WorkPilotAi vs When I Work
Last updated: August 2026
When I Work is one of the best-known shift scheduling apps, and for a small hourly team in the US it does the job well. If you run a UK workplace, though, two things tend to bite: holiday is modelled on American PTO rather than statutory entitlement with carry-over, and the bill goes up every time you add someone to the team. This page sets out where each tool fits, without pretending either is perfect.
The short version
- Choose When I Work if you are US-based, want a long-established product with a large support organisation, and per-user pricing is not a problem.
- Choose WorkPilotAi if you are UK-based and want statutory holiday, working-time warnings and payroll CSV mapping built in, with no per-seat cost as the team grows.
Feature comparison
| Feature | WorkPilotAi | When I Work |
|---|---|---|
| Drag-and-drop weekly rota, draft then publish | ||
| Staff swaps, shift changes and cover requests | ||
| Clock in / out with location check | ||
| Photo check for off-site clock-ins, reviewed by a manager | ||
| UK statutory holiday: allowance, carry-over, live balances | ||
| Cap on how many staff can be off at the same time | ||
| Working-time warnings before you publish | ||
| AI rota builder that respects availability and rest rules | ||
| Payroll CSV with column mapping you control, plus signed webhooks | ||
| Wording customised to your industry | ||
| Free while in beta, unlimited staff, no per-seat pricing |
Based on publicly documented features in August 2026. When I Work updates its product regularly — check their site for the latest before deciding.
Pricing
When I Work is priced per user per month, so a 30-person care home pays roughly double a 15-person café for the same rota. WorkPilotAi is free while in beta — unlimited staff, unlimited rotas, every feature, no card needed — and when paid plans arrive they will not be per seat. You will get plenty of notice, and you can export every rota, timesheet and staff record to CSV whenever you like, including on the way out.
UK holiday and working time
This is the biggest practical difference. WorkPilotAi tracks each person's statutory allowance, days carried over and days already booked, shows the running balance when they request leave, and lets you cap how many people can be off at once and how long a single request can be. Before you publish, it warns about double-bookings, too little rest between shifts, too many hours in a week and too many days in a row — the checks a UK manager is actually judged on.
Attendance and payroll
Both tools do clock in and out. WorkPilotAi adds a location check, an optional selfie when someone clocks in away from the site, and a manager review step before those hours count. Approved hours flow into a payroll export whose column names you map yourself, so it fits Xero, Sage, QuickBooks, BrightPay or anything else that takes a CSV — with a signed webhook if you would rather push pay periods automatically.
Common questions
- Is WorkPilotAi a good alternative to When I Work in the UK?
- Yes, if your team is UK-based. WorkPilotAi handles statutory holiday entitlement, carry-over, limits on how many staff can be off at once and working-time warnings (rest between shifts, weekly hours, consecutive days) as standard, which When I Work models around US-style PTO.
- How much does WorkPilotAi cost compared to When I Work?
- WorkPilotAi is free while in beta with unlimited staff and no card required, and it is not priced per seat. When I Work is billed per user per month, so the cost grows every time you add someone to the team.
- Can I move my rota from When I Work to WorkPilotAi?
- You can paste or bulk-import your staff list, build week one on the board and save it as a template. There is no migration project or setup fee, and you can export everything back to CSV at any time.
- Does WorkPilotAi do clock in and out?
- Yes. Staff clock in and out from their phone with a location check, and off-site clock-ins can require a photo that a manager reviews before the hours are approved for payroll.
Try it on next week's rota
The honest test is one real week. Create a free account, add your team and publish. You can also see how WorkPilotAi compares with Deputy and Planday or read the getting-started guide.