# Rota Calendar vs My Shift Planner

The clearest difference is ads: Rota Calendar at none against My Shift Planner's shown. Rota Calendar also leads on update cadence (every 5 days vs monthly). My Shift Planner's advantage is review sentiment (97% vs 65%) and ratings volume (3.6K vs 732). On price, rating, 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 My Shift Planner sells 6 in-app purchases, starting at $0.99 per month. 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 My Shift Planner. Both are backed by a comparable volume of ratings — 732 and 3.6K respectively. Written reviews are what separate them: 65% of Rota Calendar's written reviews are positive against 97% of My Shift Planner's.

Rota Calendar ships an update every 5 days, My Shift Planner monthly. The most recent releases landed on November 6, 2026 and November 8, 2026 respectively.

## The numbers

| Metric | Rota Calendar | My Shift Planner |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Price | Free | Free |
| Rating | [4.7 (732 ratings)](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/rota-calendar-shift-planner/id430229059/reviews) | **[4.8 (3.6K ratings)](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/my-shift-planner-calendar/id645662133/reviews)** |
| Number of ratings | 732 | **3.6K** |
| Positive reviews | 65.4% of reviews | **97.4% of reviews** |
| In-app purchases | Yes | Yes |
| Ads | **No** | Yes |
| Update frequency | **Every 5 days** | Monthly |
| Monetization | Free with in-app purchases | Free with in-app purchases |
| Size | 38 MB | 174 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) | [MyBuzz Technologies Limited](https://appshunter.io/developer/645662136) |

## 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


### My Shift Planner

[App page](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/my-shift-planner-calendar/id645662133)

This app helps shift workers manage their schedules, track earnings, and plan personal time. It offers a clear view of work hours, overtime, and availability, adapting to various shift patterns. Users can also manage vacation and time off alongside their work calendar.

**Highlights:** Easy-to-use shift calendar, Custom shift patterns, Overtime and earnings tracking, Vacation and time off management, Shift alarms and notifications, Calendar integrations, Cloud synchronization

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

**In-app purchases (6)**

| Purchase | Price | Billing |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Live Sharing Subscription | $0.99 | per month |
| Pro Pack Add-On (Monthly) | $0.99 | per month |
| Pro Pack Add-On (Annual) | $9.99 | per year |
| Remove Ads | $2.99 | one-time |
| Hard Workers Upgrade to Pro | $24.99 | one-time |
| Pro Pack (Lifetime License) | $49.99 | one-time |

**What reviewers like**

- 👍 Easy to use
- 🚀 Customizable shift patterns
- 💡 Ability to share schedules with family/coworkers
- 👍 Helpful for planning ahead
- 👍 Versatile for different work schedules

**What reviewers complain about**

- 🐛 Occasional bugs or glitches
- 💡 Could use more customization options
- 💡 Wish it had more integration with other calendars

**Reported bugs**

- Login screen issues
- Calendar sync problems
- Unexpected app crashes

**Requested features**

- Add option to set Sunday as first day of week
- Improve visibility of notes/events on calendar view
- Integrate with payroll/overtime tracking
- Add ability to track shift premiums/differentials


## Frequently asked questions

### Is Rota Calendar free?

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

### Is My Shift Planner free?

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

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

My Shift Planner is rated higher. Rota Calendar averages 4.7 out of 5 from 732 ratings, while My Shift Planner averages 4.8 from 3.6K ratings.

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

My Shift Planner shows ads; Rota Calendar does not.

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

Rota Calendar ships an update every 5 days, and My Shift Planner monthly. Most recently, Rota Calendar was updated on November 6, 2026 and My Shift Planner on November 8, 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.*