Rotahr vs Deputy
Rotahr and Deputy both handle staff scheduling, but they solve different problems: Rotahr is one flat-priced app that also covers bookings, food safety records, stock and payroll for a single venue, while Deputy is a dedicated workforce platform priced per user and bolted to other tools for the rest.
Global shift-work platform used across hospitality, retail and healthcare, strong on scheduling and compliance.
Below is a straight comparison, including the cases where Deputy is the better choice. If that's you, we'd rather you knew now than found out after paying us.
Short version
The most capable scheduler of the group. Also the one most likely to be overkill for a single independent venue.
What each one costs
Rotahr
€49/mo
Flat monthly, VAT included. Up to 15 staff; €89 up to 30. Hiring doesn't change the bill.
Deputy
per user
Published per-user. Deputy lists Lite at $5, Core at $6.50 and Pro at $9 per user per month (USD, excluding applicable taxes), with add-ons priced separately.
Rough cost at 12 staff: Around $78/month at 12 staff on Core, before add-ons or tax.
Deputy pricing taken from their own pricing page, checked 2026-08-02. Vendors change prices — verify before you buy. We don't quote third-party aggregators because they're often years out of date.
Where Deputy is better
No point pretending otherwise.
- ✓Best-in-class scheduling engine with demand forecasting and auto-scheduling.
- ✓Deep integration ecosystem — POS, payroll and HR systems across many countries.
- ✓Very mature compliance handling across multiple jurisdictions, useful if you operate in several.
- ✓Proven at scale, with enterprise-grade reporting and permissions.
Pick Deputy if…
You have complex scheduling across multiple sites or countries, want forecasting and auto-scheduling, and have someone with time to configure it properly.
Where Deputy leaves gaps for a small venue
- ✕Per-user, in USD, with tax on top — the bill is both headcount-linked and exposed to exchange rates for an Irish venue.
- ✕Workforce management only. Reservations, food safety and bookkeeping are outside its scope.
- ✕More product than a 10-person pub needs, and the configuration effort reflects that.
The real difference
Most tools here do the rota well. The question is what happens to everything else — the temperature checks, the delivery notes, the bookings, the bag of receipts. Rotahr was built by a chef who was doing all of it by hand.
| Included as standard | Rotahr | Deputy |
|---|---|---|
| Staff rota & shift swaps | ✓ | ✓ |
| Clock in / out with break tracking | ✓ | ✓ |
| HACCP food safety records | ✓ | ✕ |
| Table bookings & floor plan | ✓ | ✕ |
| Receipt scanning & bookkeeping | ✓ | ✕ |
| Stock & recipe costing | ✓ | ✕ |
| Customer list & offers | ✓ | ✕ |
Based on each vendor's publicly marketed feature set as of 2026-08-02. Deputy may offer some of these through integrations or partners rather than natively.
Common questions
Is Deputy or Rotahr better for a small pub?
For a single pub under 15 staff, Rotahr is the closer fit — it's flat-priced and covers the food safety and bookkeeping side too. Deputy's scheduling is more powerful, but most of that power is aimed at larger, more complex operations.
How does Deputy's pricing compare?
Deputy publishes per-user pricing in USD — Lite $5, Core $6.50, Pro $9 per user per month, excluding tax. Rotahr is a flat €49/month up to 15 staff and €89 up to 30, VAT included, so the cost is fixed whatever your headcount does.
Does Deputy do table bookings?
No. Deputy is workforce management. Table reservations and a floor plan are part of Rotahr.