Comparison

Spark vs Shift It

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

Head to head
About

Spark

This app simplifies shift work for professionals like first responders and healthcare workers. It offers full customization, secure cloud syncing, and streamlined shift trading. Plan your life and stay organized with instant visual cues and reliable support.

Highlights
  • Full shift customization
  • Secure cloud sync
  • Streamlined shift trades
  • Instant visual cues
  • Comprehensive shift coverage
  • User-friendly interface
Features
Read full description

Spark: Your Ultimate Shift Calendar App For over 15 years, Spark has been the go-to app for simplifying shift work. Loaded with powerful, user-friendly features, Spark helps you balance work and personal life in one place—trusted daily by fire, police, EMS, healthcare professionals, and shift workers worldwide. With Spark’s unique "Cloud Connect" system, you can sync and share your schedule across all devices, keeping you and your loved ones in the loop anytime, anywhere. Why Spark? Here’s why your colleagues love it: Full Customization Spark is designed for you. Track and log anything you need—vacation, sick time, comp time, overtime, trades, and more. Can’t find something? Add it with ease! Spark’s sleek, intuitive design lets you personalize everything to suit your work style. Secure & Reliable Your data is safe with us. Spark’s "Cloud Connect" syncs your encrypted calendar across devices, linked to your email. Lose or upgrade your phone? Just log back in, and it’s like you never left. Comprehensive Shift Coverage From pre-loaded schedules to custom department setups, Spark supports thousands of shift calendars. Don’t see yours? Easily create it, and it’s saved for you and your team. Streamlined Shift Trades & Swaps Manage and track all your trades and swaps down to the individual. Spark’s “Trade Board” lets you request and confirm trades within the app, automatically updating your calendar and stats—no extra steps. Instant Visual Cues Color-code shifts, events, and stats for at-a-glance planning. With Spark, you’ll know exactly what’s on the agenda without extra clicks. Unmatched Customer Support Our app thrives on user feedback. We’re committed to fast, helpful support, with most emails resolved in under two hours. Spark evolves with your input, making it the app you can rely on for years to come. Try Spark free for 30 days, and experience the app that’s helping shift workers around the world stay organized. Visit www.LeakyNozzle.com to learn more!

About

Shift It

This app helps shift workers manage their schedules, track hours, and calculate pay. It allows importing shifts from spreadsheets or calendars, building custom rosters, and sharing schedules with colleagues. Pro features offer advanced pay calculation and location-based tracking.

Highlights
  • Import shifts from spreadsheets or calendar
  • Roster builder with wizard
  • Track hours and generate timesheets
  • Supports on-call shifts
  • Share schedules with Roster Buddies
  • Calculate pay with custom rules
  • Home screen widget for upcoming shifts
Features
Read full description

KNOW WHAT YOU'RE OWED. Shift It is a shift work calendar built for you, not your employer. Drop in your roster, see your pay calculated against your actual pay rules, and check it against your payslip every fortnight. Built for nurses, paramedics, doctors in training, hospo/service industry, community services, fast food, fitness, and anyone else on a roster. Your data stays on your device. No employer access. No ads. — SOUND FAMILIAR? ⊗ Decoding your employer's roster spreadsheet every month ⊗ Not sure payroll applied your night or weekend penalties ⊗ Watching overtime or penalty pay quietly disappear ⊗ Typing every shift into a generic calendar app by hand Shift It fixes all of that. — WHY SHIFT WORKERS SWITCH TO SHIFT IT Most shift apps make you type in every shift. Shift It reads your roster file and does it for you. Most shift apps don't touch pay. Shift It calculates what your pay rules say you're owed (night and weekend penalties, tiered overtime, allowances, on-call recalls, minimum engagement) and compares it to your payslip. If there's a discrepancy, you'll know. And you can share the proof. Gross pay only. The number you compare against your payslip. Tax estimates sound useful until salary packaging or HECS makes them wrong by thousands. — FREE ▪ Import shifts from roster spreadsheets or your device calendar ▪ Roster Wizard generates months of rotating shifts in seconds ▪ Full calendar with 7 themes and dark mode ▪ Home screen and lock screen widgets ▪ Live Activities for shift countdowns on your lock screen ▪ Daylight tracking so you can see how your shifts align with sunrise and sunset ▪ Job Cards for quick notes and checklists during your shift ▪ Break Timer logs rest periods accurately ▪ On-call shift support with recall logging ▪ Calendar export to sync with iOS Calendar — PRO. KNOW WHAT YOU'RE OWED. ▪ Pay Check calculates your expected gross pay against your pay rules: penalty loadings, tiered overtime (e.g. 1.5x then 2x), allowances, the lot ▪ Payslip comparison flags discrepancies between what you earned and what you were paid ▪ Live Pay shows earnings ticking up in real time during shifts, on screen and on your lock screen ▪ Detailed PDF and CSV exports of timesheets, calendar, and pay estimates, useful for payroll disputes ▪ Multiple Employers with separate pay rules, locations, and awards ▪ Roster Buddies to share and compare schedules with colleagues and family ▪ Location groups to track shifts across multiple sites — BUILT FOR SHIFT WORKER WELLBEING Shift work affects your health. Shift It helps you see it. The Daylight card shows how your shifts align with sunrise and sunset, tracks your sunlight exposure, and nudges you with evidence-based advice for night shifts, early starts, and short turnarounds. Break Timer keeps your rest periods honest. Minimum engagement alerts flag when you've been sent home early and may be owed more. Because knowing your schedule is one thing. Knowing how it affects you is another. — SUPPORTED PAY RULES Australian awards and EBAs: ▪ VIC Doctors in Training ▪ NT Doctors in Training ▪ SA Doctors in Training (SMOEA) ▪ NSW Nurses & Midwives ▪ VIC Nurses & Midwives ▪ NSW Paramedics ▪ SCHADS (Social & Community Services) ▪ Fast Food Industry ▪ Hospitality Industry (General) ▪ Fitness Industry United Kingdom: ▪ NHS Doctors in Training More coming soon. Request yours via the feedback form linked here on the App Store and in-app. — WHAT'S NEW IN 3.0 Redesigned from the ground up. New onboarding in under 60 seconds. Customisable Coming Up dashboard. Live Pay tracking. Widgets and Live Activities. Daylight and wellbeing tracking. Job Cards. Break Timer. Multiple employer support. Ads removed. All themes free. — We're actively developing Shift It. Please keep sending feedback and feature requests via the link in app settings, our website, or by email. Find the Terms of Use at https://shiftit.greatworkeveryone.com/terms-of-use Renders created using iMockup.pro.

