Is Homebase better than Convey?

Homebase is better if you need an all-in-one HR stack — scheduling plus hiring, payroll, time clock, and team messaging under one roof. Convey is better if you want the scheduling piece to be dead simple and SMS-native, and you already have tools for the rest.

Do employees need to install Homebase to see their schedule?

Homebase's primary delivery is their mobile app, though they offer email and some SMS. Convey never requires an app — every schedule is a text link that opens a mobile web page.

Which is cheaper for a 20-person restaurant?

Convey is $19/mo flat regardless of headcount. Homebase pricing depends on which features you need and grows with plan tier. For most small shops that only need scheduling, Convey comes out ahead.

Comparison

Convey vs Homebase

Homebase is an all-in-one small business team platform. Convey is a lean, SMS-first AI scheduler. Here's an honest side-by-side so you can pick the right one.

Feature matrix

Compared against Homebase's public pricing and feature pages. Unverified rows are marked "see pricing page".

Feature	Convey	Homebase
SMS schedule delivery (no app)	primary channel	partialpush + email primary
Employee app required
AI weekly schedule generation	Claude Sonnet	partialauto-scheduler / templates
Free tier	up to 10 employees	1 location, basic features
Pricing model	$19/mo flat, unlimited	per-location, tiered
Target market	small restaurants, bars, cafes	small business, hourly teams
POS integrations	planned
Payroll processing		add-on
Hiring / applicant tracking
Time clock / timesheets	planned
Team messaging	partialSMS only
Drag-and-drop grid editor
Shift swap / callout coverage	AI-ranked
Works on any phone (even flip phones)
Free trial for paid tiers	Free plan, no trial needed	14 days of All-in-One

Comparison last reviewed April 2026. Competitor pricing and features change frequently — always verify on their official pricing page before deciding.

When Homebase is the better choice

If you want one tool that handles hiring, onboarding, payroll, time tracking, and scheduling in a single login, Homebase is hard to beat. They've built a coherent HR stack for small business owners who don't want to stitch five subscriptions together.

Their free tier is genuinely useful for a single location, and their payroll add-on is one of the cheapest ways to run W-2 for a small hourly team.

When Convey is the better choice

If scheduling is the only part of HR that actually wastes your time, Convey fixes it in one move: the schedule shows up as a text. No app onboarding, no password resets, no "did you get it?" group chat.

And the AI actually drafts the week. Type your constraints, Claude writes a conflict-free schedule, you review and publish. Pricing is flat $19/mo. If you already have payroll and hiring figured out, Convey is the cleanest fit.

FAQ

Is Homebase better than Convey?: Homebase is better if you need an all-in-one HR stack — scheduling plus hiring, payroll, time clock, and team messaging under one roof. Convey is better if you want the scheduling piece to be dead simple and SMS-native, and you already have tools for the rest.
Do employees need to install Homebase to see their schedule?: Homebase's primary delivery is their mobile app, though they offer email and some SMS. Convey never requires an app — every schedule is a text link that opens a mobile web page.
Which is cheaper for a 20-person restaurant?: Convey is $19/mo flat regardless of headcount. Homebase pricing depends on which features you need and grows with plan tier. For most small shops that only need scheduling, Convey comes out ahead.

Try Convey free

Free up to 10 employees. $19/mo flat after that. No credit card.

See pricing How it works

Also see: vs 7shifts · vs When I Work · vs Deputy