RosterMates vs Connecteam
Connecteam is the "everything app" for deskless teams — but the everything comes in separate USD hubs that stack up fast past 10 staff, and the Australian payroll story is thin. RosterMates is one product at one flat price, with payroll-ready exports for Xero, MYOB, KeyPay and Employment Hero, free onboarding, and support from the team that builds it. Here's the honest side-by-side.
Feature and pricing comparison for Australian businesses, from each company's public pages as of July 2026.
| RosterMates | Connecteam | |
|---|---|---|
| Pricing model | Flat NZ$8 per employee — all features included (billed NZD) | Per hub: base fee per hub/month (Basic US$29 · Advanced US$49 · Expert US$99 annual) for first 30 users, extra users on top |
| All features for one price | Yes — no modules or hubs | Scheduling, chat and HR are 3 separate hubs, each with its own base fee |
| Free tier | No — 30-day free trial, with setup done for you | Free ≤10 users — but thin AU payroll coverage at any tier |
| Roster builder & templates | Yes | Yes |
| AI auto-rostering | Yes — AI Auto-Roster | Yes — true auto-scheduling |
| GPS clock-in with geofencing | Yes, incl. facial verification — every plan | Yes, but live GPS tracking beyond 10 users needs Expert (US$99+/mo) |
| Australian leave types | Annual, personal/carer's, compassionate & family and domestic violence leave built in | Generic time-off — no Australia-specific presets |
| State & territory public holiday calendars | Per location — QLD sites see QLD holidays | Not an Australian-calendar product |
| Australian payroll coverage | Payroll-ready exports: Xero, MYOB, KeyPay, Employment Hero + custom CSV | Xero sync only (no allowances support); others US-centric — no MYOB, KeyPay or Employment Hero listed |
| Training courses & employee recognition | No dedicated LMS — AI custom forms cover checklists & sign-offs | Yes — courses, recognition, documents (separate paid HR & Skills hub) |
| Event staffing with shift bidding & waitlists | Yes | No |
| Free onboarding — setup done for you | Yes — staff imported, templates built, managers trained | Self-serve setup |
| Custom solutions & roster automations built for you | Yes — tell us the problem, we build the fix, free | Global product roadmap |
| Free trial | 30 days, no credit card | 14 days, no credit card (plus free plan ≤10 users) |
| Reviews | — | Capterra 4.7/5 (review counts vary by region, as of Jul 2026) |
Connecteam pricing and features from connecteam.com public pages and third-party reviews as of 5 July 2026 (USD pricing shown; annual per-hub base fees for the first 30 users, extra users charged on top; AUD conversions move with the exchange rate). Connecteam is a trademark of its owner. RosterMates pricing is currently billed in NZD while Australian billing is finalised. Always confirm current pricing with each vendor.
Example: a café, retail store or trades crew with 20 rostered staff, needing scheduling, a time clock and team chat — one flat price vs a stack of USD hubs.
No product is best for everyone. Here's where Connecteam is strong, and where RosterMates makes more sense.
Choose Connecteam if…
- You have 10 or fewer staff, simple payroll needs, and you're comfortable outgrowing the free plan into per-hub USD pricing later
- You want an "everything app" — training courses, employee recognition, document storage and checklists on top of scheduling and chat
- You value a polished, highly-rated mobile app — Connecteam sits at 4.7/5 on Capterra with a huge global review base
- You need a true auto-scheduling engine and don't need Australian payroll depth
Choose RosterMates if…
- You're past 10 staff and don't want to buy 2–3 separate hubs in USD — one flat price covers everything
- Your payroll runs on Xero, MYOB, KeyPay or Employment Hero and you want approved hours exported in payroll-ready files, allowances included
- You want Australian leave types and state-based public holiday calendars in the roster, not generic time-off buckets
- You value real support — a human answers in minutes, and free onboarding means we build your rosters and templates for you
- You staff events — capacity-based shift bidding with waitlists is unique to RosterMates
- You want software that listens — tell us a problem and we ship the solution, including complex roster and event automations set up free
The table above only counts features. Every RosterMates plan also comes with a real team doing the heavy lifting for you — included in the price, not sold separately.
Free onboarding, done for you
We import your staff, build your roster templates, set up your positions and areas, and train your managers — free. You start with a working roster, not a blank screen.
Support in minutes, not days
Unlimited free support from the team that actually builds RosterMates. Call or message — a human answers fast. No ticket tiers, no offshore queue, no chatbot maze.
We build what you need
Got a problem your software ignores? Tell us. We listen, design a solution and ship it — RosterMates customers watch their feedback become features that better their business.
Complex setups automated, free
Rotating patterns, event crews, multi-site rosters — our team builds your complex roster and event automations for you, at no charge. If it can be automated, we'll set it up.
Our verdict
Connecteam is an impressive product with real breadth, and its free tier genuinely serves micro teams of 10 or fewer. But the pricing model changes character the moment you grow: scheduling, chat and HR live in separate hubs, each with its own USD base fee that converts to Australian dollars at whatever the exchange rate says this month. And for Australian payroll the story is thin — a Xero sync that skips allowances, and no MYOB, KeyPay or Employment Hero coverage listed at any price.
RosterMates takes the opposite approach: one product, one flat price, every feature included — rostering, time clock, Australian leave types, state holiday calendars, messaging, events, forms, and payroll-ready exports for Xero, MYOB, KeyPay and Employment Hero — with free onboarding done for you, support that answers in minutes, and custom solutions built when you ask. Try both: Connecteam's trial is 14 days, ours is 30. We think you'll stay.
Try RosterMates FreeCommon questions from Australian teams comparing the two.