Comparison

ShiftAlarm vs CrossShift

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

Head to head
About

ShiftAlarm

Features
Read full description

Import an Excel/CSV roster or build a repeating work/off pattern, then keep shifts, reminders, and hours organized in one place. ShiftAlarm is a shift calendar and alarm app for rotating schedules, night work, duty shifts, and overtime. See what you work today, know when to leave, and keep your whole month organized in one place. KEY FEATURES Overtime and monthly pay (Pro) Work out overtime pay from your shifts by your region's rules: hours past 40 a week in the US, past 8 a day or 40 a week in Canada, and the local rules in Taiwan, Hong Kong and mainland China. Add base pay, bonuses and allowances item by item, see Social Security, Medicare, CPP, EI and withholding taken off, and check what was actually paid. Export the month as an image to compare with your pay stub. Free users see this month's overtime hours. Schedule assistant (Pro) Check your schedule, log overtime or change shifts in one sentence, typed or spoken. Every change waits for your confirmation and can be undone. You can also ask Siri what you work tomorrow. Alarm check See how every reminder in the next 48 hours will sound, and turn ordinary notifications into alarms with one tap. Schedule analysis Spot where your roster cuts into sleep, such as short breaks between shifts, runs of night shifts or too many days in a row, with suggestions. Today's shift and countdown See today's shift, start and end times, time until work or clock-out, and your next reminder. Shift calendar View morning, evening, night, off, and duty shifts directly on a monthly calendar. Cycle scheduling Create repeating patterns such as two days on and two days off. Preview and generate up to 365 days while choosing whether to replace or keep existing shifts. Excel and CSV import Preview and validate your existing roster before saving it. Matching shift times can be synchronized, while duplicate dates can be replaced or kept. Shift library Create, edit, and duplicate reusable shift templates for different work patterns. Overtime and work-hour statistics Record overtime or temporary duty and review regular hours, overtime, total hours, workdays, and shift distribution. Shift reminders Set wake-up, departure, and work reminders for each shift and choose a reminder sound. Home Screen widgets Check today's shift, countdown, next reminder, and weekly roster without opening the app. The This Month’s Pay widget shows this month's overtime and expected take-home pay. Holidays and languages Choose built-in holidays for Mainland China, Hong Kong, Taiwan, the US or Canada, or turn them off; overtime pay and deductions follow the region you choose. ShiftAlarm supports Simplified Chinese, Traditional Chinese, and English. Built for healthcare, security, manufacturing, rail, aviation, emergency services, and anyone working rotating schedules. No account is required. Your schedules and reminders stay on your device, and imported roster files are not uploaded to a server.

About

CrossShift

Manage your work schedule, set custom alarms, and track work hours. Offers features for individual users and business teams, including roster management, leave requests, and pay estimates. Supports various import and export options for seamless integration.

Highlights
  • Customizable shift alarms
  • Rotation and date change support
  • Team roster management
  • Leave and overtime request handling
  • Work hour and pay estimates
  • Schedule import (ICS, image)
  • Export reports (PDF, CSV)
Features
Read full description

