Resource Guru vs Float: which scheduling tool fits your agency?
Short answer: Resource Guru and Float both schedule people against projects so you can see who's overbooked before it becomes a problem, and Resource Guru is cheaper at every matching tier. Resource Guru's entry plan starts at $5 a person a month with basic scheduling; Float's entry plan starts at $7 a person a month but includes capacity and time-off management from the start. Float's Pro plan adds time tracking and AI-assisted profile matching that Resource Guru doesn't offer at all, which is the real reason to pay more for Float rather than price alone.
You're deciding between Resource Guru and Float and want to know which one actually keeps your team's workload visible without becoming its own admin chore.
I'm Ranjit, and I run Blur Studio: 15+ years building software, 120 apps taken live, and clients who have gone on to raise $10M+. I build AI systems and processes that help businesses do a lot more with a lot less time. I also work differently from most of what else is out there, more on that further down this page. Say hello.
What are Resource Guru and Float?
Resource Guru is resource-scheduling software that shows who on your team is booked on what, and for how long, across projects and clients, priced per person a month. Float is similar resource and capacity-planning software, also priced per person a month, with a stronger focus on combining scheduling with time tracking and project cost estimation. Both exist to answer the same question an agency owner asks every week: who actually has room to take on the next project.
How do Resource Guru and Float prices compare?
As of October 2026, Resource Guru is priced lower at every comparable tier.
| Plan | Resource Guru | Float |
|---|---|---|
| Entry | Grasshopper, $5/person/month (basic scheduling, no reports) | Starter, $7/person/month (scheduling, capacity, time off, project scoping) |
| Mid, "Most Popular" | Blackbelt, $8/person/month (timesheets, custom reports, budgets) | Pro, $12/person/month (time tracking, AI profile matching, client rate cards, advanced reporting) |
| Upper | Master, $12/person/month (approval workflows, SSO) | Enterprise, custom quote, annual contract only |
Resource Guru's annual billing gives 2 months free, working out to roughly $4.16 a person a month for Grasshopper on a yearly plan. Float offers a 30-day free trial on its Pro-level features with no credit card required, which is a longer trial window than Resource Guru's, so there's room to properly test both before committing either way.
How does scheduling and capacity compare?
Resource Guru's scheduling is deliberately simple: drag people onto projects, see clashes immediately, done. It includes unlimited projects and clients even on its cheapest plan, with free "placeholder" resources (useful for provisionally booking a role you haven't hired yet) starting at 1 on Grasshopper and rising to 10 on Master. Float's scheduling covers the same core job but adds capacity and time-off management from its entry Starter plan, plus project scoping tools that estimate hours needed before you even assign people. If you want scheduling that doubles as rough project estimation, Float's entry tier already does more than Resource Guru's.
How do reports and time tracking compare?
Resource Guru's cheapest plan has no reporting at all; custom reports and timesheets only arrive on Blackbelt at $8 a person a month. Float goes further here: its Pro plan at $12 a person a month adds actual time tracking (not just scheduled vs. actual hours), client rate cards with multi-currency support, project cost estimation and live reporting dashboards. If profitability reporting and real time tracking matter to you, Float's Pro tier covers meaningfully more ground than Resource Guru's equivalent price point.
How do integrations compare?
Both tools connect to calendars and offer API access, but neither publishes a long native-integration list the way a project tool like ClickUp or Asana does. Expect to lean on each tool's API or a middleware tool like Zapier for anything beyond calendar sync, rather than assuming either one natively plugs into your invoicing or project-management stack.
A worked example: 8 people across 3 projects
Say your agency has 8 people split across 3 active client projects, with a couple of people also booked on internal work. On Resource Guru's Blackbelt plan at $8 a person a month, that's $64 a month, and you'd see each person's bookings as colored blocks across the week, with a clash warning the moment someone gets double-booked past their available hours. On Float's Pro plan at $12 a person a month, that's $96 a month, and alongside the same scheduling view you'd also get each project's estimated cost based on people's rates, updated live as you reassign work. The $32-a-month difference buys you the cost-estimation layer; whether that's worth it depends on whether you're currently estimating project cost in a spreadsheet anyway, in which case Float's version just replaces that spreadsheet.
How does pricing scale at 20 people?
