Free event staff roster apps in 2026: 7 honest options for event teams

If you coordinate event staff, your roster tool needs to handle the things that make event work different: irregular hours, last-minute changes, and a rotating cast of freelancers who only work some of your events. The dedicated event-staffing platforms (Quickstaff, Workstaff, Event Staff App, Liveforce) are paid products built for agencies.

What does work for event teams without spending anything: general workforce roster tools with genuinely free tiers, plus AU-native paid tools worth trialling if Fair Work compliance matters. The seven below all have real free plans or published trials, with the limits stated upfront so you can pick what fits your size and how you operate. These tools manage crew you already have; none of them is a marketplace for finding freelancers. Prices checked August 2026 and shown in the currency each vendor publishes.

Zelos Team Management

Event agencies with rotating freelance rosters

Zelos takes a signup-board approach to event staffing. Coordinators post shifts (location, role, skills required, start time), team members get push notifications, and whoever is available and qualified claims the role first. For key roles, switch to approval mode and pick from applicants, or assign someone directly and they accept or decline. No algorithm assigns shifts, no per-person fees, no salaried-employee assumptions baked into the product. The whole thing runs on the principle that the person doing the work is the best one to decide if they can take it.

Built-in chat is part of the product, not a bolt-on. Each shift has its own conversation thread, so the venue address, dress code, call time, and contact for the floor manager stay attached to the job rather than scattered across group texts and emails. Files attach to each shift too: kit lists, site maps, briefings. Member contact information is hidden from other members by design, which keeps the workspace professional when you’re coordinating a roster of freelancers who didn’t sign up to have their phone numbers in a shared directory.

• Free plan: Unlimited team members and admins, 25 concurrent active shifts, last 100 shifts in the archive, 10,000 chat messages.
• What’s paid: Bulk CSV shift upload, dynamic member segments that update automatically as profiles change (auto-update by skills, location, or any custom field), full shift archive, custom team URL. Pro at A$159/month billed annually (A$189/month billed monthly), flat regardless of roster size. Enterprise from A$1,599/month billed annually.
• Communication: Built-in team chat (per-shift threads plus direct messages), admin-supervised. Member contact information is hidden by default. No customer-facing SMS.
• Best for: Event agencies, catering companies, festival organisers, and brand activation teams running a rotating freelance roster, where per-person pricing would scale awkwardly as the roster grows beyond what any single event needs.
• Watch out for: No time clock, payroll feature or GPS check-ins. Members submit their own start and end times, and hoursheets export as CSV for your payroll system.
• Platforms: Native iOS, Android, and web. EU-built and GDPR-compliant by default.

Connecteam

Tiny event ops wanting full operations and comms

Connecteam is an all-in-one workforce platform with a genuinely generous free plan: up to 10 users get the full Small Business plan, which includes the Operations Hub (scheduling, time clock, GPS check-ins, open shifts), the Communication Hub (team chat, announcements, surveys, knowledge base), and the HR Hub (training, documents, recognition). For an event operation that fits in 10 seats, it’s one of the most feature-rich free plans in any category.

The product is mobile-first, designed for deskless and frontline teams. The drag-and-drop scheduler handles open shifts, shift swaps, and availability tracking. GPS-enabled clock-ins prevent the “I forgot to log my hours” calls after every event. AI-assisted scheduling is on paid plans.

• Free plan: Up to 10 users, full access to all three Hubs (Operations, Communication, HR). After the trial, a free Limited plan also covers up to 30 users with basic features, including chat. No time limit.
• Paid plans: Basic Operations Hub from US$29/month for up to 30 users, then extra per user above that (vendor FAQ; billed in USD). Bundle plans across hubs from there.
• Communication: Full Communication Hub on free, including team chat, direct messages, announcements, surveys, and knowledge base.
• Best for: A small event ops team (under 10 people) that wants scheduling, time tracking, GPS check-ins, and team communication in one app rather than stitching together separate tools.
• Watch out for: The 10-user cap applies to the full-featured free plan; the 30-user Limited plan drops most of the operations tools.
• Platforms: iOS, Android, web.

Sling

Small event teams up to 30 staff

Sling is a clean, mobile-first shift planning app owned by Toast (the restaurant POS company). The free plan covers up to 30 users with no time limit and includes the core scheduling toolkit: shift creation, schedule templates, open shifts that staff can claim, shift swaps, time-off requests, availability tracking, and private messaging between team members. It’s a focused product without much beyond scheduling.

The free plan is genuinely useful for smaller event teams. The hard 30-user cap is what to plan around: exceed it and you’re moved to Premium (US$1.70/user/month billed annually). Time tracking, labour cost reporting, and kiosk clock-in are all paid plan features. All Sling prices displayed are USD.

• Free plan: 30 users, full scheduling functionality, shift swaps, open shifts, private messaging, time-off requests.
• Paid plans: Premium at US$1.70/user/month billed annually adds mobile time tracking and labour cost tools. Business at US$3.40/user/month billed annually adds kiosk time tracking, compliance reporting, and annual-leave management.
• Communication: One-to-one messages, announcements and news sharing on the free plan. Group messaging starts on Premium. Customer-facing SMS isn’t part of the product.
• Best for: A small event company or catering operation with a core team of up to 30 staff that needs straightforward scheduling without time tracking complexity.
• Watch out for: Hard 30-user cap on free, no time tracking on free. Mobile app sync delays come up in reviews. Billed in USD.
• Platforms: iOS, Android, web.

