Frequently asked questions

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Shifti Cloud

How do I sign up for Shifti Cloud?
Go to app.shiftiapp.com/signup and create your company — no credit card required for the 14-day free trial. You'll verify your email, then you're straight into the app.
What happens after my Shifti Cloud trial?
Billing isn't self-serve yet — email [email protected] and we'll set you up on a paid plan, priced per employee. Nothing is charged automatically at the end of the trial.
What's included in Shifti Cloud?
Scheduling, time clock, timesheets, time off/PTO, holidays, shift swap requests, attendance, notifications, and granular permissions. Chat, Tasks, and Announcements are self-hosted-only and aren't part of Shifti Cloud — see the comparison question below for why.

Self-hosted Shifti

Is self-hosted Shifti free?
Yes, permanently, for teams of 3 or fewer employees — on first boot the app checks in automatically and is issued a free license on the spot, no signup or request involved. Larger teams can contact us to have their trial seat limit raised for a 7-day fully-featured trial, then need a paid license key priced per seat to continue.
Is Shifti open source?
No. The published Docker images (on GitHub Container Registry) are publicly downloadable, but the source code itself is not public. "Free to download and run" and "open source" aren't the same thing here.
How does the self-hosted 7-day trial work?
Teams of 3 or fewer employees don't need a trial at all — install with the one docker-compose.yml file, run docker compose up -d, and you're issued a free license automatically, permanently. Want to evaluate with more than 3 employees first? Contact us to have your trial seat limit raised, and you'll get the full feature set for 7 days with no license key needed. See the Install page for the exact steps.
What happens after the 7 days?
If the 7-day trial (for teams larger than 3 employees) passes without a valid license key, the app shows a simple lock screen instead of losing anything. Add a license key and restart the app, and you're back exactly where you left off — no data is lost during or after the grace period. Teams of 3 or fewer never hit this, since their license is free and permanent from the start.
How do I get a self-hosted license key?
Two ways, both starting on the Buy page. Fastest: pick your seat count and billing interval and pay right away with a PayPal subscription — your license key follows by email within 24 hours of subscribing. Prefer a PO, bank transfer, or want to talk first? Request an invoice instead — we email the invoice within 24 hours, and your license key follows by email within another 24 hours of payment.
Can I be billed in CAD instead of USD?
The PayPal checkout on the Buy page bills in USD. If you'd rather be billed in CAD, request an invoice instead and mention it in your request — we'll invoice you in Canadian dollars.
Can I change my seat count or cancel later?
Cancel anytime through your own PayPal account — that stops future billing (the current billing period you've already paid for isn't refunded, and your license stays valid through the end of it). There's no self-service way to change your seat count yet, so contact support and we'll help you adjust it.
What do I need to self-host Shifti?
A server with Docker and Docker Compose installed. That's the only requirement.

General

How is pricing calculated?
Both products are priced per employee, with no feature-gated tiers. Shifti Cloud is $1.70/employee/month (or $1.50 billed annually), starting after your 14-day trial. Self-hosted Shifti is free forever for teams of 3 or fewer, then $1.00/employee/month (or $0.75 billed annually) for larger teams.
Where is my data stored?
Depends which product. Self-hosted Shifti runs on your own server, in the Postgres database Docker Compose sets up for you — it never sends your team's data anywhere else. Shifti Cloud stores your team's data on our servers, since we run the app for you.
Can I try Shifti without contacting anyone first?
Yes, either way. Shifti Cloud: sign up at app.shiftiapp.com/signup for a 14-day free trial, no contact needed. Self-hosted: if you're 3 employees or fewer, install it and it's immediately usable, free forever. Larger teams self-hosting need to contact us first to have the trial seat limit raised.
Does Shifti support multiple locations?
Yes, on both products. An Admin can set up multiple locations and positions, schedule/assign staff across them, and give each location its own holiday calendar.
What's different between self-hosted Shifti and Shifti Cloud?
Cloud runs the same core: scheduling, time clock, timesheets, time off/PTO, attendance, holiday calendars, notifications, and granular permissions. Self-hosted additionally has Chat, Tasks, and Announcements — Chat and Tasks are both still beta and may change or disappear at any time, so Cloud's smaller, more settled feature set isn't a gap, just a different tradeoff. Self-hosted is free forever for teams of 3 or fewer and priced per seat beyond that; Cloud is a bit more per employee since we run the server for you.
Where can I learn how to actually use Shifti day-to-day?
See the Docs — a separate guide for employees (schedule, time clock, time off) and one for managers/admins (settings, approvals, permissions), covering both Shifti Cloud and self-hosted Shifti.