Comparison

Simple Roster vs SHIFTAR

Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both apps, side by side — with what reviewers say about each.

Head to head
About

Simple Roster

Manage your work schedule digitally with this intuitive app. Access your shifts from anywhere, even offline, and easily plan social gatherings with friends by viewing their schedules. Share your availability with loved ones to keep them informed.

Highlights
  • Offline roster access
  • Intuitive shift entry
  • Friend roster viewing
  • Roster sharing
  • Recurring shift setup (Full Version)
  • Calendar notes (Full Version)
  • iOS calendar sync (Full Version)
Features
Read full description

Simple Roster is an easy-to-use electronic rostering app that makes your everyday life easier. With Simple Roster, you never have to bring a paper roster around, and you can simply check your roster anywhere as long as you have your phone around. Simple Roster is so simple that you will know how to use it in a minute. Using the app is simply intuitive, you will have your roster setup in the app in the first 5 minutes. All rosters and shifts are stored offline in your phone, which means even though you are in a remote area that has no connection, Simple Roster still operates. Simple Roster is designed to be simple and it gets you your information in the least amount of time and least amount of steps. We understand entering roster electronically is normally "a pain in the ass", but Simple Roster makes it easy. As soon as your shifts are setup, then you can setup your roster. To setup a roster, simply pick a start date and start entering... few seconds later, you will see your roster displayed on the roster calendar. Simple Roster also offers a feature that you can enter your friend's roster. With this you'll know when is the best time for you guys to hang out when you guys are having a day off together. You can also share your roster with your friends and families so they know exactly what date you're free and what date you'll be home late. With Full Version, you can choose to repeat your roster over a period. So if you have a repeated roster every 4 weeks, all you need to do is to keep repeating that period and you won’t need to manually enter your roster any more. There is also “Note” function that comes with Full Version as well which you can add note to any calendar date you want. Last but not least, you can sync your roster to your iOS calendar so you can even check your rosters without opening Simple Roster

About

SHIFTAR

Easily manage your work shifts and personal appointments in one intuitive calendar. Quickly input shift details, track your earnings, and sync with your existing iCloud calendar. Premium features include widgets, data backup, and advanced color customization.

Highlights
  • Quick shift entry with pre-set buttons
  • Automatic salary calculation
  • iCloud Calendar synchronization
  • Daily/weekly schedule widgets
  • Automatic data backup
  • Expanded color coding options
  • Ad-free experience
Features
Read full description

There's no more need to walk around with a shift schedule table. This single app lets you manage both your shift work and private schedules. SHIFTAR is committed to offering an easy-to-understand app that anybody can use with ease. There are absolutely no complicated actions. Using the app is intuitive for anyone, as easily as entering a schedule on a paper calendar with a pen. ■ Shift entry features Filling in shift information, item by item, into a calendar is a big job. Using SHIFTAR's shift entry features, you just touch the buttons labeled with early shift, late shift, day shift, night shift, and other shift schedule information. Just like that, you can fill in your calendar with shift schedule information as quickly as a whole month's shifts in just 30 seconds. ■ Salary calculation How much will you get on your next payday? How much salary have you earned through today? SHIFTAR will let you know. Knowing the amount of your next paycheck may let you increase your shifts, decrease your shifts to have fun, or determine your budget for presents. Your running total of salary through the current date is updated every day. Seeing the amount rise day by day may boost your motivation! ■ Sync iCloud Calendar Do you have schedules entered into other calendar apps? SHIFTAR supports iPhone's standard calendar (iCloud Calendar). No settings at all are required to migrate data. You can get started right away. - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - ◇◆ SHIFTAR Premium ◆◇ ■ Widgets Our new widget allows you to quickly check your daily / weekly schedule without having to launch the app. ■ Back up important data The app's data will be automatically backed up. You will always be able to revert to the last saved data when you encounter an issue. No need to worry even if: • your smartphone suddenly dies! • your data suddenly disappears! • you delete the app by mistake! • you get a new smartphone. ■ Add bonus colors You will be able to choose from a much wider variety of colors that you can set for your events. Enjoy a more colorful and convenient calendar screen with more colors for color coding. Great for you if: • you have many shift patterns and are running out of colors... • you are worried that you may run out of colors in the future... • you want to use your favorite colors ■ Remove ads Once you remove ads, you will have more space on the screen to display more events per day, and it will be easier to tap the menu button. No more distraction on the screen means that you will be able to focus on what you are doing, and the UI of SHIFTAR will perform at its best. <Period> SHIFTAR Premium is an auto-renewing subscription. It is available for yearly periods. It is automatically updated on a yearly basis, counting from the application date. <Free trial> You will get one free trial per iTunes account when you first use it. Your remaining trial period will expire if you cancel SHIFTAR Premium during your free trial period. <Automatic updates> SHIFTAR Premium will be automatically billed to your iTunes account within 24 hours prior to expiration. If you wish to cancel, please cancel the automatic updates in your iTunes account settings. <Privacy Policy> https://ozumah256.wixsite.com/leaderbike-policy <Terms of Use> https://ozumah256.wixsite.com/leaderbike-use - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - SHIFTAR believes in valuing the voice of every user. SHIFTAR will work to offer ongoing updates to make the app more convenient and easier to use for all. We look forward to your feedback. (Menu in the app > Other > Comments and requests) # When we're tired, we get power from everyone's positive reviews - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

Screenshots

Simple Roster4 screens
SHIFTAR4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is update cadence: SHIFTAR at monthly against Simple Roster's every 2 months. Simple Roster's advantage is review sentiment (85% vs 76%) and device support (4 vs 2). On price, rating, ratings volume and ads there is nothing between them.

