Best staffing apps for temp agencies in 2026

Running a temp staffing agency means constant coordination: filling shifts on short notice, managing a fluid pool of workers, tracking placements, and handing hours off to payroll. The right app turns most of that work into a self-service flow — you publish open shifts, workers claim slots, and you stop chasing people through group texts.

For very small agencies with under 20 workers, a spreadsheet and a WhatsApp group still work. But once you’re managing 50+ temps across multiple clients with overlapping shifts, a dedicated tool saves real hours per week.

Most “best staffing software” lists rank the same handful of enterprise ATS platforms — Bullhorn, Avionté, TempWorks. Those are real tools and they belong on the list, but they only solve the recruitment half of the job. The operations half — same-day shift dispatch, worker communication, hour tracking — is usually a separate tool. Most mid-sized agencies run one of each. Below, the two categories side by side.

Operations-focused apps: shift dispatch and worker coordination

These are the tools your coordinators open every morning. They’re built for fluid worker pools where availability changes daily, shifts get broadcast to many people at once, and the worker app is what actually fills the next shift. Operations tools generally publish their pricing and have free plans or free trials, which makes them faster to evaluate than the enterprise platforms in the next section.

If your bottleneck is filling shifts rather than finding candidates, start here. Most small and mid-sized temp agencies can run their whole operation on one of these tools alone.

Zelos Team Management

Operations-first staffing app with chat built in

Zelos takes a signup-board approach to temp dispatch. Admins post open shifts (with location, time, skills required, capacity, and any notes), workers get push notifications on the mobile app, and whoever is available claims the work first. No algorithmic assignment, no per-worker fees, no recruitment pipeline to ignore. The model assumes the worker is the best person to decide whether they can take the shift.

Built-in chat is core to the product, not a bolt-on. Each shift has its own conversation thread, so logistics, last-minute changes, and questions stay attached to the work rather than getting buried in a group chat. Worker contact information is hidden from other workers by design, which keeps the workspace professional and protects privacy. Hours are tracked and exportable to CSV; the Enterprise plan adds REST API and webhooks for direct payroll integration.

• Free plan: Unlimited workers and admins, 25 concurrent active tasks, last 100 tasks in the archive, 10,000 chat messages.
• Paid plans: Pro from $99/month annual (flat, not per-user). Adds unlimited active tasks, full archive, bulk CSV upload, dynamic segments, custom team URL. Enterprise from $999/month for white-label app, API access, and webhooks.
• Pricing model: Per organisation. Same price whether you have 10 workers or 10,000.
• Communication: Built-in team chat with per-task threads, admin-supervised. Push notifications. No customer-facing SMS.
• Best for: Temp agencies that want a mobile-first dispatch tool with real-time chat baked in, particularly those running ongoing on-demand placements from a large fluid pool.
• Watch out for: No ATS, no payroll processing, no client-facing portal, no GPS attendance. Built for dispatch and communication, and stops there by design. If you need recruitment-side features or a client-facing booking page, you’ll need to pair Zelos with another tool.
• Platforms: Native iOS, Android, and web. EU-built and GDPR-compliant by default.

Ubeya

Purpose-built workforce platform for staffing agencies

Ubeya is built specifically for staffing agencies and large operators that mix in-house staff with agency-supplied workers — hospitality, stadiums, events, food service. It includes AI-powered shift planning, GPS and geofence attendance, a client portal for shift orders, payroll prep, and worker apps for shift claiming and clock-in.

The hybrid-workforce angle is the differentiator. Ubeya lets one operator manage internal employees and multiple external staffing agencies through the same dashboard, with separate views for agencies to confirm shifts and manage their own staff. For agencies that supply workers to large clients running multi-vendor operations, this matters.

• Free plan: None. Free demo available on request.
• Paid plans: Custom-quoted by organisation size and modules. Reviews list entry-tier pricing from around $4 per worker per month; enterprise deployments are negotiated.
• Pricing model: Per worker per month.
• Communication: Built-in messaging between managers and workers, push notifications, automated shift confirmations, client portal communication.
• Best for: Mid-to-large staffing agencies, especially in hospitality, events, and food service, where clients want visibility into worker placements and attendance.
• Watch out for: Larger setup investment than a pure signup app. Per-worker pricing scales with your full pool — including casual workers who only pick up occasional shifts. Users in reviews mention chat features lag behind dedicated communication tools.
• Platforms: Native iOS, Android, and web (separate apps for workers, managers, and clients).

