Review Insights · App Store
HotSchedules
HotSchedules · 67,132 ratings · ★ 4.6
4.6
★★★★★
67,132 ratings
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Top complaints - extracted from 56 negative reviews
Recurring phrases mined from 1-2★ reviews. The bigger the percentage, the more users have the same problem. Fix the top 2-3 in your version and you have product-market fit on day one.
1
"update"
16 negative reviews mention this · 29% of all complaints
★★★★★ "Unreliable. Updated: App STILLLLLLL has connection issues. Laggy. Requires login every other use. Feel like it should be more reliable for a paid app. DEVS DO NOT CARE TO FIX IT" - brandonn_
2
"work"
10 negative reviews mention this · 18% of all complaints
★★★★★ "Username. I’ve tried so many usernames and it says they’re not “unique” enough. I’ve even done random letters and random numbers and still won’t let me create a username. And you have to pay 3 dollars for this to not work." - hcjjvhdkfnfhdidndnkf
3
"version"
7 negative reviews mention this · 13% of all complaints
★★★★★ "Such a scam.... Can't believe this app costs money when it has less features than the desktop version. When searching on the messages tab it limits you to a shortened time frame so any old messages you are searching for you cannot see them. Also if you wan…" - Shayneorama
4
"screen"
7 negative reviews mention this · 13% of all complaints
★★★★★ "Puzzling change. As a manager, I used to be able to keep the app open to the shift log page throughout a shift, making it easy to jot notes in the moment. Now, even with the app remaining open, it constantly refreshes back to the home screen, meaning I lose…" - FL1551
5
"working"
7 negative reviews mention this · 13% of all complaints
★★★★★ "why does this cost money. make ts free y’all hate the working class bro" - Lbite32
6
"doesn"
7 negative reviews mention this · 13% of all complaints
★★★★★ "Complaint. It’s an ok app. Looking at whose scheduled is a joke tho. The AM and PM buttons need to go. Just have the dates and when you click it, the entire day pops up. Some AM shifts pop up in the PM it’s not accurate. And also when you submit avail…" - j...l...s...
7
"every"
6 negative reviews mention this · 11% of all complaints
★★★★★ "2 issues for me.. I’m still waiting for a dark mode. And every time I open the app my calendar syncs up again- so I will have 6 shifts in my calendar app for the same time and day if I open HotSchedules 6 times. Very annoying when I’m always picking up shift…" - Bipolarbear7
8
"annoying"
6 negative reviews mention this · 11% of all complaints
★★★★★ "2 issues for me.. I’m still waiting for a dark mode. And every time I open the app my calendar syncs up again- so I will have 6 shifts in my calendar app for the same time and day if I open HotSchedules 6 times. Very annoying when I’m always picking up shift…" - Bipolarbear7
📋 All 56 negative reviews
Every 1-2★ review we fetched. Use the copy button to grab them all for your own analysis (paste into ChatGPT/Claude with a prompt like "summarize core user problems, group by theme, ignore bugs, focus on missing features").
Can’t believe this garbage costs money
Human greed is wild ain’t it
Username
I’ve tried so many usernames and it says they’re not “unique” enough. I’ve even done random letters and random numbers and still won’t let me create a username. And you have to pay 3 dollars for this to not work.
Multiple jobs?
There has to be a better way to integrate more than one job than having a fully separate login. I get locked out of my main job account because it flags my email.
Such a scam...
Can't believe this app costs money when it has less features than the desktop version. When searching on the messages tab it limits you to a shortened time frame so any old messages you are searching for you cannot see them. Also if you want to look at the full weekly schedules of all employees like you do on desktop, that is simply not possible. Also when trying to message employees you have to SCROLL through all the listed names instead of just typing and auto suggesting. Absolute money grab of an app with less features than desktop version. Can't wait for more business to switch from HotSchedules and stop using this god awful dinosaur age system.
2 issues for me.
I’m still waiting for a dark mode. And every time I open the app my calendar syncs up again- so I will have 6 shifts in my calendar app for the same time and day if I open HotSchedules 6 times. Very annoying when I’m always picking up shifts/ checking the app. Shifts duplicate into apple calendar.
why does this cost money
make ts free y’all hate the working class bro
The perfect app
I love this app! It definitely gets a star in my book!
No time off approval notification?
Wild
Unreliable
Updated: App STILLLLLLL has connection issues. Laggy. Requires login every other use. Feel like it should be more reliable for a paid app. DEVS DO NOT CARE TO FIX IT
Why do I have to pay to see my work schedule?
