A focused alternative for open shifts and task dispatch
Zelos covers that slice of Connecteam at one flat price, without the time clock, payroll, training, and per-user fees.
Shift scheduling, task management, HR hub, and much more
Fits organisations with HR, supervisors, and admin staff.
Open shifts, task dispatch, notice board, and team chat
Fits when the organisation is all on you.
No credit card · Unlimited members on every plan · Set up in under 5 minutes
How open shifts work in each app
Open shifts inside a scheduling system
Open shifts are one feature within a fuller workforce platform that includes time clock, GPS verification, and payroll.
Open shifts as the whole product
Admins post shifts and tasks; team members browse and claim what fits their skills and schedule.
How team chat works in each app
Both apps put chat next to the schedule. They differ in who can message whom, what admins have to configure, and which plan you need.
How messaging works in Zelos Team Management
Built-in messaging is included on every plan, including free.
- A chat thread for every task and shift, created automatically
- Admin oversight on all chat, by design — members can't message each other privately
- 10,000 messages on Free, full history on Pro
- No message search; chat export through support
Chat for each shift
Zelos Team Management. Created automatically for every task and shift
Connecteam. Set up by an admin from the schedule
Group messages
Zelos Team Management. Groups people join or are added to by an admin
Connecteam. Automatic membership based on profile data (Communications Advanced)
Who can post in a group
Zelos Team Management. Everyone or admins only, set per group by an admin
Connecteam. Everyone or admins only, set per group by an admin
Private messages between members
Zelos Team Management. Not possible: members talk in task and group threads that admins can see
Connecteam. Allowed by default; can be restricted on Communications Advanced
Notifications
Zelos Team Management. Push and read receipts
Connecteam. Push and read receipts
Message search
Zelos Team Management. No keyword search of past messages
Connecteam. No keyword search of past messages
Chat export
Zelos Team Management. On request through support
Connecteam. Admins export CSV in the app; private chats between employees excluded
What Connecteam is better at
If your workflow depends on the things below, Connecteam is the right pick.
Time tracking and payroll
Connecteam's Operations hub includes a GPS time clock, timesheets and payroll integration from the Basic plan. Geofenced clock-in starts on Advanced. If you pay people by clocked hours, Connecteam is built for that.
Training and compliance
Connecteam's HR Hub includes courses, quizzes, e-sign documents, and a knowledge base. If your team needs to complete certifications, sign policy acknowledgments, or work through structured onboarding, that's not what Zelos is for.
Deeper integrations
Connecteam offers Zapier on Advanced plans and connects to payroll, accounting, and HRIS systems. Zelos has CSV export on every plan and a REST API on Enterprise, but no Zapier and no native HRIS connectors.
HR-grade workflows
Time-off policies with balance tracking, recognition badges, recruitment pipelines, org charts. Connecteam covers the full HR stack for hourly workforces. Zelos doesn't try to.
If these bullet points are non-negotiable, you're a Connecteam customer.
What Zelos is sharper at
If you don't need the full suite of employee management tools, Zelos is a better fit.
Built for one thing, tuned for it
The whole product is open shifts, task dispatch and team chat. That focus shows up as a faster app, less to configure, and less for new team members to learn.
Pricing that doesn't grow with the team
Zelos Pro costs $99/month flat on annual billing, however many people you add. On a slow month teams can move to the free tier without losing a single account.
Built to run itself
Zelos is the kind of tool a single coordinator can configure on a Tuesday afternoon and have a 200-person team using by Wednesday morning. There's no admin training, no setup call, no permission matrix to design.
Privacy that's the default, not an upgrade
Teams are private: people join through an invite or a public join link, and nobody sees tasks, members or chat until they're in. Members can't see each other's contact details. All chat includes admin oversight, by design — team members can't message each other privately. Built in Estonia, GDPR-compliant out of the box.
If you're drawn to this kind of simplicity, you should spin up a free project in Zelos right away.
per month
200 people, same coordination work.
Connecteam Operations Advanced bills you $474 a month.
Zelos Pro bills you $99.
What open shifts plus chat costs
Connecteam prices each hub separately. Open shifts are in the Operations hub; chat controls are in the Communications hub.
| Team size | Zelos Team Management Free | Zelos Team Management Pro | Connecteam: open shifts + basic chat | Connecteam: shift approval + chat controls |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 10 people | Free | $99/mo | Free (Small Business plan) | Free (Small Business plan) |
| 50 people | Free | $99/mo | $45/mo | $178/mo |
| 200 people | Free | $99/mo | $165/mo | $778/mo |
| 500 people | Free | $99/mo | $405/mo | $1,978/mo |
Connecteam prices checked against connecteam.com/pricing and Connecteam's help center in October 2026, billed yearly, in USD. Zelos prices from getzelos.com/pricing.
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Teams that pick Zelos over Connecteam
Cleaning services and field crews
Cleaning companies and field service businesses use Zelos to dispatch jobs. Crews claim what fits their day, and coordinate through built-in chat. To see Connecteam next to six other options, compare more crew management apps.
On a slow month, a 100-person on-demand crew runs free on Zelos, but would pay $224/month on Connecteam Operations Advanced.
