# CLWRota vs Rota Calendar

The clearest difference is review sentiment: Rota Calendar at 65% against CLWRota's 7%. Rota Calendar also leads on update cadence (every 5 days vs every 3 months) and iOS requirement (15.0 vs 18.0). CLWRota's advantage is in-app purchases (none vs 10). On price, ads and device support there is nothing between them.

Both are free to download. Rota Calendar sells 10 in-app purchases, starting at $1.99 per month. CLWRota asks for nothing beyond the download.

CLWRota ships an update every 3 months, Rota Calendar every 5 days. The most recent releases landed on October 26, 2026 and October 23, 2026 respectively.

## The numbers

| Metric | CLWRota | Rota Calendar |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Price | Free | Free |
| Rating | — | **[4.7 (731 ratings)](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/rota-calendar-shift-planner/id430229059/reviews)** |
| Number of ratings | — | **731** |
| Positive reviews | 7.1% of reviews | **65.4% of reviews** |
| In-app purchases | **No** | Yes |
| Ads | No | No |
| Update frequency | Every 3 months | **Every 5 days** |
| Monetization | **Free** | Free with in-app purchases |
| Size | 23 MB | 38 MB |
| Requires iOS | 18.0 | **15.0** |
| Devices | iPhone, iPad | iPhone, iPod |
| Age rating | 4+ | 4+ |
| Developer | [Rotamap Ltd](https://appshunter.io/developer/411435066) | [JRW Studio Limited](https://appshunter.io/developer/430229062) |

## What reviewers say

### CLWRota

[App page](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/clwrota/id411435063)

Access your department's live schedule and manage your leave directly from your smartphone. View rota information by location or person, and easily contact colleagues. Book and bid for uncovered sessions, and communicate with administrators.

**Highlights:** Live rota access, Personal rota and leave diary, Book and manage leave, View rota by location or person, Contact colleagues via call link, Integrated rota mapping, Bid for uncovered sessions, Direct messaging with administrators

**Features:** Vision Pro support

**In-app purchases:** none

**What reviewers like**

- 👍 Useful for rota management
- 👍 Good for seeing colleague locations
- 👍 Offline access is useful
- 👍 Seamless integration with service
- 👍 Fast and readable layout (older reviews)

**What reviewers complain about**

- 🐛 App is still bugged
- 🐛 Messages not received
- 🐛 Notifications inconsistent
- 🐛 Significant notification issue
- 🐛 No iCal support

**Reported bugs**

- App is still bugged
- Not receiving messages
- Notifications work sometimes, not others
- Significant notification issue
- Cannot log in

**Requested features**

- iCal support
- Sync with personal calendars
- Seamless integration with Google Calendar or iCal
- Personal subscribable iCal
- iOS “Today” widget


### Rota Calendar

[App page](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/rota-calendar-shift-planner/id430229059)

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:** macOS Compatibility, Family Sharing, Vision Pro support

**In-app purchases (10)**

| Purchase | Price | Billing |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Rota Calendar Supporter Monthly | $1.99 | per month |
| Platinum Special Monthly | $1.99 | per month |
| Pro Monthly: Unlimited Edits | $2.99 | per month |
| Gold Monthly | $2.99 | per month |
| Platinum Monthly | $3.99 | per month |
| Supporter Yearly: Backup Only | $19.99 | per year |
| Platinum Special Yearly | $19.99 | per year |
| Pro Yearly: 5 Years Cloud Sync | $29.99 | per year |
| Gold Yearly | $29.99 | per year |
| Platinum Yearly | $39.99 | per year |

**What reviewers like**

- 🚀 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

**What reviewers complain about**

- 🐛 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

**Reported bugs**

- 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**

- 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


## Frequently asked questions

### Is CLWRota free?

CLWRota is free to download, with no in-app purchases.

### Is Rota Calendar free?

Rota Calendar is free to download, with in-app purchases available.

### Do CLWRota or Rota Calendar have ads?

Neither CLWRota nor Rota Calendar shows ads.

### Which is updated more often, CLWRota or Rota Calendar?

CLWRota ships an update every 3 months, and Rota Calendar every 5 days. Most recently, CLWRota was updated on October 26, 2026 and Rota Calendar on October 23, 2026.

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*Compared by [AppsHunter](https://appshunter.io/) from daily US App Store data. Review summaries are generated from verbatim App Store reviews.*