L
Why did you revert the app to the old version ?
I really enjoyed the new updated version but now I’m disappointed because HS was reverted to the old version. Please update it back to the new version.
Way too many updates
They don't even have enough things to update in the app, so i'm unsure why i'm asked to update the app every 2-3 days. it's extremely obnoxious.
Widget honey
This was easiest most convenient way to quickly see my shifts open the app
Widgets Gone
Since update the option for Widgets is now gone main reason I downloaded the app…
widget feature removed??
why would you remove the most useful part of this app? I used to be able to see my schedule from my home screen, I literally was complimenting this to another person two days ago. And now this feature is gone????? PUT IT BACK!!!!!!
I need a refund
The app doesn’t even open
New update removed key feature! Not worth it.
The only thing the app really does over just going to the webpage is it comes up a few seconds quicker AND up until the newest update, you could add a widget on your Home Screen that had the time and date of your next shift. Now that’s gone and with it a good majority of the functionality for the app.
Widgets
Update 5.22 stopped using widgets for some reason I don’t think it’s a smart move since it made it easier to not have to open your app to look at your schechule
App not working, help in helpful
The app isn’t working. I pull up my Home Screen and it’s blank. Nothing. I tried re installing it. Nothing changed. I went to ask for help from the app and there is a bubble for “discover more” that covers the space you are to type in so you can’t even see what you’re trying to convey. And then it just says I don’t understand you 100 times.
How can you get help with this issue if you can’t even see what you are typing? How can I contact someone who can help?
How can you get help with this issue if you can’t even see what you are typing? How can I contact someone who can help?
New update not working
10/29/25 app update and now when I try to open app, I just get a bright white screen. Please fix bug.
Crashing
App isn’t working.
2.99
i haven’t even used the app yet i don’t care what it is screw my employer for making me pay 2.99 to see how much time off i have and screw hotschedules for limiting the free website version so much
Notifications don’t work
For sometime now, I will not get any pop-up notifications or text messages when my schedule has been posted, etc. I used to get them. I’ve checked all the settings. Everything is checked properly. I just don’t get notifications anymore.
2.99? Seriously?
It’s annoying how as an employee I have to pay for an app for my job
Notifications
My notifications for this app are on but one day my coworkers and I stopped receiving notifications.
Why fix things if they aren’t broken?
I don’t know when this update was but i opened the app the hideous website style of hot schedules, just as glitchy too. the old version we had a few days ago was so much better </3
Not worth dealing with!
0 out of 5 -As a business owner, I had high hopes for HotSchedules to streamline our employee scheduling, but it has been a complete letdown. The app’s communication features are abysmal, making it nearly impossible for my team to stay on the same page. It’s far from user-friendly-my employees found the interface confusing and frustrating to navigate, leading to constant issues with scheduling.
When we reached out to customer service and tech support for help, the experience was equally disappointing. The support team was unhelpful, and the issues persisted without resolution. After wasting time and energy, we switched to a much more user-friendly scheduling software that actually works for our team. I strongly recommend avoiding HotSchedules-it’s a headache not worth dealing with.
When we reached out to customer service and tech support for help, the experience was equally disappointing. The support team was unhelpful, and the issues persisted without resolution. After wasting time and energy, we switched to a much more user-friendly scheduling software that actually works for our team. I strongly recommend avoiding HotSchedules-it’s a headache not worth dealing with.
Litmus test for future employers
I spent the whatever $2 to download this app, because it was apparently very important to do that in order for me to work. Not an ideal, or really morally acceptable, time to hit somebody up for money, but that’s your decision.
From that point, I worked for two weeks and no one in management was authorized or able to finish my set-up process, citing a lack of customer support from the app.
I have since discovered that the job was not the best fit, and if I would have listened to my gut feeling I would’ve avoided that wasted time, but que será. The simple fact is this app is a way for businesses to pass the buck onto their hourly wage earners, and I will use my last dying breath to urge people to avoid using it.
Power to the proletariat!
From that point, I worked for two weeks and no one in management was authorized or able to finish my set-up process, citing a lack of customer support from the app.
I have since discovered that the job was not the best fit, and if I would have listened to my gut feeling I would’ve avoided that wasted time, but que será. The simple fact is this app is a way for businesses to pass the buck onto their hourly wage earners, and I will use my last dying breath to urge people to avoid using it.
