Verdict first. For most single site small businesses, Essentials at 30 dollars per location per month is the plan to budget for, because it removes the ten person cap on the free plan and adds the time tracking controls that make payroll reliable. Plus at 70 dollars per location per month earns its price only when AI scheduling, labour forecasting, or paid time off management solve a weekly problem. The cost of Homebase for small business monthly therefore depends less on headcount than on locations, because Homebase charges per site with unlimited team members on paid tiers. Hire three more people and the subscription stays flat. Open a second site and it doubles.
Homebase is built for hourly teams in restaurants, retail, salons, clinics, and similar businesses. It covers scheduling, time clock, team messaging, hiring, and payroll as an add-on, with point of sale connections that pull sales data into labour decisions. That breadth matters for a small business owner who otherwise juggles separate tools for rosters, clock-ins, and messages. A single system that staff actually open on their phones reduces missed shifts and late clock-ins, which are the small failures that quietly inflate labour cost.
Cost of Homebase for Small Business Monthly, Prices by Plan
Reported Homebase pricing lists Basic at zero dollars per month for one location with up to ten team members, Essentials at 30 dollars per location per month when billed monthly or about 24 dollars when billed annually, Plus at 70 dollars per location per month monthly or about 56 dollars annually, and All-in-One at 120 dollars per location per month monthly or about 96 dollars annually. Annual figures vary slightly by source, with some listings showing 24.95 dollars, 59.95 dollars, and 99.95 dollars, so treat annual rates as approximate and confirm the exact renewal figure before signing. Basic stays free in both billing terms, because there is no charge to discount.
Basic covers core scheduling, time tracking, team messaging, and point of sale connections for a single location with up to ten people. That free tier is genuinely useful for a micro business, because it replaces paper rosters and group chat messages with a proper schedule and clock. The limit that forces an upgrade is usually headcount, because the eleventh team member cannot join the free plan. A business that hires seasonally may cross that limit for only part of the year, yet still needs a paid plan to cover the peak team.
| Plan | Per location per month, billed monthly | Per location per month, billed annually, approximate | Team limit |
|---|---|---|---|
| Basic | 0 dollars | 0 dollars | 1 location, up to 10 team members |
| Essentials | 30 dollars | 24 dollars | Unlimited team members |
| Plus | 70 dollars | 56 dollars | Unlimited team members |
| All-in-One | 120 dollars | 96 dollars | Unlimited team members |
Essentials adds GPS clock-ins, late arrival alerts, and that upgrade step is central to the cost of Homebase for small business monthly, enhanced scheduling tools, and shift notes, with unlimited team members. GPS verification is the feature that changes time tracking honesty, because it confirms staff clock in at the workplace rather than from home. Late arrival alerts also help a manager act quickly when a shift starts short staffed, instead of discovering the gap an hour later. For a business where clock accuracy drives payroll, Essentials pays through fewer disputes and cleaner timesheets.
Plus adds AI schedule building, labour forecasting against sales and weather patterns, paid time off tracking, departments, and role permissions. AI scheduling matters most for a business with variable demand, because it builds a roster from patterns rather than from last week copied forward. Labour forecasting helps an owner see whether a roster fits expected sales before the week starts, which prevents both overstaffing on quiet days and panic hiring on busy days. Paid time off tracking and permissions matter when several managers share scheduling duties and need clear boundaries.
All-in-One adds digital onboarding, labour cost analytics, human resources compliance support, and access to human resources experts. That tier suits a business that hires frequently, operates in a regulated area, or wants expert help with handbooks and compliance questions. Most single site small businesses will not need All-in-One at first, yet a growing group with several sites may value onboarding and analytics enough to justify 120 dollars per location per month. The tier decision should follow hiring frequency and compliance risk, not feature curiosity.
