Comparison

Shift Worker vs Rota Calendar

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

Head to head
About

Shift Worker

Easily enter and view your work schedule with custom shift types, icons, and colors. Quickly add entire months or years of shifts and share them with others. Save your schedule to your device's background for instant access.

Highlights
  • Custom shift types with icons and colors
  • Quick shift entry for months/years
  • Multiple calendar support
  • Share shifts with others
  • Save schedule to background
  • Personalized notes for dates
  • Timeline view
Features
Currently charting
Read full description

Shift Worker is designed for people who need a quick and easy way to enter and view their shifts. A traditional calendar is not always ideal for shift workers. Sometimes it's not easy to see your upcoming shift schedule very clearly, especially if your shifts don't fall into the traditional working week. Shift Worker solves this problem and turns the frustrating task of entry into a quick and easy experience. Shift Worker allows you to create your own types of shifts by combining visually-attractive icons with letters/numbers so that they can be easily identified at a glance. By including a range of icons (such as suns and stars for day and night shifts) in a variety of colors, any combination is possible for all types of shifts. Entering shifts can be done quickly by simply selecting a type of shift and tapping on each date it occurs. An entire month of shifts could be entered in seconds, an entire year in a few minutes! In addition, Shift Worker allows you create multiple calendars to see friends and family shifts! You can send your shifts to others so they can also see your shifts at a glance as an image or in their copy of Shift Worker. To make things even simpler, you can even save your shifts to your iPhone/iPod's background so that referring to your upcoming shift schedule is as simple as picking up your iPhone/iPod. Shift Worker also includes the ability to create colored personalized notes for each date. Notes can be used anytime additional information needs to be added to a date. FEATURES: - Create a virtually unlimited amount of shift types - Enter shifts on the calendar months in advance in seconds - Add your rotation and automatically fill the calendar in a few simple steps - Show friends and family shifts using multiple calendars - View the calendar in timeline format to see your shift flow at a glance - Create colored personalized notes for any date on the calendar - Include week of year or week 1/2 alternating pattern on calendar - Jump to any month by using the "Goto" button - Save a month's worth of shifts to your background - Share your shifts to others via email, messages and social media. - Import other Shift Worker shifts and view them all within the one app - No ads! Terms of Use (EULA): https://www.apple.com/legal/internet-services/itunes/dev/stdeula/

About

Rota Calendar

Easily plan your life around work with this shift worker's calendar. See your schedule years in advance, customize shifts with colors and emojis, and sync with your existing calendars. Share your availability with others.

Highlights
  • Scrollable calendar view
  • Generate schedules up to 5 years ahead
  • Customizable shift colors and labels
  • Sync with existing calendars
  • Share schedules via AirDrop (iOS)
  • Supports repeating and irregular shifts
Features
Read full description

