Workforce scheduling for small business buyers
Asked as “employee scheduling software”, and as “shift scheduling tool”, on behalf of a small B2B company. 42 first choices recorded across the direct, paraphrase, budget and scale prompts, twelve models each.
Standing · first-choice share
43%
Clear leader
43Homebase38Connecteam12Sling07others
43% of first choices, clear leader.
By buyer segment
The same question asked on behalf of a different buyer. Each standing is computed within its segment; they sit side by side and are never added together.
The standing
Share is the count of first choices across the direct, paraphrase, budget and scale prompts, over all twelve models, for a small B2B company. Ordered by share.
ProductFirst-choice shareNegative rateLabelsQuadrant
Bars are the share of first choices, 0 to 100Every product with at least 10 labels here. Every product name links to its product page.
Head to headHead-to-head pages are published for mid-market buyers, so these open on mid-market figures, not small business.
All ten head-to-head pages: the top five products, each against each
Recommended versus criticized
Every product with at least 10 labels here, on both axes. The 30% line names a quadrant, not the verdict above: that one needs more than 40%.
Criticized challengerCriticized default
Negative label rate →
01
02
03
04
05
06
07Accepted challengerEndorsed leader
0%First-choice share → · lines at 30% share and 25% negative60%
Key
01Homebase43%
Homebase43%02Connecteam38%
Connecteam38%03Sling12%
Sling12%04When I Work7%
When I Work7%05Deputy0%
Deputy0%06Calendly0%
Calendly0%077shifts0%
7shifts0%What they warned about
Two of twelve models held their first choice under the paraphrase. Claude Haiku 4.5, GPT-5.4 mini, Perplexity Sonar, Grok 4.20, DeepSeek V4 Flash, Llama 4 Maverick, Qwen 3.7 Flash, Kimi K2, GLM 4.7 FlashX and MiniMax M2.5 changed. A high negative share on a product with few labels is a warning. A low share on a product with many labels is salience, not sentiment.
7shifts19%
4 of 21 labels negative · 3 of 12 models · 2 hard negative
“I'd steer away from restaurant-specific platforms like 7shifts, HotSchedules, and Toast Scheduling” DeepSeek V4 Flash, direct prompt
Acuity Scheduling43%
3 of 7 labels negative · 3 of 12 models
“flagged for glitches (app instability, frequent logouts, slow refreshes), no free tier, and steep pricing” Grok 4.20, negative prompt
When I Work9%
4 of 46 labels negative · 3 of 12 models
“When I Work is worth a look, but it can be less feature-rich and may require more manual work than the others” GPT-5.4 mini, direct prompt
Vagaro100%
2 of 2 labels negative · 2 of 12 models · 1 hard negative
“service-based avoid Vagaro” Grok 4.20, negative prompt
What they cite
Twelve of the twelve models returned a source list in this edition: four return the pages they cited and eight the search results they consulted.
Sites the answers cite
62 of 72 answers in this category came back with a source list, from 12 of 12 models: citations where the model returns them, or the search results it consulted. 849 links across 206 sites, every framing counted. Ranked by the number of answers carrying the site or page.
44 answers · 82 citations · 11 models
vendor site · Connecteam37 answers · 62 citations · 11 models
36 answers · 49 citations · 10 models
vendor site · Zapier33 answers · 34 citations · 10 models
27 answers · 33 citations · 11 models
vendor site · Shifton25 answers · 26 citations · 11 models
23 answers · 23 citations · 10 models
vendor site · Buddy Punch15 answers · 16 citations · 10 models
vendor site · Salesforce15 answers · 15 citations · 7 models
vendor site · Guideflow13 answers · 17 citations · 9 models
13 answers · 13 citations · 6 models
12 answers · 12 citations · 9 models
Pages the answers cite
The ten pages named in the most answers, by full address. A page here is one the models returned with a recommendation, not one the index endorses.
