# Rota Calendar vs Shift It

The clearest difference is ads: Rota Calendar at none against Shift It's shown. Rota Calendar also leads on update cadence (every 3 days vs every 10 days). Shift It's advantage is review sentiment (100% vs 65%). 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 Shift It sells 4 in-app purchases, starting at $2.99 per month. Whichever you choose, the download price is not the number that matters.

Rota Calendar ships an update every 3 days, Shift It every 10 days. The most recent releases landed on September 19, 2026 and September 17, 2026 respectively.

## The numbers

| Metric | Rota Calendar | Shift It |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Price | Free | Free |
| Rating | **[4.7 (728 ratings)](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/rota-calendar-shift-planner/id430229059/reviews)** | — |
| Number of ratings | **728** | — |
| Positive reviews | 65.2% of reviews | **100.0% of reviews** |
| In-app purchases | Yes | Yes |
| Ads | **No** | Yes |
| Update frequency | **Every 3 days** | Every 10 days |
| Monetization | Free with in-app purchases | Free with in-app purchases |
| Size | 38 MB | 112 MB |
| Requires iOS | **15.0** | 15.1 |
| Devices | iPhone, iPod | **iPhone, iPad, iPod** |
| Age rating | 4+ | 4+ |
| Developer | [JRW Studio Limited](https://appshunter.io/developer/430229062) | [W.D MCDONALD & C.M RANDAZZO](https://appshunter.io/developer/1732453562) |

## 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 It

[App page](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/shift-it-shift-work-calendar/id6478290000)

This app helps shift workers manage their schedules, track hours, and calculate pay. It allows importing shifts from spreadsheets or calendars, building custom rosters, and sharing schedules with colleagues. Pro features offer advanced pay calculation and location-based tracking.

**Highlights:** Import shifts from spreadsheets or calendar, Roster builder with wizard, Track hours and generate timesheets, Supports on-call shifts, Share schedules with Roster Buddies, Calculate pay with custom rules, Home screen widget for upcoming shifts

**Features:** macOS Compatibility

**In-app purchases (4)**

| Purchase | Price | Billing |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Shift It Pro (Monthly) | $2.99 | per month |
| Shift It Pro | $2.99 | per month |
| Shift It Pro (Annual) | $24.99 | per year |
| Shift It Pro (Lifetime) | $59.99 | one-time |


## Frequently asked questions

### Is Rota Calendar free?

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

### Is Shift It free?

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

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

Shift It shows ads; Rota Calendar does not.

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

Rota Calendar ships an update every 3 days, and Shift It every 10 days. Most recently, Rota Calendar was updated on September 19, 2026 and Shift It on September 17, 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.*