groups where 2 to 5 percent labor savings through forecasting would exceed the subscription difference, 7shifts may deliver better total ROI.
Sling pricing buyer checklist: what to verify before choosing a tier
Start on the free plan before evaluating paid tiers
The free plan is usable for teams of up to 30. Run at least two full scheduling cycles on it before paying for Premium or Business. You may find that basic scheduling and messaging are all your restaurant needs, in which case the free plan saves a 30-person restaurant $612 to $1,224 a year compared with Premium or Business billed annually.
If you are a Toast POS customer, test the Toast integration first
Sling is owned by Toast and integrates with Toast POS. Before evaluating 7shifts or Deputy, confirm which Sling plan includes the Toast integration and test whether it delivers the labor cost visibility your operation needs. If it does, Sling at $2 to $4 per user per month may be significantly cheaper than alternatives.
Calculate whether 7shifts' demand forecasting would save more than the subscription difference
7shifts' demand forecasting claims 2 to 5 percent labor cost reduction. For a restaurant with $500,000 in annual labor, that is $10,000 to $25,000 in savings. If the forecasting savings exceed the extra subscription cost of 7shifts Pro, 7shifts has better total ROI. If your restaurant does not have enough data or volume for forecasting to matter, Sling's lower price is the smarter choice.
Ask about volume pricing for multi-location deployments
Published pricing is per-user. Multi-unit operators with 100-plus employees should negotiate directly for volume discounts. Toast's sales team handles Sling enterprise inquiries and may bundle pricing with other Toast products.
Evaluate compliance risk if you operate in a fair workweek jurisdiction
Sling does not automate compliance with predictive scheduling laws in San Francisco, Seattle, New York, or Chicago. If your restaurant is in a regulated jurisdiction, factor the compliance risk into your evaluation. 7shifts and Deputy include compliance features that reduce legal exposure.
Sling pricing should be evaluated in the context of team size, operating complexity, and the commercial metric that makes cost rise over time.
Buyers should use this page to understand more than the headline price. The real decision usually depends on implementation scope, support level, add-on exposure, and whether the pricing model still makes sense once the team grows.
- Clarify whether cost scales by employee count, recruiter seats, payroll runs, locations, or another metric.
- Confirm what implementation, premium support, compliance, or service add-ons do to total spend.
- Model pricing against the actual team size and operating complexity expected over the next 12 months.
Is Sling worth the price?
Sling pricing is among the most aggressive in the restaurant scheduling market: a permanently free plan for up to 30 users, $2 per user for time tracking and labor cost visibility, and $4 per user for kiosk time tracking, reports and PTO management, with 15% off on annual billing. For independent restaurants and small chains, the value is clear. The free plan alone replaces whiteboard schedules and group texts at zero cost. The trade-off is missing demand forecasting, tip management and compliance automation, which matter for multi-location groups with complex labor rules. Start on the free plan, upgrade only when specific features justify the cost, and compare total ROI against 7shifts if labor optimization is a priority.
Frequently asked questions about Sling pricing
Is Sling really free for employee scheduling?
Yes. Sling offers a permanently free plan for up to 30 users with shift scheduling, time-off requests, available shift posting, news sharing and private messaging. No credit card is required and it does not expire. It lacks time tracking and labor cost management, which start on Premium ($2 per user per month, or $1.70 billed annually), and kiosk time tracking, reports and PTO management, which come with Business ($4 per user, or $3.40 billed annually).
How much does Sling cost for a 30-person restaurant?
On the free plan: $0, since it covers up to 30 users. On Premium: $60 per month ($2 times 30 users), or $51 billed annually. On Business: $120 per month ($4 times 30 users), or $102 billed annually. Compare this to 7shifts Essentials at $39.99 per location per month billed annually, or 7shifts Pro at $79.99. Sling's per-user model costs more per location at larger staff sizes but less at smaller ones.
What is the difference between Sling Premium and Sling Business?
Premium at $2 per user per month ($1.70 billed annually) adds mobile time tracking, labor cost management, overtime tracking, group messaging and calendar sync. Business at $4 per user per month ($3.40 billed annually) adds kiosk time tracking, reports, no-show and sick call-out tracking, and PTO management. The deciding factor: if employees can clock in on their phones and you mainly need to see schedule costs, Premium is enough. If you need a shared kiosk time clock, reporting or PTO tracking, you need Business.
Does Sling charge per location or per user?
Sling charges per user, not per location, and you only pay for people who use the platform. For a single-location restaurant with 30 employees, Business costs $120 per month on monthly billing. For a 5-location chain with 150 employees, it costs $600 per month, or $510 billed annually. 7shifts uses per-location pricing, which can be cheaper for large single-location restaurants and for multi-location groups with many employees per location.
Is Sling cheaper than 7shifts for restaurant scheduling?
It depends on staff size and features. Sling Business at $4 per user per month costs a 30-person restaurant $120 per month. 7shifts Essentials costs $39.99 per location per month billed annually, so it is cheaper for one location of that size. Sling's free plan and Premium tier are cheaper for small teams. For a multi-location group, the comparison depends on employee count per location. Sling lacks the demand forecasting, tip management and compliance automation that 7shifts offers on higher tiers.
Does Sling offer annual billing discounts?
Yes. Sling offers monthly or annual billing, and annual billing saves 15%: Premium drops from $2 to $1.70 per user per month and Business from $4 to $3.40. Monthly billing is still useful for seasonal restaurants that scale staff up and down, since you only pay for active users and receive prorated credit when employees leave. Larger multi-location operators can also ask Sling's sales team about volume pricing.
Can I use the Sling free plan long-term for my restaurant?
Yes, as long as you have 30 or fewer users. The free plan is not a trial; it is a permanent tier. Restaurants that only need digital scheduling, shift posting and team messaging can use it indefinitely. You will likely upgrade when you need time tracking and labor costs (Premium) or a kiosk time clock, reports and PTO tracking (Business), or when you pass 30 users.