Workforce.com

Demand forecasting and AI-generated schedules

Workforce.com builds optimised schedules from availability data and historical demand. It forecasts how many people you’ll need by hour or day, flags overtime and compliance risks before they happen, and provides a clean worker app for accepting shifts and swapping with teammates.

The forecasting and algorithmic schedule generation are the strongest reasons to pick it. If your shifts follow predictable seasonal or weekly patterns and you want the software to build the rota rather than let workers self-select, this is where to start.

• Free plan: None. Free trial available.
• Paid plans: Per-worker per-month pricing, custom-quoted by agency size. Reviews suggest entry-level pricing from around $4 per worker per month.
• Pricing model: Per worker per month.
• Communication: In-app messaging, push notifications for shift offers, automated reminders.
• Best for: Agencies with predictable demand patterns (regular industrial, retail, hospitality clients) that want software-built schedules rather than worker self-signup.
• Watch out for: Algorithmic scheduling assumes you can predict demand; it’s less suited for purely ad-hoc on-demand dispatch. Per-worker pricing scales with pool size.
• Platforms: Web and mobile (iOS, Android).

Connecteam

Full workforce app for non-desk teams — scheduling, training, chat in one

Connecteam bundles scheduling, time tracking with GPS, in-app chat, training modules, digital forms, and checklists into one mobile-first app. Workers can swap shifts, complete onboarding quizzes, message managers, and submit timesheets. Pricing is modular across three “Hubs” (Operations, Communications, HR & Skills), each priced independently.

Connecteam is a strong fit for agencies that want a single app for non-desk workers that goes beyond scheduling — particularly those that onboard and train temps regularly and want learning content inside the same tool.

• Free plan: Small Business Plan: full access to all features, up to 10 users. Free for life.
• Paid plans: Basic from $29/month (annual) for up to 30 users per hub. Advanced from $49/month. Expert from $99/month. Enterprise custom. Pricing is per hub, so running Operations + Communications + HR is three separate subscriptions.
• Pricing model: Flat for first 30 users per hub, then per user. Multi-hub setups add up.
• Communication: Built-in chat (direct, group, and channels), push notifications, surveys, broadcast updates.
• Best for: Small-to-mid staffing agencies (under 200 workers) that want one app covering scheduling, communication, training, and basic HR for their temp pool.
• Watch out for: Not built specifically for staffing agencies — designed for businesses scheduling their own employees, so multi-client and per-placement workflows need workarounds. Hub-based pricing gets confusing fast; costs add up if you want features across multiple hubs.
• Platforms: Native iOS, Android, and web.

Zoho Workerly

Affordable temp staffing scheduling inside the Zoho suite

Zoho Workerly is Zoho’s dedicated temp staffing module, with light coverage of both recruitment and operations. It includes scheduling, time and attendance, timesheet approvals, candidate and client management, and basic invoicing. It plays well with the rest of the Zoho suite — Zoho CRM, Mail, Books, Recruit — which makes it a natural choice for agencies already running on Zoho.

The interface is more spreadsheet-flavoured than mobile-first, which suits coordinators who prefer desktop scheduling but feels less polished than dedicated workforce apps for workers managing shifts from a phone.

• Free plan: Limited free tier for very small operations (typically 1 recruiter and capped temps).
• Paid plans: Per-recruiter per-month pricing, typically starting around $39 per recruiter per month billed annually. Higher tiers add more temps and features.
• Pricing model: Per recruiter per month, with temp limits per tier.
• Communication: Email-driven workflows, in-portal messaging, SMS notifications on higher tiers.
• Best for: Small-to-mid agencies already invested in the Zoho ecosystem, or those wanting affordable scheduling with light client and timesheet management.
• Watch out for: Worker mobile experience is less polished than dedicated workforce apps. Best value if you’re already a Zoho customer; less compelling as a standalone purchase.
• Platforms: Web with a mobile app for workers.

Shiftboard

Compliance-heavy scheduling for regulated industries

Shiftboard targets industries with strict scheduling rules: healthcare, manufacturing, public safety, and large-scale industrial staffing. The platform includes credential tracking, compliance rule enforcement, fatigue management, shift bidding, and time and attendance tracking alongside core scheduling.

If your agency staffs roles where one missed certification or one overtime violation creates real legal exposure, Shiftboard’s rules engine is the reason to pick it. The platform is built to enforce policy rather than just record it.