Does working shifts make planning your personal life difficult? Rota Calendar helps shift workers scroll through shifts, see schedules years ahead, and plan life around work with confidence. Standard digital calendars make it hard to understand long-term shift patterns. Rota Calendar is built specifically for shift work, making it easy to see when you’re working, resting, or free — even years in advance. Enter the date of your next shift and your rotation is calculated instantly, generating your shift schedule up to five years ahead. From there, scroll smoothly through time to plan vacations, social events, family commitments, and important dates without guesswork. Designed for Real Shift Work Rota Calendar supports both repeating and irregular shift patterns. You can manually add, edit, or adjust individual shifts at any time, making it ideal for complex or changing schedules. Customize shifts with your own colors, labels, times, and emojis so different shift types are easy to recognize at a glance. Individual shifts can be edited once they are on the calendar, giving you full control over your schedule. Continuous Scroll Calendar Instead of rigid month-by-month views, Rota Calendar uses a continuous, unbroken scrolling calendar. This makes it easy to see how shifts flow across weeks and months, including where schedules overlap month boundaries. Long-term work patterns become clear and easy to understand at a glance. Sync and Compare With Your Calendar Rota Calendar syncs with calendars already on your device, including iOS, Google, and Facebook calendars. View your work shifts alongside personal events in one place, and add or edit these events directly within Rota Calendar to avoid conflicts. Simple, Clear, and Built for Individuals Rota Calendar is designed for individuals, not companies or teams. There are no accounts to create and no unnecessary features — just a clean, easy-to-use layout designed to make shift planning simple. Trusted by thousands of shift workers, Rota Calendar is used daily by people working rotating schedules, offshore roles, oil and gas, emergency services, and other non-standard work patterns. If you need a powerful yet easy-to-use shift planner that lets you scroll through years of schedules and take control of your time, Rota Calendar is built for you. Excellent - 5 Star Best app I’ve used. Extremely easy to add rota and use. Would, and have, recommended to anyone that needs a rota app. The best app I’ve got! 5 Star Of the dozens of apps I’ve got this is the best. Use it constantly and was easy to set up. I’ve moved on to a different rota but can still see my old one which is really useful. Always get a reply when I send a query and comments are taken on board. Best app out for rota - 5 Star As I work in the oil rigs 2 weeks on 2 weeks off this app was perfect for working out my rota in seconds! And worth every penny! Perfect - 5 Star This is the only shift predictor in the app store that I can actually use to plan my very random shift pattern. First class, Rota calendar - 5 Star Excellent app for offshore rotas Great great and just great - 5 Star I love this app its great for me for when i am offshore i hope they keep it on here forever Shift Cal - 5 Star Found this app so easy to use for a 3 on 3 off days and nights was done in a min forever fantastic. Rota - 5 Star This is perfect for shift workers and works well. I have a complicated shift pattern and this makes it so easy to look up future dates instantly. I rate this highly. www.facebook.com/jrwstudio www.jrw-studio.com twitter.com/jrwstudio By using this app, you agree to Apple's Standard End User License Agreement: https://www.apple.com/legal/internet-services/itunes/dev/stdeula/

Screenshots

Shift Worker4 screens
Rota Calendar4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is price: Rota Calendar at Free against Shift Worker's $1.99. Rota Calendar also leads on rating (4.7 vs 3.7) and review sentiment (65% vs 46%). Shift Worker's advantage is chart position (#60 vs unranked). On update cadence, ads, in-app purchases and device support 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

Rota Calendar is free to download; Shift Worker costs $1.99 up front. Shift Worker sells 2 in-app purchases, starting at $1.99 per month and Rota Calendar sells 10 in-app purchases, starting at $1.99 per month. Whichever you choose, the download price is not the number that matters.

ReceptionRating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings

Rota Calendar holds the better App Store score, 4.7 against 3.7. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: Rota Calendar has 731 ratings behind it against 103, so its average is the more settled of the two. Written reviews point the same way: 46% of Shift Worker's written reviews are positive against 65% of Rota Calendar's.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

Shift Worker ships an update every 6 days, Rota Calendar every 5 days. The most recent releases landed on October 29, 2026 and October 23, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard6 real differences · 5 level
Shift Worker versus Rota Calendar: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterShift WorkerRota Calendar
Price$1.99Free — better
Rating3.7 (103 ratings)4.7 (731 ratings) — better
Positive reviews46.3% of reviews65.4% of reviews — better
Number of ratings103731 — better
Update frequencyEvery 6 daysEvery 5 days — better
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesYesYes
MonetizationFree — betterFree with in-app purchases
Best chart rank#60 — better—
DevicesiPhone, iPodiPhone, iPod
Requires iOS15.615.0 — better
Further details — not scored
Size8 MB38 MB
Age rating4+4+
DeveloperProduction Shed Pty LtdJRW Studio Limited

Customer experience

Shift Worker

All ratings103 ratings
Positive65.0%
Neutral15.5%
Negative19.4%
Written reviews460 reviews
Positive46.3%
Neutral20.7%
Negative33.0%

