How much does it cost to replace Deputy with your own system?
Deputy is a straightforward scheduling and time-and-attendance tool. At $5–$9 per seat (list price, deputy.com/pricing, July 2026) with a $30/month minimum from September 2025, even a 50-person team only spends ~$3,900 a year. A custom replacement costs ~$40,000 to build (~$8,000 per founding firm) plus ~$3,000/year to run — which does not pay back at typical size. For most teams under ~100 seats, staying on Deputy is the better deal — we'd tell you that on the call. It becomes worthwhile only at 100+ seats, across multiple sites, or when HR/Analytics+ add-ons have substantially raised your effective bill.
Side-by-side comparison
| Deputy (per-seat) | Your own system | |
|---|---|---|
| Cost model | $5–$9/user/mo + $30/mo minimum + HR/Messaging+/Analytics+ add-ons | One-off build share (~$8,000) + flat ~$3,000/yr — no per-seat, ever |
| 50-user team, year 1 | ~$3,900 (Core, before add-ons) | ~$11,000 (build share + running) |
| 50-user team, year 2 | ~$4,300 (+ add-ons) | ~$3,000 |
| 5-year cumulative (50 users) | ~$23,800 (before add-ons) | ~$23,000 (build share + 5× running) |
| When it pays back | n/a — you're the payer | Only at ~100+ seats or heavy add-on use; roughly break-even at 50 |
| Data ownership | Vendor-hosted rosters & timesheets | Fully yours — export rosters, timesheets and pay data anytime |
| Perpetual access | Stop paying, lose access immediately | Perpetual, escrow-backed licence you own |
Related questions
Only at scale. Below ~100 seats the per-seat price is low enough that a custom build won't pay back, and we'll tell you so. It becomes compelling for large multi-site operators, or when add-ons and the $30/month minimum have pushed your effective cost well above the headline.
Sources
- Deputy pricing as published (deputy.com/pricing, 2025–2026) — Lite $5 / Core $6.50 / Pro $9, $30/mo minimum from Sept 2025, add-on prices
- Capterra / G2 / Jibble — 2025 price restructure, $30 minimum (corroborated across review sources, July 2025)
- Rollout IT build and running-cost estimates (workforce scheduling, 2025)
See what your SaaS spend looks like with a flat annual fee.
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