# Rota Calendar vs Shift Calendar / Schedule

The clearest difference is in-app purchases: Shift Calendar / Schedule at none against Rota Calendar's 10. Shift Calendar / Schedule also leads on review sentiment (76% vs 65%). Rota Calendar's advantage is update cadence (every 3 days vs every 3 weeks). On price, ads, device support and iOS requirement there is nothing between them.

Both are free to download. Rota Calendar sells 10 in-app purchases, starting at $1.99 per month. Shift Calendar / Schedule asks for nothing beyond the download.

Rota Calendar ships an update every 3 days, Shift Calendar / Schedule every 3 weeks. The most recent releases landed on September 19, 2026 and September 26, 2026 respectively.

## The numbers

| Metric | Rota Calendar | Shift Calendar / Schedule |
| --- | --- | --- |
| 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 | **76.1% of reviews** |
| In-app purchases | Yes | **No** |
| Ads | No | No |
| Update frequency | **Every 3 days** | Every 3 weeks |
| Monetization | Free with in-app purchases | **Free** |
| Size | 38 MB | 1 MB |
| Requires iOS | **15.0** | 15.6 |
| Devices | iPhone, iPod | iPhone, iPod |
| Age rating | 4+ | 4+ |
| Developer | [JRW Studio Limited](https://appshunter.io/developer/430229062) | [Lin Chih-YU](https://appshunter.io/developer/994771056) |

## 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 / Schedule

[App page](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/shift-calendar-schedule/id994771057)

Easily create and manage your work schedule with customizable shifts. Quickly set recurring shifts over multiple days and share your planner with friends via email or other apps.

**Highlights:** Customizable shifts, Easy schedule editing, Set shifts for multiple days, Share schedule via email/apps, User-friendly interface

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

**In-app purchases:** none

**What reviewers like**

- 🚀 Simple and easy to use
- 👍 Customizable labels and colors
- 💡 Helpful for shift workers
- 🔒 No ads or in-app purchases

**What reviewers complain about**

- 🐛 Issues with saving notes and appointments
- 🔍 Limited features compared to other calendar apps
- 🔀 Difficulty with repeating or copying shift patterns
- 🔒 No backup or sync options

**Reported bugs**

- Shifts and notes not saving properly
- App crashing after recent updates
- Inability to restore data on new devices

**Requested features**

- Add holiday and overtime shift options
- Ability to input multiple shifts per day
- Sync with other calendars or cloud services
- Apple Watch compatibility


## Frequently asked questions

### Is Rota Calendar free?

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

### Is Shift Calendar / Schedule free?

Shift Calendar / Schedule is free to download, with no in-app purchases.

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

Neither Rota Calendar nor Shift Calendar / Schedule shows ads.

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

Rota Calendar ships an update every 3 days, and Shift Calendar / Schedule every 3 weeks. Most recently, Rota Calendar was updated on September 19, 2026 and Shift Calendar / Schedule on September 26, 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.*