Screenshots

Spark4 screens
Shift It4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is ads: Spark at none against Shift It's shown. Shift It's advantage is review sentiment (100% vs 75%) and update cadence (every 10 days vs every 5 weeks). On price, in-app purchases, monetization model 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

Both are free to download. Spark sells 2 one-off in-app purchases and Shift It sells 4 in-app purchases, starting at $2.99 per month. Whichever you choose, the download price is not the number that matters.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

Spark ships an update every 5 weeks, Shift It every 10 days. The most recent releases landed on October 14, 2026 and October 4, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard3 real differences · 7 level
Spark versus Shift It: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterSparkShift It
PriceFreeFree
Rating4.8 (7.5K ratings) — better—
Positive reviews74.8% of reviews100.0% of reviews — better
Number of ratings7.5K — better—
Update frequencyEvery 5 weeksEvery 10 days — better
AdsNo — betterYes
In-app purchasesYesYes
MonetizationFree with in-app purchasesFree with in-app purchases
DevicesiPhone, iPad, iPodiPhone, iPad, iPod
Requires iOS15.615.1 — better
Further details — not scored
Size10 MB112 MB
Age rating4+4+
DeveloperE.L.K. Equities LLCW.D MCDONALD & C.M RANDAZZO

Customer experience

Spark

All ratings7,510 ratings
Positive95.2%
Neutral2.9%
Negative1.9%
Written reviews159 reviews
Positive74.8%
Neutral8.8%
Negative16.4%

Shift It

Written reviews12 reviews
Positive100.0%
Neutral0.0%
Negative0.0%

Bugs and requests

Spark

Reported bugs

3 issues
  • Login and authentication problems
  • Data loss and sync issues after updates
  • Unreliable performance on some devices

Requested features

4 requests
  • Ability to sync with more calendar services
  • More customization options
  • Improved user interface and design
  • Ability to view past schedules and events

Shift It

Not enough reviews yet to summarise bugs or requests.

In-app purchases

2 purchases

Spark

One-time2
  • Annual Subscription Renewal$0.99
  • Initial Annual Subscription$5.99
4 purchases

Shift It

Subscriptions3
  • Shift It Pro (Monthly)1 Month trial$2.991 Month
  • Shift It Pro14 Days trial$2.991 Month
  • Shift It Pro (Annual)1 Month trial$24.991 Year
One-time1
  • Shift It Pro (Lifetime)$59.99

Questions

Is Spark free?
Spark is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Is Shift It free?
Shift It is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Do Spark or Shift It have ads?
Shift It shows ads; Spark does not.
Which is updated more often, Spark or Shift It?
Spark ships an update every 5 weeks, and Shift It every 10 days. Most recently, Spark was updated on October 14, 2026 and Shift It on October 4, 2026.

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