The Best Open Source Employee Scheduling Software List
Here’s a shortlist of the best open source employee scheduling software available today:
Our one-on-one guidance will help you find the perfect fit.
When you have a busy team to manage, scheduling can become a challenge. That’s when specialist software tools can be a huge help. From planning rosters to shift swapping, they take the hard work out of the process and keep things organized. But when you're paying per user, the costs soon mount up. So how can you manage employees effectively without busting your budget? Thankfully, the best open source employee scheduling software provides the answers.
The open source movement has made a wealth of software tools available from platforms such as Github. Anyone can use the source code free of charge and change it as they wish. Many scheduling software products are available on open source licenses. Open source software may be built on platforms such as Linux, Mac iOS, or Windows.
This means you can enjoy all the benefits of scheduling software but without paying a cent. This makes open source employee scheduling software ideal for startups and small businesses.
Overviews of the 10 Best Open-Source Employee Scheduling Software
Here are brief descriptions of the best open source employee scheduling software on my list, showing what each does best—plus screenshots to show you their user interface too.
monday.com
Best for customization and flexibility
monday.com’s flexible Work OS system makes it easy for users to organize, track and visualize any process through their customized data dashboards. Their system comes with 200+ templates, including a weekly work schedule template, that can be adapted to your business needs.
All of their data dashboards can also be visualized in a variety of formats with just one click, including a calendar view or Gantt chart format. Useful scheduling features include automation to notify your staff as soon as a new schedule is posted, and the ability to share the schedule in “read-only” mode to avoid unwanted changes.
In terms of their open-source capabilities, users who are feeling adventurous can take advantage of their Developer tool, which enables you to create your own customized processes within monday’s system. Once you’ve completed your app design, you have the option to keep it private, make it public, or share it in the monday apps marketplace.
In addition, you can also browse the existing third-party apps in the monday.com app marketplace to see if the feature you’re craving has already been developed.
monday.com integrates with other commonly used communication and productivity tools including Excel, Google Calendar, Slack, Microsoft Teams, Outlook, Zapier, and others.
Pricing for monday.com starts at $8 per user/month. They also offer a 14-day free trial, and a free forever plan with limited features for a maximum of two users.
mHelpDesk
Best for field service teams
mHelpDesk is a high-performance software solution for service and repair businesses. The job management algorithms integrate field workers, dispatchers, schedules, and billing systems to keep everything organized.
Mobile (Android and iPhone) and web apps are available to streamline workflow, improve messaging, and allow access to information from anywhere.
Pricing starts at $169/user/month. There is no free version but you can contact the company for a free demo.
TimeForge
Best for retailers and store operators
TimeForge offers a range of employee management tools that cover scheduling, attendance, vacations, reporting, and payroll.
Created with restaurants and retail stores in mind, the software suite can be used to control staff in multiple locations. The simple, intuitive interface means data can be entered quickly, without having to master the whole system.
TimeForge Scheduling Lite is free for up to 25 users. Paid options are also available.
Open HRMS
Best comprehensive employee scheduling solution
Open HRMS is an open-source HR management software for managing all your company’s human resource processes and requirements. It has an attendance tracking feature that allows you to track time and attendance to integrate with your payroll system.
Open HRMS allows you to capture time and attendance from multiple resources, be it mobile time clocks, on-site kiosks, or biometric devices, ensuring that employees receive compensation for their hours worked.
Some companies have extensive scheduling requirements because of the sheer number of employees or multiple departments, which makes scheduling a nightmare for HR officials. Open HRMS has a comprehensive scheduling feature that lets you create different shifts according to employee work hours quickly.
You can also use Open HRMS to notify employees about their new schedules so you can receive feedback about their new hours and make adjustments if needed. Open HRMS also has a leave management feature to help you receive and manage leave requests that you can factor in when creating schedules.
Open HRMS support package pricing starts at $499/package/month.
Staffjoy
Best for scheduling hourly workers (both 1099 and W2 status)
Staffjoy simplifies staff scheduling for small businesses, especially those still using paper and spreadsheets. The application is ideal for on-location organizations such as restaurants, cafes, and delivery operations.
This software has a solid user base, and developers are available to ship code for various operations. These include setting up Staffjoy on Google Cloud.
Staffjoy is available free on an open source license, but you will need to provide hosting.
TimeTrex Community Edition
Best free time clock software
TimeTrex Community Edition offers different ways of time tracking the attendance of employees. You can track employees through web browsers, biometric facial recognition time clocks, mobile apps, or touch-tone telephones.
With this software, you can remotely monitor employees and get detailed reports on employee timesheets and attendance. Employees can request schedule changes, and rosters can be modified securely from anywhere.
TimeTrex Community Edition is free, open source software. However, there is also an option to upgrade to the paid professional edition.
StaffRoster Suite
Best for larger organizations
For organizations with complex shift schedules, StaffRoster is a natural choice for dynamic employee scheduling.
This all-in-one platform simplifies the management of all aspects of shift work. Companies using StaffRoster can share shift information in one centralized location, track scheduling for up to 5 stores or locations, and even navigate contract and roster constraints management right within the app.
StaffRoster pricing starts at $242.36/month (billed as €199/month) for up to 50 employees. There is no free trial option.
OptaPlanner
Best AI scheduling solutions
This open source tool is a lightweight, embeddable planning engine. The software makes it possible to solve optimization problems in areas such as employee rostering.
