Comparison

Spark vs Fire Shifts

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

Fire Shifts

This app provides a free, customizable calendar for Fire and EMS personnel to manage their work schedules. Users can select from various shift types and personalize labels and colors for easy visual organization of their personal schedule.

Highlights
  • Customizable shift calendar
  • Multiple shift type options
  • Personalized labels and colors
  • Free updates
  • Works indefinitely
Features
Read full description

A free customizable Fire and EMS Shift Calendar. Easily select various shift types such as 24/48 (ABC), 48/96 (AABBCC), etc. Customize labels and colors for each of your shifts to easily highlight your personal schedule. Visit www.fireshifts.com to see a full list of scheduling options. Ad supported. Works indefinitely. No purchasing of yearly licenses, free updates, no subscriptions fees. Email kevin@fireshifts.com for support.

Screenshots

Spark4 screens
Fire Shifts2 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is rating: Spark at 4.8 against Fire Shifts's 3.8. Spark also leads on review sentiment (75% vs 37%) and update cadence (every 5 weeks vs every 27 months). Fire Shifts's advantage is in-app purchases (none vs 2) and iOS requirement (12.4 vs 15.6). On price, ads 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. Fire Shifts asks for nothing beyond the download.

ReceptionRating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings

Spark holds the better App Store score, 4.8 against 3.8. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: Spark has 7.5K ratings behind it against 62, so its average is the more settled of the two. Written reviews point the same way: 75% of Spark's written reviews are positive against 37% of Fire Shifts's.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

Spark ships an update every 5 weeks, Fire Shifts every 27 months. The most recent releases landed on November 1, 2026 and October 24, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard7 real differences · 3 level
Spark versus Fire Shifts: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterSparkFire Shifts
PriceFreeFree
Rating4.8 (7.5K ratings) — better3.8 (62 ratings)
Positive reviews74.8% of reviews — better36.8% of reviews
Number of ratings7.5K — better62
Update frequencyEvery 5 weeks — betterEvery 27 months
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesYesNo — better
MonetizationFree with in-app purchasesAd-supported — better
DevicesiPhone, iPad, iPodiPhone, iPad, iPod
Requires iOS15.612.4 — better
Further details — not scored
Size10 MB4 MB
Age rating4+4+
DeveloperE.L.K. Equities LLCKevin Jordan

Customer experience

Spark

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

Fire Shifts

All ratings59 ratings
Positive66.1%
Neutral13.6%
Negative20.3%
Written reviews87 reviews
Positive36.8%
Neutral17.2%
Negative46.0%

User reviews

Spark

From 7.5K App Store ratings

What we love

  • 🚀 Excellent calendar app
  • 👍 Easy to use and set up
  • 🔒 Secure and reliable
  • 💡 Customizable and feature-rich
  • 👍 Great for shift work and emergency services

Room to improve

  • 🐛 Occasional crashes and bugs
  • 💰 Subscription model and pricing issues
  • 🔧 Needs more frequent updates
  • 🔧 Compatibility issues with newer devices
  • 🔧 Lack of certain features (e.g., widgets, dark mode)

Fire Shifts

From 62 App Store ratings

What we love

  • 👍 Simple and basic
  • 👍 Works as intended
  • 👍 Lots of shift options
  • 👍 Minimal ad space
  • 👍 Free app

Room to improve

  • 👎 Cannot customize colors
  • 👎 Customization limited on iOS
  • 👎 "Coming soon" for features
  • 👎 Inconsistent across platforms (iOS vs Android)
  • 👎 Yellow color not readable

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

Fire Shifts

Reported bugs

5 issues
  • App shows wrong year (2020 instead of 2018)
  • Black screen issue
  • App crashes
  • App stopped working
  • Calendar not highlighting current day

Requested features

13 requests
  • Ability to change shift colors
  • Ability to write notes on days
  • Make current day obvious
  • Add white and gray colors
  • Ability to change labels
Show 8 more
  • Add alarms for days
  • Add custom shift patterns
  • Add notes to dates
  • Add Kelly days
  • Add payday
  • Input notes into calendar
  • Change week start to Monday
  • Input schedule with numbers/letters and colors

In-app purchases

2 purchases

Spark

One-time2
  • Annual Subscription Renewal$0.99
  • Initial Annual Subscription$5.99
None

Fire Shifts

No in-app purchases

Questions

Is Spark free?
Spark is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Is Fire Shifts free?
Fire Shifts is free to download, with no in-app purchases.
Which has better reviews, Spark or Fire Shifts?
Spark is rated higher. Spark averages 4.8 out of 5 from 7.5K ratings, while Fire Shifts averages 3.8 from 62 ratings.
Do Spark or Fire Shifts have ads?
Neither Spark nor Fire Shifts shows ads.
Which is updated more often, Spark or Fire Shifts?
Spark ships an update every 5 weeks, and Fire Shifts every 27 months. Most recently, Spark was updated on November 1, 2026 and Fire Shifts on October 24, 2026.

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