FAIR PRODUCT COMPARISON · REVIEWED 19 OCTOBER 2026

Deputy vs FlowRota: which is right for your team?

Both handle staff rotas, leave, clock-ins and timesheets. The difference is what you need beyond the basics, which Deputy plan includes it, and how much your team pays.

Compare monthly prices Explore the feature table

FlowRota: £1 + VAT per active user/month, no minimum. Deputy: Lite, Core and Pro in GBP, with a £20 minimum on monthly invoices.

AT A GLANCE 19 OCT 2026

Similar everyday jobs. Different depth.

FlowRota

Focused rota, holiday, TOIL, clock-in and reporting tools on one low-cost plan.

Deputy

Broader workforce platform with payroll integrations, advanced scheduling and compliance controls.

The decision

Compare the tier you would really buy and test one complete work week.

Both offer free trials FlowRota 30 days; Deputy up to 31 days.

UK billing in pounds No currency conversion needed for UK accounts.

Plan depth matters Deputy Lite includes time clocking; Core adds automation.

Deputy

FlowRota

THE QUICK ANSWER

Which product suits your workflow?

Neither is a universal winner. Pay for the work you actually need done, not a feature count on its own.

Simple, all-inclusive pricing

Consider FlowRota when…

Your main jobs are rotas, availability, holiday, TOIL, clock-ins, timesheets and reports.
You want one published price of £1 per active user each month without a minimum bill.
You want the same current features without choosing between Lite, Core and Pro tiers.
You prefer a focused system for a small UK team rather than a wide HR suite.

Less suitable if you require advanced auto-scheduling, demand forecasts, biometric clocking or direct payroll integrations.

Explore FlowRota features

Advanced workforce operations

Consider Deputy when…

You want rotas, time clocks and payroll integrations together, even on Lite.
Core's auto-scheduling, labour forecasting and biometric kiosk will save time.
You need Pro's SSO, location hierarchy, advanced timesheets or tailored access.
Your business benefits from messaging, HR add-ons and complex workforce controls.

The £20 monthly minimum and more expensive tiers may be harder to justify for smaller teams with basic needs.

Explore Deputy features

Important: Deputy supports UK 52-week holiday pay and automatic TOIL accrual and redemption. These are not exclusive FlowRota advantages. Both are marked as available in the table below.

INTERACTIVE PRICING

What would your team actually pay?

Adjust the number of users and billing commitment. The prices are UK GBP estimates before VAT; optional Deputy HR is shown separately.

Number of users 5 users

1 10 30 50

Compare Deputy annual commitment
Lower per-user rate; UK annual minimum of five users Add Deputy HR package
£2 per user/month; illustrative optional add-on

FlowRota

All current features

£5 / month + VAT

£1 per active user. Rota, leave, TOIL, clock-ins, timesheets and reports included.

No minimum monthly spend. See FlowRota pricing →

Deputy Lite

£3.60 per user · monthly

£20 / month + VAT

Basic rotas, timesheets and GPS clocking, leave, swaps, messaging and payroll integrations.

£20 monthly minimum applies. Official Deputy pricing ↗

Deputy Core

£4.75 per user · monthly

£23.75 / month + VAT

Lite plus auto-scheduling, forecasting, biometric kiosk and timesheet auto-approval.

No minimum uplift at 5 users. See Core features ↗

For five users, FlowRota costs £5, Deputy Lite £20 and Deputy Core £23.75 per month, all before VAT.

Deputy Pro: £36.25 /month + VAT at 5 users; £7.25 per user, monthly . Pro adds advanced timesheets, SSO, location hierarchy and other enterprise controls.

Deputy monthly rates: Lite £3.60, Core £4.75, Pro £7.25 per user; £20 minimum per invoice on monthly subscriptions. Annual-commitment rates: Lite £3.25, Core £4.25, Pro £6.50 per user per month, with at least five annual users in the UK. Annual prices here are monthly equivalents of a 12-month commitment, not rolling monthly rates; Deputy offers annual plans with upfront or instalment payment arrangements. Optional HR is calculated at its published £2 per user monthly list price in both modes, without assuming a promotional or annual add-on discount. Deputy charges admins and managers as users and may bill additions/archives for a full month. Taxes, SMS charges and other extras are excluded. Checked 19 October 2026; confirm live terms with Deputy ↗ .

FEATURE-BY-FEATURE

What can each platform actually do?