Deputy

AU-native rostering with Fair Work-aware compliance

Deputy is built for Australian shift-based teams in hospitality, retail, healthcare, and events. It handles rostering, time and attendance, and leave. Deputy bills Australian customers in AUD and publishes Lite from A$6.75/user/month (excl. tax), Core A$8.75, and Pro A$13, with a minimum spend of A$30/month per invoice on monthly plans from 1 September 2025.

There is no permanent free plan. Deputy offers a free trial, no credit card required.

• Free plan: No permanent free tier. Free trial, no credit card required.
• Paid plans: Lite from A$6.75/user/month, Core A$8.75, Pro A$13 (AUD excl. tax). Minimum A$30/month per invoice on monthly Lite, Core, and Pro. Charity pricing on request.
• Communication: Messaging+ add-on A$2.75 per user.
• Best for: Event and hospitality operators who need award-aware rostering, penalty rates, and casual loading handled in the same tool as the roster.
• Watch out for: Per-user pricing adds up fast on large casual pools. No unlimited free tier like Zelos. Trial only, not a long-term free option.
• Platforms: iOS, Android, web.

RosterElf

Australian rostering for small to mid-sized teams

RosterElf is an Australian rostering platform. It covers drag-and-drop rostering, time clock, leave, and HR add-ons. Core is published at A$6.00/employee/month billed annually plus GST (A$8 monthly per the vendor FAQ), Full Suite A$7 annual / A$10 monthly, with a minimum of three staff on monthly billing or ten seats on annual billing.

There is no permanent free plan. RosterElf offers a free trial, no credit card required, which suits a quick evaluation before committing to per-active-employee pricing.

• Free plan: No permanent free tier. Free trial, no credit card required.
• Paid plans: Core from A$6.00/employee/month billed annually plus GST. Full Suite and HR tiers above that. Per active employee, not per admin.
• Communication: Direct messages, group chats and read receipts, plus a newsfeed, on paid plans.
• Best for: Australian event and hospitality operators who want an Australian roster tool with straightforward per-employee pricing.
• Watch out for: Trial only on the free side. Minimum seat counts apply. No flat per-organisation pricing like Zelos.
• Platforms: iOS, Android, web.

ZoomShift

Small event teams with short planning cycles

ZoomShift is a straightforward shift scheduler with a free Essentials plan for up to 20 users at one location. The product is intentionally simple: drag-and-drop scheduling, basic team communication, shift reminders via text and email, and time-off requests. Reviewers consistently mention how easy it is to learn.

The free plan has one notable constraint for event work: schedules are limited to two weeks in advance. For event teams planning months ahead, that means a paid Starter plan to get an unlimited scheduling horizon (which also adds time tracking, annual leave, break trackers, and the manager logbook). Starter is US$2 per active employee per month and Premium US$4.

• Free plan: Up to 20 users, 1 location, basic scheduling, communication, shift reminders. Two-week scheduling horizon.
• Paid plans: Starter and Premium, per active team member, published in USD. Starter adds time tracking, annual-leave management, unlimited scheduling horizon, manager logbook. Premium adds geofencing, overtime warnings, customisable roles and access permissions.
• Communication: Basic team communication on free (announcements and messages). More structured communication tools on paid plans.
• Best for: A small event operation or venue with a roster up to 20 people that books events one or two weeks ahead, where the scheduling horizon isn’t a blocker.
• Watch out for: Two-week scheduling cap on the free plan is the real constraint for event teams. Time tracking is paid-only. Communication features are basic compared to Connecteam or Sling. Billed in USD.
• Platforms: iOS, Android, web.

Findmyshift

Micro-teams of 5 or fewer

Findmyshift has been running since 2004 and has hosted over 200 million shifts (vendor figure). The free plan is restricted to 5 employees but is genuinely featureful within that cap: drag-and-drop scheduling, integrated time clock, timesheets, shift swaps and requests (with manager approval), and notifications via email, SMS, or push. You can have up to 10 separate teams on the free plan, which is unusual.

The trade-offs are scope. Free scheduling is limited to one week forward and one week back. There are no templates, no real-time reporting, and no payroll calculations. If your event work fits these constraints (a small recurring crew, weekly planning, simple payroll done elsewhere), the free plan is workable indefinitely.

• Free plan: Up to 5 employees per team, up to 10 teams, time clock, shift swaps, notifications via email/SMS/push. One week forward, one week back scheduling.
• Paid plans: From US$27/month for teams of 6 or more, with templates, payroll calculations, real-time reporting, and longer scheduling horizons. Publishes USD.
• Communication: Notifications via email, SMS and push, plus a notice board where staff can post and comment. No live chat.
• Best for: A micro-event-team (a small recurring catering crew, a wedding photography duo, a two-person event production outfit) where 5 staff is the actual size, not a constraint to plan around.
• Watch out for: The 5-employee cap is firm. The one-week scheduling horizon makes it unsuitable for event teams planning further out. No live chat, so quick back-and-forth still happens by text or WhatsApp.
• Platforms: iOS, Android, web.

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Still narrowing down? See how the event staffing app handles call times and kit lists, or the contractor job app if you mainly book independent contractors. For hospitality rosters, see hospitality staff scheduling software.