Deputy is a real scheduling engine. Auto-scheduling, demand forecasting, biometric punches, Fair Workweek-style rules — that is the pitch. Communication is thinner. You get a news feed and basic messaging. Richer chat is Messaging+ at $1.95 per user per month unless you jump to Pro at $9.

Pebb is the daily employee app. Shifts and GPS clock-in sit next to team chat. Premium adds calls, a news feed, PTO, tasks, forms, a wiki, analytics, and SSO. Basic is $2.50 per user per month. Premium is $4. Chat is not an add-on. There is no free plan. Trial is the full product, no credit card.

This Deputy alternative is for 11–80 person construction, field, security, warehouse, hospitality, and multi-location teams that bought a scheduler and still run the day in WhatsApp. If Fair Workweek templates and demand forecasting are why you opened Deputy, keep Deputy for that. This page is for everyone using it as a blunt “employee app.”

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At a glance

Pick Pebb if you want chat, shifts, GPS clock-in, timesheets, and (on Premium) calls, PTO, tasks, forms, and a wiki billed per person. Spaces unlimited. Chat org-wide. Full trial, no card. Pebb does not run payroll and does not claim Fair Workweek auto-compliance. Pebb does not do live GPS breadcrumbs. Offline does not fully work.

Pick Deputy if building the roster under labor rules is the hard problem: auto-scheduling, demand forecasting, biometric kiosks, advanced labor-law compliance. Keep it if Deputy Payroll (Paycor) or Messaging+ on a compliance desk is load-bearing. Do not keep paying Core + Messaging+ just so people can talk.

Pricing and plans

USD, excl. tax. Deputy list prices from deputy.com/pricing: Lite $5, Core $6.50, Pro $9 per user per month, billed upfront or in monthly installments. Minimum monthly spend $30 USD per invoice on monthly Lite, Core, and Pro. Messaging+ is $1.95 per user per month and is included in Pro. Analytics+ is $1.50 and included in Pro. HR is $2 per user. Deputy Payroll via Paycor is a separate line for eligible US plans.

Pebb has no free plan and no published monthly minimum. Basic $2.50/user. Premium $4/user. Trial is everything, no card. See Pebb pricing.

Ten people

Pebb Basic is $25. Chat, shifts, clock-in, timesheets, directory. Pebb Premium is $40. Adds calls, feed, PTO, tasks, forms, wiki, analytics, SSO. Deputy Lite is $50 list — the $30 minimum is already cleared — with basic messaging and a news feed. Deputy Core is $65 for auto-scheduling and biometrics; Messaging+ is still extra. Core plus Messaging+ is $84.50.

Ten people on a compliance-heavy roster can still favor Deputy Core. Ten people who just need “who’s on” and a real chat usually overpay.

Twenty-five people

Pebb Basic is $62.50. Pebb Premium is $100. Deputy Lite is $125. Deputy Core is $162.50. Core plus Messaging+ is $211.25. Stack Analytics+ and HR on Core and you are near $300. Deputy Pro is $225 with Messaging+ and Analytics+ included; HR is still another $2 per user.

Lite at $5 is not “a dollar more than Pebb.” For 25 people it is $125 versus $100 Premium — and Premium already includes calls, wiki, forms, and tasks. No Messaging+ line item. At forty people: Pebb Basic $100, Premium $160, Deputy Lite $200, Core $260, Core + Messaging+ $338, Pro $360. Admins count as Deputy users too.

Pros and cons

Pebb

Pros

• Per-user price with chat on Basic and calls on Premium. No Messaging+ upsell.

• Unlimited Spaces on Basic and Premium. A Managers space can be feed plus group chat plus private files. A site space can be shifts plus clock-in plus forms.

• Chat is org-wide, outside Spaces. Time Off is org-wide on Premium.

• Tasks, forms, wiki, analytics, and SSO included on Premium.

