# Rota Calendar vs Gnowbe

The clearest difference is review sentiment: Gnowbe at 100% against Rota Calendar's 65%. Gnowbe also leads on rating (4.9 vs 4.7). Rota Calendar's advantage is update cadence (every 5 days vs every 3 weeks) and ratings volume (731 vs 18). On price, ads, in-app purchases and monetization model there is nothing between them.

Both are free to download. Rota Calendar sells 10 in-app purchases, starting at $1.99 per month and Gnowbe sells 2 in-app purchases, starting at $9.99 per month. Whichever you choose, the download price is not the number that matters.

Gnowbe holds the better App Store score, 4.9 against 4.7. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: Rota Calendar has 731 ratings behind it against 18, so its average is the more settled of the two. Written reviews point the same way: 65% of Rota Calendar's written reviews are positive against 100% of Gnowbe's.

Rota Calendar ships an update every 5 days, Gnowbe every 3 weeks. The most recent releases landed on October 23, 2026 and October 24, 2026 respectively.

## The numbers

| Metric | Rota Calendar | Gnowbe |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Price | Free | Free |
| Rating | [4.7 (731 ratings)](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/rota-calendar-shift-planner/id430229059/reviews) | **[4.9 (18 ratings)](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/gnowbe-training-onboarding/id1104428352/reviews)** |
| Number of ratings | **731** | 18 |
| Positive reviews | 65.4% of reviews | **100.0% of reviews** |
| In-app purchases | Yes | Yes |
| Ads | No | No |
| Update frequency | **Every 5 days** | Every 3 weeks |
| Monetization | Free with in-app purchases | Free with in-app purchases |
| Size | 38 MB | 85 MB |
| Requires iOS | **15.0** | 16.4 |
| Devices | iPhone, iPod | iPhone, iPad |
| Age rating | 4+ | 4+ |
| Developer | [JRW Studio Limited](https://appshunter.io/developer/430229062) | [Gnowbe Inc.](https://appshunter.io/developer/1575626420) |

## What reviewers say

### 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


### Gnowbe

[App page](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/gnowbe-training-onboarding/id1104428352)

This tool allows creators to design, facilitate, and analyze engaging learning experiences for training and onboarding. It supports microlearning, social learning, and offers offline access, personalization, and gamification. The platform integrates with over 200 platforms and supports over 100 languages.

**Highlights:** Microlearning, Social learning, Offline access, Gamification, Certification, Personalization, Data and analytics

**Features:** Vision Pro support

**In-app purchases (2)**

| Purchase | Price | Billing |
| --- | --- | --- |
| GnowbeLearn Monthly Sub | $9.99 | per month |
| GnowbeLearn Yearly Sub | $99.99 | per year |


## Frequently asked questions

### Is Rota Calendar free?

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

### Is Gnowbe free?

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

### Which has better reviews, Rota Calendar or Gnowbe?

Gnowbe is rated higher. Rota Calendar averages 4.7 out of 5 from 731 ratings, while Gnowbe averages 4.9 from 18 ratings.

### Do Rota Calendar or Gnowbe have ads?

Neither Rota Calendar nor Gnowbe shows ads.

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

Rota Calendar ships an update every 5 days, and Gnowbe every 3 weeks. Most recently, Rota Calendar was updated on October 23, 2026 and Gnowbe on October 24, 2026.

---

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