No documented demand forecasting
We found no demand forecasting or per-interval staffing requirements in the Microsoft Shifts documentation (checked 28 September 2026). A manager decides how many shifts to create.
Alternatives guide, updated September 2026
Microsoft Shifts alternatives: 8 options for teams that outgrow it
Eight alternatives, sorted by the reason you're leaving Shifts. Plus when you shouldn't leave. If you are weighing one tool against Shifts, the Soon vs Microsoft Shifts comparison goes deeper.
Editorial disclosure
Soon publishes this guide and is one of the alternatives in it. The tools are not ranked. We sorted them by the reason teams leave Shifts. Prices and sources were last checked on .
The short answer
The best Microsoft Shifts alternative depends on why you're leaving. For hourly teams that need a time clock and simple auto-scheduling, look at Connecteam, When I Work, Deputy or Shiftbase. For support teams that plan staffing from demand, look at Soon or Assembled. Contact centers should check the WFM in their contact center platform or a specialist like Peopleware.
When Microsoft Shifts is enough
Shifts is a good free starting point, and in 2026 it got better. It comes with Teams: Microsoft says users must have a Teams licence to use Shifts, and it is enabled by default. Managers publish shifts, staff swap and offer shifts and request time off, and there is a time clock.
Microsoft added automatic assignment of open shifts in 2026. Assign open shifts fills open shifts with available workers, honouring approved time off, historical scheduling patterns and rules such as maximum weekly and daily hours, maximum consecutive days and minimum rest. The result is a draft the manager reviews, and shifts it cannot fill stay open. The Microsoft documentation still labels it public preview, while Message Center post MC1324280 (third-party archive) describes general availability on web and desktop rolling out from mid-June 2026, now expected to complete by the end of October 2026.
The June 2026 Teams update added drag and drop, multi-select with bulk copy, paste and delete, and a two-week view.
If everyone is on Teams, shifts repeat week to week and nobody asks how many people the next hour needs, stay. Spend the money elsewhere.
Where Shifts runs out
Each card is a documented fact or a labelled user report, with the source. None of them makes Shifts a bad tool. They are the points where teams start looking.
Breaks and activities are placed by hand
Shifts has activities inside a shift, but we found no automatic placement of breaks or activities. A user on Microsoft Q&A reports that activities change when a shift is moved.
Guests and some government clouds are out
Microsoft says Shifts does not support guests, and is available in GCC but not in GCC High or DoD environments.
Syncing another WFM tool got harder
Microsoft-managed shift connectors were retired on 7 December 2025. The Zebra-hosted Reflexis connector remains, and other systems need a custom integration through the Microsoft Graph API.
Contact center needs are outside its scope
Interval forecasting, intraday re-planning and adherence against an ACD are not what Shifts is built for. That is where contact center WFM starts.
Have you outgrown Shifts? Which alternative fits your reason
Read down the first column. Every row that is true for your team points to a shortlist.
| If this is true | You probably need | Shortlist |
|---|---|---|
| Everyone is on Teams and shifts repeat week to week | Nothing new yet | Microsoft Shifts |
| You need GPS clock-in, timesheets and payroll links for hourly staff | An SMB scheduler with a time clock | Connecteam, When I Work, Deputy, Shiftbase |
| You schedule people who are not on Teams, such as guests, contractors or seasonal staff | A tool with its own user accounts | Any of the 8 |
| You plan how many people you need per 15 or 30 minutes from contact or ticket volume | Forecasting and staffing requirements | Soon, Assembled, Peopleware, Deputy (demand forecasting on Core) |
| You place breaks, phone blocks, email blocks and training inside shifts | Activity (intraday) planning | Soon, Assembled, Peopleware, your CCaaS WFM |
| You need real-time adherence against an ACD | Contact center WFM | Assembled (Core), Peopleware, your CCaaS WFM |
| You already pay for Genesys Cloud CX 3 or 4, or another CCaaS with WFM | Check your own tier first | Your CCaaS WFM |
The 8 alternatives, reviewed (not ranked)
Grouped by the reason you're leaving Shifts. The number is the review order, not a score.
If you run hourly or deskless teams
You want a time clock, easy swaps and a quick rota for people who are paid by the hour. Forecasting is a nice-to-have.