Ticks mean a published capability exists, not that it is on every Deputy plan. Crosses indicate a specific feature that is not publicly offered in that product. The notes identify relevant tiers.

Available Not offered as described

Feature	FlowRota	Deputy	Plan / scope notes
Planning & shift cover
Build and publish rotas			Deputy Lite and FlowRota both publish schedules.
Employee availability			Staff can share or update availability in both.
Open shifts and replacement requests			Deputy Lite covers open shifts and finding replacements.
Shift swaps			Both offer employee-initiated swaps, with manager controls.
Reusable rota templates			Both support copying/reusing work patterns.
Scheduling clash / rule warnings			Deputy Lite offers basic compliance; Core adds advanced rule coverage.
Automatically generate rotas			Deputy Core and Pro include auto-scheduling; FlowRota schedules are generated once prompted by a manager, but they are automatically created using employee's contracted hours or templates.
Demand-based labour forecasting			Deputy Core and Pro; check connected sales and labour data.
Budgeting against labour demand			Deputy Core/Pro include labour budgets and optimisation.
Employee shift confirmations			Deputy can require confirmation of published shifts. FlowRota can require shift acceptance.
Time, attendance & leave
Mobile GPS / geofenced clock-in			Both have location-aware clocking; Deputy Lite includes geofencing.
Shared-device time clock / kiosk			FlowRota terminal; Deputy supports tablet time clocks on Lite.
Facial-recognition biometric kiosk			Deputy Core/Pro; not a published FlowRota feature.
Timesheets and downloadable exports			Deputy Lite includes basic timesheets and reports.
Timesheet auto-approval			Deputy Core/Pro; FlowRota managers review and approve.
Time-off requests and approvals			Both support leave requests and absence visibility.
Holiday accrual from hours worked			Both support hours-based accrual under configured policies.
UK 52-week average holiday-pay calculation			Both document UK-oriented calculations; test the particular policy.
TOIL credit, balance and redemption			Deputy supports approved-timesheet TOIL with policy multipliers.
Absence and leave balances			Available in both; configuration and entitlement rules vary.
Payroll & extended workforce tools
Payroll-ready CSV/timesheet exports			Both provide data for payroll preparation.
Direct payroll integrations			Deputy integrates with payroll providers; FlowRota currently uses exports.
Team messaging / news feed			Deputy Lite includes messaging and a feed; FlowRota has rota-related notices.
HR document and onboarding suite			Deputy HR add-on; not a claimed FlowRota feature.
Single sign-on (SSO)			Deputy Pro; not a published FlowRota feature.
Live chat support			Deputy advertises 24/7 live chat on Pro; support varies by plan. FlowRota offers live chat support as part of its standard service.
Team and location organisation			Both organise teams and sites; Deputy Pro adds location hierarchies.
Pricing & subscription
One plan includes all current rota features			Deputy divides features between Lite, Core and Pro, plus add-ons.
No minimum monthly subscription spend			Deputy: £20 minimum invoice for rolling monthly plans.
A 30-day or longer free trial			FlowRota: 30 days. Deputy: up to 31 days.
No annual commitment required			Both offer monthly payment options.
No charge for archived seats after adjustment			Both can exclude archived users from future ongoing seats, but Deputy charges a full month when a user is archived mid-period.
Per-active-user price of £1 per month			FlowRota flat rate. Deputy Lite starts higher and includes a minimum monthly spend.

Reading the table: Deputy Lite already has clock-ins and timesheets. Core/Pro feature rows are not a fair basis for comparing Lite's price; pick the tier actually required. “Not offered” is based on published feature scope and may change.

SCREENSHOT PLACEHOLDERS

Compare the workflow on real screens.

Replace these placeholders with representative, similarly framed screenshots. Use your own captures and avoid implying an affiliation.

Deputy interface screenshot — **Deputy interface**
Deputy's timesheets manager interface.

FlowRota interface screenshot — **FlowRota interface**
A timesheet open in FlowRota

WHICH ONE FITS?

Three situations worth testing.

Realistic examples are more helpful than a declaration that one product always wins.

01 / Small rota team

Cost and clarity first.

With five active people, FlowRota costs £5/month before VAT. Deputy Lite costs £20/month because of its minimum. Deputy is worth considering if its integrations or wider tools save the difference.

02 / Demand-led hospitality

Smart rota generation.

