# Sona (with Yapster) vs Paddl Canonical: https://paddl-ai.co/compare/sona Last reviewed: 2026-09-22 by the Paddl team Sona is a frontline workforce platform for scheduling, time and pay, aimed at larger operators in hospitality, care and retail. It acquired the workplace messenger Yapster, whose users included BrewDog, Caffe Nero and Krispy Kreme, and now sells comms alongside the rota. ## In one sentence 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. Sona: Not published: the pricing page offers a consultation and a custom quote. ## Sona pricing Sona: Not published: the pricing page offers a consultation and a custom quote. Configured per operator, so the cost depends on modules and headcount. Aimed at larger multi-site employers. Not published by the vendor. Checked 2026-09-22 against https://www.sona.ai/pricing. Paddl: £69 per location per month, every feature included, 30-day free trial. No tiers and no volume discount. Staff seats free; 5 owner and manager users per location included, £2.99 a month for each extra. ## Sona reviews 4.8 out of 5 from 9 reviews on Capterra (https://www.capterra.co.uk/software/236950/sona), read 2026-09-22. ## Where Sona and Paddl differ 43 features compared; 30 are in Paddl and not in Sona, checked against Sona's published feature list on 2026-09-22. **Food Safety & Compliance** Paddl has, Sona 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, Sona does not: Equipment Tracking, AI Equipment Anomaly Detection, Temperature Monitoring, Maintenance Swimlanes, Supplier Management, Delivery Checks. **Team & Training** Paddl has, Sona does not: Staff Inductions, Shift Handovers / EOD Reports. Sona covers in part: Training Tracking. **Documents & Knowledge** Paddl has, Sona does not: Knowledge Hub, Digital Signatures, Licence Management, Insurance Gap Detection, Lease & Property Management. Sona covers in part: Document Management. **Reporting & Incidents** Paddl has, Sona does not: Complaint Monitoring, Incident & Accident Reporting, EHO Visit Dashboard, AI Legal Guidance & Evidence Packs. **Platform & AI** Paddl has, Sona does not: Offline Mode, AI That Carries Out Tasks, AI Document Extraction, Compliance Dashboard. Sona covers in part: AI Assistant. Where Sona is stronger: Scheduling, time and pay for big, complex workforces; Yapster brings a mature staff messenger with a following in UK hospitality; Demand forecasting and labour optimisation for large estates; Strong, if small, review scores. ## Choose Sona if - You run hundreds of sites or thousands of people - Pay, demand forecasting and complex workforce rules are the problem - You want an enterprise implementation with a dedicated team ## Choose Paddl if - You run one site or a handful and want a price you can read on a page - Food safety and health and safety records have to be in the same product - You want chat, rota and compliance without an implementation project ## What matters most **Enterprise workforce platform with a messenger attached** Sona is bought by large operators for scheduling, pay and forecasting; Yapster gave it the staff messenger. Paddl is bought by independents and small groups, and its chat is one part of a compliance and operations system rather than a separate acquisition. **Quoted versus published** Sona does not publish prices; you book a consultation. Paddl is £69 per location per month on the website, with a 30-day trial and no demo required. **Where Sona wins** Scale: demand forecasting, pay rules and workforce analytics across a very large estate, with an implementation team behind it. ## Alternatives to Sona 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. | | Deputy (https://paddl-ai.co/compare/deputy) | Rota and scheduling | £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 | | All Gravy (https://paddl-ai.co/compare/allgravy) | Workforce management | $375 a month under 50 people; modules multiplied by seats above that | ## Questions **How much does Sona cost?** Sona does not publish prices. Its pricing page offers a free consultation and a custom quote configured around your operation. Paddl is £69 a location a month, published, with a 30-day trial. **What happened to Yapster?** Sona acquired Yapster, the workplace messenger used by BrewDog, Caffe Nero, Krispy Kreme and others, and folded it into its frontline platform. If you were a Yapster customer looking for a like-for-like messenger, Paddl's team chat is the closest hospitality equivalent that also carries the rota and the records. **Is Sona right for a single pub or a small group?** It is built for large, complex employers, and the sales process reflects that. A single site or a handful is usually better served by something priced per location and self-serve.