32 answers · 10 models
25 answers · 11 models
23 answers · 9 models
22 answers · 11 models
22 answers · 9 models
20 answers · 10 models
19 answers · 9 models
16 answers · 8 models
14 answers · 9 models
14 answers · 8 models
Search against answers
Each company's standing in the answers beside its site's footprint in Google search, one row a site: the products the models named on it with their shares, and the share they add up to; monthly searches on Google, and DataForSEO's estimate of AI search demand (modeled from search signals, directional, not a count of queries to any assistant), for the most-searched of the company's and its products' names (the name is in each row's hover text); estimated monthly organic visits to the site; and its best position in Google's top ten for “best employee scheduling software”, “employee scheduling software”, “scheduling tools”. US estimates from DataForSEO and Google's Ads Transparency Center. A small company's site, or a mid-sized company's site for its flagship, is marked company; a product on a large parent's site (Google, Microsoft) has no site figures. A column with no figures for this category is left out, and an empty cell means none were seen, not none exist. Two measurements side by side: neither is read as the cause of the other.
| Company and products | Share | Own site cited | Name searches, Google | AI search demand, est. | Organic visits | Paid search a month, est. | Google ads, last 30 days | Best Google position |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Homebase joinhomebase.com | 43% | 353 | 201,000 | 3,839 | 472,253 | $793 | 120 | 2 |
| Connecteam connecteam.com | 38% | 693 | 49,500 | 288 | 312,449 | $13,504 | 120 | |
| Sling getsling.com | 12% | 95 | 368,000 | 51,638 | 363,426 | |||
| When I Work wheniwork.com | 7% | 267 | 110,000 | 5,608 | 218,244 | $20 | 34 | 7 |
| Deputy deputy.com | 0% | 356 | 40,500 | 17,000 | 45,127 | $3,222 | 32 | 3 |
| Calendly calendly.com | 0% | 214 | 368,000 | 2,824 | 292,858 | $34 | 5 | 1 |
| 7shifts 7shifts.com | 0% | 64 | 60,500 | 220 | 152,968 | $246 | 69 | |
| Square Appointments squareup.com | 0% | 9 | 18,100 | 259 | 3,658,565 | $9 | 99 | |
| Shifton shifton.com | 0% | |||||||
| Buddy Punch buddypunch.com | 0% | 72 | 9,900 | 48 | 39,250 | 5 | 1 |
Google's top ten for the three searches hold 22 sites; 5 of them are among the sites the models cited here (buddypunch.com, business.com, joinhomebase.com, peoplemanagingpeople.com, zapier.com). The first result for “best employee scheduling software” is buddypunch.com.
How they answered
Six framings of the same buying question, each sent to every model in a fresh session with search on. One row per model, so a row shows whether it held its answer under rewording, what it named when cost was the constraint, and what it argued against. Computed from the raw judge labels.ShowHide
How they answered
Six framings of the same buying question, each sent to every model in a fresh session with search on. One row per model, so a row shows whether it held its answer under rewording, what it named when cost was the constraint, and what it argued against. Computed from the raw judge labels.
ShowHideModelDirect“What is the best employee scheduling software for a small B2B company?”Paraphrase“Which shift scheduling tool would you recommend to a small business that sells to other businesses?”Comparative“What are the top scheduling tools for a small team and how do they differ?”Budget-constrained“What is the best employee scheduling software for a small company with a tight budget?”Scale-constrained“We are a 30 person company evaluating an employee scheduling software. What should we look at?”Negative“Which scheduling tools should a small business avoid or be cautious about?”