• GPS clock-in with optional near-branch validation. Open shifts. Full trial, no card.

Cons

• No free plan.

• No AI demand forecasting and no Fair Workweek auto-compliance pack like Deputy’s specialist desk.

• GPS is a stamp on clock-in, with optional near-branch checks. Not live breadcrumbs.

• Offline does not fully work.

• Pebb does not run payroll. No LMS. No hiring ATS.

Deputy

Pros

• Scheduling depth: auto-scheduling, demand forecasting, skills and cost constraints.

• Compliance tooling aimed at regulated retail and hospitality markets.

• Biometric and geofenced punches for teams that need that control surface.

• Pro bundles Messaging+ and Analytics+ if you were going to buy both anyway.

• Payroll path via Paycor for teams that want that stack.

Cons

• Lite and Core treat richer messaging as Messaging+ at $1.95/user unless you buy Pro.

• $30 monthly minimum on monthly Lite, Core, and Pro.

• Communication is not the product center of gravity. Many teams still open WhatsApp after the roster publishes.

• Add-ons (Messaging+, Analytics+, HR, Payroll) turn a $6.50 Core quote into a different bill.

• You are buying a scheduling engine. The “employee app” feeling is optional and often paid.

Who each is for

Pebb is for

• 11–80 people, frontline plus a small office.

• Construction crews, field techs, security, warehouses, multi-location ops, cafés and retail floors that outgrew a spreadsheet and a group chat.

• Teams that live on phones, not email, and currently split WhatsApp / Deputy-or-spreadsheet / a shared drive.

• Operators who want “who’s on,” “clock in,” and “tell the team” in one login.

Deputy is for

• Businesses where the hard problem is building a legal, cost-aware roster at scale.

• Multi-site retail and hospitality that lean on demand forecasting and compliance templates.

• Ops desks that need biometric kiosks or Deputy Payroll and are willing to pay for that stack.

• Teams that already run Deputy well and only need a lighter chat tool beside it — not a second system of record for the day.

If hub pricing is the other quote on your desk, read the Connecteam alternative. If per-location pricing is the other quote, read the Homebase alternative.

Feature by feature

Shift scheduling

Winner: Deputy if the roster under rules is the hard problem. Pebb if the hard problem is people seeing the roster and talking about it.

Deputy’s strength is optimization and compliance. Auto-scheduling, demand forecasting, certifications, labor cost constraints, Fair Workweek-style tooling — that is why buyers open the tab.

Pebb includes shift scheduling and open shifts on Basic and Premium. People pick up work in the same app they message the lead. We will not pretend Pebb replaces Deputy’s compliance engine. We will say the closer who never saw the swap is usually a communication failure, not a forecasting failure.

Clock-in and GPS

Winner: Deputy if you need biometrics and deep geofence libraries. Pebb if you need a punch next to chat.

Deputy offers biometric options and geofencing aimed at time theft and site control. That is a specialist surface.

Pebb clock-in can GPS-stamp the punch and optionally require the person near a branch. It is not live tracking. It is not telematics. Most shops and job sites need “they punched at the place,” not a map of the afternoon. If you need the map or a face kiosk, stay on Deputy for the clock.

Chat and calls

Winner: Pebb.

Deputy’s default communication is administrative. Messaging+ is $1.95 per user on Lite and Core. Pro includes it at $9. Voice and video are not the product.

Pebb chat is on Basic, org-wide, outside Spaces. Premium adds voice and video calls and a news feed on the same plan. Not an add-on. Not a reason to keep WhatsApp as the real OS.

PTO, tasks, forms, wiki

Winner: Pebb Premium for the bundle. Deputy if HR add-ons already own that workflow.

Pebb Time Off, tasks, forms, and wiki sit on Premium at $4. Deputy’s HR add-on can cover parts of this — price it; do not assume it arrives free with Lite.

Payroll

Winner: neither as “Pebb payroll.” Deputy if Paycor-enabled Payroll is load-bearing.

