# Sling — Employee Scheduling

Sling by Sling (Toast Inc.) holds a panel rating of 2/5 from 6 AI judges (category median 2.5/5), as of 2026-11-03. Provenance: provenance unknown; sovereignty: 1 of 6 dimensions proven.

- Vendor: Sling (Toast Inc.) (https://getsling.com)
- Category: [Employee Scheduling](https://whats-best.ai/software/employee-scheduling.md)
- Provenance (editorial classification): provenance unknown
- Canonical page: https://whats-best.ai/software/employee-scheduling/sling
- Alternatives: https://whats-best.ai/software/employee-scheduling/sling/alternatives ([markdown](https://whats-best.ai/software/employee-scheduling/sling/alternatives.md))
- Data as of: 2026-11-04 · evaluated 2026-11-03 · oldest source captured 2026-11-03

**AI-generated.** Every score, rationale and verdict here is written by a panel of AI judges from public evidence — an analysis, not a hands-on test. Every fact quotes the vendor page it was read from. No score can be bought. How scores are made: https://whats-best.ai/methodology

## At a glance

- Vendor: Sling (Toast Inc.)
- Headquarters: Not stated on the vendor’s pages as of 3 Nov 2026
- Data hosting: Outside the EU by default [S10]
- Free plan: Yes, per the vendor’s own page [S1]

## The panel's verdict

Sling, an employee scheduler from Sling, Inc., a Toast company, is strongest at staff self-service, scoring 6 to 7: Android and iPhone apps deliver the schedule, open-shift applications, manager-approved swaps, clock-in, breaks, timesheets and coworker messaging with a newsfeed. Roster planning scores 5 to 6 — templates scoped by location, position, group and tag, conflicts and gaps flagged — but the only demand signal is Toast POS sales set against labour costs after the fact. Working-time rules score 3 to 4 because the documented law is American: weekly overtime over 40 hours, daily over 8, California double time over 12, and the judges found no public information on rest periods, youth protection or collective-agreement surcharges. Sovereignty is the low point at 0 to 2 — Boston contracting entity, New York governing law, a GDPR FAQ indicating that personal data of EU residents resides outside the EU — and the rationales at both ends of that range, the bench's widest, cite the same captured facts. A free tier and fifteen-day trial are public; Premium and Business prices are not.

**Speaks for it:**
- Android and iPhone apps give staff the full schedule, open-shift applications, manager-approved swaps, clock-in and breaks, timesheets, and coworker messaging with a newsfeed.
- Schedule templates scope by location, position, group and tag and apply as unpublished drafts, with conflicts and gaps flagged during planning.
- Overtime rules are configurable — weekly, daily and double-time triggers with adjustable multiplier rates — and alert the planner the moment a shift is scheduled.
- Inside the Toast ecosystem, employee data syncs and timesheets export directly to Toast Payroll, with POS sales compared against labour costs.

**Held against it:**
- Every documented working-time rule is US overtime law — weekly over 40 hours, daily over 8, California double time over 12 — with no public information on rest periods, youth protection or collective-agreement surcharges.
- The contracting entity is Sling, Inc., a Toast company, at a Boston address under New York law, and the GDPR FAQ indicates personal data of EU residents is hosted outside the EU, with no public information on a data processing agreement or subprocessor list.
- Payroll leaves as a customisable XLS or CSV export, Toast Payroll being the only named payroll integration, with no public information on DATEV or wage-type mapping for surcharges.
- The privacy statement discloses session replay, geolocation when device location services are on, and sharing of personal information for targeted advertising.
- No price is published for the Premium or Business tiers, which surface by name only in help articles gating templates, overtime alerts, shift swaps and time-clock statuses.

**Best for:**
- You run hourly teams in the US and want an overtime-aware scheduler your staff will actually use on their phones.
- You already operate in the Toast ecosystem and want timesheets to export directly to Toast Payroll.
- You schedule across multiple locations and want reusable templates with conflict and gap flagging during planning.

