Comparison

Simple Rota Maker vs PlanDial

Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both apps, side by side — with what reviewers say about each.

Head to head
About

Simple Rota Maker

This app helps you create and manage work schedules and personal appointments. It can automatically generate rolling rota patterns for multiple workers and includes a task manager for to-do lists and audio notes. Share schedules easily with dynamic links.

Highlights
  • Automatic rolling rota generation
  • Manual schedule creation
  • Integrated task manager
  • Audio note recording
  • Shareable dynamic links
  • Export rotas to spreadsheets
  • Worker availability settings
Features
Read full description

Automatically generate rolling rota patterns—perfect for scheduling multiple workers over an indefinite period. Easily create your schedule or manual rotas with a few taps—ideal for managing your work shifts, personal schedules, appointments, or customizing worker rota patterns. A powerful yet simple task manager. Organize your to-do lists alongside your work shifts to stay super productive & on top of your schedule. In a hurry? Quickly record an audio note to replay anytime. Seamlessly create tasks, assign them to workers, & share dynamic links that open the task directly on their devices, automatically saving a copy for easy access and tracking. The simplest tool to customize your work shifts, personal schedules, appointments, & timetables—or create & share rolling rotas to roster multiple workers into hourly or daily shifts, complete with a built-in task manager. -For an automated rolling shift pattern, simply enter: • The names & number of workers • Optional worker availability or exclusion dates: Specify dates when workers must work or must be away, & the app will include or exclude them as needed Done! The app generates: • A beautiful monthly calendar for 24-hour or once-a-day shifts. • A sleek weekly calendar for shifts lasting 1-23 hours. Key Features: • Ensures workers receive an equal number of shifts. • Allows multiple workers per shift. • Lets you set a daily shift end time with ease. • Handles complex rolling block patterns like ‘n’ days on ‘n’ days off seamlessly. -Export rotas to spreadsheet apps like Excel -View detailed rota breakdowns, including the number of weekdays, weekends, & hours each worker is scheduled to work, along with additional worker statistics. -Easily edit the rota to adjust shifts, give workers more or fewer shifts, or modify must-work & away dates with ease. -Take full control & create your custom rota manually in just three easy taps. -For your personal work shifts, schedules, appointments, or timetables: • Simply enter shift or schedule names, select a date range, & populate the calendar with just a tap! • View 1-3 shifts per day in a clean, easy-to-read calendar format. • annotate your custom calendar with powerful notes that expand when you tap on a date. Share dynamic links to allow coworkers to view & edit the rota. Each time a link is opened, a duplicate “.share” version of your rota is created, which can be edited & shared back & forth. From these links, workers can: • Open the rota on their device. • Download their specific shifts. • Add shifts to their device calendar. • Set shift reminders. • Download the rota as a spreadsheet. -Annotate the rota with notes that follows & updates with the dynamic link to your rota. -Enhance your notes with powerful formatting options, including headings, bold, italics, underline, & a variety of font colours. - Stay organised & in control with your all-in-one task manager—perfect for creating to-do lists, shopping lists, & assigning tasks to coworkers. Whether you’re managing personal goals or team projects, it’s the simple way to keep everything on track. -Export your rota, schedule, or shifts seamlessly to your Calendar app for effortless integration and accessibility. -Set reminders for shifts or schedules & receive notifications to stay informed when a work shift is approaching. -Access your rota & tasks from any device—your task lists & rosters are securely saved to your profile for seamless access anytime. -Long-press the name of your rota or tasks to pin them to the top of your list for quick access. -Save & rename multiple versions of your rota & tasks for easy organization & reference, with an archive page to store & access old tasks & rosters. -Save your rota as an image or print it directly for easy sharing and reference. -Start your day with daily motivational quotes delivered directly to your profile. -Enjoy an integrated games page to unwind, relax, & recharge with a variety of fun games. Need help? Email us!

About

PlanDial

Manage your to-do lists and set alarms with a unique, intuitive interface. Quickly create and categorize tasks, add memos, and track time. Customize alarms with colors, descriptions, and repeat functions.

