What is Homebase? 2026 Features, Pricing & Honest Limits

Homebase is an all-in-one app that brings together employee scheduling, a time clock, team messaging, hiring, and a payroll add-on for hourly, shift-based small businesses. It’s priced per location: one location is free, and paid plans start from about $24/location/month when billed annually.

Key takeaways about Homebase in 2026 Homebase is an all-in-one app for hourly shift teams (scheduling, time clock, team messaging, and payroll add-on), priced per location. The free Basic plan includes one location and allows up to 10 employees. Homebase’s strongest features are free scheduling, its mobile app, and the GPS time clock. However, support, billing, and the per-location cost as you add more locations are the main complaints. It records hours for scheduling and payroll, not billable client hours or project profitability; that’s a different job.

 

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Homebase at a glance (2026)

The table below summarizes how Homebase is priced, what it tracks, and who it’s built for, as of September 2026.

Category	Details
Provider	Homebase
Product type	Employee scheduling software, time clock, team messaging, task manager, tip manager, hiring/onboarding, HR, and payroll
Pricing model	Per location
Pricing	Basic (free); Essential from $30/location/month billed monthly (from $24 billed annually); Plus from $70/location/month billed monthly (from $56 billed annually); All-in-One from $120/location/month billed monthly (from $96 billed annually)
Free plan	1 location and up to 10 employees with basic time tracking and Payroll add-on (with extra charges)
Trial	14-day All-in-One trial and no card required. Change plan or cancel anytime
Time entry	Mobile/tablet time clock; PIN, photo, GPS, and geofence clock-in; time clock alerts for missed punches, breaks, and overtime
Employee monitoring	No screenshots; GPS/geofence verifies location at clock-in; this is attendance tracking, not surveillance
Platforms	Web and iOS/Android app
Deployment	Cloud (SaaS)
Payroll	Homebase Payroll add-on for $49/month base plus $6 per employee; For teams using a different payroll provider, Homebase integrates with Gusto, QuickBooks, ADP, Paychex, Square Payroll, and others.
Integrations	POS: Square, Clover, Toast; plus job boards
User rating	G2 about 4.6/5 from 500+ reviews; Capterra 4.6/5 from$ 1,150+ reviews (as of September 2026)
Best for	Single or few-location small business owners with hourly, shift-based teams
Less suitable for	Project/agency teams billing client hours; multi-location businesses sensitive to per-location cost

What is Homebase, and who is it built for?

Homebase is a cloud-based, employee scheduling app for hourly, shift-based small businesses. More than 150,000 small businesses use it, and it brings scheduling, a time clock, hiring, employee communication tools, and a payroll add-on into one place, priced per location rather than per employee.

It is built for:

• restaurants and retail shops running hourly shifts,

• beauty and wellness businesses with in-person appointments,

• home services companies with field or on-site teams,

• any small business where a manager builds a weekly schedule and staff clock in at one location.

Homebase also includes basic HR and compliance tools for storing employee documents, licenses, and certifications alongside the everyday scheduling and time clock work.

Note: This is Homebase from joinhomebase.com, not “Homecare Homebase,” an unrelated home-health EHR with a different product and rating profile.

How does Homebase work?

Homebase covers the full cycle from building a schedule to running payroll, in five steps, all inside the same app:

1. Build the schedule: Create shifts with drag-and-drop tools or schedule planner templates, then publish them to the team.

2. Clock in: Employees start their shift from a phone or tablet, verified by PIN, photo, GPS, or geofence.

3. Track hours: Homebase records time in real time and flags missed punches (an employee forgets to clock in or out for a shift), breaks, and overtime with time clock alerts.

4. Run payroll: Approved hours flow into timesheets and, with the payroll add-on, straight into a payroll run, with no manual re-entry.

5. Stay connected: Post shift notes and messages, list job openings, and store employee documents, all from the same app.

Payroll is an add-on, not included in any base plan for free, and some advanced employee scheduling and HR features are gated to higher tiers.

What do real users like about Homebase?

Homebase is praised for keeping scheduling, time tracking, and team communication in one place. Users also appreciate a genuinely free single-location plan and GPS features. Its mobile app and all-in-one convenience are what convince first-time users to stay. 

Industry-specific users also mention how useful Homebase’s POS integrations (Square, Clover, Toast) are. 

It’s made things like scheduling employees, tracking hours, and keeping up with team communication a lot easier because everything is in one place. Jeff H, Front-end Manager, Medical Practice, Capterra, June 25, 2026

What do real users dislike about Homebase? 

Users say Homebase falls short once your business grows beyond one location or needs more than shift-level support. Per-location pricing gets expensive across several locations, and geofencing is limited to fixed radii; no custom boundaries. 