1
Connecteam
Deskless workforce appBest for: Hourly and deskless teams that want a time clock, scheduling, forms and chat in one app, inside Teams
- Published price
- Free for up to 10 users. Operations Basic $29 a month for the first 30 users, billed yearly ($35 monthly)
- Works with Teams
- Yes. Admins and employees can use Connecteam inside Teams
Connecteam is built for people who do not sit at a desk: field crews, cleaners, retail and hospitality staff. Its Operations hub combines a GPS time clock, job scheduling, forms and checklists. The Teams integration lets admins and employees work in Connecteam from inside Teams, which matters if your people already open Teams every day.
On the pricing page, Operations Basic is $29 a month for the first 30 users billed yearly ($35 monthly), then $0.80 per extra user. Advanced is $49 ($59 monthly) and Expert is $99 ($119 monthly). "Auto assign shifts" is listed on Expert, so check the tier before you compare it with the Assign open shifts feature in Shifts.
We found no demand forecasting on the pricing page. Connecteam is the right move when the time clock and mobile tools are the reason you are leaving Shifts, not interval planning.
2
When I Work
Hourly scheduling appBest for: Single- and multi-location hourly teams that want cheap, simple scheduling with automatic assignment
- Published price
- Essentials $2.50, Pro $5, Premium $8 per user per month
- Works with Teams
- No native Teams app found. Zapier lists a Teams connection
When I Work is a straightforward scheduler for hourly teams. Its pricing page lists Auto Scheduling, multi-week and multi-location scheduling, schedule templates, forecast tools, OpenShifts and shift swapping on Essentials. The FAQ on the same page says pricing starts at $2.50 per user per month for single-location teams and $5 for multi-location businesses.
The plan cards show Time Tracking & Attendance as a toggle, so confirm what it adds to the price if a time clock is why you are leaving Shifts. "Forecast tools" is the vendor label. We have not tested how deep it goes, so treat it as a labour-budget aid rather than contact-volume forecasting until you have seen it.
We found no native Teams app. Zapier lists a When I Work and Teams connection, which covers notifications but means the schedule lives outside Teams.
3
Deputy
Workforce management appBest for: Hourly teams that need demand-based rosters, labour-law compliance and payroll links
- Published price
- Lite $5, Core $6.50, Pro $9 per user per month (USD, excl. tax). $30 minimum monthly spend on monthly plans
- Works with Teams
- No Teams entry on its integrations page. Zapier lists a Teams connection
Deputy is the most complete option here for hourly teams that want the roster, the time clock and labour compliance in one product. Its pricing page lists Lite at $5, Core at $6.50 and Pro at $9 per user per month in USD, excluding tax. Core adds auto-scheduling, demand forecasting, biometric time clocking and advanced labour-law compliance.
Two details affect the total. Deputy has a minimum monthly spend of $30 on monthly Lite, Core and Pro plans since 1 September 2025, and its FAQ counts administrators and supervisors as users.
We found no Microsoft Teams entry on the Deputy integrations page. Zapier lists a Deputy and Teams connection, and Microsoft publishes an Entra single sign-on tutorial for Deputy.
Sources checked 28 September 2026Pricing โIntegrations โZapier: Deputy + Teams โMicrosoft Entra SSO tutorial โSoon vs Deputy โ
4
Shiftbase
European SMB scheduling and time trackingBest for: European SMBs in hospitality, retail and care that want scheduling, time tracking and absence in one tool, with a free tier
- Published price
- Free up to 15 employees. Basic โฌ30 a month with 6 employees included, then โฌ4 per extra employee
- Works with Teams
- No Microsoft Teams connection found in its marketplace
Shiftbase suits small and mid-sized European teams that want the roster, timesheets and absence in one place. Its pricing page shows a free plan for up to 15 employees, Basic at โฌ30 a month with 6 employees included plus โฌ4 per extra employee, Premium at โฌ72 with 12 included plus โฌ5, and Enterprise at โฌ336 with 48 included plus โฌ6. Paying yearly saves 10%.
Auto-scheduling "fills required shifts for a department, for you to review before applying", and AI revenue forecasting "predicts how busy next week will be, from your own turnover data". Both are on Premium and carried an Early Access label on the day we checked. Revenue forecasting fits shops and restaurants better than a support queue measured in contacts.
We found no Microsoft Teams connection in the Shiftbase marketplace.
If you plan staffing from demand (support and service teams)
You need to know how many people each 15 or 30 minutes needs, then fill that with shifts and activities.
