Zeitplan.io vs Shifts for Microsoft Teams
Both apps live in Microsoft Teams and both put people on a timeline. The difference is the unit of planning: Shifts schedules hours for people who work in shifts; Zeitplan.io schedules days and weeks for people who work on projects.
Shifts is Microsoft’s schedule management app for frontline workers, included in Microsoft Teams. Managers create shifts with start and end times, publish schedules, and handle open shifts, swap requests and time-off requests. Workers clock in and out, and Shifts can connect to workforce management systems.
At a glance
| Microsoft Shifts | Zeitplan.io | |
|---|---|---|
| Built for | Frontline teams working in shifts | Project teams allocated to projects for days or weeks |
| Planning unit | A shift with start and end time | A whole day (or a range of days) on a project |
| Typical question | "Who covers Saturday 6–14?" | "Who is on the website relaunch in May, and who is free?" |
| Requests & approvals | Open shifts, swaps, time off, clock in/out | Admins plan; people can be allowed to manage their own assignments |
| Projects | Shift groups and labels | Color-coded projects with notes, statistics per project |
| Price | Included in Microsoft Teams | Free for up to 5 users, then $2–3 per user per month |
| Hour-level planning | Yes | No, by design. For hours, see our sister app Schedules. |
Choose Shifts if
- your people work in shifts with start and end times, and coverage per hour matters
- you need clock-in/out, swap requests and time-off approvals in one place
- you are a retail, hospitality, healthcare or production team on Microsoft 365
Choose Zeitplan.io if
- your people work on projects for days or weeks, and the question is capacity, not coverage
- you want to see a whole quarter for the whole team on one screen
- you need per-project statistics, Planner tasks in the same view, and an Outlook calendar feed per person
FAQ
Can Zeitplan.io plan half days or hours?
No. Assignments are whole days, which keeps the overview readable for weeks and months ahead. If you need hour-based planning in Teams, use Shifts or our sister app Schedules.
Can I use Shifts and Zeitplan.io together?
Yes, they don’t interfere. Some organizations plan frontline staff in Shifts and project staff in Zeitplan.io. There is no data exchange between the two.
Is Shifts free?
Shifts is part of Microsoft Teams. Zeitplan.io is free for up to 5 users; larger teams pay $2–3 per user per month.
Try the day-based view with your own team
Zeitplan.io is free for up to 5 users, installs from the Teams app store in a minute and uses the Microsoft 365 accounts you already have.
Other comparisons: Microsoft Planner · Excel · Float · Teamdeck · Resource Guru