I find Homebase can be glitchy, though it’s getting better. We’ve had issues like employees being clocked in as different employees, clock outs not going through, and tips not being asked to be claimed at the end of shifts. Sadie S., Owner, Embriel Limited Company, G2, January 20, 2026

 

Support and billing complaints also recur, and the app occasionally glitches. 

Our biggest concern, however, is payroll and tax support. When an issue requires assistance beyond the standard help resources, getting in touch with someone who can actually address a payroll or tax-specific problem can be extremely difficult. Erin T., Owner, Cinco’s Cantina, G2, September 01, 2026

How does Homebase scheduling work?

Homebase lets you build your team’s shifts with a drag-and-drop tool, then publish the schedule. From there, employees can claim open shifts, set their availability, request time off, and trade shifts, all inside the same app. 

It updates everyone in real time with push notifications and shows a labor-cost estimate as the schedule is built.

“It allowed me to easily schedule my employees and alert them of any changes to their or the whole team’s schedule. I also liked that it includes the employee’s location at the time of clocking in.” Bien V, Manager, Individual & Family Services Capterra review, published on April 22, 2026.

 

Higher tiers give access to an AI scheduling assistant too that auto-builds shifts. However, it doesn’t always get the schedule right, especially for businesses with frequently changing shift needs.

“The auto-scheduling tool seemed so exciting, since I run a daycare and we have constantly changing schedule needs. However, it never worked well at all. I tried putting in all of the information but it would schedule people all over the place, leave classrooms without a teacher, or schedule staff for times they weren’t available.!” Kearis O., Director, Child Day Care Services Capterra review, published on July 17, 2025.

How does the Homebase time clock work?

The time clock works in three steps:

• Clock in: Homebase verifies your team’s shift start by PIN, photo, or GPS and geofence (150 feet, one block, or five blocks).
• Track hours: It flags missed punches, missed breaks, and overtime automatically, so you don’t have to review manually.
• Export timesheets: You view timesheets as needed or export to CSV or PDF (print).

In short, the time clock handles attendance and hours for scheduling and payroll. It doesn’t provide:

• billable client rates,
• client invoicing,
• project budgets,
• profitability calculation.

That GPS data is attendance verification, not surveillance. There are no screenshots, and it doesn’t capture time against tasks the way a desktop app would.

If your team bills clients by the hour, or needs to see project profitability instead of only shift coverage, use a dedicated project time tracker like TimeCamp. It tracks billable hours and project margins.

Get to know where your time goes with TimeCamp!

Billing clients or tracking project margins takes more than a time clock. TimeCamp does that part for you.

Start for free

Does Homebase do payroll, and how?

Yes, but Homebase Payroll is a paid add-on in the US, not part of any base plan. It works in three steps:

• Pulls hours automatically: Tracked hours, including overtime and breaks, flow from the time clock into payroll without any manual re-entry.
• Files taxes: Homebase calculates and files taxes as part of each pay run.
• Runs pay: You review the run, then Homebase processes it.

That automation comes at a cost. It charges a base fee plus a $6 per-employee charge, on top of whatever plan you’re already paying for. For a team of seven or more, per-employee charges may alone add up to more than the base plan costs. 

The price for the full or advanced features. Like payroll, with basic fees, then for each employee, and/or subcontractor or independent contractor, these costs can make using the program expensive, especially if some contractors are only used for 1 to 3 projects or for limited periods.” Victor M., Vice President, MVM Management LLC G2 review, published on June 22, 2025

What are the pros and cons of Homebase?

Here are the strengths and limitations of Homebase in 2026, condensed into a quick-reference list for you: 

Pros	Cons
Free for a single location	Costs climb fast once you add locations
Scheduling built around an easy drag-and-drop interface	Users report recurring customer support and billing friction
Mobile app with GPS-verified clock-ins	The app can be glitchy at times
Built-in team messaging keeps everyone in one place	Geofence radius options are fixed, not customizable
Connects with Square, Clover, and Toast	AI auto-scheduling doesn’t reliably get shifts right
Payroll pulls straight from tracked hours	Can’t track billable hours or project profitability

Who is Homebase for, and who should outgrow it?

Homebase is for single- or few-location businesses running hourly shift teams. It’s not for teams that bill clients by the hour, track project profit, or manage several locations at scale.

Profile	Homebase fit
Single-location hourly business (restaurant, shop, or salon) wanting scheduling and a time clock	✓
Very small team wanting a free scheduling and time clock tool	✓ (free plan)
Team that bills clients by the hour or needs project profitability	–
Project, agency, or desk team tracking task-level billable time	–
Multi-location operator sensitive to per-location cost	– / weigh carefully

 

Check yourself against these three situations before you commit:

1. When hours must become client invoices or project profit: Homebase tracks hours for scheduling and payroll. It doesn’t set billable rates, generate client invoices, or calculate project margins.
2. When work isn’t shift-based at a fixed location: Homebase clocks people in at a place (GPS/geofence). It doesn’t track task-level time for desk or agency teams.
3. When per-location pricing gets expensive across sites: Cost scales with locations, not headcount. Multi-location and mobile operators should weigh the total before committing.