**Avoid if:**
- You must comply with German or EU working-time law — rest periods, youth protection, collective-agreement surcharges — where the documented rules stop at US overtime.
- A works council must approve the tool before rollout: the privacy statement discloses session replay, geolocation collection and sharing of personal information for targeted advertising.
- Your procurement requires EU data residency or an EU contracting entity for employee data: the GDPR FAQ indicates personal data of EU residents is hosted outside the EU, under New York governing law.
- Your payroll depends on a European system such as DATEV or on surcharge wage types: the documented handoff is an XLS or CSV file and timesheets to Toast Payroll.

## Scores by judge and criterion

Scores out of 5, each judge scoring independently against the published rubric (v2). "n/r" = not rated: the vendor publishes no price, or the judge found no public information on that criterion.

| Criterion | The Shift Manager | The Operations Director | The Payroll Officer | The Works Council Advocate | The Frontline Employee | The Skeptic |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| Roster building & demand planning | 2.5/5 | 2.5/5 | 2.5/5 | 2.5/5 | 3/5 | 2.5/5 |
| Working-time law & collective agreements | 2/5 | 2/5 | 2/5 | 2/5 | 2/5 | 1.5/5 |
| Mobile self-service for deskless staff | 3.5/5 | 3.5/5 | 3/5 | 3/5 | 3.5/5 | 3/5 |
| Works council & employee data | 2/5 | 2/5 | 2/5 | 2/5 | 2/5 | 2/5 |
| Payroll handoff & integrations | 2/5 | 2/5 | 2/5 | 2/5 | 2/5 | 2/5 |
| European sovereignty | 0.5/5 | 0/5 | 0/5 | 0/5 | 1/5 | 0/5 |
| Pricing transparency | n/r | n/r | n/r | n/r | n/r | n/r |
| **Weighted verdict** | **2.5/5** | **2/5** | **2/5** | **2/5** | **2.5/5** | **2/5** |

### The judges

- **The Shift Manager** (v1.0): Builds next week's roster for a restaurant or store on Thursday night and fields the sick calls on Saturday morning. Wants templates, qualifications that stop the wrong person landing on the till, open shifts staff can claim, and a rest period warning before publication rather than after the inspection.
- **The Operations Director** (v1.0): Answers for labour cost across thirty locations in retail, hospitality or care. Wants demand-based planning from real POS or occupancy data, labour cost against budget while the plan is still editable, and staff shared across sites. Reads "AI-powered scheduling" as a request to see the method.
- **The Payroll Officer** (v1.0): Turns the worked month into DATEV and answers for every surcharge. Cares about night, Sunday and holiday supplements from the Tarifvertrag, Minijob limits caught before the month closes, and corrections after the close. Treats "CSV export" as an admission that the handoff was never designed.
- **The Works Council Advocate** (v1.0): Co-determines how hours and overtime are distributed and how staff are monitored (BetrVG §87), and will not sign a works agreement for a system that watches more than it plans. Asks who sees absence reasons, what the app stores about location, what is logged and when it is deleted. Reads "performance insights" as a warning.
- **The Frontline Employee** (v1.0): Works part-time shifts next to a second job or a degree and never opens a laptop at work. Judges the product by its phone app: can she mark availability, swap a shift without three calls, see her hours, and read it in her own language. A roster she learns about from a photo in a group chat has failed.
- **The Skeptic** (v1.0): Has read a great many pages saying the product "supports" the Arbeitszeitgesetz and wants to know whether it blocks a violation, warns about it, or merely exports it. Reads for which tier the time clock and the DATEV export sit in, how seasonal staff are counted per employee, and what the forecasting "AI" actually uses as input.

## European sovereignty — proven facts

Built only from facts on the vendor's own pages; a dimension we could not prove is left open, never scored as zero. Headline: 1 of 6 dimensions proven.

| Dimension | Finding | Points | Source |
|---|---|---|---|
| Legal entity | Not determined | — | — |
| Hosting location | Outside the EU | 0/4 | [S10] |
| Hosting options | Not determined | — | — |
| Open source | Not determined | — | — |
| Data processing agreement | Not determined | — | — |
| Transfer impact assessment | Not determined | — | — |

## Key facts

Each fact is the vendor's own statement, cited to the source page it was read from ([S*n*] → Sources).

