Comparison

ShiftWave vs First Responders Cal

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

Head to head
About

ShiftWave

Read full description

Shift Calendar Simple Calendar App for Repeating Shift Schedules & adding notes/highlight colors for any day. Choose from color themes, and customize to your schedule. Export to other calendars, like Google Calendar and/or Apple Calendar. View Pitman Schedule, 4 On / 2 Off, 5 On / 3 Off or any custom schedule. Throw away your paper schedule! Upgrade for Pro Features like adding notes, highlight colors for any day, override a day's text on the calendar, share schedule, and more! For anyone that has a rotating/repeating shift schedule -- Calendar/Schedule app, for example if police officers wish to view which squads work together and which squads have days off. Tap Settings-->Set Rotation Days to change schedules - supports any combination of custom text.. For instance, supports 3 squads, with repeating schedules of: • 5 days on, 2 days off, then 5 days on, 3 days off • 4 days on, then 2 days off • ... or make your own schedule, like: On, On, On, Off, Off, Off or AA, BB, CC, DD Tap on Edit button for any day to view the screen and Add Notes for any day or highlight it a color for important dates. Tap on Set Rotation Days to customize the days to rotate (add, remove, move days around) to make the schedule exactly match your own. Load quick setup codes to download a predefined schedules so you don't need to enter it manually. You can enter a 4 digit code to instantly set up your schedule. ** If your schedule is similar to one of the quick setup codes, you can edit it to make it like your own. If you want to add your schedule to the list, just email support with your schedule name and the text (ie: On,On,On,On,Off,Off -- or A,A,B,B,C,C -- or D,D,D,-,-,-,N,N,N,N, etc...) ** Please contact support before leaving any negative reviews, we can almost always help. Automatically highlight a color for text string for the calendar by setting it one time in settings. Choose up to 3 different colors/string combos. * Subscription provides access to premium features including ad removal, note editing, and quick setup codes for the duration of the subscription. * Subscriptions will automatically renew unless canceled within 24-hours before the end of the current period. You can cancel anytime with your iTunes account settings. For standard Terms of Use, please visit: https://www.apple.com/legal/internet-services/itunes/dev/stdeula Feel free to contact support if you have any other questions or issues: myprojectxinc@gmail.com

About

First Responders Cal

Manage your work schedule and time off with a calendar designed for first responders. Create custom shift patterns, track leave balances, and sync with your device's calendar. Get reminders and view your schedule at a glance with customizable widgets.

Highlights
  • Custom shift pattern creation
  • Time off and balance tracking
  • Overnight shift display
  • iOS Calendar sync
  • Customizable stat cards
  • Home screen widgets
  • Unlimited custom event types
Read full description

First Responders Cal is a schedule management app built for firefighters, police officers, corrections officers, and EMS personnel. Manage shifts, track time off, create custom patterns, and sync with your iOS Calendar — all designed around the way first responders actually work. SMART CALENDAR View your schedule in month grid, list, or yearly overview. All-day events display as full-width badges. Swipe between months, tap the year to jump to today, and swipe up to collapse the calendar and focus on the day's events. SHIFT PATTERNS Create custom shift patterns with working and off-day cycles — 24/48, 48/96, or any rotation your department uses. Categorize patterns by Fire, Police, EMS, or Other. Apply a pattern once and your schedule populates automatically without duplicates. OVERNIGHT SHIFTS Events that span midnight display correctly on both days. Set a shift from 08:00 to 04:00 the next day and it shows exactly where it should. TIME OFF TRACKING Track vacation, sick leave, personal days, and unlimited custom types. View balances broken down by Current, Earn, Total, Used, and Remaining. Choose yearly, quarterly (Q1-Q4), or custom date range tracking. Set accumulation by weekly, bi-weekly, monthly, or custom pay periods with optional caps and carryover. CATEGORY LINKING Link related event types to share a balance pool. Family Sick can draw from Sick days. The math updates automatically across all views. CONSECUTIVE EVENTS Create multi-day events like vacations or extended leave directly from the Add Event sheet — no need to add one day at a time. CUSTOM EVENT TYPES Go beyond the built-in types (Shift, Court, Detail, Vacation, Sick, Personal, OFF). Create unlimited custom event types with your own name, icon from 100+ SF Symbols, and color from 60+ options. Rename and rebrand built-in types to match your department's terminology. STAT CARDS Build a personalized dashboard. Display any event type as a stat card with custom icons, colors, and time frames. Track your next shift, upcoming court dates, and more at a glance. NOTIFICATIONS Set reminders globally or per event type. Choose how many days in advance and at what time you want to be notified. Every event type can have its own notification preferences. iOS CALENDAR SYNC Sync your schedule to any iOS Calendar automatically. Events appear, update, and delete in your device calendar as you make changes. Optionally display iOS Calendar events and Reminders alongside your schedule in the app. WIDGETS Add your schedule to your Home Screen with three widget options: a month calendar overview, today's event list, or a date card — all updated in real time. THEMES & CUSTOMIZATION Light, dark, or auto theme. Adjustable font sizes from 12 to 20 points. Modern design with filled accent circles, glass-shimmer status blocks, and deep indigo gradients optimized for the latest iOS visual language. DATA MANAGEMENT Export and import your full schedule for backup or device transfer. Selectively clear calendars, shift patterns, or profile data without losing everything else. All data is stored locally on your device. Nothing is sent to external servers. PERFORMANCE Fast cold start, smooth scrolling, efficient caching, and lazy loading across all views. Built to handle large schedules without lag. Built for those who serve.

Screenshots

ShiftWave4 screens
First Responders Cal4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is ads: First Responders Cal at none against ShiftWave's shown. ShiftWave's advantage is device support (3 vs 1) and iOS requirement (13.0 vs 18.6). On price, update cadence and in-app purchases 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. ShiftWave sells 3 in-app purchases, starting at $0.99 per month and First Responders Cal sells 1 one-off in-app purchase. Whichever you choose, the download price is not the number that matters.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

ShiftWave ships an update every 6 days, First Responders Cal every 3 days. The most recent releases landed on September 10, 2026 and September 14, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard3 real differences · 7 level
ShiftWave versus First Responders Cal: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterShiftWaveFirst Responders Cal
PriceFreeFree
Rating—1.0 (1 ratings) — better
Positive reviews—0.0% of reviews
Number of ratings—1 — better
Update frequencyEvery 6 daysEvery 3 days — better
AdsYesNo — better
In-app purchasesYesYes
Monetization—Free
DevicesiPhone, iPad, iPod — betteriPhone
Requires iOS13.0 — better18.6
Further details — not scored
Size76 MB14 MB
Age rating12+4+
DeveloperMyProjectX, Inc.PEDRO NIEVES

In-app purchases

3 purchases

ShiftWave

Subscriptions2
  • ShiftWave Premium - Monthly7 Days trial$0.991 Month
  • ShiftWave Premium - Annual7 Days trial$9.991 Year
One-time1
  • ShiftWave Premium - Lifetime$24.99
1 purchases

First Responders Cal

One-time1
  • Full Access$4.99

Questions

Is ShiftWave free?
ShiftWave is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Is First Responders Cal free?
First Responders Cal is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Do ShiftWave or First Responders Cal have ads?
ShiftWave shows ads; First Responders Cal does not.
Which is updated more often, ShiftWave or First Responders Cal?
ShiftWave ships an update every 6 days, and First Responders Cal every 3 days. Most recently, ShiftWave was updated on September 10, 2026 and First Responders Cal on September 14, 2026.

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