A Single Site, Worked Out in Full
A single site on Basic pays zero dollars per month, provided the team stays at ten people or fewer and only one location is involved. That is a strong starting point for a new cafe, salon, or shop, and it costs nothing while the owner learns whether staff will actually use an app for schedules and clock-ins. The risk is comfort, because a free plan that works well can hide the moment when headcount growth makes it unsuitable. Count team members monthly, including part time and casual staff, and plan the Essentials move before the eleventh hire starts.
A single site on Essentials pays 30 dollars per month on monthly billing, or about 24 dollars on annual billing. Over a year, monthly billing totals 360 dollars, while annual billing totals about 288 dollars. The yearly saving of about 72 dollars is modest, yet it is still worth taking when the business expects to stay on Essentials for a full year. Monthly billing suits a new business testing Homebase, or a seasonal business unsure whether team size will stay above ten people all year.
A single site on Plus pays 70 dollars per month on monthly billing, or about 56 dollars on annual billing. Over a year, monthly billing totals 840 dollars, while annual billing totals about 672 dollars. The yearly saving of about 168 dollars is more meaningful, and it rewards a business that commits to Plus after testing AI scheduling and forecasting. The gap between Essentials and Plus is 40 dollars per month on monthly billing, or about 32 dollars on annual billing, so the upgrade question is whether forecasting and AI scheduling save at least that amount in labour or manager time each month.
A single site on All-in-One pays 120 dollars per month on monthly billing, or about 96 dollars on annual billing. Over a year, monthly billing totals 1,440 dollars, while annual billing totals about 1,152 dollars. That tier is a large step for one site, and it should be chosen for onboarding volume, analytics use, or compliance support, not for scheduling alone. A single site that hires two people per year will rarely use onboarding enough to justify the extra 50 dollars per month over Plus on monthly billing.
Payroll changes the cost of Homebase for small business monthly for a single site sharply. Reported Homebase payroll pricing is 49 dollars per month as a base fee plus 6 dollars per team member paid. For a single site with 15 team members on Plus, the combined monthly total on monthly billing is 70 dollars for Plus plus 49 dollars base plus 90 dollars for 15 members, which equals 209 dollars per month. That combined figure is the honest budget for a site that wants scheduling and payroll in one place, and it shows why payroll must be priced alongside the base plan from the start.
A Three Site Group, Where Location Pricing Multiplies
A three site group multiplies the per location price by three, while headcount within each site stays free on paid tiers. On Essentials at 30 dollars per location per month on monthly billing, three sites cost 90 dollars per month, or 1,080 dollars per year. On annual billing at about 24 dollars per location, three sites cost about 72 dollars per month, or about 864 dollars per year. The group pays for sites, not for people, so a group with 45 staff across three sites pays the same Essentials subscription as a group with 15 staff across three sites.
On Plus at 70 dollars per location per month on monthly billing, three sites cost 210 dollars per month, or 2,520 dollars per year. On annual billing at about 56 dollars per location, three sites cost about 168 dollars per month, or about 2,016 dollars per year. The gap between Essentials and Plus for three sites is 120 dollars per month on monthly billing, or about 96 dollars on annual billing. That gap must be justified by forecasting, AI scheduling, or paid time off benefits across all three sites, because a feature used at only one site does not justify paying the uplift at three sites.
On All-in-One at 120 dollars per location per month on monthly billing, three sites cost 360 dollars per month, or 4,320 dollars per year. On annual billing at about 96 dollars per location, three sites cost about 288 dollars per month, or about 3,456 dollars per year. At that scale, onboarding and labour analytics start to matter, because hiring and labour control across three sites create complexity that a single site owner can handle informally. A group should still test whether managers actually use analytics weekly before committing three sites to the top tier.
Payroll for a three site group needs careful confirmation, because the base fee and per member charge may apply per location, per account, or per payroll run depending on the contract. As an illustration only, if payroll were charged per site at 49 dollars base plus 6 dollars per member, a group with 15 members per site would face a large payroll total on top of the subscription. Do not budget that illustration as a quote. Ask Homebase to price payroll for your exact site and headcount structure in writing, with the base fee scope stated clearly, before finalising a multi site budget.
