DeputyvsPaddl
Deputy provides shift scheduling, time tracking, and workforce management tools used by businesses across hospitality, retail, and healthcare. Known for AI auto-scheduling and strong payroll integrations.
44 features compared · 32 Paddl only · prices verified 11 September 2026
Paddl is food safety, compliance and operations software for UK hospitality: digital SFBB, HACCP plans, allergens and Natasha's Law labels, temperature, cleaning and training records, and an EHO-ready audit pack. £69 per location per month with every feature included, a 30-day free trial and no contract. Deputy: £3.25 to £6.50 per user per month, £20 minimum; a 40-person team on Core is £170 a month for the rota alone.
Used Daily & Trusted By:
Used Daily & Trusted By: Edgie Eats, Frothed, Good Chemistry Brewing, Paper Tiger Food Services, Restore, Royal Marine Hotel, The Staff of Life, The Tower Inn, World Famous Dive Bars.
GBP, excluding VAT. Admin users are charged. Add-ons: HR £2, Messaging+ £1.40, Analytics+ £1 per user per month. Free trial.
Every feature. 5 owner and manager users per location, £2.99 a month for each extra; staff do not take a seat. 30-day free trial, card required, no contract.
- One site, 12 staff: £89.93 a month
- One site, 40 staff: £173.65 a month
- Five sites, 100 staff: £569.25 a month
Deputy reviews: what customers say
4.6 out of 5 from 773 reviews on Capterra, read 11 September 2026.
What reviewers praise
- simple to use and easy and organised for scheduling
- detailed scheduling and timekeeping functionality
What reviewers complain about
- the app can be slow or glitchy when loading shifts
- not the cheapest with a lot of staff doing few hours, as it is per user
Deputy vs Paddl: what matters most
Last reviewed: 22 September 2026
Per user versus per location
Deputy charges per user, so a 40-person pub on Core is £170 a month before add-ons. Paddl is £69 a location with five users included and £2.99 per extra, so the same team is about £174 with every feature, not just the rota.
What the rota knows
Paddl's rota reads the same records as the compliance side: it warns before you roster someone whose certificate has lapsed or who is on approved leave, and it builds the week against a demand band from Square takings. Deputy has stronger payroll integrations and auto-scheduling for larger, multi-industry teams.
Scope
Deputy is scheduling and time only. Paddl adds HACCP, SFBB, allergens, COSHH, routines, equipment, licences, insurance and the EHO pack.
Messaging is an add-on there and included here
Deputy sells team messaging as Messaging+, £1.40 per user per month on top of the plan, so a 40-person pub pays about £56 a month for the chat alone. Paddl's team chat is on the one plan, the forty staff take no seats, and it carries what the rota knows: channels made from it, open shifts claimed from the thread and broadcasts that ask each person to acknowledge.
Where Deputy and Paddl differ
From the 44-row grid below, checked against Deputy's published feature list on 11 September 2026.
Food Safety & Compliance
Paddl has, Deputy does not: Digital SFBB Packs, HACCP Plans, AI HACCP Generation, Allergen Management, Risk Assessments, EHO Report Generation, One-Click Audit Packs, Fire Safety - Drills, Certificates & Expiry Alerts, COSHH Management.
Operations & Equipment
Paddl has, Deputy does not: Equipment Tracking, AI Equipment Anomaly Detection, Temperature Monitoring, Maintenance Swimlanes, Supplier Management, Delivery Checks.
Team & Training
Paddl has, Deputy does not: Staff Inductions, Shift Handovers / EOD Reports.
Deputy covers in part: Training Tracking, Team Chat & Direct Messages.
Documents & Knowledge
Paddl has, Deputy does not: Document Management, Knowledge Hub, Digital Signatures, Licence Management, Insurance Gap Detection, Lease & Property Management.
Reporting & Incidents
Paddl has, Deputy does not: Complaint Monitoring, Incident & Accident Reporting, EHO Visit Dashboard, AI Legal Guidance & Evidence Packs.
Platform & AI
Paddl has, Deputy does not: Offline Mode, AI Assistant, AI That Carries Out Tasks, AI Document Extraction, Compliance Dashboard.
Where Deputy is stronger
- Market-leading shift scheduling with AI auto-scheduling
- Time tracking with GPS and biometric clock-in
- Strong payroll integrations (Xero, ADP, MYOB)
- Flexible per-user pricing for larger teams
Side-by-side feature comparison
Food Safety & Compliance
| Feature | Paddl | Deputy |
|---|---|---|
| Digital SFBB PacksPaddl only | ||
| HACCP PlansPaddl only | ||
| AI HACCP GenerationPaddl only | ||
| Allergen ManagementPaddl only | ||
| Risk AssessmentsPaddl only | ||
| EHO Report GenerationPaddl only | ||
| One-Click Audit PacksPaddl only | ||
| Fire Safety - Drills, Certificates & Expiry AlertsPaddl only | ||
| COSHH ManagementPaddl only |
Operations & Equipment
| Feature | Paddl | Deputy |
|---|---|---|
| Equipment TrackingPaddl only | ||
| AI Equipment Anomaly DetectionPaddl only | ||
| Temperature MonitoringPaddl only | ||
| Maintenance SwimlanesPaddl only | ||
| Supplier ManagementPaddl only | ||
| Delivery ChecksPaddl only |
Team & Training
| Feature | Paddl | Deputy |
|---|---|---|
| Team Management | ||
| Rota Building & Publishing | ||
| Shift Swaps & Open Shifts | ||
| Holiday & Leave | ||
| Timesheets & Payroll Export | ||
| Training Tracking | ||
| Staff InductionsPaddl only | ||
| GPS Check-in | ||
| Shift Handovers / EOD ReportsPaddl only | ||
| Staff Notifications | ||
| Team Chat & Direct Messages |
Documents & Knowledge
| Feature | Paddl | Deputy |
|---|---|---|
| Document ManagementPaddl only | ||
| Knowledge HubPaddl only | ||
| Digital SignaturesPaddl only | ||
| Licence ManagementPaddl only | ||
| Insurance Gap DetectionPaddl only | ||
| Lease & Property ManagementPaddl only |
Reporting & Incidents
| Feature | Paddl | Deputy |
|---|---|---|
| Complaint MonitoringPaddl only | ||
| Incident & Accident ReportingPaddl only | ||
| EHO Visit DashboardPaddl only | ||
| AI Legal Guidance & Evidence PacksPaddl only |
Platform & AI
| Feature | Paddl | Deputy |
|---|---|---|
| Mobile App | ||
| Mobile Manager View | ||
| Offline ModePaddl only | ||
| AI AssistantPaddl only | ||
| AI That Carries Out TasksPaddl only | ||
| AI Document ExtractionPaddl only | ||
| Compliance DashboardPaddl only | ||
| Multi-Location |
What Deputy does not do, shown in Paddl
Screenshots of the Paddl features the grid marks as missing or partial in Deputy.
