A free work schedule maker for shift teams
Lay out next month in minutes: pick a repeating pattern, drag shifts where you need them, and send the finished work schedule straight to every phone. Free for as long as you use it, with no limit on employees or locations.
What this work schedule maker actually does
The pieces that save a manager an afternoon, gathered in one free tool, so you can retire the spreadsheet and the pile of chat threads.
Build from a repeating pattern
Define a rotation once (4 on 4 off, 2-2-3, a straight 5-2) and generate the whole month ahead. Need a one-off change? Drag the shift, or duplicate last week and tweak it.
Assemble it by dragging shifts
Drop shifts onto the grid person by person, or move one from an employee who called out to whoever can cover. The builder recalculates hours and cost as you go.
Push the finished version to phones
Hit publish and each employee opens the current schedule in the app, with a push notification the moment it lands. No stale printouts, no arguing over which copy is right.
Let coworkers trade shifts
Someone offers a shift, a teammate claims it, and you approve the trade with a single tap. Nothing moves on the schedule until you sign off, and every trade stays on record.
Watch the labor cost while you build
Attach an hourly rate to each employee and the maker shows the day's labor cost as shifts go on the board, so a pricey week is obvious before you ever publish it.
Total the hours for payroll
Every published shift feeds the timesheet, and a shift that crosses midnight is counted as one, not split in two. Export any period to Excel and hand it off for pay.
A schedule maker that stays free, not a countdown to a bill
Most schedule makers look free until the head count grows, then start billing a few dollars per employee every month, and the total only climbs from there. InShift keeps the builder, the app, shift trades and timesheets free at any size, so budget is never why a shift goes uncovered. You get the parts that genuinely shorten the job, with no seat charge and no trial ticking down to a paywall.
From blank grid to a published work schedule
Open a free account
An email and a password, roughly half a minute. It runs in the browser, so there is nothing to install to get started.
Add your people
Enter employees by hand or bring in a list. Each one joins from their own phone using a short code.
Make the schedule
Generate it from a pattern or drag shifts onto the grid. The maker warns on overlaps and keeps a running total of hours.
Publish it
One tap sends it to the whole team with a push. Edit it later and the update reaches every phone the same way.
Try it without an account
Three free tools that need no sign-up and no email. Build a rota or add up hours right now, and move to an account when the team has to see it.
Put next week together today
Add the team, drop the shifts on the grid, and publish. Everyone gets it on their phone within seconds. Free, with no ceiling on employees or locations.
Create a free account →Questions
Is this work schedule maker actually free?
It is. Building schedules, the mobile app, shift trades and hours tracking cost nothing, with no limit on employees or locations and no trial that runs out. We expect to charge only for enterprise add-ons later (SSO, API, advanced reports).
How fast can I build a month?
If you work a repeating rotation, set the pattern once and generate the month forward in a few clicks, then drag to fix the exceptions. Starting from scratch, you drop shifts onto the grid and copy a good week ahead.
What makes it different from Deputy, When I Work or 7shifts?
Those are capable products, but each one bills per employee per month once you outgrow a small free tier. InShift keeps the schedule maker, trades, the app and timesheets free no matter the team size. In fairness, we are newer and carry fewer deep integrations.
Can employees swap their own shifts?
Yes. An employee offers a shift, a coworker picks it up, and you approve the swap in one tap. The schedule does not change until you approve, and the swap is saved in the history.
Does it handle overnight shifts and hours?
Every published shift adds to the timesheet, and a shift running from 7:00 PM to 3:00 AM is stored as a single shift with its hours counted right. You set each employee's hourly rate and the timesheet sums the hours worked.
Can I get the hours out for payroll?
Yes. Export the timesheet to Excel for any date range, listing each employee with their shifts, hours, rate and total, ready to pass to whoever runs pay.