7shifts pricing teardown
https://www.7shifts.com/pricing7shifts runs a well-structured 4-tier, per-location pricing page with a genuine free plan, transparent pricing, a clear 'Best value' anchor, and a detailed feature comparison table. It's a strong self-serve conversion page for restaurant scheduling, with enterprise/franchise deals gated behind sales contact and payroll sold as a value-add upsell.
Tier structure
Comp
Free
Essentials
$39.99/mo (annual)
Pro
$79.99/mo (annual)
Premium
$134.99/mo (annual)
Value metric
per month per location, tiered by employee count
How limits scale
Escalation logic
Plans escalate from basic scheduling (Comp) to advanced scheduling and communication (Essentials) to time clocking and compliance (Pro) to full payroll, tips, and task management (Premium), with each tier explicitly building on 'Everything in [previous tier], and...'.
Psychological anchors
- Best value badge — Pro plan is visually highlighted in blue with a hand-drawn 'Best value' label, positioning it as the recommended middle option (decoy effect against Essentials and Premium).
- Free tier as entry anchor — Comp plan is free for single locations up to 15 employees, lowering the barrier to entry and acting as a fallback after the trial ends.
- Annual discount toggle — Toggle defaults to Annual with a 'Save 10%' hand-drawn badge, showing strikethrough monthly price next to discounted annual price (e.g. $89.99 struck through to $79.99).
- Charm pricing — All paid tiers use $X9.99 pricing (e.g. $39.99, $79.99, $134.99) rather than round numbers.
- Bundled value stacking on top tier — Premium plan lists individual add-on values ('Valued at $49.99', 'Valued at $12.99', 'Valued at $39.99', 'Valued at $99.00') to justify the higher price and show savings versus buying separately.
- Enterprise anchor via sales contact — Franchise/Enterprise pricing is hidden behind 'Connect with our sales team,' implying a higher, custom-negotiated tier above Premium.
What this page is optimizing for
Primarily self-serve conversion — all prices are public, CTAs are 'Start free trial' on every tier, and a no-credit-card 14-day trial removes friction — while also driving expansion revenue through add-ons (Payroll, Tip Management, Task Management) and upsells bundled into Premium.
Red flags
- Per-location pricing multiplied by employee tiers could get expensive fast for multi-location operators, though franchise discounts are offered via sales contact.
- Payroll add-on has a confusing '+$6/mo per employee paid' fee layered on top of the already-included $39.99 value in Premium, which could create billing surprises.
- The employee limits (15/30/60/unlimited) are somewhat coarse jumps, potentially forcing restaurants right at 16 or 31 employees into a pricier tier than needed.
- Feature comparison table is very long and dense, which may overwhelm rather than help scannability despite being thorough.
Best-practices scorecard
What works · 7
- Clear recommended tier — Pro is visually distinguished with color and a 'Best value' badge.
- Visible prices — All four tiers show exact monthly and annual prices with no gating.
- Annual discount offered — 10% annual discount clearly shown with toggle and strikethrough pricing.
- Value metric matches usage — Per-location, per-employee-tier pricing scales naturally with restaurant size.
- FAQ or objection handling — FAQ covers trial mechanics, contracts, payment methods, and franchise discounts.
- Trust signals present — Page cites '55,000+ restaurants' and '1.5 million restaurant professionals' plus app store ratings and review counts.
- Clear CTAs per tier — Every tier has a consistent 'Start free trial' button.
Half measures · 1
- Tier differences are scannable — Card summaries are clear but the full feature comparison table below is very long and detailed, reducing quick scannability.