5
Soon
Workforce management for service and support teamsBest for: Service and support teams of about 10 to a few hundred people that plan staffing from demand at 15-minute intervals and want to work with the people who build the product
- Published price
- Start $4, Grow $8, Scale $16 per user per month, billed yearly. $39 monthly minimum with 10 users included ($49 on monthly billing)
- Works with Teams
- Two-way Outlook calendar sync, single sign-on with Microsoft, Azure Marketplace billing
Soon is for teams that leave Shifts because they need to plan how many people they need, not just who works when. Forecasting runs at 15-minute, hourly or daily intervals up to a year ahead and is included on Scale. Staffing requirements turn the forecast into coverage per interval, automated shift scheduling starts on Grow, and Scale adds automated activity scheduling inside shifts. Intraday here means re-planning the day as it happens: breaks, activities and coverage. Shift swaps and cover requests are on every plan. Contact centers on Genesys can forecast from their Genesys call volumes, which works today with some manual setup.
The pricing page lists Start at $4, Grow at $8 and Scale at $16 per user per month, billed yearly and excluding VAT, with a $39 monthly minimum that includes 10 users ($49 on monthly billing). Start is marked coming soon. Setup is self-serve: most teams are live the same day, and larger teams within a week. Therese Arntsen, shift manager at Orkla, says there: "Within a week we had our entire team onboarded." Enterprise rollouts can take longer, mostly because of the customer's own internal processes.
On the Microsoft side, Soon has two-way Outlook calendar sync, single sign-on with Microsoft and billing through the Azure Marketplace. Soon does not sync schedules back into Shifts. During the Robeco pilot, Soon extended its events so groups could open for sign-up with an optional minimum and maximum, one example of a customer request that shipped.
Sources checked 28 September 2026Pricing โForecasting โAuto-scheduling โIntraday management โShift swaps โOutlook calendar โRobeco story โSoon vs Microsoft Shifts, head to head โ
When Soon is not the right choice
Pick something else if you mainly need a time clock, GPS clock-in and payroll export for hourly staff: Soon lists none of those, and Connecteam, Deputy, When I Work and Shiftbase have a time clock. Pick something else if supervisors need real-time adherence against an ACD, which Soon does not offer. And if Shifts already does the job, stay on Shifts.
Start a free trial6
Assembled
Support workforce management and AI agentsBest for: Digital-first support teams on Zendesk, Intercom or Salesforce that want WFM with real-time adherence, and AI agents, from one vendor
- Works with Teams
- Teams not listed on its integrations page (Slack alerts are)
Assembled is workforce management built around digital support. Its pricing page lists WFM Core at $25, Pro at $45 and Enterprise at $75 per agent per month, plus a platform fee that is not published. Core includes real-time adherence and time tracking. Machine-learning forecasting and AI schedule generation are on Pro.
The integrations page lists helpdesks and contact center platforms such as Zendesk, Salesforce Service Cloud, Intercom and Genesys Cloud, with alerts in Slack. We found no Microsoft Teams entry there.
Shortlist Assembled when supervisors run the day from adherence alerts and you want AI agents from the same contract.
If you run a contact center
You need interval forecasting, intraday re-planning and usually adherence, often tied to the platform that routes your calls.
7
Peopleware (formerly injixo)
Contact center WFM specialistBest for: Contact centers that want dedicated WFM, including time and attendance and capacity planning, with a consultant-led rollout
- Published price
- Quote only
- Works with Teams
- No Microsoft Teams entry found in its integration listing
Peopleware, the company behind injixo, sells contact center workforce management by quote. Its pricing page asks you to request a quote. The homepage lists Forecasting, Capacity Planning, Scheduling, Intraday Management, Time Off Management and Time & Attendance as modules.
The integration listing covers many ACD and CCaaS systems. We found no Microsoft Teams entry. The UK G-Cloud listing describes adherence monitoring with warning thresholds and says no free trial is available.
This is the specialist route for a contact center that has outgrown Shifts by a wide margin and wants a vendor to run the project with it.
Sources checked 28 September 2026Pricing โHomepage (modules) โIntegration listing โUK G-Cloud listing โ
8
Genesys Cloud WFM
WFM inside your contact center platformBest for: Contact centers already on a CCaaS whose tier includes WFM, such as Genesys Cloud CX 3 or CX 4
- Works with Teams
- Not covered on the pricing page
If your contact center runs on Genesys Cloud, check your own tier before you buy anything. The Genesys pricing page lists workforce management, forecasting and scheduling on CX 3 ($155) and CX 4 ($240), and workforce engagement as an add-on on CX 1 and CX 2. The same page sells named, concurrent and hourly licences, so confirm the unit before you multiply by headcount.
