Introduction

An on-call scheduling tool is a piece of software that manages a calendar of shifts for technical teams. Instead of just a regular work schedule, it focuses on “readiness.” If a server goes down or a website crashes, the tool looks at the schedule and automatically sends an alert—like a phone call, text, or notification—to the person currently on duty.

These tools are important because they prevent “alert fatigue.” Without a good system, everyone might get paged for every small problem, leading to burnout. A good tool ensures that responsibilities are shared fairly and that no one is overwhelmed. They also provide a clear path for “escalation.” If the first person doesn’t answer the phone within a few minutes, the tool automatically calls the next person in line.

In the real world, these tools are used by IT teams, software developers, and even hospital staff. When choosing a tool, you should look for how easy it is to set up a rotation, how many other apps it connects to, and if the mobile app works well enough to wake someone up during a deep sleep.

Best for:

• Technology Companies: Software teams that need to keep their apps running around the clock.
• Customer Support Teams: Support centers that offer 24/7 help to global users.
• Operations & IT: Internal departments that manage office networks and servers.
• Regulated Industries: Healthcare or finance teams that must track every incident for legal reasons.

Not ideal for:

• Freelancers or Solo Workers: If you are the only person who can fix things, you don’t need a complex schedule.
• Non-Critical Businesses: If your service can stay down until Monday morning without hurting the business, a simple email notification is often enough.

Top 10 On-call Scheduling Tools

1 — PagerDuty

PagerDuty is often considered the gold standard in this industry. It is a very powerful platform designed to handle complex digital operations for large companies that cannot afford even a second of downtime.

• Key features:
  • Advanced noise reduction to group similar alerts together.
  • Deep analytics to see how your team is performing over time.
  • Automated “runbooks” that give responders instructions on how to fix common issues.
  • Over 700 integrations with other software tools.
  • Live “incident command” views for managing major outages in real-time.
• Pros:
  • Extremely reliable with a long history of uptime.
  • The mobile app is very mature and highly rated by engineers.
• Cons:
  • It is one of the most expensive options on the market.
  • The interface can feel overwhelming because there are so many features.
• Security & compliance: SOC 2 Type II, HIPAA, GDPR, ISO 27001, and FedRAMP authorized.
• Support & community: Offers 24/7 global support, extensive technical documentation, and a large community of certified experts.

2 — Opsgenie (by Atlassian)

Opsgenie is owned by Atlassian, the company behind Jira. It is designed to be flexible and is especially popular with teams that already use other Atlassian products for their daily work.

• Key features:
  • Powerful alert routing that can be customized based on the time of day or type of error.
  • Direct integration with Jira Service Management.
  • Ability to include “stakeholders” who get updates but don’t have to fix the problem.
  • Heartbeat monitoring to make sure your other monitoring tools are still working.
  • Customizable outgoing call caller-ID so employees know it is a work alert.
• Pros:
  • Cheaper than many competitors while still offering advanced features.
  • Very easy to sync with team calendars and project boards.
• Cons:
  • The user interface is starting to look a bit old compared to newer tools.
  • Setup can be tricky if you have a very complex team structure.
• Security & compliance: SOC 2 Type II, GDPR, and HIPAA compliant.
• Support & community: Strong support via chat and email; benefits from the massive Atlassian user community.

3 — Better Stack

Better Stack is a modern player that focuses on being fast and easy to look at. It combines website monitoring with on-call scheduling, so you don’t have to buy two separate tools.

• Key features:
  • Integrated uptime monitoring and log management.
  • Very simple “drag and drop” schedule builder.
  • Screenshot proof of errors so you can see exactly what went wrong.
  • Modern dashboard that is very easy for new employees to learn.
  • Automatic status pages to tell your customers when you are having trouble.
• Pros:
  • Excellent user experience and design.
  • Setup takes minutes rather than hours or days.
• Cons:
  • Missing some of the very high-end features that massive enterprises need.
  • Not as many third-party integrations as the older tools.
• Security & compliance: SOC 2 Type II and GDPR compliant.
• Support & community: Known for very fast chat support and helpful developer guides.

4 — Grafana OnCall

Grafana is famous for its data dashboards. Their on-call tool is built to live right inside those dashboards, making it perfect for teams that already use Grafana to watch their systems.

• Key features:
  • Deeply integrated with the Grafana observability stack.
  • Open-source version available for teams that want to host it themselves.
  • Chat-first design that works heavily through Slack and Telegram.
  • Engineered for high-volume environments with lots of data.
  • Simple escalation chains that are easy to visualize.
• Pros:
  • Great value if you are already using Grafana Cloud.
  • Gives engineers all the data they need in one single screen.
• Cons:
  • Can be difficult to set up if you are not already a Grafana user.
  • The mobile app is newer and has fewer features than competitors.
• Security & compliance: SOC 2 Type II and GDPR compliant.
• Support & community: Strong open-source community support and professional support for cloud users.

