RosterMates vs Deputy
Deputy is Australia's biggest name in rostering, and it earned that. RosterMates takes a different bet: the whole product at one flat price — no add-ons, no minimum spend — with onboarding done for you and support from the people who build it. Here's the honest side-by-side for Australian teams.
Feature and pricing comparison for Australian businesses, from each company's public pages as of July 2026.
| RosterMates | Deputy | |
|---|---|---|
| Pricing (per user/month) | Flat NZ$8 — all features included (billed NZD) | Lite A$6.75 · Core A$8.75 · Pro A$13 |
| Minimum monthly spend | None | A$30 / US$30 per invoice |
| Paid add-ons required for full product | No — one price | HR, Messaging+, Analytics+ cost extra |
| Modern Award interpretation | No — rates stay with your payroll | Yes — AU award features |
| State public holiday calendars | Built in per location | Yes |
| AI auto-rostering | Yes — rules, history & fairness | Yes, incl. POS demand data |
| GPS clock-in & kiosk with facial verification | Yes, both included | Yes |
| AU payroll path | Payroll-ready exports: Xero, MYOB, KeyPay, Employment Hero | Integrations incl. Xero & MYOB |
| Event staffing with shift bidding & waitlists | Yes | No |
| Custom forms with AI builder | Included | Via paid HR add-on |
| Integration ecosystem | Focused on payroll exports | 300+ integrations |
| Free onboarding — setup done for you | Yes — staff imported, templates built, managers trained | Self-serve setup guides |
| Support | Unlimited & free — founder-led, replies in minutes, online through the AU business day | Chat/email; 24/7 on Pro plan; reviews note variable quality |
| Contract | Month to month, cancel anytime | Monthly or annual; no refunds on annual cancellation |
| Free trial | 30 days, no credit card | 31 days, no credit card |
| Reviews | — | Capterra 4.6/5 · Trustpilot 3.9/5 (as of Jul 2026) |
Deputy pricing and features from deputy.com public pages as of 5 July 2026 (minimum monthly spend of A$30/US$30 per invoice applies from 1 Sep 2025). Deputy is a trademark of Deputechnologies Pty Ltd. RosterMates pricing is currently billed in NZD while Australian billing is finalised. Always confirm current pricing with each vendor.
Example: a café or retail store with 20 rostered staff, using scheduling, time clock and timesheets.
No product is best for everyone. Here's where Deputy is strong, and where RosterMates makes more sense.
Choose Deputy if…
- Built-in Modern Award interpretation is a hard requirement — Deputy has real AU award features and RosterMates deliberately leaves rates to your payroll
- You need demand-driven scheduling from POS/sales data — Deputy's forecasting is genuinely mature
- You rely on a niche system in Deputy's 300+ integration ecosystem
- Your staff already know the Deputy app from previous jobs — 320,000+ workplaces use it
Choose RosterMates if…
- You want one flat price with everything included — no add-on stacking, no minimum spend
- Your payroll already applies award rates, and what you need is accurate, position-tagged hours delivered to it cleanly
- You value real support — founders answer 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 in this pairing
- You want software that listens — tell us a problem and we ship the solution, including complex automations set up free
- You want month-to-month terms with no annual lock-in or cancellation penalties
The table above only counts features. Every RosterMates plan also comes with a founder-led team doing the heavy lifting for you — included, 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 — online through the Australian business day. No ticket tiers, 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.
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.
Our verdict
Deputy is an excellent, mature product on its home turf — if you need POS-driven forecasting, deep award interpretation or one of its 300+ integrations, it deserves the shortlist spot. But for many Australian small and mid-sized teams, the real Deputy bill is the sticker price plus the add-ons plus the minimum spend, the onboarding is on you, and support depends on your plan tier.
RosterMates' offer is simpler: the entire product — AI rostering, time clocks, timesheets, leave, forms, messaging, events — at one flat per-employee price, set up for you free, with founders answering support through the Australian business day, feeding accurate hours to the Xero, MYOB, KeyPay or Employment Hero payroll you already trust. Try both — Deputy gives you 31 days free and we give you 30. We think you'll stay.
Try RosterMates FreeCommon questions from Australian teams comparing the two.