The same logic applies to other contact center platforms that bundle WFM. The upgrade may apply to every seat, so compare it with a separate tool that plans only the people who need it.
Sources checked 28 September 2026Pricing โ
Comparison table
Microsoft Shifts is the baseline row. The eight alternatives follow in review order. Cells come from each vendor's own pages, linked in the reviews above. Prices are in each review, not in this table.
| Tool | Automatic scheduling | Forecasting | Time clock | Works with Teams | Trial |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Microsoft ShiftsBaseline | Assign open shifts (2026; still labelled preview in the docs) | No documented feature found | Yes | It is part of Teams | Included with a Teams licence |
| Connecteam | Auto assign shifts on Operations Expert | No public feature found on the pricing page | Yes, GPS clock in and out from Basic | Yes. Admins and employees can use Connecteam inside Teams | 14 days, no credit card |
| When I Work | Auto Scheduling on Essentials | "Forecast tools" listed on Essentials | Time Tracking & Attendance shown as a toggle on the plan cards | No native Teams app found. Zapier lists a Teams connection | Free trial offered |
| Deputy | Auto-scheduling on Core | Demand Forecasting on Core | Yes, biometric time clocking on Core | No Teams entry on its integrations page. Zapier lists a Teams connection | Free trial offered |
| Shiftbase | Auto-scheduling on Premium, marked Early Access | "AI revenue forecasting" from your own turnover data, on Premium, marked Early Access | Yes, clock in and out | No Microsoft Teams connection found in its marketplace | 14 days, no credit card |
| Soon | Automated shift scheduling on Grow and up | On Scale: 15-minute, hourly or daily intervals, up to a year ahead | None listed on the pricing page | Two-way Outlook calendar sync, single sign-on with Microsoft, Azure Marketplace billing | 14, 30 or 60 days by plan, no credit card |
| Assembled | AI schedule generation on Pro | Machine-learning forecasting on Pro | Time tracking on Core | Teams not listed on its integrations page (Slack alerts are) | Demo and sales quote. No trial mentioned |
| Peopleware (formerly injixo) | Scheduling module | Forecasting and Capacity Planning modules | Time & Attendance module | No Microsoft Teams entry found in its integration listing | The UK G-Cloud listing says no free trial |
| Genesys Cloud WFM | Scheduling included on CX 3 and CX 4 | Forecasting included on CX 3 and CX 4 | Not covered on the pricing page | Not covered on the pricing page | Through Genesys sales |
Automation map
What each tool automates, from forecast to live coverage
"Auto-scheduling" can mean filling shifts a manager already created, or turning forecast demand into staffing needs, shifts, activities and live coverage. Each linked cell goes to the vendor's own source.
Vendor source โManager-led or limited โNo public feature found
Checked 28 September 2026. "No public feature found" means we could not verify the capability in the vendor's public pages. It does not rule out custom work or third-party integrations.
Switching without leaving Teams
Leaving Shifts does not mean leaving Teams. Chat, meetings and channels stay where they are. What changes is where the schedule lives.
The alternatives connect to Microsoft in different ways. Connecteam runs inside Teams for admins and employees. Deputy and When I Work connect to Teams through Zapier, and Microsoft publishes an Entra single sign-on tutorial for Deputy. Soon keeps shifts in people's calendars with two-way Outlook sync, supports single sign-on with Microsoft, and can be bought through the Azure Marketplace.
One change matters if you want to keep Shifts as the employee view and plan somewhere else: Microsoft-managed shift connectors were retired on 7 December 2025. The Reflexis connector remains. Anything else needs a custom integration through the Microsoft Graph API. The switching guide covers running the old and new tool side by side, and the integrations directory lists what Soon connects to.
What it costs
Shifts has no line item of its own: it comes with the Teams licence you already pay for. Every alternative adds a bill, so compare like with like.
Check three things on each vendor's page. First, the unit: per user (When I Work, Deputy, Soon), per agent plus a platform fee (Assembled), a flat price for a block of users (Connecteam, Shiftbase), or a quote (Peopleware). Second, who counts: Deputy counts administrators and supervisors, while Soon charges for active, invited and created users and not for deactivated ones. Third, the billing term: Soon's $4, $8 and $16 are yearly prices, Connecteam and Shiftbase show both, and Deputy has a $30 minimum on monthly plans.
Then check which plan carries the feature that made you leave Shifts. Automatic assignment sits on Connecteam Expert, Deputy Core, When I Work Essentials and Soon Grow. Forecasting sits on Deputy Core, Assembled Pro and Soon Scale. A low starting price does not help if the reason you are switching sits two tiers up.
