Comparison
TimeSpan vs Timefold
Same category of technology — constraint-based optimization for scheduling and routing — a different bet on how it should be sold. This page states facts we can back up and links to primary sources; it isn't written to disparage a company whose engineering we respect.
In one line: Timefold sells enterprise contracts through a sales process. TimeSpan is self-serve — try it with your own data in about ten minutes, keep using it for free, or upgrade when you need the team console.
| TimeSpan | Timefold | |
|---|---|---|
| How you start | Sign up, get an API key, call the endpoint. No call required. | Request a demo / talk to sales to evaluate. |
| Pricing | Published on the pricing page. Free tier included. | Not public — quoted per deal. |
| Free tier | Yes — every solver, real quota, no card required. | Trial available on request. |
| Solvers included | Shift scheduling, task scheduling, field service routing, pickup & delivery — one API surface, one price. | Broad solver platform across many domains, typically scoped per contract. |
| Explainability | Every solve returns a named hard/soft constraint breakdown in the response and the console. | Constraint-based scoring is core to their engine as well — ask about UI-level breakdowns for your use case. |
| Self-serve console | Dashboards, run history, CSV import, route maps and score trends included from the Team tier. | Console/UI availability depends on your contract. |
| Integration path | REST API, JS/Python SDKs, copy-paste snippets, signed webhooks. | Java/Python solver libraries and hosted platform, typically an implementation engagement. |
| Best fit | Teams and developers who want to try it themselves this week, on their own data. | Large organizations wanting a guided enterprise rollout. |
Timefold details reflect their public site and documentation as of this writing and may change — verify anything decision-critical directly with them. We don't have visibility into private contract terms.
If you want to evaluate today
Create a free account, paste in a real roster or route list, and see the solved plan and its constraint breakdown. No call, no waiting on a quote.
Try TimeSpan freeIf you want the technical details first
Read the docs and copy-paste request/response examples for all four solvers before you sign up for anything.
Read the docs