Comparison

Frontline vs ShiftDad

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

Head to head
About

Frontline

This app helps first responders manage their complex work schedules with a user-friendly calendar. It supports various shift patterns, allows for logging events and incidents, and offers a private, device-only storage solution. Optional Pro features enhance functionality with advanced logging and widgets.

Highlights
  • Supports diverse shift patterns
  • Month and week view
  • Home-screen widgets
  • Shift trade logging
  • Event and reminder management
  • Incident and exposure log
  • PDF and calendar export
Features
Read full description

Frontline is the shift calendar built for first responders - Firefighters, EMS, Police and 911 Dispatch. Set up your rotation in about 30 seconds, then see your whole month at a glance. Frontline knows the schedules crews actually work - 24/48, 48/96, 24/72, 1/3/2/3, Kelly, Pitman, 4-on/4-off, DuPont and more - so you pick yours and you're done. No account. No setup headache. Not on a rotation? Straight days, a 9/80, a regular work week - Fire Marshals, inspectors, detectives, SROs, retirees, spouses and office staff all have a setup, or you can skip work days entirely and just use the calendar. BUILT FOR THE WAY YOU WORK - Large month calendar. Your on-duty days, events and reminders at a glance, in a dark design made for night shift. - Shift trades. Log who's covering, track who owes who, and text a clean trade card that makes it obvious to everyone involved. - Events and quick adds. Court, training, overtime, appointments, sick, vacation - color-coded, with reminders that fire before your shift. - Share your rotation. Send your schedule to a new hire or your spouse with a code to scan or a link to text - they get your work days on their phone in one tap. - Home-screen widgets. Your month or your week, always on. - Hours tracked. Log OT, sick, vacation and comp by the day, and see the totals. - Career tracking. Career shift count, rank history, milestones, and the day you clear probation. - Print and export. A clean PDF of your month, or send your shifts to your other calendars. - Dark and light. Night-shift ready either way. FRONTLINE PRO - Leave balances. Vacation, sick and comp counted down in shifts as you use them and up on every payday. Set your own accrual rate and cap, and get warned before you hit the ceiling and stop earning. - Vacation bids. Tap every day you picked, across the whole year, and stamp them all in one pass. - Calendar sync. Keep your shifts on your Google or Apple calendar so your family sees them without you texting a screenshot. - More calendar views. Week, day timeline and agenda. - Certifications. CPR, ACLS, HazMat and the rest, counting down in shifts, with reminders before anything lapses. - Incident and exposure log. A fast, private, date-stamped record of the calls that matter - cancer presumption, bloodborne exposure, a court date years out. Export it as a clean PDF. - Partial trades and hours owed. Trade part of a shift instead of the whole thing, and see exactly how many hours you owe each person. - Partner schedule. Your next day off together, and every day you both work, in a color you pick. - Month, week and day widgets, unlimited share cards, and PDF exports by week, day or year. PRIVATE BY DESIGN Everything lives on your device. No account, no servers. Your schedule is yours. Free includes the full rotation calendar, events and quick adds, shift trades, rotation sharing, hours tracking, career tracking, the week widget, and month PDF and calendar-file export. Frontline Pro unlocks the rest, as a one-time Lifetime purchase or a yearly subscription. Made by Code 3 Tek. Built by a Fire Captain who got tired of clunky schedules. Privacy Policy: https://frontlinecalendar.com/privacy/ Terms of Use (EULA): https://www.apple.com/legal/internet-services/itunes/dev/stdeula/

About

ShiftDad

This habit tracker is designed for shift-working dads, recognizing that non-traditional schedules shouldn't break streaks. It prioritizes family, fitness, mind, and hustle, offering a unique point system and rank progression.

Highlights
  • Schedule-aware habit tracking
  • Automatic shift rotation logging
  • Family-first point system
  • Rank ladder and streak recovery
  • Built-in to-do list
  • Cloud sync across devices
Features
Read full description