Also considered
Homebase and Sling
Hourly SMB schedulers with free plans. Read more
7shifts
Scheduling built for restaurants. Read more
Zendesk WFM
For support teams that want to stay entirely inside Zendesk. Read more
NICE CXone and Verint
Enterprise contact center suites. Read more
UKG Pro Workforce Management
The natural choice for companies already on the UKG suite. Read more
Reflexis Shifts connector
The one Microsoft-listed connector left for syncing a WFM system into Shifts. Read more
Methodology
How we chose these tools
We started from the three reasons we see most often for leaving Shifts: a team needs a time clock and simple automation for hourly staff, it needs to plan staffing from demand, or it runs a contact center. For each reason we picked tools that come up in those shortlists. On 28 September 2026 we checked each vendor's own pricing and product pages and the Microsoft Shifts documentation, and linked them. Where a vendor publishes no price, we say "quote only". We did not test every product hands-on. Soon publishes this page and is one of the tools on it, so we don't rank. We sort by situation.
01
Automatic scheduling: fills shifts with rules for hours, rest and skills
02
Demand forecasting and staffing requirements per interval
03
Intraday planning: breaks, activities and coverage during the day
04
Time clock and payroll export
05
Works with Microsoft Teams: inside Teams, through Zapier, or through Microsoft sign-in and calendars
06
Price transparency and trial
Frequently asked questions
What is the best alternative to Microsoft Shifts?
It depends on why you're leaving. Hourly teams that need a time clock and simple auto-scheduling often pick Connecteam, When I Work, Deputy or Shiftbase. Support teams that plan staffing from demand compare Soon and Assembled. Contact centers should check the WFM in their contact center platform or a specialist such as Peopleware.
Is Microsoft Shifts free?
Shifts is included with Microsoft Teams rather than sold separately. Microsoft says users must have a Teams licence to use it, and it is enabled by default. Guests cannot use Shifts. It is available in GCC but not in GCC High or DoD environments.
Can Microsoft Shifts build schedules automatically?
Partly. Since 2026, Shifts can assign open shifts automatically, using approved time off, past scheduling patterns and rules such as maximum hours and minimum rest. The manager reviews the draft. Shifts doesn't create the shifts from forecast demand, and we found no documented automatic placement of breaks or activities.
Does Microsoft Shifts do demand forecasting?
We found no demand forecasting or per-interval staffing requirements in the Microsoft Shifts documentation (checked 28 Sep 2026). Managers decide how many shifts to create. Teams that plan from call or ticket volume usually add a WFM tool that forecasts demand at 15- or 30-minute intervals and turns it into staffing requirements.
When is Microsoft Shifts enough?
Shifts is often enough for a small team whose members all have Teams licences and work fixed or repeating shifts. It covers shift publishing, swaps, time off, a time clock and, since 2026, automatic assignment of open shifts, drag and drop and bulk editing. You outgrow it when you need forecasting or intraday planning.
Can I switch from Shifts and still work in Microsoft Teams?
Yes, but how varies. Connecteam can run inside Teams. Deputy and When I Work connect to Teams through Zapier. Soon syncs shifts with Outlook calendars, supports single sign-on with Microsoft and is sold on the Azure Marketplace. Microsoft retired its managed Shifts connectors on 7 December 2025, so syncing another tool into Shifts now needs a custom integration or the Reflexis connector.
What should a contact center use instead of Microsoft Shifts?
A contact center needs forecasting, staffing requirements per interval and intraday re-planning, which Shifts doesn't document. If your contact center platform includes WFM, such as Genesys Cloud CX 3 or 4, start there. Otherwise compare specialist WFM tools: Peopleware, Assembled, or Soon for in-house teams of about 10 to a few hundred agents.
How much do Microsoft Shifts alternatives cost?
Published prices on 28 Sep 2026: When I Work from $2.50, Deputy from $5, and Soon from $4 per user per month (billed yearly, $39 minimum). Connecteam starts at $29 a month for the first 30 users, and Shiftbase is free for up to 15 employees. Assembled WFM starts at $25 per agent plus a platform fee.
Who will I work with after switching?
Ask every vendor before you sign, and ask for one feature they shipped because a customer asked. Some vendors assign an account manager on higher tiers. At Soon, customers work directly with the small team that builds the product. During Robeco's pilot, for example, Soon added open sign-up groups with optional minimum and maximum limits.
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