Claude Haiku 4.5Connecteam, Homebaseno first choiceChangedWhen I WorkSling, When I Workno first choiceagainst: HoneyBook, YouCanBookMe
Two alternatives
Deputy, When I WorkEight alternatives
7shifts, Appointlet, Calendly, Connecteam, Deputy, Rallly, Sling, SuperSaaSThree alternatives
Deputy, Homebase, ShiftonGPT-5.4 miniConnecteamagainst: When I WorkHomebaseChangedagainst: 7shifts, DeputyCalendlyHomebase, Slingagainst: Connecteamno first choicenothing named
One alternative
DeputyOne alternative
When I WorkThree alternatives
Doodle, Google Calendar, Microsoft BookingsOne alternative
When I WorkGemini 3.5 FlashConnecteamConnecteamHeldWhen I WorkHomebaseno first choiceagainst: Dayforce, Hootsuite, Salesforce Scheduler, Sprout Social, TimeTrade, UKG Pro Workforce Management, Workday Workforce Management
Five alternatives
Calendly, Chili Piper, Float, Resource Guru, When I WorkThree alternatives
Float, Homebase, When I WorkFour alternatives
7shifts, Connecteam, Homebase, SlingThree alternatives
7shifts, Connecteam, SlingSix alternatives
7shifts, Connecteam, Deputy, Homebase, Sling, When I WorkPerplexity SonarConnecteamHomebaseChangedConnecteam, HomebaseSlingno first choicenothing named
Four alternatives
Buddy Punch, Deputy, Homebase, When I WorkFour alternatives
Connecteam, Deputy, Sling, When I WorkThree alternatives
Deputy, Sling, When I WorkTwo alternatives
Connecteam, HomebaseGrok 4.20Connecteamagainst: 7shiftsHomebaseChangedagainst: 7shiftsHomebase, SlingHomebaseagainst: When I Workno first choiceagainst: Acuity Scheduling, Calendly, Homebase, Setmore, Vagaro, When I Work, Workiz
One alternative
HomebaseTwo alternatives
Connecteam, When I WorkOne alternative
When I WorkFour alternatives
7shifts, Connecteam, Shifton, SlingMistral SmallConnecteamConnecteamHeldCalendlyConnecteam, Homebaseno first choicenothing named
Three alternatives
Deputy, Homebase, When I WorkTwo alternatives
Buddy Punch, HomebaseSix alternatives
Doodle, Microsoft Bookings, Reclaim.ai, SavvyCal, Setmore, YouCanBookMeTwo alternatives
7shifts, SlingDeepSeek V4 FlashConnecteamagainst: 7shifts, HotSchedules, Toast SchedulingHomebaseChangedHomebaseSlingno first choiceagainst: Acuity Scheduling, Calabrio, Deputy, Jobber, NICE CXone, OpenCal, Oracle Workforce Management, Shiftboard, Verint, When I Work, Zoho
Three alternatives
Buddy Punch, Homebase, When I WorkTwo alternatives
Deputy, JobberSeven alternatives
7shifts, Cal.com, Calendly, Connecteam, Deputy, Sling, When I WorkTwo alternatives
Connecteam, HomebaseLlama 4 MaverickConnecteamConnecteam, HomebaseChangedno first choiceno first choiceno first choicenothing named
Two alternatives
Deputy, When I WorkQwen 3.7 FlashWhen I WorkHomebaseChangedSling, When I WorkHomebaseno first choiceagainst: Acuity Scheduling, Asana, Calendly, Google Calendar, Microsoft Dynamics 365, Oracle NetSuite, Salesforce, Smartsheet, Wrike
Three alternatives
Calendly, Gusto, QuickBooks TimeTwo alternatives
Connecteam, When I WorkFour alternatives
Calendly, Homebase, Square Appointments, YouCanBookMeThree alternatives
7shifts, Connecteam, When I WorkFour alternatives
Deputy, Homebase, Pinpoint, When I WorkKimi K2Connecteam, HomebaseHomebase, When I WorkChangedHomebaseHomebaseConnecteamagainst: Thryv, Vagaro
Two alternatives
Sling, When I WorkTwo alternatives
Deputy, SlingSeven alternatives
Calendly, Clockify, Connecteam, Deputy, Koalendar, Sling, When I WorkFour alternatives
7shifts, Shifton, Sling, TimeTrexFour alternatives
Deputy, Homebase, Sling, When I WorkGLM 4.7 FlashXSlingagainst: BambooHRConnecteamChangedHomebaseHomebaseno first choicenothing named
Four alternatives
Deputy, Homebase, When I Work, ZoomShiftTwo alternatives
Homebase, When I WorkSix alternatives
7shifts, Connecteam, Deputy, Rippling, Sling, When I WorkFive alternatives
7shifts, Connecteam, Deputy, Sling, When I WorkMiniMax M2.5no first choiceConnecteam, HomebaseChangedHomebaseHomebaseno first choicenothing named
One alternative
CalendlyFour alternatives
7shifts, Connecteam, Deputy, When I WorkThree alternatives
Connecteam, Shifton, SlingBold is the first choiceAlternatives are counted; the count opens them.What the answer argued against
The record
One row per call: the version string exactly as returned, whether the model searched, sources cited, and latency.