Location pricing also creates a planning incentive inside the cost of Homebase for small business monthly that per user pricing does not. A group can hire freely within a site without raising the subscription, which suits businesses with high turnover or seasonal peaks. The constraint is site count, so a group should think carefully before splitting a single operation into two locations in the system when one location with departments would serve. Departments and permissions on Plus can often handle internal separation without creating a second billable location, so check that option before adding a site.
Annual Billing Against Monthly Billing for Hourly Teams
Annual billing saves about 6 dollars per location per month on Essentials, about 14 dollars on Plus, and about 24 dollars on All-in-One, based on the approximate annual rates above. For a single site, yearly savings are about 72 dollars on Essentials, about 168 dollars on Plus, and about 288 dollars on All-in-One. For three sites, yearly savings rise to about 216 dollars, about 504 dollars, and about 864 dollars respectively. Those savings grow with site count, which makes annual billing attractive for a stable multi site group.
Monthly billing suits a business that is testing Homebase, opening a new site, or facing seasonal closure. A business that closes for two months per year should ask whether subscription charges pause during closure, or whether the plan continues through quiet months. A seasonal site that pays 70 dollars per month through a closed period wastes 140 dollars for two months of no use, so closure handling belongs in the pre purchase questions. Monthly billing also helps a new site prove staff adoption before committing to a year.
Renewal and cancellation terms deserve the same care as the monthly rate. Ask whether the annual rate is locked for the full term, whether it rises at renewal, and what notice period applies. Ask also how schedule history, timesheets, and payroll records can be exported if the business leaves. A low monthly price loses appeal when renewal jumps sharply and history becomes hard to retrieve, so get renewal and export terms in the same written summary as the plan price.
Payroll is the largest separate cost inside the cost of Homebase for small business monthly, as shown above, because it adds a base fee plus a per member charge on top of the location subscription. A business that budgets only for scheduling will feel payroll as a surprise, even though payroll is clearly sold as an add-on. Price scheduling and payroll together when payroll is part of the plan, and compare that combined total with standalone payroll options. The combined figure, not the scheduling price alone, is the fair comparison for a business that wants one system for both jobs.
Add-ons form a second hidden group. Task management has been reported at 13 dollars per location per month on some listings, and other hubs or tools may be sold separately depending on the plan structure. A business that wants scheduling, messaging, hiring, and task management together should list every hub it needs and price the bundle, rather than assuming one plan covers every hub. Ask for a written list of included hubs and add-on prices, and check whether an add-on is charged per location or per account.
Hardware and point of sale integration form a third group. Most teams can use staff phones for clock-ins, yet a business that wants a dedicated time clock tablet or a specific point of sale connection may face device or integration costs. Check which point of sale systems connect at your chosen tier, and whether sales data flows into forecasting automatically or requires manual steps. A forecasting feature that needs manual sales entry will not save manager time, so test the connection during the trial with real sales data.
Manager time and training form a fourth group that is easy to underestimate. A new system saves time only when managers publish rosters early, staff check the app, and clock rules are clear. A business that launches Homebase without training will see staff clock in late, miss messages, and call the manager anyway, which recreates the old workload in a new app. Plan a short launch week, publish a simple clock and swap guide, and assign one manager to answer questions during the first roster cycle.
Choosing the Right Tier Without Paying for Unused Features
Start with team size and site count when you judge the cost of Homebase for small business monthly, because those two numbers set the price structure immediately. A business with one site and nine people can use Basic for free, while a business with one site and eleven people must pay at least Essentials. A business with three sites must pay for three locations even when each site has only five people, so site count dominates the budget for groups. Write down sites and team members per site before looking at feature lists, because that table already narrows the choice.
