# Rota Calendar vs Shift Calendar

The clearest difference is update cadence: Rota Calendar at every 3 days against Shift Calendar's every 2 weeks. On price, rating, review sentiment and ratings volume there is nothing between them.

Both are free to download. Rota Calendar sells 10 in-app purchases, starting at $1.99 per month and Shift Calendar sells 4 in-app purchases, starting at $2.99 per year. Whichever you choose, the download price is not the number that matters.

On the App Store both sit at effectively the same score — 4.7 for Rota Calendar against 4.8 for Shift Calendar. Both are backed by a comparable volume of ratings — 728 and 321 respectively. Written reviews split almost evenly too, at 65% and 64% positive.

Rota Calendar ships an update every 3 days, Shift Calendar every 2 weeks. Both last shipped on September 19, 2026.

## The numbers

| Metric | Rota Calendar | Shift Calendar |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Price | Free | Free |
| Rating | [4.7 (728 ratings)](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/rota-calendar-shift-planner/id430229059/reviews) | **[4.8 (321 ratings)](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/shift-calendar-work-schedule/id1469965857/reviews)** |
| Number of ratings | **728** | 321 |
| Positive reviews | **65.2% of reviews** | 64.4% of reviews |
| In-app purchases | Yes | Yes |
| Ads | No | No |
| Update frequency | **Every 3 days** | Every 2 weeks |
| Monetization | Free with in-app purchases | Free with in-app purchases |
| Size | 38 MB | 40 MB |
| Requires iOS | **15.0** | 16.0 |
| Devices | iPhone, iPod | iPhone, iPad |
| Age rating | 4+ | 4+ |
| Developer | [JRW Studio Limited](https://appshunter.io/developer/430229062) | [Arife Tuba Baskurt](https://appshunter.io/developer/1863269293) |

## 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


### Shift Calendar

[App page](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/shift-calendar-work-schedule/id1469965857)

Easily manage your work schedule with customizable shifts, rotations, and earnings tracking. This app simplifies planning and provides clear visual overviews of your work commitments. Export reports and sync with your calendar for seamless organization.

**Highlights:** Customizable shift icons and colors, Automated custom shift rotations, Track weekly and monthly earnings, Export reports to PDF or spreadsheet, iOS Calendar and iCloud sync, Today extension widget for upcoming shifts, Dark mode support

**Features:** macOS Compatibility, Vision Pro support

**In-app purchases (4)**

| Purchase | Price | Billing |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Shift Calendar Pro | $2.99 | per year |
| Shift Calendar Pro | $4.99 | per year |
| Shift Calendar Pro | $2.99 | one-time |
| Shift Calendar Pro | $6.99 | one-time |

**What reviewers like**

- 🚀 Easy to use
- 📆 Helpful for scheduling shifts
- 💰 Useful for tracking earnings
- 🔗 Good calendar integration
- 🎨 Customizable icons and colors

**What reviewers complain about**

- 🐛 Sync issues between devices
- 🔧 Limited customization options
- 💰 Paid features required for full functionality
- 📅 Difficulty adding recurring shifts
- 🕰️ Inaccurate time display

**Reported bugs**

- App crashes after recent update
- Calendar dates not displaying correctly
- Unable to edit or delete shifts
- Additional pay conditions causing issues with regular hours
- Color customization feature not working as expected

**Requested features**

- Add option for biweekly pay periods
- Implement overtime pay calculations based on daily hours
- Allow sharing of calendars between users
- Expand color and icon options
- Improve widget functionality


## Frequently asked questions

### Is Rota Calendar free?

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

### Is Shift Calendar free?

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

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

Shift Calendar is rated higher. Rota Calendar averages 4.7 out of 5 from 728 ratings, while Shift Calendar averages 4.8 from 321 ratings.

### Do Rota Calendar or Shift Calendar have ads?

Neither Rota Calendar nor Shift Calendar shows ads.

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

Rota Calendar ships an update every 3 days, and Shift Calendar every 2 weeks. Most recently, Rota Calendar was updated on September 19, 2026 and Shift Calendar on September 19, 2026.

---

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