Pebb does not run payroll. Timesheets leave the building. Your payroll system still runs payroll.

Deputy sells a payroll path. If that path is why you bought Deputy, keep it. Do not migrate hoping Pebb will cut paychecks. It will not.

Spaces vs add-ons

Winner: Pebb.

Deputy’s model is a scheduling core plus add-ons: Messaging+, Analytics+, HR, Payroll. Each line changes the quote.

Pebb’s model is Spaces, not SKUs. Unlimited dynamic Spaces on Basic and Premium:

• A Managers space: feed + group chat + private files.

• A Downtown space: shifts + clock-in + forms.

Turn on the tools that site needs. Do not buy Messaging+ to unlock a real conversation. Chat is already org-wide on Basic. Time Off is org-wide on Premium. A second warehouse is another space, not another add-on.

What a week looks like on Pebb

Monday the GM drops next week’s roster in the site space; open shifts sit there for pickup. Tuesday a lead clocks in with a GPS stamp and optional near-branch check. Wednesday a closing checklist form lands in the Downtown space. Thursday Time Off on Premium shows against the roster. Friday timesheets close — chat never left the app, and a Premium supervisor can call from the thread instead of WhatsApp.

Setup and switching

Create a workspace. Invite with a link. Make a space per site or crew. Shifts and clock-in on the floor spaces; a Managers space for people who should see everything. Chat is already org-wide.

Run one week in parallel if you want a clean cutover. Leave historical timesheets where they are. Keep Deputy if compliance forecasting still owns the roster desk — move the daily talk.

Trial is the full product. No credit card.

Who should stay put

Stay if Fair Workweek templates, demand forecasting, and biometric kiosks are why Deputy is on the invoice. That is Deputy’s home turf.

Stay if Deputy Payroll via Paycor is load-bearing and you do not want two systems of record for pay.

Stay if you only need a scheduler and your team already has a chat tool you love. Pebb’s pitch is one app. If you already solved chat, you may not need us.

Stay if live breadcrumbs, a big geofence library, or full offline clock-in are non-negotiable. Pebb GPS is a stamp plus optional near-branch checks. Offline does not fully work.

Everyone else who bought Deputy as “the employee app” and then discovered Messaging+ was the real chat — this Deputy alternative is the one-price version of that job.

FAQ

Is Pebb cheaper than Deputy?

Depends what you buy. Lite at $5 for 25 people is $125. Premium Pebb is $100 and already includes calls, wiki, forms, and tasks. Core plus Messaging+ for 25 is $211.25. If you only need compliance auto-scheduling, Deputy can still win.

Does Pebb have a free plan?

No. Basic is $2.50/user/month. Premium is $4/user/month. You can try every feature free, with no credit card.

Does Pebb replace Deputy’s compliance engine?

No. Do not migrate if Fair Workweek automation and demand forecasting are the reason you opened Deputy.

Do we need Premium?

If you only need chat, shifts, clock-in, timesheets, and a directory, Basic is enough. Premium adds calls, news feed, PTO, tasks, forms, wiki, analytics, and SSO.

Does Pebb track people live?

No. Clock-in can GPS-stamp and optionally require near a branch. That is not live GPS.

Does Pebb work offline?

Not fully. The mobile app needs a connection. If that is a deal-breaker, stay on a product that caches a full shift.

Does Pebb do payroll?

No. Timesheets leave the building. Payroll stays in payroll. Deputy’s Paycor path is a different product decision.

Is Messaging+ included in Pebb?

Pebb does not sell Messaging+. Chat is on Basic. Calls are on Premium.

How fast can we switch?

Invite link, Spaces per crew, run a week in parallel. See pricing for what sits on Basic vs Premium, then Start full trial — no card.

One app. Not a scheduler plus Messaging+.

Twenty-five people. One price. Chat that isn’t an add-on.

Start full trial — no card