Scored on Price · Rating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings · Update frequency · Ads · In-app purchases · Monetization · Best chart rank · Devices · Requires iOS

CostPrice · In-app purchases · Ads · Monetization

Both are free to download. Simple Roster sells 1 one-off in-app purchase and SHIFTAR sells 11 in-app purchases, starting at $1.99 per month. Whichever you choose, the download price is not the number that matters.

ReceptionRating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings

On the App Store both sit at effectively the same score — 4.8 for Simple Roster against 4.8 for SHIFTAR. Both are backed by a comparable volume of ratings — 770 and 572 respectively. Written reviews are what separate them: 85% of Simple Roster's written reviews are positive against 76% of SHIFTAR's.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

Simple Roster ships an update every 2 months, SHIFTAR monthly. The most recent releases landed on October 12, 2026 and October 11, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard4 real differences · 6 level
Simple Roster versus SHIFTAR: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterSimple RosterSHIFTAR
PriceFreeFree
Rating4.8 (770 ratings)4.8 (572 ratings)
Positive reviews84.8% of reviews — better75.5% of reviews
Number of ratings770 — better572
Update frequencyEvery 2 monthsMonthly — better
AdsYesYes
In-app purchasesYesYes
MonetizationFree with in-app purchasesFree with in-app purchases
DevicesiPhone, iPad, iPod, Apple Watch — betteriPhone, iPod
Requires iOS12.0 — better14.0
Further details — not scored
Size29 MB132 MB
Age rating4+4+
DeveloperPurple DevelopmentKosuke Hamada

Customer experience

Simple Roster

All ratings770 ratings
Positive95.2%
Neutral3.1%
Negative1.7%
Written reviews303 reviews
Positive84.8%
Neutral6.6%
Negative8.6%

SHIFTAR

All ratings572 ratings
Positive95.6%
Neutral1.9%
Negative2.4%
Written reviews139 reviews
Positive75.5%
Neutral8.6%
Negative15.8%

User reviews

Simple Roster

From 770 App Store ratings

What we love

  • 👍 Easy to use
  • 🚀 Simple and effective
  • 💡 Helpful for shift workers
  • 🔍 Allows viewing of schedules at a glance
  • 🔗 Ability to share roster with others

Room to improve

  • 🐛 App freezes or crashes
  • 🔧 Limited customization options
  • 🔍 Calendar dates not always accurate
  • 💬 Inability to add multiple shifts per day
  • 🔍 Difficult to navigate or use

SHIFTAR

From 572 App Store ratings

What we love

  • 👍 Easy and intuitive to use
  • 🎨 Color-coding for shift organization
  • ⚡ Quick one-click shift entry
  • 📱 Useful for shift workers and nurses
  • 💰 Wage calculator feature

Room to improve

  • 💸 Paywall for colors and premium features
  • 📺 Unexpected ads despite paid version
  • 🐛 Data loss issues after updates
  • ❌ No MacBook/desktop version
  • 🔗 Limited calendar syncing options

Bugs and requests

Simple Roster

Reported bugs

3 issues
  • Calendar dates shown incorrectly
  • Roster sharing feature not working properly
  • App freezes when trying to edit shifts

Requested features

5 requests
  • Add ability to repeat/copy shift patterns
  • Improve calendar sync with other apps
  • Provide more color options for shifts
  • Allow adding notes or reminders to shifts
  • Implement landscape mode support

SHIFTAR

Reported bugs

7 issues
  • Complete data loss after app updates
  • Random deletion of calendar entries
  • App crashes on launch
  • Unable to access app after update
  • Sync failures across devices
Show 2 more
  • Do not track button not clickable
  • Calendar blocking causing data loss

Requested features

12 requests
  • Date search function for quick navigation
  • App icon with current date display
  • Partner/family sharing system
  • Multiple user schedule management
  • Weekly pay period option
Show 7 more
  • Saturday/Sunday separate rate settings
  • Special holiday rate customization
  • Weekly hours calculation
  • MacBook/desktop application
  • Brighter and bolder color options
  • Calendar sync with iOS Calendar
  • Alarm/reminder for special dates

In-app purchases

1 purchases

Simple Roster

One-time1
  • Full Version$2.99
11 purchases

SHIFTAR

Subscriptions11
  • SHIFTAR Premium monthly$1.991 Month
  • Premium monthly with trial7 Days trial$1.991 Month
  • SHIFTAR Premium7 Days trial$1.991 Month
Show 8 more
  • SHIFTAR Premium14 Days trial$1.991 Month
  • SHIFTAR Premium1 Month trial$1.991 Month
  • SHIFTAR Premium3 Months trial$1.991 Month
  • SHIFTAR Premium14 Days trial$8.991 Year
  • SHIFTAR Premium annual$8.991 Year
  • Premium annual with trial7 Days trial$8.991 Year
  • Premium annual with trial7 Days trial$16.491 Year
  • SHIFTAR Premium annual$16.491 Year

Questions

Is Simple Roster free?
Simple Roster is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Is SHIFTAR free?
SHIFTAR is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Which has better reviews, Simple Roster or SHIFTAR?
Simple Roster and SHIFTAR are both rated 4.8 out of 5 on the App Store, from 770 and 572 ratings respectively.
Do Simple Roster or SHIFTAR have ads?
Both Simple Roster and SHIFTAR show ads.
Which is updated more often, Simple Roster or SHIFTAR?
Simple Roster ships an update every 2 months, and SHIFTAR monthly. Most recently, Simple Roster was updated on October 12, 2026 and SHIFTAR on October 11, 2026.

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