Roster Flow vs Deputy for a small Australian team
Two ways to roster, record hours and hand them to payroll. What each company’s public pages say about price, plans and features, checked on the same day, with Roster Flow’s limits set out as plainly as anybody else’s.
Checked 2 October 2026 against each company’s public pagesWho each may suit
Not a winner. Which kind of business each option tends to fit, from what the public pages say.
- Small teams that want a price set by team size and a free plan
- Businesses that enter their own rates and send approved hours to Xero
- Businesses that want features Deputy lists on its higher plans, such as auto-scheduling, biometrics time clocking, and wage and labour budgets
- Teams that want payroll from the same company, which Deputy lists as an add-on
How the price is worked out
The public pricing model, and what counts toward it.
| Roster Flow | Deputy | |
|---|---|---|
| How the price is set | By the number of active people: bands up to 250 staff, and agreed with us above that | Per user per month, by plan |
| Lowest paid price | $29 a month for up to 10 staff | $6.75 AUD per user per month on Lite, excluding taxes |
| Free plan | Free for up to 5 staff | Not stated on the pages checked |
| Free trial | 28 days on a paid plan, with no card to start | A 30 day free trial is stated for add-ons; not stated for the base plans |
| Minimum spend or seats | No minimum; teams over 250 contact us for pricing | A minimum monthly spend of AUD $30 per invoice |
| Currency and tax | Australian dollars, GST included | Australian dollars, excluding applicable taxes |
The same week, step by step
One ordinary week, from building the roster to handing the hours to payroll.
| Roster Flow | Deputy | |
|---|---|---|
| Build next week | Copy last week, adjust it, and watch the estimated cost as shifts go on | Rostering on every plan, with auto-scheduling listed from Core |
| Tell the team | Publish, and everybody rostered is told on their phone | Not stated on the pages checked |
| Record the hours worked | Staff clock in and out on their phone; differences from the roster are flagged | Time clocking and timesheets on every plan |
| Approve the week | Clear the flagged rows and approve the week | Timesheet auto approval listed from Core |
| Hand the hours to payroll | Send approved hours to Xero as draft timesheets, or export a CSV | Payroll and HR integrations, or the payroll add-on |
Features, from the public pages
“Not stated on the pages checked” means the page did not say. It does not mean the product lacks it.
| Roster Flow | Deputy | |
|---|---|---|
| Building and publishing rosters | Yes: copy last week, see the estimated cost, publish to staff phones | Basic rostering on Lite; advanced rostering, micro-scheduling and auto-scheduling on Core |
| Clocking in and out | From the employee’s own phone in the browser, with an optional photo and distance check | Basic time clocking on Lite; biometrics time clocking on Core |
| Shift swaps | Yes, agreed between staff and approved by a manager | Shift swap and find replacement on Lite |
| Award interpretation | No. The business enters its own rates and multipliers | Not stated on the pages checked |
| Running payroll | No. Pay runs, payslips and superannuation stay in the payroll system | A payroll add-on at $5 AUD per user per month |
| Payroll connections | Xero, with MYOB coming soon, and a CSV export for anything else | Payroll and HR integrations listed on Lite |
| Prices published | Yes | Yes |
Limits and notes
- It does not interpret awards or work out what anybody is paid
- It does not run pay runs, payslips, superannuation or Single Touch Payroll reporting
- It connects to Xero only, with MYOB coming soon; other payroll systems take a CSV
- There is no app to install: staff use the browser on their phone
- It does not build rosters automatically or forecast staffing from sales
- There is no single sign-on
- Pro lists single sign-on and 24/7 live chat
- Payroll, HR, messaging and analytics are listed as add-ons
Method and update log
Every statement about Deputy comes from the pages below, read on 2 October 2026. Roster Flow’s prices come from its own plan list, the same one the pricing page reads. Nothing is taken from review sites, forums or memory, and prices change, so check the source before deciding.
- Deputy: pricing (Australia), read 2 October 2026
- Roster Flow pricing, from the product’s plan list
Still to do on this page:
- Every price, plan and feature against Deputy’s public pages on the day of release
- That the use of the Deputy name is descriptive, and cleared in the trademark review
- That the “may suit” lists stay neutral and are supported by the sources
- Whether a free trial applies to Deputy’s base plans
Questions
How much does Deputy cost compared with Roster Flow?
Deputy publishes $6.75 AUD per user per month on Lite, excluding taxes, priced per user per month, by plan. Roster Flow is $29 a month for up to 10 staff, priced by band rather than per person, so the bill does not move when a busy month adds casuals.
Does Deputy have a free plan?
Deputy does not state a free plan on the pages checked. Roster Flow has free for up to 5 staff, permanently, which is a plan rather than a trial.
Does Deputy work out award rates?
The pages checked do not say whether Deputy interprets awards, so treat that as a question to ask rather than a yes. Roster Flow does not: the business enters its own rates, and pay calculation stays in payroll.
Where do the facts about Deputy on this page come from?
From Deputy's own public pages, read on 2 October 2026 and listed at the bottom of this page. Nothing here comes from a review site, a forum or a sales call, and where a page did not say, this one says so rather than guessing.