5 — Splunk On-Call (formerly VictorOps)

This tool focuses on the “human” side of being on-call. It tries to make life easier for the person who is actually being woken up by giving them as much context as possible.

• Key features:
  • “Timeline” view that shows exactly who did what during an incident.
  • Transmogrifier engine to clean up and label messy alert data.
  • Native mobile app with heavy focus on “ChatOps.”
  • Reporting that helps teams find out which services are causing the most pain.
  • Integration with Splunk’s wide range of data products.
• Pros:
  • Focuses on reducing stress for the person on duty.
  • Very good at helping teams collaborate during a crisis.
• Cons:
  • The interface can feel a bit cluttered.
  • Pricing isn’t always clear for smaller teams.
• Security & compliance: SOC 2 Type II, GDPR, and PCI DSS compliant.
• Support & community: Good technical support and a wealth of documentation.

6 — Incident.io

This tool is built to live entirely inside Slack. If your team does all of its communication in Slack, this tool makes it so you never have to leave your chat app to manage an emergency.

• Key features:
  • Slack-native incident management and scheduling.
  • Automated creation of Slack channels for every new incident.
  • Built-in “post-mortem” or retrospective tools to learn from mistakes.
  • Automatic updates for stakeholders via various channels.
  • Workflow automation that handles the “boring” parts of fixing bugs.
• Pros:
  • Incredible user experience for teams that love Slack.
  • Very fast to set up and very intuitive for non-technical users.
• Cons:
  • Very dependent on Slack—if Slack is down, the tool is hard to use.
  • Can get expensive as your team size grows.
• Security & compliance: SOC 2 Type II and GDPR compliant.
• Support & community: Highly responsive support team and a modern community of professionals.

7 — xMatters

xMatters is a “service reliability” platform. It doesn’t just send alerts; it tries to automate the steps required to fix the problem before a human even gets involved.

• Key features:
  • Adaptive incident management that changes based on the severity.
  • Visual workflow builder that requires no coding.
  • Smart routing that finds the right person based on their skills.
  • Detailed analytics on how much time is saved through automation.
  • Support for many different industries beyond just software.
• Pros:
  • Strong focus on automation and reducing manual work.
  • Works well for very large, traditional companies.
• Cons:
  • The setup process can be very long and complex.
  • The interface feels more like “enterprise” software and less like a modern app.
• Security & compliance: ISO 27001, SOC 2 Type II, HIPAA, and GDPR compliant.
• Support & community: High-quality enterprise support and dedicated account managers.

8 — Rootly

Rootly is another tool that lives inside Slack but focuses heavily on “incident response” as a whole. It aims to automate all the manual tasks that happen during an outage.

• Key features:
  • One-click incident creation from Slack.
  • Automated generation of timelines and status reports.
  • Customizable “incident types” for different kinds of failures.
  • Integration with Jira, Zendesk, and other helpdesk tools.
  • Native shadow rotations to train new people on-call.
• Pros:
  • Saves hours of manual typing and logging during an incident.
  • Very easy to customize the rules and workflows.
• Cons:
  • Requires a high level of Slack usage to get the full value.
  • It is more of a “full suite” than a simple scheduler, which might be too much for some.
• Security & compliance: SOC 2 Type II, HIPAA, and GDPR compliant.
• Support & community: Dedicated Slack community for users and very hands-on support.

9 — Squadcast

Squadcast is designed for Reliability Engineering teams. It bridges the gap between just waking people up and actually making the system more reliable.

• Key features:
  • Tracking to see if you are meeting your service goals.
  • Built-in status pages and incident timelines.
  • Intelligent alert grouping to stop your phone from blowing up with 100 texts.
  • A “playground” feature to test your schedules before they go live.
  • Mobile app that works offline.
• Pros:
  • Offers a very generous free tier for small teams.
  • Simple and clean interface that doesn’t get in the way.
• Cons:
  • Fewer integrations compared to the big names like PagerDuty.
  • Documentation can sometimes be hard to follow for complex setups.
• Security & compliance: SOC 2 Type II, ISO 27001, and GDPR compliant.
• Support & community: Good documentation and responsive email/chat support.

10 — Zenduty

Zenduty is a versatile tool that offers a lot of the features of expensive platforms but at a much more affordable price point. It’s great for growing companies.