Next, list the weekly pains that cost money. Late clock-ins, payroll disputes, slow roster building, and poor demand forecasting each point to a different tier feature. GPS clock-ins and late alerts point to Essentials, while AI scheduling and forecasting point to Plus. Onboarding volume and compliance questions point to All-in-One. If none of those pains exist yet, Basic or Essentials will serve, and the money saved can fund payroll or marketing instead of unused software features.
Test the chosen tier with a real roster week and a real pay period. Publish the roster through the app, let staff swap shifts, record GPS clock-ins, approve timesheets, and export the result for payroll. Ask staff whether the app felt easier than the old method, and ask the manager whether roster time fell. A trial that only checks schedule design proves nothing about payroll accuracy, which is where a wrong tier choice shows up as disputes and corrections.
Review the plan every quarter, because team size, site count, and feature use change. A business that grows from ten to twelve people will need Essentials, while a business that closes a site should remove that location promptly. A quarterly review that checks locations billed, team members active, add-ons used, and payroll totals takes little time and prevents paying for a closed site or an unused add-on. When you review the cost of Homebase for small business monthly on that cycle, the bill stays tied to the business as it actually operates.
Budgeting the First Year, Single Site and Group Examples
A single site cafe with 12 staff on Essentials and payroll, using monthly billing, pays 30 dollars for Essentials plus 49 dollars payroll base plus 72 dollars for 12 members, which equals 151 dollars per month. Over a year, that totals 1,812 dollars before taxes and any add-ons. That figure is a useful planning total for a small cafe, because it combines scheduling, time tracking, messaging, and payroll into one monthly number that an owner can compare with labour spend.
The same cafe on Plus with payroll pays 70 dollars for Plus plus 49 dollars base plus 72 dollars for members, which equals 191 dollars per month, or 2,292 dollars per year. The extra 40 dollars per month over Essentials buys AI scheduling, forecasting, and paid time off tools. That upgrade pays when forecasting prevents even a few hours of overstaffing per month, because hourly labour quickly exceeds 40 dollars. Track roster labour against sales for a month before and after the upgrade, and let that comparison decide whether Plus stays.
A three site group with 15 staff per site on Plus without payroll pays 210 dollars per month on monthly billing, or 2,520 dollars per year. Add payroll illustration per site would raise the total sharply, which is why payroll scope must be confirmed in writing for groups. Even without payroll, the group should compare the 210 dollar subscription with manager time saved across three sites. If each site manager saves two hours per week on rosters, the time saving alone covers the subscription many times over, provided managers actually use the tools consistently.
A seasonal group should budget for peak and quiet scenarios separately. A group with three sites in summer and two sites in winter should not budget three sites for twelve months if a site closes seasonally and charges can pause. Model peak months, average months, and closed months, and ask Homebase how seasonal sites are billed. That scenario method keeps cash flow realistic and prevents a winter bill for a closed site from feeling like an error when it was actually a contract term.
Mistakes That Inflate the Bill
The most common mistake in judging the cost of Homebase for small business monthly is paying for Plus when Essentials already covers the real need. AI scheduling and forecasting look impressive in a demo, yet a business with stable demand and a simple roster may gain little from them. A stable shop that copies a similar roster each week does not need forecasting to tell it that Friday needs more staff than Tuesday. Start on Essentials, measure roster time and labour accuracy, and upgrade only when a specific forecasting or scheduling pain appears.
Another mistake is forgetting that a new location doubles the subscription even when the new site has few staff. A business that opens a small second site with four people still pays a full second location fee on paid tiers, while Basic only covers one location. That second site fee can surprise an owner who expected per user pricing, where four people would cost little. Plan site expansion with location fees included, and consider whether departments within one location can handle a small satellite operation without creating a second billable site.
A third mistake is budgeting for scheduling alone when payroll is also planned. Payroll at 49 dollars base plus 6 dollars per member can exceed the scheduling subscription itself for a larger team, so a combined budget is essential. A business that discovers payroll cost after adopting Homebase may feel the whole system is expensive, even though scheduling alone remains cheap. Price the full stack before launch, and compare the full stack with other payroll and scheduling combinations on the same basis.