• Free plan: None. Free demo available.
• Paid plans: Custom-quoted per use case. Pricing varies significantly by industry and configuration.
• Pricing model: Custom-quoted, typically per worker.
• Communication: In-app messaging, automated shift notifications, mobile worker app.
• Best for: Agencies staffing healthcare, manufacturing, public safety, and similar regulated industries where credential and compliance enforcement is non-negotiable.
• Watch out for: Custom pricing only — no entry-level transparency. The rules engine is overkill for hospitality, events, and general-labour staffing where compliance is lighter.
• Platforms: Web and mobile (iOS, Android).

Recruitment-focused apps: ATS, CRM, and full back office

These are the tools you reach for when sourcing volume becomes the bottleneck. They handle the long-cycle work — candidate pipelines, resume parsing, qualification, placement tracking, invoicing, and (in some cases) payroll. Pricing is custom-quoted across the board, demos take 30–60 minutes to schedule, and implementation runs weeks to months. They’re built for agencies past the bootstrap stage.

Smaller agencies often don’t need these tools at all. If you’re filling shifts from a pool you already know, the operations apps above cover the day-to-day; an ATS becomes useful once you’re recruiting actively rather than just dispatching.

Bullhorn

Industry-standard ATS and CRM for temp and contract staffing firms

Bullhorn is the dominant ATS/CRM in the staffing industry, with strong support for temp workflows alongside permanent placements. It handles candidate sourcing, resume parsing, AI-powered candidate matching, time tracking, and invoicing. The marketplace integrates with over 1,000 third-party tools — VMS platforms, payroll providers, job boards, and back-office systems.

Bullhorn is built for agencies whose primary bottleneck is the recruiting pipeline rather than same-day shift dispatch. If you spend more time qualifying candidates than filling shifts, this is the category leader.

• Free plan: None. Demo available on request.
• Paid plans: Custom-quoted. Reviews suggest pricing typically starts around $99–$200 per user per month, scaled by agency size and modules. Annual contracts are standard.
• Pricing model: Per recruiter per month.
• Communication: Candidate messaging through the platform, email integration, SMS via add-ons, mobile app for recruiters.
• Best for: Mid-to-large staffing agencies whose work is recruitment-led and who need a candidate pipeline at scale.
• Watch out for: Steep learning curve. Premium pricing puts it out of reach for small agencies. Built for recruiting workflow more than rapid shift dispatch — if your work is mostly same-day on-demand placements, an operations app will be faster.
• Platforms: Web and mobile (iOS, Android).

Avionté

Front + back office in one platform for mid-to-large agencies

Avionté is a comprehensive staffing platform combining ATS, CRM, order management, payroll processing, invoicing, and compliance management in one system. The recent SmartFund integration adds invoice financing, letting agencies finance specific invoices directly from the back office.

Avionté is built for agencies that want everything — sourcing through payroll — under one vendor. The trade-off is that it’s enterprise-grade software with enterprise-grade overhead. Implementation is a months-long project, not a weekend setup.

• Free plan: None. Demo available on request.
• Paid plans: Custom-quoted. Pricing typically starts around $1,200/month with add-ons for advanced modules, scaling by agency size.
• Pricing model: Custom-quoted by agency size and modules.
• Communication: In-platform messaging, candidate engagement tools, email integration, mobile recruiting tools.
• Best for: Mid-to-large temp staffing agencies that want a single platform handling sourcing, placement, payroll, and billing together.
• Watch out for: Enterprise pricing and complexity. Overkill for small operations or for agencies whose primary need is shift dispatch rather than full lifecycle management.
• Platforms: Web and mobile.

TempWorks

End-to-end suite with strong payroll and billing automation

TempWorks is a comprehensive staffing platform with ATS, CRM, onboarding, scheduling, payroll (PayForce), billing, and compliance tools (including E-Verify and background check integrations). The back-office automation is particularly strong — payroll and invoicing are tightly coupled with the front office, which reduces double entry.

It’s a strong fit for temp staffing agencies that want to consolidate vendor count and bring back-office work in-house rather than running separate payroll systems alongside an ATS.

• Free plan: None. Demo available on request.
• Paid plans: Custom-quoted by agency size, transaction volume, and modules.
• Pricing model: Custom-quoted, scaled by volume.
• Communication: Recruiter-candidate messaging, mobile worker app for accepting assignments, automated notifications.
• Best for: Mid-to-large temp staffing agencies processing high payroll volume that want a single vendor for hire-to-pay.
• Watch out for: Steep learning curve. Back-office depth means more configuration upfront. Like Avionté, this is more system than smaller agencies need.
• Platforms: Web and mobile.

JobDiva

AI-driven sourcing and matching for high-volume temp placements

JobDiva is an ATS and VMS platform with AI candidate matching at its core. Its “Macro Matching” tool aggregates candidate data across multiple sources to identify passive talent and predict placement success. The platform supports VMS, MSP, and ATS workflows in a single system, with strong vendor management features for agencies handling subcontractor relationships.