Run the same math at 20 people instead of 8. Resource Guru's Blackbelt plan at $8 a person a month comes to $160 a month, or roughly $1,920 a year paid monthly; paid annually with its 2-months-free discount, that drops to about $1,600 a year, roughly $133 a month. Float's Pro plan at $12 a person a month comes to $240 a month, or $2,880 a year paid monthly, and I didn't find a published annual discount on Float's pricing page as generous as Resource Guru's as of October 2026, so check Float's current pricing page before assuming one applies. At 20 people, the gap between the two tools widens to roughly $80 to $100 a month depending on billing cadence, which is real money for a 20-person agency, but it's still the same question as at 8 people: does Float's cost-estimation and time-tracking layer save more than that each month in spreadsheet time, or not.
How do mobile apps compare?
Both tools offer mobile apps for checking schedules on the go, aimed more at managers reviewing who's available than at team members logging their own time, since neither tool's mobile experience is built around data entry in the field. If your team needs to log time from a phone while on-site at a client, that's a better fit for Float's Pro-tier time tracking than for either tool's scheduling view alone.
What do both tools miss about profit?
Neither tool, on its own, tells you whether a specific client relationship is actually profitable once you account for hours logged, rates charged and non-billable overhead. Resource Guru's reports stop at utilization and budgets; Float's go further into cost estimation but still stop short of a full profit-and-loss view per client. For most agencies, getting a true profit-per-client number means connecting whichever scheduling tool you pick to your invoicing and accounting data, not relying on the scheduler's own reports alone. An all-in-one option that combines budgeting, resource planning and time tracking is covered in the Productive.io pricing and review.
Resource Guru vs Float: which should you pick?
- Pick Resource Guru if: You want the simplest possible scheduling view at the lowest price, and you're handling time tracking and invoicing elsewhere already.
- Pick Float if: You want scheduling, time tracking and project cost estimation in one tool, and you're willing to pay more per person for that depth.
Scheduling only matters if the people on it are also showing up where the rest of your team works. My guide to staff scheduling software covers the broader landscape, including tools built for hourly and shift-based teams rather than project-based agency work.
How would I approach this?
I'd start by checking whether your team actually needs a dedicated scheduling tool at all, or whether your project tool's workload view already covers it well enough. The agency resource planning guide covers the process side before you pick a tool. If you're already paying for ClickUp, Asana or similar and it has a capacity view, adding Resource Guru or Float on top is another subscription to justify. Where a custom build pays off is connecting scheduling data to your actual billing and profit numbers automatically, something neither tool does on its own without manual exporting.
Need something completely custom?
Everything above is a path to get it running quick and cheap. But sometimes the honest answer is that none of those quite fit, and what you actually need is something custom that you own, built uniquely for your business from the ground up, with AI thoughtfully designed into the parts of it that your processes actually benefit from. An asset that grows in value, not a generic, one-size-fits-all boilerplate that's an expense with a lock-in. This is a complete bespoke build, and it's something I do very well. Get in touch to know more.
Questions people ask
Is Resource Guru cheaper than Float?
Yes, at every matching tier. As of October 2026, Resource Guru's entry Grasshopper plan is $5 a person a month versus Float's Starter plan at $7. At the mid tier, Resource Guru's Blackbelt plan is $8 a person a month versus Float's Pro plan at $12.
Does Resource Guru do time tracking?
Not in the way Float does. Resource Guru's Blackbelt and Master plans add timesheets, but actual time tracking with cost and profitability reporting is a stronger feature on Float's Pro plan, as of October 2026.
What is a Float free placeholder or alternative to paying for every role?
Resource Guru calls this a "placeholder," a provisional booking for a role you haven't hired yet, and includes 1 to 10 free placeholders depending on plan. Float doesn't use the same term, but both tools let you schedule unfilled roles without paying for an extra seat.
Does Float have good reporting?
Yes, Float's Pro plan includes live reporting dashboards, project cost estimation and client rate cards with multi-currency support, which goes further than Resource Guru's reporting at a comparable price, as of October 2026.
Are there cheaper alternatives to Resource Guru or Float?
Several project-management tools include basic workload or capacity views at no extra cost if you're already paying for one. Whether that's enough depends on how detailed your scheduling needs actually are compared to a dedicated tool.
Roughly what does this cost?
As a broad reference, fixes and finishes start at around $1,500, and new builds start higher, always a fixed price agreed in writing before I start, never an hourly rate. My AI app cost guide explains what actually drives a quote up or down.
Is my project too small for this?
No. Most of the owners I work with have no tech team at all, that is the whole point. If the smarter move is a cheap software subscription instead of custom software, I will tell you that on the first call, even though it means I do not get paid.