Restaurant workforce management built into the same platform as reservations, ordering, and AI customer service.
Deputy is a horizontal workforce platform with strong compliance tooling. Aedan Rose is restaurant-first — scheduling, time-tracking, and team chat live alongside reservations, online ordering, and AI customer service in one plan.
A side-by-side view of what each platform offers. We list both wins and tradeoffs honestly.
| Feature | Deputy | Aedan Rose |
|---|---|---|
| Starting Price | ~$4.50/user/mo (Premium) | $0/mo (Free forever) |
| Free Tier | Limited free trial | Free forever, 25 conversations |
| Restaurant-specific Shifts | Generic | Regular, OT, Holiday, On-Call, Overnight |
| Shift Trades | Yes | Swap, Cover, Open |
| Team Chat | Yes | Yes |
| Time-clock / Compliance | Strong | Basic time-tracking |
| Reservations | No | Full AI reservations |
| Online Ordering | No | Yes |
| AI Customer Chatbot | No | Six AI agents |
| Per-User Pricing | Yes | Flat plan |
Deputy is a capable platform in its lane. For workforce management platform that needs to coexist with the rest of restaurant operations, Aedan Rose is built around the whole job.
Deputy is industry-agnostic. Aedan Rose was designed around restaurant workflows — six restaurant-specific roles, five FOH/BOH shift types, and conflict detection that knows servers can't double-book.
Deputy schedules the team. Aedan Rose schedules the team and handles every reservation, online order, and customer question — 24/7, in 100+ languages.
Deputy charges per user. Aedan Rose is one flat fee for the whole platform. Predictable cost, no penalty for hiring.
Deputy involves an onboarding call for many plans. Aedan Rose is self-serve — sign up, add staff, start scheduling within an hour.
No marketing handwave: Deputy has real strengths. If your priorities map to these, weigh them carefully.
Compliance and labor-law tooling: Deputy has mature features for break tracking, fair workweek / predictive scheduling laws, and award interpretation (especially in Australia). For multi-state operators with complex compliance needs, that depth is real.
Robust time-clock: Geofenced clock-in, photo verification, and audit trails are well-tested in Deputy. Aedan Rose covers basic check-in/out but not GPS or photo verification yet.
Wide integration ecosystem: Xero, QuickBooks, ADP, Gusto, BambooHR, plus POS integrations. If your stack already wires into Deputy, ripping that out has a cost.
International support: Deputy is strong in Australia, UK, US, and Canada with localized compliance and currency handling. Aedan Rose works globally but isn't specifically tuned for non-US labor law.