• Key features:
  • Multi-channel alerts including phone, SMS, Slack, and MS Teams.
  • Advanced logic for “suppressing” alerts that aren’t actually important.
  • Task tracking during incidents so nothing gets forgotten.
  • Role-based access to keep different teams separated.
  • Context-rich alerts that show graphs and error logs.
• Pros:
  • Very good value for the money.
  • The platform is fast and doesn’t feel bloated.
• Cons:
  • The user community is smaller than other tools.
  • The reporting features are not as deep as PagerDuty’s.
• Security & compliance: SOC 2 Type II, ISO 27001, and GDPR compliant.
• Support & community: Responsive customer support and a growing library of help articles.

Comparison Table

Evaluation & Scoring

To help you decide, we have scored these tools based on what matters most to real teams. The percentages show how much weight we gave to each category.

Which On-call Scheduling Tool Is Right for You?

Choosing a tool depends on where your team is right now and what you plan to do in the future.

Solo Users vs SMB vs Mid-Market vs Enterprise

• Solo/Small Teams: If you are just a few people, you don’t need a massive platform. Look for tools with a free tier like Squadcast or Zenduty. They provide the professional basics without a big cost.
• SMBs: Small to medium businesses usually need speed. Better Stack is excellent here because it combines monitoring and on-call in one place, reducing the number of tools you have to manage.
• Mid-Market: Companies with multiple teams often benefit from Incident.io or Opsgenie, especially if they already live in Slack or Jira.
• Enterprise: Large organizations with strict legal requirements should look at PagerDuty or xMatters. These tools have the deep security certifications and complex logic needed for thousands of employees.

Budget-Conscious vs Premium Solutions

• Budget-Conscious: If you want the most features for every dollar, Zenduty and Opsgenie are hard to beat.
• Premium: If price is no object and you want the absolute highest level of reliability and reporting, PagerDuty is the standard.

Feature Depth vs Ease of Use

If you want something that takes 10 minutes to set up, go with Better Stack or Incident.io. If you need to build incredibly complex rules that change based on 50 different conditions, you will need the depth of PagerDuty, even if it takes longer to learn.

Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)

1. What happens if the person on-call doesn’t answer?

Most tools use “escalation policies.” If the first person doesn’t acknowledge the alert within a set time (like 5 or 10 minutes), the tool automatically contacts the next person on the list.

2. Can these tools distinguish between a major outage and a minor bug?

Yes. You can set up rules so that minor bugs only send an email, while major outages trigger a phone call or a loud notification on the mobile app.

3. Are these tools difficult to set up?

It depends. Modern tools like Better Stack can be ready in 15 minutes. Older enterprise tools might take a few days of configuration to get all the rules exactly right.

4. Do I need a special phone for the mobile app?

No, almost all of these tools have apps for both iPhone and Android. They often have features to “bypass” your silent mode so you still hear the alarm at night.

5. Can I use these for teams that aren’t related to IT?

Absolutely. Many maintenance teams, security guards, and medical staff use these tools to manage their after-hours rotations.

6. What is “alert fatigue”?

This happens when a system sends too many unimportant notifications. Eventually, people start ignoring them, which means they might miss a real emergency. Good tools help prevent this by grouping alerts.

7. Is my data safe with these tools?

Most major providers use high-level encryption and follow strict security rules like SOC 2 and GDPR to ensure your information is protected.

8. Can I sync these schedules with my Google Calendar?

Yes, almost every tool on this list allows you to export your on-call shift to Google Calendar, Outlook, or Apple Calendar so you can see it alongside your personal life.

9. How do these tools know when something is wrong?

They connect to “monitoring tools” that watch your website or servers. When the monitoring tool sees a problem, it sends a signal to the on-call tool to start the alert process.

10. Do I have to pay for every single employee?

Usually, yes. Most tools charge a monthly fee for every person who is part of a schedule or receives alerts. Some offer free “view-only” seats.

Conclusion

Choosing the right on-call tool is one of the most important decisions you can make for your team’s health. At the end of the day, these tools are about more than just technology; they are about people. When a system fails in the middle of the night, the person waking up needs a clear path to follow and a tool that works exactly as expected.

As we have seen, the “best” tool really depends on your specific situation. A large corporation might need the deep history and complex settings of a tool like PagerDuty, while a fast-moving startup might prefer the simple design of Better Stack or the Slack-focused workflow of Incident.io.

When making your final choice, remember to trust your team’s feedback, think about how you will grow, and focus on protecting everyone’s time. By picking a tool that fits your budget and your daily habits, you are building a better, less stressful work environment for everyone.