Where demand forecasting, labour budgets and automatic rota building are central, Deputy Core is a stronger feature match than FlowRota's manager-led scheduling.

03 / Multiple locations

Governance and integrations.

Deputy Pro has more advanced location hierarchies, SSO and access controls. FlowRota can be a practical fit for simpler multi-team operations.

HOW TO TEST THEM FAIRLY

Use the same week in both trials.

FlowRota offers 30 days. Deputy advertises up to 31 days, with no card required. Compare actual tasks, not only plan descriptions.

Use the same people: include a manager, contracted and variable-hours employees.
Build one rota: try swaps, open shifts, clashing availability and leave.
Track time: clock in, approve timesheets, accrue leave and redeem TOIL.
Check payroll: compare exports with direct integration requirements and billing totals.

RESEARCH & TRANSPARENCY

How we checked these claims.

Deputy plan and feature information is based on its official UK pricing, product documentation and help centre. Both companies can update features and policies.

Deputy official sources

FlowRota information

Disclosure: This page is written by FlowRota, which competes with Deputy. It is not associated with, approved or endorsed by Deputy. Third-party details were reviewed on 19 October 2026. Prices and feature availability can change; use the official sources before deciding.

FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS

Questions buyers ask.

Direct answers about plans, time clocks, UK holiday and pricing.

Is FlowRota cheaper than Deputy?

FlowRota costs £1 plus VAT per active user per month with no minimum monthly fee. Deputy bills per user on Lite, Core or Pro, and its rolling monthly plans have a £20 minimum invoice. But Deputy includes a wider range of workforce tools; decide based on the features actually needed.

How much does Deputy cost for five employees?

On monthly billing before VAT, five users cost £20 on Lite because of Deputy’s minimum invoice, £23.75 on Core and £36.25 on Pro. A separate HR add-on can increase these figures. Deputy annual commitments have different rates and a five-user minimum in the UK.

Does Deputy offer a free trial?

Yes. Deputy’s UK website advertises a free trial of up to 31 days without a payment card. FlowRota offers a 30-day free trial. Neither requires buying software before testing it.

Does Deputy include a time clock on Lite?

Yes. Deputy Lite includes basic time clocking and timesheets, shift swaps, availability and basic reporting. You do not need to buy Core merely to clock in; Core adds features such as biometric kiosk clocking and auto-scheduling.

Can Deputy accrue UK holiday and calculate 52-week holiday pay?

Yes. Deputy documents hours-based leave accrual and a UK average-hours calculation with a 52-week reference period. FlowRota also supports hours-based holiday accrual and UK holiday-pay workflows. Businesses should check their particular working arrangements in both systems.

Does Deputy manage TOIL automatically?

Yes. Deputy introduced a full TOIL workflow that can accrue time from approved overtime timesheets, track balances and deduct TOIL when leave is approved. FlowRota also handles overtime-to-TOIL credits and redemptions. Neither should be marked as lacking TOIL.

What do Deputy Core and Pro add?

Core includes auto-scheduling, demand forecasting, timesheet auto-approval, biometric clocking and labour budgeting. Pro adds custom access levels, SSO, location hierarchies, advanced timesheets and other enterprise-oriented tools. Some functionality may require an add-on.

Are archived Deputy employees immediately free to bill?

Deputy says employees newly added, archived or unarchived in a monthly billing period are billed for the full month. FlowRota bills active users and adjusts subscription quantity when archived users are removed. Compare a full month’s invoice and your archived-user workflow, rather than assuming immediate refunds.

Does Deputy connect directly to payroll?

Yes. Deputy publishes payroll and HR integrations, including UK payroll ecosystem connections. FlowRota publishes CSV-based payroll exports; it should not be presented as offering the same direct integrations.

Who published this comparison?

This independent product comparison is written by FlowRota, a Deputy competitor, and is not endorsed by or affiliated with Deputy. Deputy feature and UK pricing statements are sourced from public Deputy pages reviewed on 19 October 2026; check the current official pricing before purchase.

EXPLORE OTHER OPTIONS

Compare more software.

Use the same criteria across providers to find the right fit.

All rota software alternatives The comparison hub. RotaCloud alternative Compare UK rota tools and attendance add-ons. Connecteam alternative Compare free plans and team communication tools.

Choose the rota workflow that fits your business.

Compare the plans and features you will really use. Try both products before making a commitment.

Try FlowRota free See Deputy's trial ↗