Room for life, even when shifts change. Rosters, alarms and work records for rotating shifts and irregular routines. SCHEDULES & ALARMS Set shift hours and alarms. Cycles, dated changes, multiple daily shifts, batch edits and regional holiday/make-up days. Customize rest-day names/icons/colors; default: no alarm, work hours or leave deduction. Name alarms; choose personal or one team calendar for alarms, independently of the calendar viewed. WEATHER REMINDERS Home shows weather, shift and alarm. Tap to edit; confirm each change. With consent, ongoing cloud reminders use the last synced area, roster and alarms, including cycles/holidays. Sync changes; forecasts/alerts depend on network, system and permissions. VOICE & TIMING Optional on-device speech reads shifts/available forecasts: Chinese voices, three speeds, preview; off by default. Move automatic alarms 1–180 minutes by weekday/date. Dates take priority; one-time manual edits stay. Guided setup: skip, resume, saved drafts. BUSINESS TEAMS Owners manage people/shifts, review/publish rosters and handle swap, overtime, leave and handover requests. Members view their roster and request free; they set their own alarms, never activated by publication. Plans, hours, leave balances and exports follow permissions, not actual attendance/payroll. Business includes personal Pro for its holder, not all members. Delegation/ownership transfer require rights and Business eligibility. HOURS, LEAVE & PAY Free completed-shift counts by month/year/custom period; custom closing dates or fixed-day cycles. Pro: planned/counted hours, differences, overtime, notes, rates, leave quotas and time off in lieu. Enter overtime or calculate from planned/actual end times and breaks. Date details/editors show saved records: edit/delete/revoke, full-screen overtime, daily/total leave deductions. Pro estimates pay by pay period, records received pay and differences, not employer payroll. LIVE ACTIVITIES Pro: ring, large countdown or today's earnings; progress, estimated pay, anniversaries. Choose content/hide amounts. Push refresh depends on network/system. Pay is timestamped, refreshed on opening, not continuous actual income. IMPORT & EXPORT Free Calendar/ICS/image imports; unlimited on-device recognition. Review/match/create shifts and edit dates/times first. Optional Pro cloud recognition requires consent each use: images, including names, employee IDs and rosters, go to CrossShift/recognition providers. Check results. Pro exports PDF, CSV and long-image reports. THEMES & LIFE Pro photo themes: position, colors, card opacity, saved variants; edit built-in light/dark themes. Local wallpaper on all five tabs or Home only. Original shift colors, saturation, clearer selected dates. Share rosters, each person managing their own; member notes stay local. Birthday/anniversary/exam reminders. Widgets: alarms, calendars, shared rosters, hours, anniversaries; some need Pro. YOUR SETUP iPhone/iPad; avatars, sounds, time formats, dark mode, Dynamic Type, VoiceOver, 18 languages. No account for personal rosters/alarms; sharing needs one. Apple sign-in; regional mini-program login. Optional sync: supported shifts, rosters, leave quotas, overtime; excludes alarms, pay, anniversaries, wallpaper, member notes. Location optional for basic rosters/alarms. Update checks, guides, FAQ, feedback. Free iCloud Drive automatic/versioned backups; manual JSON restore. UP TO 3 MONTHS OF PRO First work roster: 1 month; qualifying referrals: 1 each, up to 2. Friends complete a roster and confirm your code in Settings. Sign in to claim; see in-app rules. Apple offer codes start auto-renewing monthly Pro; local App Store prices apply after the free period. Cancel in Apple subscriptions. Annual members can save referral rewards until expiry; annual renewal unchanged. Pro/Business prices and benefits in-app. EULA: https://www.apple.com/legal/internet-services/itunes/dev/stdeula/ Privacy: https://crossshiftalarm.com/privacy/

Screenshots

ShiftAlarm4 screens
CrossShift4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is iOS requirement: ShiftAlarm at 18.0 against CrossShift's 26.0. 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. ShiftAlarm sells 1 one-off in-app purchase and CrossShift sells 4 in-app purchases, starting at $1.99 per month. Whichever you choose, the download price is not the number that matters.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

ShiftAlarm ships an update weekly, CrossShift every 4 days. The most recent releases landed on November 13, 2026 and November 10, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard1 real difference · 8 level
ShiftAlarm versus CrossShift: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterShiftAlarmCrossShift
PriceFreeFree
Rating—5.0 (1 ratings) — better
Number of ratings—1 — better
Update frequencyWeeklyEvery 4 days — better
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesYesYes
Monetization—Freemium
DevicesiPhone, iPadiPhone, iPad
Requires iOS18.0 — better26.0
Further details — not scored
Size37 MB128 MB
Age rating4+4+
Developer明 刘培培 李

In-app purchases

1 purchases

ShiftAlarm

One-time1
  • ShiftAlarm Pro Lifetime$2.99
4 purchases

CrossShift

Subscriptions4
  • CrossShift Pro Monthly$1.991 Month
  • Business Monthly$3.991 Month
  • CrossShift Pro Yearly$9.991 Year
Show 1 more
  • Business Yearly$24.991 Year

Questions

Is ShiftAlarm free?
ShiftAlarm is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Is CrossShift free?
CrossShift is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Do ShiftAlarm or CrossShift have ads?
Neither ShiftAlarm nor CrossShift shows ads.
Which is updated more often, ShiftAlarm or CrossShift?
ShiftAlarm ships an update weekly, and CrossShift every 4 days. Most recently, ShiftAlarm was updated on November 13, 2026 and CrossShift on November 10, 2026.

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