Choose Homebase when you run a single-location, shift-based hourly team and want scheduling and a time clock in one free-to-start app. Reach for something else when you need client invoicing or project margins, or when per-location pricing stops making sense for how many sites you run.

 

If you want to bill clients, track project profit, or work off-site rather than in shifts, use a purpose-built project time tracker like TimeCamp.

Get to know where your time goes with TimeCamp!

TimeCamp connects tracked time to what clients owe and what each project earns.

Get started now

How much does Homebase cost per month in 2026?

Homebase prices per location. The free Basic plan covers one location and up to 10 employees.

However, going forward, every paid plan removes that employee limit, and you get unlimited staff per location. So the bill only changes based on how many locations you have, not how many people are on the team.

Plan	Monthly billing	Annual billing (per month)	Scope
Basic	Free	Free	1 location, up to 10 employees , basic scheduling, time tracking, and POS integration with payroll add-on
Essentials	$30/location	$24/location	Advanced scheduling, advanced time tracking, team communication
Plus	$70/location	$56/location	PTO and time-off controls, departments and permissions, AI-powered scheduling
All-in-One	$120/location	$96/location	Onboarding, HR and compliance, Labor cost management

 

Note these few other pricing details before you sign up:

• Annual billing saves about 20% over paying monthly . 
• Payroll adds roughly $49/month base plus $6 per employee paid, on any plan. 
• A 14-day trial of the All-in-One plan is available with no card requirement.

To work out your own cost, multiply the plan’s per-location price by your number of locations, then add payroll separately if you use it. Here’s what that looks like across a few common scenarios:

• One location, Essentials: $30/month ($24/month billed annually)
• Three locations, Essentials: $90/month ($72/month billed annually). The cost scales with locations
• Ten locations, Plus: $700/month ($560/month billed annually)
• Payroll add-on, 20 employees: Adds roughly $169/month ($49 base + $6 × 20)

Frequently asked questions about Homebase

Is Homebase free?

Yes, the Basic plan is free for one location, capping at 10 employees.

How much does Homebase cost per month?

It’s free for one location; paid plans run $30-$120/location/month billed monthly, or $24-$96/location/month billed annually. 

Is Homebase priced per employee or per location?

It’s priced per location. Every paid plan includes unlimited employees; only the free Basic plan caps at 10 employees per location.

Does Homebase do payroll?

Yes, payroll is available as a paid add-on in the US, with a base monthly fee plus a per-employee charge on top of whatever plan you’re on.

Does Homebase track location or use GPS?

Homebase uses GPS and geofencing to confirm where an employee is when they clock in. This is attendance verification, not screenshot-based monitoring.

Does Homebase integrate with Square or Toast?

Yes, Homebase integrates with several point-of-sale systems, including Square, Clover, and Toast.

Does Homebase have a mobile app?

Yes, Homebase has native apps for iOS and Android, along with a dedicated tablet time clock for shared devices.

Does Homebase track billable or project hours?

No, Homebase records hours for scheduling and payroll purposes only, not for client billing or tracking project profitability.

Bottom line: is Homebase the right choice?

Homebase is the right call for a single- or few-location hourly business that wants scheduling, a time clock, and basic team management in one place. And it delivers that with a genuinely free tier to start.

However, it’s not the right fit when:

• you run several locations, and per-location pricing adds up,
• support and billing friction becomes a real cost of doing business,
• you want to bill clients or calculate project profit; that’s a different tool’s job.

Need to bill clients or track project profit?

Homebase handles shift scheduling and time clocks well, but hours alone aren't an invoice. If that's what your team needs, try a project time tracker like TimeCamp.

Get started now!

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Sources:

https://www.joinhomebase.com/

https://www.joinhomebase.com/integrations

https://www.joinhomebase.com/pricing

https://www.capterra.com/p/153076/Homebase/reviews/

https://www.g2.com/sellers/homebase#profiles

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Markdown

Laiba Siddiqui Laiba is a computer science graduate and freelance technology writer who specializes in writing about SaaS, time tracking, productivity software, cybersecurity, and cloud technology. Her technical background shows in her work, as she demos every product herself, testing the pricing tiers, integrations, and limits that actually decide who it's the right fit for. Her writing has appeared on Cisco, Splunk, DataCamp, and other publications. Outside of work, she enjoys spending time alone and stargazing.

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