**Compliance**
- CCPA: yes [S3]
- Children: yes [S3]
- Consent tool: Ethyca [S3]
- Data salesharing: yes [S3]
- Dnt: no · yes [S3]
- GDPR: GDPR page is listed in footer Resources [S1]
- Opt out link: yes [S3]
- Regional addendums: US California · US Colorado · US Connecticut · US Virginia · US Utah · Canada · EU/EEA · UK [S3]
- Rights channels: web portal · email privacy@getsling.com · post Toast, Inc. 333 Summer Street Boston MA 02210 · phone (866) 226-4484 [S3]
- Security measures: Administrative, technical, and physical security measures; no absolute guarantee [S3]
- Sensitive personal info: yes [S3]
- User rights: deletion · access · correction · portability · processing restrictions [S3]

**Data**
- Cancellation: no · Company Settings in app · no [S2]
- Deletion on cancellation: yes · no [S2]
- Downloadable statement: yes [S3]
- Processor role: yes [S3]
- Retention: Retention schedule exists for removal of information after termination of agreement [S3]

**Integrations**
- API: access your Sling account data · yes [S2]
- API rate limits: yes [S2]
- APIs: yes [S1]
- Page: Integrations is a listed navigation item [S1]
- Third party sharing: yes [S3]
- Toast capabilities: Toast integration: employee data sync, POS sales vs labor cost comparison, timesheet export to Toast Payroll [S12]

**Legal**
- Address: 02210 · Boston · MA · 333 Summer St [S1]
- Address: 02210 · Boston · 333 Summer St [S2]
- Address: Toast, Inc., 333 Summer Street, Boston, MA 02210 [S3]
- Age minimum: 16 [S2]
- Amendments: yes [S2]
- Claims time limit: 1 [S2]
- Effective date: 2024-05-01 [S3]
- Entity: Sling, LLC · New York limited liability company [S2]
- Entity: Toast · Sling, Inc. [S3]
- Governing law: New York, USA [S2]
- Last updated: 2025-02-05 [S2]
- Liability cap: fees paid in previous month [S2]
- Privacy email: privacy@getsling.com [S3]
- Third party policy: Toast Acceptable Use Policy [S2]
- Warranty disclaimer: no [S2]

**Pricing**
- Billing model: no · yes · yes [S2]
- Fee changes notice: 30 [S2]
- Free tier: yes [S1]
- Free trial: 15 · yes [S2]
- Schedule templates tier requirement: Premium · Business · yes [S5]
- Taxes: yes [S2]