Shift handovers and end-of-day reports
Paddl AdvantageStaff submit an end-of-day report with urgent actions, stock shortages and equipment problems. The incoming shift acknowledges the handover before starting.
EHO visit view
Paddl AdvantageOne screen with everything an inspector asks for: SFBB pack, delivery records, temperature logs and training certificates.
Equipment records with AI health checks
Paddl AdvantageEvery fridge, oven and extractor with its service history and temperature logs. The AI flags a unit whose readings are drifting before it fails.
Allergen lookup during service
Paddl AdvantageStaff search the menu by allergen from a phone in the middle of service, no folder to find.
Report a fault from the app
Paddl AdvantageStaff log a breakdown or a safety concern with a photo and a priority, and the manager sees it the moment it is raised.
AI HACCP plan generation
Paddl AdvantageThe AI reads your business, routines, equipment and menu, then drafts a complete HACCP plan with process steps and critical control points for you to review.
Ask Paddy: AI that does the admin
Paddl AdvantageAsk Paddy books the contractor visit, builds the routine, drafts the risk assessment and gathers the inspection pack. You confirm every action, and it never fills in or signs a compliance record.
AI insurance gap detection
Paddl AdvantageUpload the policy documents and the AI reads the cover, lists the gaps and says what to ask the broker.
Who should choose Deputy, and who should choose Paddl
Choose Deputy if
- Shift scheduling is your only priority
- You need deep payroll integrations
- You already have separate compliance software
Choose Paddl if
- You need compliance and operations in one platform
- You want team chat included rather than a per-user add-on
- UK food safety (SFBB, HACCP, allergens) is essential
- You want to eliminate the need for multiple tools
- AI-powered document extraction and HACCP generation matter
- You need equipment tracking, maintenance, and shift handovers
Switching from Deputy to Paddl
- Per-location pricing instead of per user
- The rota warns about lapsed certificates and approved leave before you publish
- Hours from GPS check-ins, holiday accrual, payroll export
- The compliance records in the same login
An afternoon: import staff, publish next week.
How the switch works
- Export the staff list and current rota from Deputy
- Import staff into Paddl and set roles per site
- Build next week's rota from a template or let Paddy draft it
- Point payroll at Paddl's hours export
- Turn on routines and upload the menu for the compliance documents
What you keep
- Rota, shift swaps, time and attendance
- Holiday management
What you give up
- Deputy's direct payroll integrations (Xero, ADP)
- Auto-scheduling across many industries
Alternatives to Deputy for UK hospitality
| Product | Category | Pricing |
|---|---|---|
| Paddl | Food safety, compliance and operations | £69 per location per month, every feature included, 30-day free trial. No tiers and no volume discount. |
| RotaCloud | Rota and scheduling | From £10 a month for up to five employees, scaling by headcount; Capterra lists £5 per user; no contract |
| Planday (Xero) | Rota and scheduling | Per user per month from around £2.99, five-user minimum; Pro on quote |
| 7shifts | Rota and scheduling | Free plan for one location; paid from US$39.99 a location a month |
Deputy comparison questions
How much does Deputy cost in the UK?
Deputy publishes UK prices: Lite £3.25 per user per month, Core £4.25, Pro £6.50, excluding VAT, with a £20 a month minimum and admins counted as users. Add-ons are £1 to £2 per user. Paddl is £69 a location a month with five users included and £2.99 per extra.
What do Deputy reviews say?
Deputy holds 4.6 from 773 reviews on Capterra UK. Reviewers praise how simple the scheduling is; the complaints are the app being slow when loading shifts and the per-user cost for large part-time teams.
Is Deputy good for a pub or restaurant?
Yes for the rota, clock-in and payroll integration. It has no food safety features, so the compliance records live elsewhere.
What is the best alternative to Deputy for UK hospitality?
Paddl if you want the rota and the compliance records in one place at a per-location price; RotaCloud or Planday if you want another scheduling-only tool.
Can I move from Deputy to Paddl?
Yes. Export staff and shifts, import staff into Paddl, publish next week's rota, and point payroll at Paddl's hours export. Deputy is monthly, so there is no term to run down.
Try Paddl alongside Deputy for 30 days
£69 per location per month, every feature included, 30-day free trial. No tiers and no volume discount. Card required to start, nothing charged until the trial ends.
Every feature during the trial · Setup from your own paperwork · Cancel any time