Verdict, Which Plan Fits Which Business
For a micro business with one site and up to ten people, Basic at zero dollars is the right start, because it delivers real scheduling and time tracking without a monthly charge. Watch headcount monthly, and move to Essentials the moment the eleventh team member joins or GPS clock verification becomes necessary. Free should be a launchpad for a growing team, not a reason to delay hiring or to exclude staff from the system.
For most single site small businesses, Essentials at 30 dollars per month on monthly billing, or about 24 dollars on annual billing, is the sensible default. It covers unlimited team members, GPS clock-ins, late alerts, and enhanced scheduling for a flat location fee that does not rise when you hire. A single site cafe, salon, shop, or clinic will find Essentials hard to beat on value, especially when payroll accuracy improves through better clock data.
For businesses with variable demand, Plus at 70 dollars per month on monthly billing, or about 56 dollars on annual billing, earns its extra cost through AI scheduling, forecasting, and paid time off management. Choose Plus when demand swings week to week, when several managers share scheduling, or when paid time off tracking has become messy. Track labour against sales after the upgrade, and keep Plus only while forecasting and scheduling savings exceed the monthly uplift.
For growing groups and hiring heavy businesses, All-in-One at 120 dollars per month on monthly billing, or about 96 dollars on annual billing, may pay through onboarding, analytics, and compliance support. Choose it when hiring volume, multi site complexity, or compliance risk makes expert help and analytics genuinely useful. For a three site group, All-in-One costs 360 dollars per month on monthly billing, so the analytics and onboarding tools must be used weekly across sites to justify that total.
Frequently Asked Questions
Is Basic really free for a small business
Yes, Basic costs zero dollars per month for one location with up to ten team members, covering scheduling, time tracking, messaging, and point of sale connections. The limits are site count and headcount, so an eleventh team member or a second location requires a paid plan. Basic is a genuine free tier for a micro business, not a trial, provided the business stays within those limits.
How much does a single site pay per month on Essentials and Plus
A single site pays 30 dollars per month on Essentials or 70 dollars per month on Plus when billed monthly, or about 24 dollars and about 56 dollars respectively on annual billing. Payroll adds 49 dollars base plus 6 dollars per team member paid on top of either plan, so a 15 member site on Plus with payroll pays 209 dollars per month on monthly billing. Taxes and add-ons sit on top of those figures where they apply.
How much does a three site group pay per month
A three site group pays three times the per location rate, so Essentials costs 90 dollars per month on monthly billing or about 72 dollars on annual billing, Plus costs 210 dollars or about 168 dollars, and All-in-One costs 360 dollars or about 288 dollars. Headcount within each site does not raise the subscription on paid tiers, so the group total depends on site count rather than staff count. Payroll scope for groups must be confirmed in writing, because it can change the combined total sharply.
Does hiring more staff raise the Homebase subscription
No, hiring more staff does not raise the subscription on paid tiers, because Homebase charges per location with unlimited team members. Only payroll costs rise with headcount, at 6 dollars per team member paid plus the base fee. On Basic, hiring beyond ten team members does force a move to a paid plan, because Basic caps team size at ten people for one location.
Should a seasonal business choose annual or monthly billing
A seasonal business should usually start on monthly billing, because annual billing locks in a full year of location fees even during quiet or closed months. Monthly billing costs more over a full year, but it keeps flexibility while the business tests demand and site count. Once sites and team size stabilise for a full year, annual billing saves about 72 dollars per site per year on Essentials and more on higher tiers.
When is Plus worth the extra money over Essentials
Plus is worth the extra money when AI scheduling, labour forecasting, paid time off tracking, or department permissions solve a weekly problem that Essentials cannot. A business with variable demand, several managers, or messy time off records will benefit most, while a business with stable demand and a simple roster may gain little. Track roster time and labour against sales before and after an upgrade, and keep Plus only while the saving exceeds the monthly uplift.