**Product**
- Article last updated: Article last updated March 17, 2025 [S9]
- Call recordings: call recordings · chat transcripts [S3]
- Color coded positions: Each position is assigned a color shown on shifts [S8]
- Communication: Communication is a listed product feature [S1]
- Cookies: persistent · session ID [S3]
- Daily double overtime: 2 · California · 12 [S6]
- Daily overtime threshold: 1.5 · 8 · yes [S6]
- Data collected: Employment info collected includes shift schedule, wage, position [S3]
- Employee breaks: Employee breaks is a listed product feature [S1]
- Employee cannot edit locations positions: at least one location and position required to see available shifts · no [S8]
- Employee documents: Employee documents is a listed product feature [S1]
- Employee scheduling: Employee scheduling is a listed product feature [S1]
- Feature gating by subscription: Feature availability varies by company settings and subscription type [S8]
- Geolocation: Geolocation collected from device if location services enabled [S3]
- Integration purpose: Integrations cover payroll and employee management with existing business tools [S12]
- Labor costs: Labor costs is a listed product feature [S1]
- Marketing comms: Marketing communications sent to Account Holders and Application Users with manager accounts [S3]
- Messages no employee delete: yes · no [S8]
- Messaging: Mobile app includes coworker messaging with private, group, and archived conversation views; pinning available [S8]
- Mobile platforms: Android (Google Play Store) · iPhone (App Store) [S8]
- Multiple work locations: Multiple work locations is a listed product feature [S1]
- Newsfeed: Mobile app includes a Newsfeed for company posts and communications [S8]
- Notifications dismissal web view: Dismissed mobile notifications are viewable in the web version [S8]
- Overtime alerts: Sling alerts and prevents scheduling employees into overtime [S6]
- Overtime config: Configurable overtime threshold and multiplier rate [S7]
- Overtime not compounded: no [S7]
- Overtime plans: Premium · Business [S7]
- Overtime reporting: Overtime grouped in reports; weekly vs daily rates calculated accordingly [S7]
- Overtime rule types: weekly overtime · daily overtime · daily double overtime [S6]
- Overtime setting location: Settings > Labor Cost [S7]
- Overtime settings dependencies: first day of the week · payroll period · hours of operation · yes [S6]
- Overtime settings location: Settings > Labor cost [S6]
- Ownership of content: yes [S2]
- Payroll: Payroll is a listed product feature [S1]
- Payroll export formats: XLS · CSV · upload to payroll processing service [S11]
- Payroll report customization: yes [S11]
- Payroll reports location: Payroll reports exportable for any date range from Reports > Payroll [S11]
- Payroll source data: Payroll reports generated from time clock activity; manual time entry also supported [S11]
- Profile: Employee profile shows picture, name, contact info, DOB, unavailability, role, time zone, locations, positions, groups [S8]
- Roster customizable columns: yes [S4]
- Roster daily overview: Roster gives a daily overview of scheduled shifts, staffing levels, conflicts or gaps [S4]
- Roster edit timesheets: edit timesheets · mark sick call-outs · mark no-shows [S4]
- Roster export print: yes [S4]
- Roster mobile filters: locations · positions · tags [S4]
- Roster mobile web only date selection: no [S4]
- Roster shift actions: edit timesheet · mark sick call-out · mark no-show · delete shift [S4]
- Roster sorting: Roster sortable by employee name, position, or location, plus additional options like groups [S4]
- Roster status color coding: Shift statuses color-coded: red running late, green clocked in, yellow on break, grey clocked out/no-show/sick call-out/later [S4]
- Roster time clock statuses: Premium · Business · yes [S4]
- Salaried overtime: no [S7]
- Schedule template management: revert_to_unassigned · delete [S5]
- Schedule template options: auto_unassign_shifts · include_unpublished_shifts [S5]
- Schedule templates: Schedule templates save ranges of schedules to be applied to future dates [S5]
- Schedule templates applied as unpublished: yes [S5]
- Schedule templates edit requires new save: Editing a template requires loading it and saving as a new template [S5]
- Schedule templates exclude unavailability: no [S5]
- Schedule templates scoped by filters: locations · positions · groups · tags [S5]
- Schedule templates view restriction: day · week [S5]
- Schedule views: My schedule · Full schedule · Available shifts [S8]
- Services definition: Sling application, website, mobile apps (web, iOS, Android), APIs, content, third-party services, technical support [S3]
- Session replay: yes [S3]
- Settings: Settings include sound effects, typing indicator, time format, shift alarms, and notification preferences [S8]
- Shift application: Employees can apply for available open shifts from the mobile app [S8]
- Shift swap cross position: yes [S9]
- Shift swap manager approval: yes [S9]
- Shift swap mobile app: Shift swap available in the mobile app from the Shifts tab [S9]
- Shift swap notification flow: Recipient receives a notification of the swap offer to accept or reject [S9]
- Shift swap offer: Employees can make shifts available, offer shifts to coworkers, or swap shifts [S8]
- Shift swap plan tiers: Premium · Business · yes [S9]
- Shift swap reassignment: yes [S9]
- Shift swap rejection: yes [S9]
- Shift swap responsibility until accept: yes [S9]
- Shift swap two week limit: 14 [S9]
- Shift swap web flow: Shift swap available from the website via shift details options menu [S9]
- Task management: Task management is a listed product feature [S1]
- Tasks tab: Mobile app includes a Tasks tab for assigned and completed tasks [S8]
- Third party ads: yes [S3]
- Time and attendance: Time and attendance is a listed product feature [S1]
- Time clock: Time clock is a listed product feature [S1]
- Time clock: Mobile dashboard supports clocking in/out of shifts and starting/ending breaks [S8]
- Timesheets: Timesheets is a listed product feature [S1]
- Timesheets: Employees can review recorded hours in Time Sheets; editable if company grants permission [S8]
- Weekly overtime threshold: 1.5 · 40 · 2 · yes [S6]