Every habit app assumes you work 9 to 5. You don't. Shift Dad is the habit and routine tracker built for dads who work shifts — firefighters, medics, cops, nurses, and anyone on a rotation. It knows the difference between a day on and a day off, so a 24-hour shift never breaks the streak you worked hard to build. WORKS AROUND YOUR SCHEDULE Log your shifts — days, nights, 24s, overtime, trades, vacation, and sick days — right on the calendar. Shift Dad automatically pauses your off-day habits while you're at work, so being on shift never counts against you. Your rotation can repeat automatically, so you set it once and forget it. YOUR OFF DAYS ARE YOUR EDGE The time you actually have at home is where fatherhood happens. Shift Dad focuses your energy on four things that matter most, weighted in order: Family first, then Fitness, Mind, and Hustle. Check off what you did, keep your streak alive, and watch it add up. CLIMB THE RANKS Earn Dad Points for every win and climb the ladder from Rookie Dad to MVP Dad to Hall of Fame Dad. Break a streak? You keep your points and your rank — we just reset the streak and help you get back on the horse. No shame, just momentum. BUILT-IN TO-DO LIST Knock out one-off tasks on top of your daily habits — the stuff you keep meaning to do around the house or with the kids. They earn points too. PLANS THE FAMILY CAN SEE The dentist, soccer, dinner at Mom's — add them right on your shift calendar. Shift Dad already knows who's on shift that day, so it tells you who's got it. Everyone in the family sees the same list, and both phones get a reminder an hour before. FAMILY SYNC Invite your partner and they get your rotation on their phone, updated automatically — when you're on shift, when you're home, plus a shared to-do list. Their side is free. When either of you adds a to-do or plans, the other phone gets a heads-up. EVERYTHING SYNCS Sign in with Apple or Google and your habits, streaks, schedule, and progress back up to the cloud and follow you to any device. Put your rotation in Apple Calendar with one tap, or connect Google Calendar and it shows up there too. SHARE YOUR WINS Turn your streak into a shareable card and let the crew see what you're building. WHY SHIFT DAD - Schedule-aware: on-shift days never break your streak - Auto-repeating shift rotation - Family-first point system - Rank ladder and streak recovery - Daily to-dos that earn points - Family Sync: your partner sees your shifts, free - Plans that know who's on shift - Apple & Google sign-in with cloud sync - Private: we don't sell your data Start with a 7-day free trial. Cancel anytime. Shift Dad Pro is an auto-renewable subscription. Payment is charged to your Apple ID account at confirmation of purchase after the free trial. The subscription renews automatically unless cancelled at least 24 hours before the end of the current period. Manage or cancel anytime in your App Store account settings. Terms of Use (EULA): https://www.apple.com/legal/internet-services/itunes/dev/stdeula/ Privacy Policy: https://eight-empress-828.notion.site/Shift-Dad-Privacy-Policy-337f67e07a554391bf398e79526328c2 Being a great dad on the days you're home is the whole game. Shift Dad helps you win it.

Screenshots

Frontline4 screens
ShiftDad4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is review sentiment: Frontline at 100% against ShiftDad's 67%. Frontline also leads on rating (5.0 vs 4.6) and ratings volume (30 vs 9). On price, update cadence, ads 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. Frontline sells 2 in-app purchases, starting at $9.99 per year and ShiftDad sells 2 in-app purchases, starting at $4.99 per month. Whichever you choose, the download price is not the number that matters.

ReceptionRating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings

Frontline holds the better App Store score, 5.0 against 4.6. Both are backed by a comparable volume of ratings — 30 and 9 respectively. Written reviews point the same way: 100% of Frontline's written reviews are positive against 67% of ShiftDad's.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

Both ship on a similar rhythm, roughly every 4 days. Both last shipped on September 30, 2026.

Scorecard4 real differences · 6 level
Frontline versus ShiftDad: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterFrontlineShiftDad
PriceFreeFree
Rating5.0 (30 ratings) — better4.6 (9 ratings)
Positive reviews100.0% of reviews — better66.7% of reviews
Number of ratings30 — better9
Update frequencyEvery 4 daysEvery 4 days
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesYesYes
MonetizationFree with in-app purchasesFree with in-app purchases
DevicesiPhoneiPhone
Requires iOS16.4 — better26.5
Further details — not scored
Size75 MB20 MB
Age rating4+4+
DeveloperCode3Tekbenjamin elton

Customer experience

Frontline

All ratings30 ratings
Positive100.0%
Neutral0.0%
Negative0.0%
Written reviews23 reviews
Positive100.0%
Neutral0.0%
Negative0.0%

ShiftDad

All ratings9 ratings
Positive88.9%
Neutral0.0%
Negative11.1%
Written reviews3 reviews
Positive66.7%
Neutral0.0%
Negative33.3%

In-app purchases

2 purchases

Frontline

Subscriptions1
  • Frontline Pro Yearly$9.991 Year
One-time1
  • Frontline Pro (Lifetime)$14.99
2 purchases

ShiftDad

Subscriptions2
  • Shift Dad Pro7 Days trial$4.991 Month
  • Shift Dad Pro7 Days trial$44.991 Year

Questions

Is Frontline free?
Frontline is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Is ShiftDad free?
ShiftDad is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Which has better reviews, Frontline or ShiftDad?
Frontline is rated higher. Frontline averages 5.0 out of 5 from 30 ratings, while ShiftDad averages 4.6 from 9 ratings.
Do Frontline or ShiftDad have ads?
Neither Frontline nor ShiftDad shows ads.
Which is updated more often, Frontline or ShiftDad?
Frontline ships an update every 4 days, and ShiftDad every 4 days. Most recently, Frontline was updated on September 30, 2026 and ShiftDad on September 30, 2026.

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