# Rota Calendar vs Simple Rota Maker

The clearest difference is rating: Rota Calendar at 4.7 against Simple Rota Maker's 3.0. Rota Calendar also leads on review sentiment (65% vs 23%) and ads (none vs shown). On price, in-app purchases, monetization model 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 and Simple Rota Maker sells 6 one-off in-app purchases. Whichever you choose, the download price is not the number that matters.

Rota Calendar holds the better App Store score, 4.7 against 3.0. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: Rota Calendar has 728 ratings behind it against 2, 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 23% of Simple Rota Maker's.

Rota Calendar ships an update every 3 days, Simple Rota Maker every 2 weeks. The most recent releases landed on October 17, 2026 and October 10, 2026 respectively.

## The numbers

| Metric | Rota Calendar | Simple Rota Maker |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Price | Free | Free |
| Rating | **[4.7 (728 ratings)](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/rota-calendar-shift-planner/id430229059/reviews)** | [3.0 (2 ratings)](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/simple-rota-maker/id1290921414/reviews) |
| Number of ratings | **728** | 2 |
| Positive reviews | **65.4% of reviews** | 23.1% of reviews |
| In-app purchases | Yes | Yes |
| Ads | **No** | Yes |
| Update frequency | **Every 3 days** | Every 2 weeks |
| Monetization | Free with in-app purchases | Free with in-app purchases |
| Size | 38 MB | 28 MB |
| Requires iOS | 15.0 | 15.0 |
| Devices | iPhone, iPod | **iPhone, iPad, iPod** |
| Age rating | 4+ | 4+ |
| Developer | [JRW Studio Limited](https://appshunter.io/developer/430229062) | [Members of Us Limited](https://appshunter.io/developer/1124075762) |

## 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


### Simple Rota Maker

[App page](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/simple-rota-maker/id1290921414)

This app helps you create and manage work schedules and personal appointments. It can automatically generate rolling rota patterns for multiple workers and includes a task manager for to-do lists and audio notes. Share schedules easily with dynamic links.

**Highlights:** Automatic rolling rota generation, Manual schedule creation, Integrated task manager, Audio note recording, Shareable dynamic links, Export rotas to spreadsheets, Worker availability settings

**Features:** macOS Compatibility

**In-app purchases (6)**

| Purchase | Price | Billing |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Simple Rota Maker Pro | $1.99 | one-time |
| Monday to Saturday Rota | $2.99 | one-time |
| Saturday To Sunday Rota | $2.99 | one-time |
| Simple Rota Maker Ad Free | $3.99 | one-time |
| Customise day of week roster | $4.99 | one-time |
| Rolling Block Scheduler | $9.99 | one-time |


## Frequently asked questions

### Is Rota Calendar free?

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

### Is Simple Rota Maker free?

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

### Which has better reviews, Rota Calendar or Simple Rota Maker?

Rota Calendar is rated higher. Rota Calendar averages 4.7 out of 5 from 728 ratings, while Simple Rota Maker averages 3.0 from 2 ratings.

### Do Rota Calendar or Simple Rota Maker have ads?

Simple Rota Maker shows ads; Rota Calendar does not.

### Which is updated more often, Rota Calendar or Simple Rota Maker?

Rota Calendar ships an update every 3 days, and Simple Rota Maker every 2 weeks. Most recently, Rota Calendar was updated on October 17, 2026 and Simple Rota Maker on October 10, 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.*