RosterMate vs Connecteam
Connecteam is the "everything app" for deskless teams — but for NZ businesses the everything comes in separate USD hubs that stack up fast past 10 staff, and the NZ payroll story is thin. RosterMate is one product at one flat NZD price, with free onboarding and unlimited support from the team that builds it. Here's the honest side-by-side.
Feature and pricing comparison for New Zealand businesses, from each company's public pages as of July 2026.
| RosterMate | Connecteam | |
|---|---|---|
| Pricing model | $8 NZD flat per employee — all features included | Per hub: base fee per hub/month (Basic US$29 · Advanced US$49 · Expert US$99 annual) for first 30 users, extra users on top |
| Billing currency | NZD | USD — NZD cost moves with the exchange rate |
| Free tier | No — 30-day free trial, with setup done for you | Free ≤10 users — but thin NZ payroll and no Holidays Act engine at any tier |
| All features for one price | Yes — no modules or hubs | Scheduling, chat and HR are 3 separate hubs, each with its own base fee |
| Roster builder & templates | Yes | Yes |
| AI auto-rostering | Yes — AI Auto-Roster | Yes — true auto-scheduling |
| GPS clock-in with geofencing | Yes, incl. facial verification — every plan | Yes, but live GPS tracking beyond 10 users needs Expert (US$99+/mo) |
| Leave management | NZ Holidays Act native, incl. alternative & family violence leave | Time-off yes; no NZ Holidays Act engine |
| NZ payroll integrations | Xero NZ, PayHero, Smartly, Crystal + iPayroll export | Xero only — no allowances support (manual in pay run); others US-centric |
| IRD payday filing & NZ bank batch files | Built in | No — no native payroll |
| Training courses & employee recognition | No dedicated LMS — AI custom forms cover checklists & sign-offs | Yes — courses, recognition, documents (separate paid HR & Skills hub) |
| Event staffing with shift bidding & waitlists | Yes | No |
| NZ-based support | Yes — unlimited & free, replies in minutes from the team that builds it | Global support teams; no NZ office |
| Free onboarding — setup done for you | Yes — staff imported, templates built, managers trained | Self-serve setup |
| Custom solutions & roster automations built for you | Yes — tell us the problem, we build the fix, free | Global product roadmap |
| Free trial | 30 days, no credit card | 14 days, no credit card (plus free plan ≤10 users) |
| Reviews | — | Capterra 4.7/5 (review counts vary by region, as of Jul 2026) |
Connecteam pricing and features from connecteam.com public pages and third-party reviews as of 5 July 2026 (USD pricing shown; annual per-hub base fees for the first 30 users, extra users charged on top; NZD conversions approximate and move with the exchange rate). Connecteam is a trademark of its owner. Always confirm current pricing with the vendor.
Example: a café, retail store or trades crew with 20 rostered staff, needing scheduling, a time clock and team chat — one flat NZD price vs a stack of USD hubs.
No product is best for everyone. Here's where Connecteam is strong, and where RosterMate makes more sense.
Choose Connecteam if…
- You have 10 or fewer staff, no NZ payroll needs, and you're comfortable outgrowing the free plan into per-hub USD pricing later
- You want an "everything app" — training courses, employee recognition, document storage and checklists on top of scheduling and chat
- You value a polished, highly-rated mobile app — Connecteam sits at 4.7/5 on Capterra with a huge global review base
- You need a true auto-scheduling engine and don't need NZ payroll depth or IRD filing
Choose RosterMate if…
- You're past 10 staff and don't want to buy 2–3 separate hubs in USD — one flat NZD price covers everything
- You want NZ payroll done properly: Xero NZ, PayHero, Smartly, Crystal and built-in IRD payday filing with NZ bank batch files
- You need leave handled under the Holidays Act — alternative leave, family violence leave, NZ public holiday rates on rosters and timesheets
- You value real support — a Kiwi answers in minutes, and free onboarding means we build your rosters and templates for you
- You staff events — capacity-based shift bidding with waitlists is unique to RosterMate
- You want software that listens — tell us a problem and we ship the solution, including complex roster and event automations set up free
The table above only counts features. Every RosterMate plan also comes with a New Zealand team doing the heavy lifting for you — included in the price, not sold separately.
Free onboarding, done for you
We import your staff, build your roster templates, set up your positions and areas, and train your managers — free. You start with a working roster, not a blank screen.
Support in minutes, not days
Unlimited free support from the NZ team that actually builds RosterMate. Call or message — a human answers fast. No ticket tiers, no offshore queue, no chatbot maze.
We build what you need
Got a problem your software ignores? Tell us. We listen, design a solution and ship it — RosterMate customers watch their feedback become features that better their business.
Complex setups automated, free
Rotating patterns, event crews, multi-site rosters — our team builds your complex roster and event automations for you, at no charge. If it can be automated, we'll set it up.
Our verdict
Connecteam is an impressive product with real breadth, and its free tier serves micro teams of 10 or fewer. But the pricing model changes character the moment you grow: scheduling, chat and HR live in separate hubs, each with its own USD base fee, and the Advanced Operations hub alone lands around NZ$80+ a month before you've added a second hub or crossed 30 users. For NZ payroll, the story is thinner still — a Xero sync with no allowances support, no PayHero, Smartly or Crystal, and no IRD payday filing at any price.
RosterMate takes the opposite approach: one product, one flat $8 NZD per employee, every feature included — rostering, time clock, leave under the Holidays Act, messaging, events, forms, and the only built-in IRD payday filing in this category — built and supported in New Zealand, with free onboarding done for you, support that answers in minutes, and custom solutions built when you ask. Try both: Connecteam's trial is 14 days, ours is 30. We think you'll stay.
Try RosterMate FreeCommon questions from teams comparing the two.