Every organization faces the challenge of managing limited resources, including personnel. With the help of OptaPlanner, it’s easy to create more efficient plans, reduce labor costs, and improve service.
OptaPlanner is available on an open source license and can be downloaded without charge.
WP-HR Manager Software
Best WordPress-based solution
WP-HR Manager leverages the power of WordPress to provide employee management solutions right within the platform.
You can record and track a wide range of employee information, from attendance and salaries to timekeeping and leave records. Employees can use the self-service tools and templates to update their own data, check-in/out, and request leave. It’s also easy to add multiple locations and management roles.
The core WP-HR Manager plugin is free, but paid extensions are available from $5.99/month
Booked Scheduler
Best for clubs and non-profit organizations
Booked Scheduler helps groups and organizations manage, book, and track resources. Multiple schedule views permit users to pinpoint time slots for the resources they need.
Simple calendar views allow everyone to see availability clearly, while administrators enjoy flexibility in how the software is configured and managed.
Booked Scheduler costs from $10/month and gets you full access for unlimited users. You can also sign up for a free 30-day trial.
Need Expert Help Selecting The Right HR Scheduling Software?
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Best Open Source Employee Scheduling Software Comparison Chart
This comparison chart summarizes basic details about each of my top open-source employee scheduling software selections. You can view pricing details and the availability of free trials side-by-side to help you find the best option for your budget and scheduling needs.
Tool | Free Option | Price | ||
---|---|---|---|---|
1 | monday.com Best for customization and flexibility | 14-day free trial + free plan available | From $8/user/month (billed annually, min 3 seats) | Visit Website |
2 | mHelpDesk Best for field service teams | Not available | From $169/user/month | Visit Website |
3 | TimeForge Best for retailers and store operators | Not available | Free for up to 25 users | Visit Website |
4 | Open HRMS Best comprehensive employee scheduling solution | Free to use | From $499/month (support package) | Visit Website |
5 | Staffjoy Best for scheduling hourly workers (both 1099 and W2 status) | Not available | Free on an open source license | Visit Website |
6 | TimeTrex Community Edition Best free time clock software | Not available | Free, open source softwar | Visit Website |
7 | StaffRoster Suite Best for larger organizations | Not available | From $242.36/month (billed as €199/month) for up to 50 employees | Visit Website |
8 | OptaPlanner Best AI scheduling solutions | Not available | Available on an open source license | Visit Website |
9 | WP-HR Manager Software Best WordPress-based solution | Not available | From $5.99/month | Visit Website |
10 | Booked Scheduler Best for clubs and non-profit organizations | 30-day free trial | From $10/month | Visit Website |
Other Open Source Employee Scheduling Software Options
Here are a few more that didn’t make it into my top 10 list but are still worth taking a closer look at:
- Rallly
Best for easy collaborative scheduling
- Setster
Best for solving complex scheduling problems
- Connecteam
Best for complex shift planning
- evQueue
Best for workflows and tasks synchronization
- Schedwi
Best task scheduler designed to run scripts/commands
- Schedulix
Best enterprise-level job scheduling system
- ServiceMax
Best for companies with large field-service operations
- Auto Shift Planner
Best automatically generated employee shift schedules
Selection Criteria for Open Source Employee Scheduling Software
Wondering how I created this list of the best open-source employee scheduling software? I started out by creating a long list of popular employee scheduling systems based on recent market data. I then examined each system in detail to determine whether their software offered any open-source functionality (i.e., the ability to revise their source code as needed).
To bring you into my process even more, here’s a quick summary of the evaluation criteria I used to create this list. When assessing each system, I asked myself the following questions to see how each system compared to the rest:
- User Interface (UI): Is it clean and attractive? (Often a weak point with open source software.)
- Usability: Are the features easy to learn and master? What tutorials and training are available (if any)?
- Software Integrations: Is it easy to connect with other tools? Are there pre-built integrations?
- Paid Extras: While open source software is free, there may be options to purchase additional features from various vendors. What upgrades are available?
Key Features
In addition to the criteria above, I also assessed the following key features to make my final selections for this list:
- Employee Management: houses information about all your employees, company structure, and locations.
- Schedule Management: automates the process of schedule creation according to availability and other criteria.
- Shift Management: makes it easy for employees to swap shifts and make other shift scheduling changes.
- Time Management: protective measures to ensure employees are recording their time and time-off accurately
- Absence Management: allows for proactive management of any gaps that occur in the schedule due to absence.
- Tracking Payroll Expenses and Budget: integrations with other financial software to provide a big-picture view
- Employee Self-Service: allows employees to update their own schedules if necessary
- Reporting and Business Intelligence: provides detailed reporting and analysis for senior management
People Also Ask
If you still have questions about open-source employee scheduling software and what it has to offer, these answers to frequently asked questions are a great place to start:
Is open-source employee scheduling software as good as proprietary alternatives?
Is open-source employee scheduling software reliable?
Can open-source employee scheduling software compete with paid tools?
Other Employee Management Software
Not sure if open-source employee scheduling software is the right fit? Here are some other employee scheduling tools you may also find of interest:
- Employee Scheduling Software
- Online Employee Scheduling Software
- Employee Management Systems
- Employee Scheduling Software for Small Businesses
- Employee Shift Scheduling Software
- Free Employee Scheduling Software
- Workforce Management Software
- Leave Management Software
- Attendance Tracking Software
- Time Tracking Software
- Time Tracking Apps
- Productivity Tracking Software
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