**Support**
- Help center: yes [S1]
- Help center and support: Help Center article search · Customer Support via in-app Help & Support link in More tab [S8]
- Opt out email: help@getsling.com [S3]

## Questions

### Is Sling European?

Not determined: the vendor’s pages as captured do not say where Sling is based.

### Where does Sling store data?

Sling stores customer data outside the EU by default, per [the vendor’s page captured 3 Nov 2026](https://whats-best.ai/evidence/17239).

### Does Sling have a free plan?

Yes. Sling has a free plan, per [the vendor’s page captured 3 Nov 2026](https://whats-best.ai/evidence/17230).

### What are the best alternatives to Sling?

As of 3 Nov 2026, the panel rates [Ordio (3/5)](https://whats-best.ai/software/employee-scheduling/ordio), [Shiftbase (3/5)](https://whats-best.ai/software/employee-scheduling/shiftbase) and [gastromatic (3/5)](https://whats-best.ai/software/employee-scheduling/gastromatic) highest among the other 27 Employee Scheduling products evaluated. Ratings that look equal are rounded to half stars; the order uses the unrounded rating, then the name. The highest-rated European alternative is [Ordio](https://whats-best.ai/software/employee-scheduling/ordio) (EU-Made). Ratings are the AI panel’s opinion, formed from public evidence: [how scores are made](https://whats-best.ai/methodology#ordering). The full list, with European products first: [Sling alternatives](https://whats-best.ai/software/employee-scheduling/sling/alternatives).

## What this page leaves out

- 3 legal facts could not be confirmed on the vendor’s page as captured and were left out of this page and of the panel’s material.
- 2 product facts could not be confirmed on the vendor’s page as captured and were left out of this page and of the panel’s material.

## Sources

- [S1] Vendor page: https://getsling.com (checked 2026-11-03)
- [S2] Terms of service — found from the homepage: https://getsling.com/terms-of-service/ (checked 2026-11-03)
- [S3] Privacy policy — found from the homepage: https://getsling.com/privacy-statement/ (checked 2026-11-03)
- [S4] Roster building & demand planning — found from sitemap: https://support.getsling.com/en/articles/2686633-roster (checked 2026-11-03)
- [S5] Roster building & demand planning — found from sitemap: https://support.getsling.com/en/articles/511144-schedule-templates (checked 2026-11-03)
- [S6] Working-time law & collective agreements — found from sitemap: https://support.getsling.com/en/articles/4683228-set-overtime (checked 2026-11-03)
- [S7] Working-time law & collective agreements — found from sitemap: https://support.getsling.com/en/articles/660998-how-do-i-measure-overtime (checked 2026-11-03)
- [S8] Mobile self-service for deskless staff — found from sitemap: https://support.getsling.com/en/articles/3453474-employee-mobile-app-guide (checked 2026-11-03)
- [S9] Mobile self-service for deskless staff — found from sitemap: https://support.getsling.com/en/articles/2686630-how-do-i-swap-a-shift (checked 2026-11-03)
- [S10] Works council & employee data — found from sitemap: https://getsling.com/gdpr-faq/ (checked 2026-11-03)
- [S11] Payroll handoff & integrations — found from sitemap: https://support.getsling.com/en/articles/2531027-how-do-i-export-payroll (checked 2026-11-03)
- [S12] Payroll handoff & integrations — found from sitemap: https://getsling.com/integrations/ (checked 2026-11-03)

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Cite as: whats-best.ai, "Sling — Employee Scheduling", AI panel analysis, as of 2026-11-04. https://whats-best.ai/software/employee-scheduling/sling

Corrections: https://whats-best.ai/correct/1426?target=page