# Workforce scheduling for small business buyers: what AI models recommend, November 2026

Gane Index, November 2026 Edition. Asked as "employee scheduling software" and as "shift scheduling tool", six framings each, to fourteen models with search on, on behalf of a small B2B company. Page: https://www.gane.ai/index/hr/core/workforce-scheduling/2026-11/smb

**Standing:** Connecteam leads with 26% of first choices; verdict contested. 54 first choices across the direct, paraphrase, budget and scale prompts.

## First-choice share

| Rank | Product | Share | Negative rate | Labels |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | [Connecteam](https://www.gane.ai/index/hr/vendors/connecteam/index.md) | 26% | 0% | 51 |
| 2 | [Homebase](https://www.gane.ai/index/hr/vendors/homebase/index.md) | 24% | 2% | 57 |
| 3 | [Sling](https://www.gane.ai/index/hr/vendors/sling/index.md) | 20% | 0% | 31 |
| 4 | [When I Work](https://www.gane.ai/index/hr/vendors/when-i-work/index.md) | 17% | 0% | 43 |
| 5 | [Deputy](https://www.gane.ai/index/hr/vendors/deputy/index.md) | 6% | 8% | 39 |
| 10 | [7shifts](https://www.gane.ai/index/hr/vendors/7shifts/index.md) | 0% | 25% | 20 |
| 13 | [Calendly](https://www.gane.ai/index/hr/vendors/calendly/index.md) | 0% | 40% | 20 |
| 21 | [Acuity Scheduling](https://www.gane.ai/index/hr/vendors/acuity-scheduling/index.md) | 0% | 40% | 10 |

Rank is by share of first choices among all 82 products named; products with the same share are tied, and the order among them carries no meaning. The table lists those with at least 10 labels.

## Each model's first choice on the direct prompt

- Claude Haiku 4.5: Connecteam; alternatives Deputy, Homebase, Sling, When I Work
- GPT-5.4 mini: Connecteam, When I Work; alternatives Homebase
- Gemini 3.5 Flash: Connecteam; alternatives Float, Homebase, Resource Guru, Robin
- Perplexity Sonar: When I Work; alternatives Connecteam, Deputy, Homebase, QuickBooks Time
- Grok 4.20: When I Work; alternatives ClockShark, Connecteam, Homebase, QuickBooks Time
- Mistral Small: Connecteam; alternatives Buddy Punch, Homebase, Sling
- DeepSeek V4 Flash: Connecteam, Homebase; alternatives When I Work
- Llama 4 Maverick: no first choice
- Qwen 3.7 Flash: When I Work; alternatives ClickUp, Deputy, Homebase, Monday.com
- Kimi K2: Homebase; alternatives Buddy Punch, Connecteam, Sling, When I Work
- GLM 4.7 FlashX: Sling, When I Work; alternatives Connecteam, Deputy, Homebase
- MiniMax M2.5: Deputy, When I Work; alternatives ClockShark, Connecteam, Homebase
- GPT-6 Luna: Connecteam; alternatives Deputy
- Muse Glimmer 30B: Connecteam, Homebase; alternatives Deputy, Sling, When I Work

## Sources the answers cite

71 of 84 answers came back with a source list, from 14 of 14 models. Sites named in the most answers:

- capterra.com: 43 answers, 74 citations
- peoplemanagingpeople.com: 34 answers, 41 citations
- softwareadvice.com: 29 answers, 47 citations
- forbes.com: 22 answers, 22 citations
- selecthub.com: 21 answers, 24 citations
- selectsoftwarereviews.com: 21 answers, 22 citations
- fitsmallbusiness.com: 16 answers, 19 citations
- zapier.com: 16 answers, 17 citations

Pages named in the most answers:

- https://peoplemanagingpeople.com/tools/best-employee-scheduling-software-for-small-business (27 answers)
- https://capterra.com/resources/best-employee-scheduling-software-for-small-business (26 answers)
- https://forbes.com/advisor/business/software/best-employee-scheduling-software (22 answers)
- https://selectsoftwarereviews.com/buyer-guide/best-employee-scheduling-software-for-small-business (21 answers)
- https://selecthub.com/employee-scheduling/employee-scheduling-small-business (19 answers)
- https://fitsmallbusiness.com/employee-scheduling-software (14 answers)
- https://softwareadvice.com/hr/employee-scheduling-comparison (14 answers)
- https://zapier.com/blog/best-employee-scheduling-software (14 answers)
- https://spotsaas.com/list/employee-scheduling-software/for-small-business (12 answers)
- https://tcpsoftware.com/articles/scheduling-software-for-small-business (12 answers)

## Warned against

- Calendly: 8 of 20 labels negative. "Calendly, Acuity, and similar booking tools are designed to fill customer time slots—not manage shift coverage, time-off requests, labor rules, or payroll integration." (Perplexity Sonar, negative prompt)
- Acuity Scheduling: 4 of 10 labels negative. "Some tools, like Acuity Scheduling, do not have a free plan and only offer email support, which can be restrictive for small businesses" (Mistral Small, negative prompt)
- 7shifts: 5 of 20 labels negative. "Avoid restaurant-focused tools like 7shifts which are overkill" (DeepSeek V4 Flash, direct prompt)
- Google Calendar: 3 of 7 labels negative. "Basic/Free Tools Like Google Calendar (Standalone) or Doodle ... Why cautious/avoid" (Grok 4.20, negative prompt)

## Movement since October 2026

Floor: 13 points of share, measured on the calibration repeat.
New leader: Homebase (26%) to Connecteam (26%). Margin 2 points, within noise.

- Connecteam: 18% to 26%, +8. Inside the floor by 5 points · rank 4 → 1 of 82.
- Deputy: 2% to 6%, +4. Inside the floor by 9 points · rank 5 of 82, unchanged.
- Sling: 23% to 20%, −3. Inside the floor by 10 points · rank 2 → 3 of 82.
- Homebase: 26% to 24%, −2. Inside the floor by 11 points · rank 1 → 2 of 82.
- When I Work: 19% to 17%, −2. Inside the floor by 11 points · rank 3 → 4 of 82.
- Buddy Punch: 2% to 0%, −2. Inside the floor by 11 points · rank 7 → 12 of 82.
- Calendly: 2% to 0%, −2. Inside the floor by 11 points · rank 6 → 13 of 82.
- 7shifts: 0% to 0%, ±0. Inside the floor by 13 points · rank 13 → 10 of 82.
- Acuity Scheduling: 0% to 0%, ±0. Inside the floor by 13 points · rank 19 → 21 of 82.

## Record

- Method: https://www.gane.ai/index/hr/methodology
- License: CC BY 4.0. Cite as Gane Index, November 2026 Edition, www.gane.ai/index/hr.