Highlights
  • One-swipe to-do item creation
  • Categorized task management
  • Text memo records
  • Customizable alarm clock settings
  • Desktop clock component
  • Visual dial display of tasks
Features
Read full description

Give your next moment a plan—with one swipe on the dial. Work, study or rest: choose an activity and duration with a single gesture, then release to start. PlanDial is a simple daily time tool that helps you see time passing and understand where it went. START WITH A GESTURE Drag the colored hour hand clockwise to set a duration. Move inward or outward to switch activities, then release to begin. A colored arc makes your planned time visible on the dial. KEEP THE PLAN. RECORD REAL LIFE. Finish early or keep going past your planned end. Planned and actual time stay separate, so your records reflect what really happened. You can adjust actual start and finish times later. SEE YOUR DAY AND WEEK Arrange upcoming activities with weekly planning. Look back through time statistics and a seven-day, 24-hour color ribbon to see when work, study and rest took place. KEEP TIME IN VIEW Check your timer with Home Screen and Lock Screen widgets, or Live Activities on supported devices. Dynamic Island is available on compatible iPhones. Choose reminder sounds and an appearance that suits your day. MAKE IT YOURS Create your own activity categories and assign them to five color slots. Use light, dark or system appearance. Supported records sync through your private iCloud container when iCloud is available. One purchase includes all features. No subscriptions, in-app purchases or advertising. No app account required. Activities shorter than three minutes are filtered from recorded activity history to reduce accidental entries. System features depend on your device, iOS version and settings.

Screenshots

Simple Rota Maker4 screens
PlanDial4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is price: Simple Rota Maker at Free against PlanDial's $1.99. Simple Rota Maker also leads on update cadence (every 2 weeks vs every 9 months) and device support (3 vs 1). PlanDial's advantage is rating (5.0 vs 3.0) and in-app purchases (none vs 6). On ratings volume and iOS requirement there is nothing between them.

Scored on Price · Rating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings · Update frequency · Ads · In-app purchases · Monetization · Best chart rank · Devices · Requires iOS

CostPrice · In-app purchases · Ads · Monetization

Simple Rota Maker is free to download; PlanDial costs $1.99 up front. Simple Rota Maker sells 6 one-off in-app purchases. PlanDial asks for nothing beyond the download.

ReceptionRating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings

PlanDial holds the better App Store score, 5.0 against 3.0. Both are backed by a comparable volume of ratings — 2 and 1 respectively.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

Simple Rota Maker ships an update every 2 weeks, PlanDial every 9 months. The most recent releases landed on October 24, 2026 and October 4, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard7 real differences · 3 level
Simple Rota Maker versus PlanDial: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterSimple Rota MakerPlanDial
PriceFree — better$1.99
Rating3.0 (2 ratings)5.0 (1 ratings) — better
Positive reviews23.1% of reviews—
Number of ratings2 — better1
Update frequencyEvery 2 weeks — betterEvery 9 months
AdsYesNo — better
In-app purchasesYesNo — better
MonetizationFree with in-app purchases — betterPaid
DevicesiPhone, iPad, iPod — betteriPhone
Requires iOS15.0 — better16.0
Further details — not scored
Size39 MB8 MB
Age rating4+4+
DeveloperMembers of Us LimitedJia yan

Customer experience

Simple Rota Maker

All ratings2 ratings
Positive50.0%
Neutral0.0%
Negative50.0%
Written reviews13 reviews
Positive23.1%
Neutral0.0%
Negative76.9%

PlanDial

All ratings1 ratings
Positive100.0%
Neutral0.0%
Negative0.0%

In-app purchases

6 purchases

Simple Rota Maker

One-time6
  • Simple Rota Maker Pro$1.99
  • Monday to Saturday Rota$2.99
  • Saturday To Sunday Rota$2.99
Show 3 more
  • Simple Rota Maker Ad Free$3.99
  • Customise day of week roster$4.99
  • Rolling Block Scheduler$9.99
None

PlanDial

No in-app purchases

Questions

Is Simple Rota Maker free?
Simple Rota Maker is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Is PlanDial free?
PlanDial costs $1.99, with no in-app purchases.
Which has better reviews, Simple Rota Maker or PlanDial?
PlanDial is rated higher. Simple Rota Maker averages 3.0 out of 5 from 2 ratings, while PlanDial averages 5.0 from 1 ratings.
Do Simple Rota Maker or PlanDial have ads?
Simple Rota Maker shows ads; PlanDial does not.
Which is updated more often, Simple Rota Maker or PlanDial?
Simple Rota Maker ships an update every 2 weeks, and PlanDial every 9 months. Most recently, Simple Rota Maker was updated on October 24, 2026 and PlanDial on October 4, 2026.

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