Seventy-two rows: every prompt, every model, every answer.
| Prompt | Model | Version string | Time (UTC) | Searched | Sources | Latency |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Direct recommendation | Claude Haiku 4.5 | claude-haiku-4-5-20251001 | 2026-09-17 21:22 | yes | 9 | 8 s |
| Direct recommendation | GPT-5.4 mini | gpt-5.4-mini-2026-03-17 | 2026-09-17 18:21 | yes | 3 | 9 s |
| Direct recommendation | Gemini 3.5 Flash | gemini-3.5-flash | 2026-09-17 18:01 | yes | 14 | 229 s |
| Direct recommendation | Perplexity Sonar | sonar | 2026-09-17 19:44 | yes | 20 | 5 s |
| Direct recommendation | Grok 4.20 | spacexai/grok-4.1-fast-non-reasoning via vertex (asked for grok-4.20-non-reasoning; the API answered as this version) | 2026-09-17 18:42 | yes | 26 | 16 s |
| Direct recommendation | Mistral Small | mistral/mistral-small via mistral | 2026-09-17 21:00 | yes | 15 | 8 s |
| Direct recommendation | DeepSeek V4 Flash | deepseek/deepseek-v4-flash via fireworks | 2026-09-17 20:58 | yes | 14 | 16 s |
| Direct recommendation | Llama 4 Maverick | meta/llama-4-maverick via bedrock | 2026-09-17 21:22 | yes | 5 | 3 s |
| Direct recommendation | Qwen 3.7 Flash | alibaba/qwen3.7-flash via alibaba | 2026-09-17 20:52 | no | 0 | 30 s |
| Direct recommendation | Kimi K2 | moonshotai/kimi-k2 via novita | 2026-09-17 18:26 | yes | 13 | 37 s |
| Direct recommendation | GLM 4.7 FlashX | zai/glm-4.7-flashx via zai | 2026-09-17 18:20 | yes | 25 | 44 s |
| Direct recommendation | MiniMax M2.5 | minimax/minimax-m2.5 via minimax | 2026-09-17 20:13 | yes | 8 | 23 s |
| Paraphrase | Claude Haiku 4.5 | claude-haiku-4-5-20251001 | 2026-09-17 17:59 | no | 0 | 4 s |
| Paraphrase | GPT-5.4 mini | gpt-5.4-mini-2026-03-17 | 2026-09-17 20:33 | no | 0 | 3 s |
| Paraphrase | Gemini 3.5 Flash | gemini-3.5-flash | 2026-09-17 22:01 | yes | 7 | 58 s |
| Paraphrase | Perplexity Sonar | sonar | 2026-09-17 21:25 | yes | 20 | 5 s |
| Paraphrase | Grok 4.20 | spacexai/grok-4.1-fast-non-reasoning via vertex (asked for grok-4.20-non-reasoning; the API answered as this version) | 2026-09-17 20:38 | yes | 31 | 15 s |
| Paraphrase | Mistral Small | mistral/mistral-small via mistral | 2026-09-17 19:56 | yes | 5 | 4 s |
| Paraphrase | DeepSeek V4 Flash | deepseek/deepseek-v4-flash via fireworks | 2026-09-17 19:01 | yes | 15 | 16 s |
| Paraphrase | Llama 4 Maverick | meta/llama-4-maverick via bedrock | 2026-09-17 19:24 | yes | 5 | 2 s |
| Paraphrase | Qwen 3.7 Flash | alibaba/qwen3.7-flash via alibaba | 2026-09-17 18:56 | yes | 13 | 51 s |
| Paraphrase | Kimi K2 | moonshotai/kimi-k2 via novita | 2026-09-17 20:15 | yes | 9 | 17 s |
| Paraphrase | GLM 4.7 FlashX | zai/glm-4.7-flashx via zai | 2026-09-17 20:50 | yes | 15 | 52 s |
| Paraphrase | MiniMax M2.5 | minimax/minimax-m2.5 via minimax | 2026-09-17 20:03 | yes | 13 | 39 s |
