# Rota Calendar vs myShiftWork

The clearest difference is update cadence: Rota Calendar at every 5 days against myShiftWork's every 3 months. Rota Calendar also leads on ratings volume (732 vs 141). myShiftWork's advantage is iOS requirement (13.0 vs 15.0). On price, rating, review sentiment and ads there is nothing between them.

Both are free to download. Rota Calendar sells 10 in-app purchases, starting at $1.99 per month and myShiftWork sells 7 in-app purchases, starting at $0.99 per month. Whichever you choose, the download price is not the number that matters.

Rota Calendar holds the better App Store score, 4.7 against 4.5. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: Rota Calendar has 732 ratings behind it against 141, so its average is the more settled of the two. Written reviews complicate that: 65% of Rota Calendar's written reviews are positive against 71% of myShiftWork's, so the app with the better star average is not the one people write more warmly about.

Rota Calendar ships an update every 5 days, myShiftWork every 3 months. The most recent releases landed on November 6, 2026 and November 2, 2026 respectively.

## The numbers

| Metric | Rota Calendar | myShiftWork |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Price | Free | Free |
| Rating | **[4.7 (732 ratings)](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/rota-calendar-shift-planner/id430229059/reviews)** | [4.5 (141 ratings)](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/myshiftwork-roster-calendar/id1148874527/reviews) |
| Number of ratings | **732** | 141 |
| Positive reviews | 65.4% of reviews | **71.4% of reviews** |
| In-app purchases | Yes | Yes |
| Ads | No | No |
| Update frequency | **Every 5 days** | Every 3 months |
| Monetization | Free with in-app purchases | Freemium |
| Size | 38 MB | 28 MB |
| Requires iOS | 15.0 | **13.0** |
| Devices | iPhone, iPod | iPhone, iPod |
| Age rating | 4+ | 4+ |
| Developer | [JRW Studio Limited](https://appshunter.io/developer/430229062) | [Vozye SMC-PVT LTD](https://appshunter.io/developer/958988511) |

## 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


### myShiftWork

[App page](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/myshiftwork-roster-calendar/id1148874527)

This app helps shift workers plan, organize, and share their work schedules. It allows for custom shift creation, future date planning, and detailed reporting. Sync your shifts with your device calendar and manage multiple patterns easily.

**Highlights:** Create custom shift types with icons, Plan and view future shift rotations, Color-coded calendar with icons, Generate PDF and text reports, Cloud backup and restore, Sync with device calendars, Manage multiple shift patterns

**Features:** macOS Compatibility

**In-app purchases (7)**

| Purchase | Price | Billing |
| --- | --- | --- |
| 1 month subscription | $0.99 | per month |
| 1 month subscription | $2.99 | per month |
| Biannual subscription | $4.49 | per 6 months |
| 1 year subscription. | $9.99 | per year |
| Biannual subscription | $14.99 | per 6 months |
| 1 year subscription | $24.99 | per year |
| Remove Ads and Limitations | $4.99 | one-time |

**What reviewers like**

- 🚀 Quick and easy shift entry
- 📅 Excellent calendar synchronization with Google Calendar and iCal
- 🎨 Customizable shift icons and color coding
- 💰 Affordable pricing with bi-annual subscription option
- 🔄 Automatic shift pattern rotation feature

**What reviewers complain about**

- 🐛 Frequent data loss and deletion of shifts
- 😞 Poor customer support responsiveness
- 📵 App crashes and freezes after updates
- 💸 Hidden additional costs (iCloud sync, calendar features)
- 📺 Unwanted ads appearing in paid version

**Reported bugs**

- Data mysteriously deleted after app updates
- Unable to restore purchases and account data
- Shift time input fields cut off screen on some devices
- Black text on dark background making notes unreadable
- Shifts disappear when using airplane mode in different time zones

**Requested features**

- More shift icon options
- Better notes functionality for personal and work use
- Ability to add non-shift appointments and events
- Improved app design and layout
- Google Calendar sync (in addition to iCal)


## Frequently asked questions

### Is Rota Calendar free?

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

### Is myShiftWork free?

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

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

Rota Calendar is rated higher. Rota Calendar averages 4.7 out of 5 from 732 ratings, while myShiftWork averages 4.5 from 141 ratings.

### Do Rota Calendar or myShiftWork have ads?

Neither Rota Calendar nor myShiftWork shows ads.

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

Rota Calendar ships an update every 5 days, and myShiftWork every 3 months. Most recently, Rota Calendar was updated on November 6, 2026 and myShiftWork on November 2, 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.*