The respectful teardown
HotSchedules built the category.
We rebuilt it around a text.
Respect where it's due: HotSchedules taught the industry that scheduling belongs in software. But it was designed when the answer to everything was “open the app,” and your staff has voted on that with their thumbs.
| HotSchedules | Tagout | |
|---|---|---|
| How staff respond | Push notifications into an app | SMS: reply and done |
| Open shift coverage | Post it, blast it, chase it | Tagout finds, asks, and confirms |
| Who gets asked | Everyone, or whoever checks | Ranked: free, under OT, likely yes |
| Overtime control | Reports and alerts | Blocked before the offer goes out |
| Staff onboarding | Download, register, learn | Reply YES to one text |
| Manager experience | Deep, dense, trained-into | Clean web app, learned in an afternoon |
| Pricing shape | Modules and add-ons | One house price, sections as you grow |
| Built | 1999, grown by acquisition | 2026, built around AI + SMS from day one |
Comparison reflects our understanding of typical HotSchedules deployments as of 2026. Your setup may vary, so bring it to the demo and we'll go line by line.
Three reasons GMs switch.
1
The channel is the product
An app your staff won't open can't cover a shift. SMS is the only channel with near-universal, near-instant reach, so we built the whole product on it.
2
Coverage does itself
HotSchedules shows you the gap. Tagout closes it: ranks candidates, texts them personally, confirms the winner, updates the board, and tells you after.
3
The bill is one line
No modules, no communications add-on, no AI tier. One per-seat price with everything on, positioned to be the easy yes against your current invoice.
Switching costs are our problem, not yours.
- ✓We import your schedules, staff, roles, and availability from HotSchedules
- ✓Your staff onboards by replying to one text, no meeting required
- ✓Run both side by side during the free pilot until you're sure
- ✓Month to month after that. We keep you by being better, not by contract
Bring your HotSchedules invoice.
Twenty minutes, side by side, line by line. If the math doesn't clearly win, keep what you have.