| Comparative | Claude Haiku 4.5 | claude-haiku-4-5-20251001 | 2026-09-17 20:47 | yes | 9 | 10 s |
| Comparative | GPT-5.4 mini | gpt-5.4-mini-2026-03-17 | 2026-09-17 21:38 | yes | 6 | 7 s |
| Comparative | Gemini 3.5 Flash | gemini-3.5-flash | 2026-09-17 22:02 | yes | 15 | 44 s |
| Comparative | Perplexity Sonar | sonar | 2026-09-17 18:47 | yes | 20 | 8 s |
| Comparative | Grok 4.20 | spacexai/grok-4.1-fast-non-reasoning via vertex (asked for grok-4.20-non-reasoning; the API answered as this version) | 2026-09-17 20:06 | yes | 26 | 15 s |
| Comparative | Mistral Small | mistral/mistral-small via mistral | 2026-09-17 18:19 | yes | 15 | 11 s |
| Comparative | DeepSeek V4 Flash | deepseek/deepseek-v4-flash via fireworks | 2026-09-17 17:54 | yes | 20 | 20 s |
| Comparative | Llama 4 Maverick | meta/llama-4-maverick via bedrock | 2026-09-17 20:34 | yes | 5 | 2 s |
| Comparative | Qwen 3.7 Flash | alibaba/qwen3.7-flash via alibaba | 2026-09-17 20:39 | yes | 5 | 23 s |
| Comparative | Kimi K2 | moonshotai/kimi-k2 via novita | 2026-09-17 20:47 | yes | 15 | 30 s |
| Comparative | GLM 4.7 FlashX | zai/glm-4.7-flashx via zai | 2026-09-17 20:51 | yes | 20 | 103 s |
| Comparative | MiniMax M2.5 | minimax/minimax-m2.5 via minimax | 2026-09-17 19:48 | yes | 8 | 18 s |
| Budget constrained | Claude Haiku 4.5 | claude-haiku-4-5-20251001 | 2026-09-17 19:48 | yes | 9 | 8 s |
| Budget constrained | GPT-5.4 mini | gpt-5.4-mini-2026-03-17 | 2026-09-17 21:29 | yes | 4 | 5 s |
| Budget constrained | Gemini 3.5 Flash | gemini-3.5-flash | 2026-09-17 19:44 | yes | 15 | 19 s |
| Budget constrained | Perplexity Sonar | sonar | 2026-09-17 20:13 | yes | 20 | 6 s |
| Budget constrained | Grok 4.20 | spacexai/grok-4.1-fast-non-reasoning via vertex (asked for grok-4.20-non-reasoning; the API answered as this version) | 2026-09-17 19:16 | yes | 16 | 11 s |
| Budget constrained | Mistral Small | mistral/mistral-small via mistral | 2026-09-17 20:21 | yes | 9 | 5 s |
| Budget constrained | DeepSeek V4 Flash | deepseek/deepseek-v4-flash via fireworks | 2026-09-17 19:12 | yes | 19 | 19 s |
| Budget constrained | Llama 4 Maverick | meta/llama-4-maverick via bedrock | 2026-09-17 19:10 | yes | 5 | 3 s |
| Budget constrained | Qwen 3.7 Flash | alibaba/qwen3.7-flash via alibaba | 2026-09-17 20:05 | yes | 15 | 56 s |
| Budget constrained | Kimi K2 | moonshotai/kimi-k2 via novita | 2026-09-17 18:59 | yes | 8 | 19 s |
| Budget constrained | GLM 4.7 FlashX | zai/glm-4.7-flashx via zai | 2026-09-17 21:40 | yes | 11 | 81 s |
| Budget constrained | MiniMax M2.5 | minimax/minimax-m2.5 via minimax | 2026-09-17 21:46 | yes | 9 | 26 s |
| Scale constrained | Claude Haiku 4.5 | claude-haiku-4-5-20251001 | 2026-09-17 18:00 | no | 0 | 8 s |
| Scale constrained | GPT-5.4 mini | gpt-5.4-mini-2026-03-17 | 2026-09-17 20:25 | no | 0 | 5 s |
| Scale constrained | Gemini 3.5 Flash | gemini-3.5-flash | 2026-09-17 21:53 | yes | 12 | 35 s |