Event staffing and on-demand workforces
Events spike to hundreds of staff for a weekend, then back down. Connecteam's per-seat model makes that scaling expensive. Zelos's flat fee doesn't move.
Most event staff also pick the shifts that fit their schedules - exactly what self-signup is built for.
Contractor pools and gig dispatch
Connecteam's per-user pricing makes it expensive at volunteer scale.
A 300-volunteer nonprofit on Connecteam would pay around $724/month. Zelos covers the same group for free.
Hospitality and on-call hourly teams
Restaurants, hotels, and venues with on-call shift pools use Zelos to post coverage needs and let staff claim their shifts. Zelos provides fast scheduling at flat pricing that doesn't grow with the roster.
Brand ambassadors and street teams
Marketing teams running ambassador programmes need lightweight self-signup and built-in chat, not training modules and time clocks. Zelos costs less and includes only what they actually use.
Volunteer-led nonprofits with growing rosters
Connecteam's per-user pricing makes it expensive at volunteer scale. A 300-volunteer nonprofit on Connecteam would pay around $724/month. Zelos covers the same group for free.
From teams who picked Zelos
What teams who picked Zelos say
"It helped us a lot reducing the planning overhead. It is way more motivating for staff to pick their task than just getting assigned!"
Manuel W.
Coordinator, Events Services
"We were looking for a system to handle our concert staff. Zelos is really easy to access both for the administrator and the users!"
Niels Peter H.
Board member, Music
"The overall experience has been great, the customer service is amazing and I can't wait for all the new changes coming up in the app!"
Celia D.
Coordinator, Motion Pictures and Film
Free for teams of any size
No credit card, no trial expiration.
Pro starts at $99/month, never per person.
Nonprofit and education discounts on Pro and Enterprise.
Frequently asked questions
Can Zelos do open shifts like Connecteam?
Yes. Zelos is built around open-shift signup as the entire app, while Connecteam offers it as one feature within a fuller workforce platform that includes time clock, payroll, and HR.
Does Zelos have team chat like Connecteam?
Yes. Zelos Team Management includes built-in messaging on every plan, with a thread for every task and shift and admin oversight on all chat. See how team chat works in each app for a side-by-side comparison with Connecteam.
How do notifications and message search compare?
Zelos Team Management sends push notifications on iOS, Android and in the browser. There's no message search in Zelos — conversations are found through the task or shift they belong to.
Connecteam also sends push notifications. On its Communications hub Advanced plan, admins can schedule messages to arrive during working hours, at an employee's next clock-in or shift.
Can I dispatch field jobs with Zelos?
Yes. Post a job to a group, a skill, or a location filter; the right people get notified, claim what fits, and coordinate through built-in chat.
Is Zelos a Connecteam alternative?
Yes, for teams built around self-signup rather than top-down scheduling. Zelos is a strong alternative if you coordinate volunteers, gig workers, contractors, or event staff. It's not a replacement if you depend on GPS time tracking, payroll integration, or compliance training, those are Connecteam strengths Zelos doesn't try to match.
Can I track hours and run payroll with Zelos?
No. Zelos Team Management has no time clock and no payroll feature.
Each shift has a scheduled start and end time, and members submit their actual start and end times when they complete it. Hoursheets calculate each person's hours, and you can export start, end and hours as CSV to import into your payroll system.
If you need clock-in, GPS verification or payroll processing, Connecteam or a dedicated payroll tool is the right fit.
Does Zelos charge per person?
No, never. The free tier includes unlimited team member accounts. The premium tier is a flat subscription starting $99/month for advanced features. Whether you have 50 or 5,000 people, the price doesn't change. Connecteam charges per user above 30 users, per hub.
What's the catch with the Zelos free plan?
There isn't one. The free plan includes unlimited members, unlimited admins, full self-signup, built-in messaging, push notifications, gamification, smart targeting, and CSV export. The limits are 25 concurrent active tasks, 100-task archive, and 10,000 chat messages. If you need more volume or features like CSV bulk upload, that's when Pro at $99/month makes sense.
Why doesn't Zelos auto-assign shifts like Connecteam can?
Because people know their availability, skills, and preferences better than software does. Self-signup typically produces higher fill rates and lower no-show rates than auto-assignment, especially for non-employee teams (volunteers, contractors, gig workers). Zelos lets you target tasks to specific groups or skills, but the final pick is always made by the person.
What if I outgrow the Zelos free plan?
You'll hit the 25 concurrent task limit before you hit any other limit. Pro lifts that to unlimited and adds CSV bulk upload, full task archive, and complete chat history. Pro is $99/month flat, regardless of how many team members you add.
Does Zelos integrate with Slack, Zapier, or other tools?
Not directly. Zelos has built-in messaging, so most teams don't need a separate chat tool alongside it. CSV export of tasks and members is on every plan; REST API and webhooks are on Enterprise. Zapier is not currently supported.
Can I use both Zelos and Connecteam?
Yes, and some teams do. For example, a service company might use Connecteam for their full-time W-2 staff (time clock, payroll, training) and Zelos for their on-call contractor pool (self-signup, no per-seat fees). The two products fit different parts of the workforce question.
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