Rota Calendar

All ratings731 ratings
Positive93.0%
Neutral2.5%
Negative4.5%
Written reviews188 reviews
Positive65.4%
Neutral5.9%
Negative28.7%

User reviews

Shift Worker

From 103 App Store ratings

What we love

  • 🌟 Excellent for shift workers
  • 📅 Easy to organize schedules
  • 🎨 Customizable icons and colors
  • 🧭 Helpful for managing complex rotations
  • 🤝 Useful for couples/families to align schedules

Room to improve

  • 🐛 Crashes when adding notes
  • 📝 Limited note display
  • 🔄 Lack of sync between devices
  • 🗓️ Issues with iOS updates deleting data
  • 🔍 Difficulty finding support

Rota Calendar

From 731 App Store ratings

What we love

  • 🚀 Easy to program repeatable rota/roster pattern
  • 👍 Keeps track of work and personal life
  • 👍 Ideal for shift work schedules
  • 👍 Syncs with other calendars
  • 👍 Configurable for different shift types

Room to improve

  • 🐛 Issues with recent updates overriding or deleting existing shifts
  • 🐛 Crashes when trying to airdrop shifts
  • 🐛 Inability to save individual shift changes
  • 🐛 Compatibility issues with newer iOS versions
  • 🔒 Concerns over subscription model and loss of functionality for previous paid users

Bugs and requests

Shift Worker

Reported bugs

4 issues
  • App crashes when trying to add notes
  • Notes disappearing after iOS updates
  • Calendar dates/days not displaying correctly
  • Inability to export/import schedules

Requested features

5 requests
  • Add ability to view full notes
  • Implement iCloud/calendar sync
  • Allow multiple shift entries per day
  • Add recurring note/reminder features
  • Develop Apple Watch app integration

Rota Calendar

Reported bugs

4 issues
  • Rota not properly accounting for holidays and days off
  • Inability to handle complex shift patterns beyond 9 weeks
  • Sync issues between iPad and iPhone versions
  • Day/month display not working after recent update

Requested features

6 requests
  • Ability to share rota/schedule with partner
  • More color options for shifts
  • Separate view for each month
  • Ability to add travel days to shifts
  • Integration with Apple Watch
Show 1 more
  • Shift-specific alarms/notifications

In-app purchases

2 purchases

Shift Worker

Subscriptions2
  • Shift Worker Premium Monthly7 Days trial$1.991 Month
  • Shift Worker Premium Yearly7 Days trial$17.991 Year
10 purchases

Rota Calendar

Subscriptions10
  • Rota Calendar Supporter Monthly7 Days trial$1.991 Month
  • Platinum Special Monthly7 Days trial$1.991 Month
  • Pro Monthly: Unlimited Edits7 Days trial$2.991 Month
Show 7 more
  • Gold Monthly7 Days trial$2.991 Month
  • Platinum Monthly7 Days trial$3.991 Month
  • Supporter Yearly: Backup Only7 Days trial$19.991 Year
  • Platinum Special Yearly7 Days trial$19.991 Year
  • Pro Yearly: 5 Years Cloud Sync7 Days trial$29.991 Year
  • Gold Yearly7 Days trial$29.991 Year
  • Platinum Yearly7 Days trial$39.991 Year

Questions

Is Shift Worker free?
Shift Worker costs $1.99, and also offers in-app purchases.
Is Rota Calendar free?
Rota Calendar is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Which has better reviews, Shift Worker or Rota Calendar?
Rota Calendar is rated higher. Shift Worker averages 3.7 out of 5 from 103 ratings, while Rota Calendar averages 4.7 from 731 ratings.
Do Shift Worker or Rota Calendar have ads?
Neither Shift Worker nor Rota Calendar shows ads.
Which is updated more often, Shift Worker or Rota Calendar?
Shift Worker ships an update every 6 days, and Rota Calendar every 5 days. Most recently, Shift Worker was updated on October 29, 2026 and Rota Calendar on October 23, 2026.

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