For agencies running high-volume contingent placements through VMS portals, JobDiva’s automation of the matching layer is the main reason to choose it.

• Free plan: None. Demo available on request.
• Paid plans: Custom-quoted.
• Pricing model: Custom-quoted.
• Communication: Candidate messaging, client portal, mobile recruiter app.
• Best for: Mid-to-large temp and contract staffing agencies working primarily through VMS systems or running MSP operations.
• Watch out for: Like other enterprise ATS platforms, this is recruitment-focused; operations and same-day dispatch happen through workarounds or integrations. Pricing isn’t transparent.
• Platforms: Web and mobile.

Frequently asked questions

What’s the difference between staffing software and scheduling software?

Scheduling software builds rosters from a defined team — usually the same people week after week. Staffing software is built for fluid pools where availability changes daily and shifts get broadcast to many workers at once. Most temp agencies need staffing software, not scheduling software, even though the labels overlap.

Do I need an ATS to run a temp staffing agency?

Not necessarily. If your pool is mostly returning workers and your bottleneck is daily dispatch, an operations app like Zelos, Ubeya, or Connecteam covers what you need. Add a dedicated ATS like Bullhorn, Avionté, or TempWorks once sourcing volume genuinely outpaces what your inbox and spreadsheets can handle — usually somewhere around 20+ active recruiters or several hundred placements per month.

What’s the cheapest staffing app for a small temp agency?

Zelos has a free plan with no time limit and no per-worker fees, including built-in chat, push notifications, skills-based targeting, and CSV exports. Connecteam’s Small Business Plan covers up to 10 users free for life. Zoho Workerly offers a limited free tier for very small operations. For genuinely small agencies (under 30 workers), one of these three usually handles daily needs without a paid plan.

Does staffing software handle payroll?

Most operations-focused apps don’t, by design. Payroll is heavily regulated and varies by jurisdiction, so most dispatch tools export hours and hand off to dedicated payroll systems (TempWorks PayForce, Gusto, ADP, or country-specific providers). Full-suite platforms like Avionté and TempWorks include native payroll. Ubeya includes payroll prep with integrations. Zelos exports hours via CSV or webhooks and assumes you’ll run payroll separately.

Can I run my temp agency on WhatsApp?

Plenty of small agencies do, and it works fine under about 50 workers. It stops working when you can’t track who confirmed which shift, hours get lost, and last-minute changes get buried in group chats. The move from WhatsApp to a proper staffing app is one of the most common upgrades small temp agencies make in their first two years.

What’s the difference between Zelos and Ubeya?

Both are operations-focused with mobile worker access and shift signup. Ubeya is a fuller platform — it includes payroll prep, GPS attendance, AI-driven scheduling, and a client-facing portal, and it’s purpose-built for agency-and-direct hybrid workforces. Zelos is simpler and lighter: shift signup and built-in messaging, and stops there by design. Zelos also charges per organisation rather than per worker, which can be meaningfully cheaper for agencies with large casual pools. Ubeya fits agencies that want one platform for the whole operation; Zelos fits agencies that want a focused dispatch tool that hands off to whatever they already run for payroll and recruiting.

How do I choose between Bullhorn, Avionté, and TempWorks?

All three are mid-to-enterprise staffing platforms with significant overlap. Bullhorn leads on ATS depth and marketplace integrations, with the largest ecosystem of third-party add-ons. Avionté and TempWorks both bundle payroll and billing more tightly into the front office; TempWorks is often considered the stronger back-office automation, while Avionté’s recent SmartFund and document-management updates have closed gaps. For agencies that prefer best-of-breed and integrate, Bullhorn is the usual starting point. For agencies that want one vendor handling hire-to-pay, Avionté or TempWorks are the closer match.

Are any of these free for small temp agencies?

Three offer permanent free plans worth using for genuinely small operations: Zelos (unlimited workers, 25 concurrent active tasks), Connecteam (up to 10 users, full feature access), and Zoho Workerly (very limited free tier). The enterprise ATS platforms (Bullhorn, Avionté, TempWorks, JobDiva, Shiftboard) don’t offer free plans — they’re built for agencies past the bootstrap stage.

---

Zelos handles temp agency dispatch with shift signup, admin-supervised messaging, worker profiles, hour tracking, and CSV or API export to payroll. The standard plan is free for everyone with no per-worker pricing, and Pro starts at $99/month flat. For pricing details, see the pricing page.