| Scale constrained | Perplexity Sonar | sonar | 2026-09-17 18:25 | yes | 20 | 8 s |
| Scale constrained | Grok 4.20 | spacexai/grok-4.1-fast-non-reasoning via vertex (asked for grok-4.20-non-reasoning; the API answered as this version) | 2026-09-17 19:17 | yes | 14 | 11 s |
| Scale constrained | Mistral Small | mistral/mistral-small via mistral | 2026-09-17 21:14 | no | 0 | 6 s |
| Scale constrained | DeepSeek V4 Flash | deepseek/deepseek-v4-flash via fireworks | 2026-09-17 17:58 | yes | 10 | 14 s |
| Scale constrained | Llama 4 Maverick | meta/llama-4-maverick via bedrock | 2026-09-17 20:49 | yes | 5 | 3 s |
| Scale constrained | Qwen 3.7 Flash | alibaba/qwen3.7-flash via alibaba | 2026-09-17 19:06 | no | 0 | 29 s |
| Scale constrained | Kimi K2 | moonshotai/kimi-k2 via novita | 2026-09-17 21:08 | yes | 8 | 22 s |
| Scale constrained | GLM 4.7 FlashX | zai/glm-4.7-flashx via zai | 2026-09-17 19:41 | no | 0 | 56 s |
| Scale constrained | MiniMax M2.5 | minimax/minimax-m2.5 via minimax | 2026-09-17 19:29 | no | 0 | 7 s |
| Negative framing | Claude Haiku 4.5 | claude-haiku-4-5-20251001 | 2026-09-17 18:45 | yes | 17 | 7 s |
| Negative framing | GPT-5.4 mini | gpt-5.4-mini-2026-03-17 | 2026-09-17 17:53 | no | 0 | 5 s |
| Negative framing | Gemini 3.5 Flash | gemini-3.5-flash | 2026-09-17 19:51 | yes | 16 | 22 s |
| Negative framing | Perplexity Sonar | sonar | 2026-09-17 20:08 | yes | 20 | 8 s |
| Negative framing | Grok 4.20 | spacexai/grok-4.1-fast-non-reasoning via vertex (asked for grok-4.20-non-reasoning; the API answered as this version) | 2026-09-17 21:30 | yes | 41 | 17 s |
| Negative framing | Mistral Small | mistral/mistral-small via mistral | 2026-09-17 21:12 | yes | 9 | 8 s |
| Negative framing | DeepSeek V4 Flash | deepseek/deepseek-v4-flash via fireworks | 2026-09-17 21:22 | yes | 18 | 16 s |
| Negative framing | Llama 4 Maverick | meta/llama-4-maverick via bedrock | 2026-09-17 21:42 | yes | 5 | 2 s |
| Negative framing | Qwen 3.7 Flash | alibaba/qwen3.7-flash via alibaba | 2026-09-17 18:18 | yes | 10 | 47 s |
| Negative framing | Kimi K2 | moonshotai/kimi-k2 via novita | 2026-09-17 18:22 | yes | 19 | 35 s |
| Negative framing | GLM 4.7 FlashX | zai/glm-4.7-flashx via zai | 2026-09-17 21:41 | yes | 27 | 53 s |
| Negative framing | MiniMax M2.5 | minimax/minimax-m2.5 via minimax | 2026-09-17 18:57 | yes | 9 | 23 s |
Normalization in this category
Every judgment call made between the raw labels and the numbers above, listed so it is visible and reversible.
ShowHide
Category-scoped readings
Acuity read as Acuity Scheduling
Ceridian Dayforce read as Dayforce
Workday read as Workday Workforce Management
Unresolved, counted raw
BIGContacts
CalendarHero
Lunchbox
MeetFox
Metricool
OpenCal
Publer
TimeTrade
Toast Scheduling
Workfeed
Zorka
Discontinued, still offered
No shut-down product was recommended here.