Power to the proletariat!
Doesn’t even work even tho it’s a paid app
have had this app for the last 3 yrs per company policy, not once has the app worked regularly. almost everyday in the morning both the paid app and website don’t even load past the login screen; sometimes not even that. what’s the point of making us pay for an app that doesn’t work and still charging the company to use it too.
App Complete Crash
I can’t login or even load anything it just spins for ever.
app not working
doesn’t work when I try to open the app
Refund
I paid for it n can’t use ur. I want a refund
Scam
It charged me 7.99. like what?!
Annoying company ads
If I paid for this app, I think it should come with the option to ignore ads. I can't open my schedule without having to view company message every single time I get on the app and it's very frustrating
Fix your app
Everytime there is a company notification it’s continuously pops up every time you click on a different day or refresh that app. SO ANNOYING FIX IT
Doesn’t work half the time
First of all I had to purchase this app for $1.99, which is absurd because the app doesn’t even work half the time. It buffers at the loading screen. It seems they have tried to “update” this app so many times but, within the day they revert back to the original format. I despise this app and wish my job used a different platform.
Hard to believe how bad
Its really really hard to believe how a schedule app that you pay for could be soo bad..but thats reality. A scheduling app that constantly has problems loading your schedule even if you are connected to wifi with no problems. The team at Hotschedules refuse to fix these problems that have plagued the app for years. They do not care about their customers or whether they have a functioning app.
Worst version yet
Eh
THE NEWEST UPDATE
The overall new look of this app is honestly the worst. Everything is so disorganized this needs to go back to the original look
The new update is Awful!!!
The new update is way less efficient and has made it hard to view my shifts and any shifts that are released at a quick glance. Unfortunately, now different job titles are mixed up on one page and all start times are placed in chronological order from Am to Pm. It makes it difficult to see who I’m working with (with the same job title). I have to spend time reading each person and title and and decipher through the mess. Please GROUP JOB TITLES BACK TOGETHER! Why did you make it more difficult for us?
I also can’t quickly see who I’m working with when I initially click on my shift button. I don’t know why it was split into two separate pages. So unnecessary.
Please bring back the old version or at least make this new look similar to the old layout. This is so upsetting!!! I hate looking opening this app now and I’m quite literally forced to for work.
I also can’t quickly see who I’m working with when I initially click on my shift button. I don’t know why it was split into two separate pages. So unnecessary.
Please bring back the old version or at least make this new look similar to the old layout. This is so upsetting!!! I hate looking opening this app now and I’m quite literally forced to for work.
wont download
i bought the app and now it wont even download on my phone
The new update design is AWFUL
It does literally nothing better. What overpaid grad student designed this?
New layout is terrible
I’m limited to the things that I can see on there now and it’s confusing to navigate
No
Go back to old format
Bring back the old UI
The update is garbage please give us the old UI back
Why call upgrade when it’s downgrade
How do I see my hours worked. Upgrade on android, I can’t see it anymore. Android and Apple phone. Why do I have to pay on each device. Using my same account. I already feel like job getting over, now you helping them
Puzzling change
As a manager, I used to be able to keep the app open to the shift log page throughout a shift, making it easy to jot notes in the moment. Now, even with the app remaining open, it constantly refreshes back to the home screen, meaning I lose all my notes. Only option is to constantly copy them so I can paste all the notes up to that point when the app refreshes. Very frustrating.
Complaint
It’s an ok app. Looking at whose scheduled is a joke tho. The AM and PM buttons need to go. Just have the dates and when you click it, the entire day pops up. Some AM shifts pop up in the PM it’s not accurate. And also when you submit availability there’s GOTTA be some simpler way. Yall really just said “let’s make this as inconvenient as possible” please give receipts on availability requests too. My boss accused me of not submitting availability so I went to screenshot it but there was no date or time on when I submitted it. Please make it employee friendly, I’ve heard it works good on the scheduling side. But it sure doesn’t work well if you’re the one being scheduled.
Widget gone
The widget was the best part! Gone with new update
No more widget or notifications
I loved the widget but it seems like it’s disappeared from my phone, just doesn’t exist anymore. And I no longer get push notifications from the app even though I have them on through the app and apple’s settings. Very annoying. :(
+ 6 more in the clipboard copy
Sentiment summary
90%
Positive (4-5★)
3%
Neutral (3★)
6%
Negative (1-2★)