Shift Calendar vs RotaCell
Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both apps, side by side — with what reviewers say about each.
Shift Calendar
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Set your rotation once and see the whole year ahead. SIMPLE Pick your pattern — 4 on 4 off, 2-2-3, DuPont, twelve-hour days and nights, rotating three shifts — then tap the day of the cycle you are on today. Done. No sign-up, no account. YOUR OWN ROTATION Nothing on the list fits? Build a cycle of any length yourself. Hospital rotas, irregular rotations, on-call. WHAT YOU GET • When your next shift starts, and how long until it does • A whole month on one screen • Your shifts in the iPhone Calendar, kept up to date • A reminder before every shift, even offline • Hours worked and estimated pay • A home screen widget • Backup and restore, to move to a new phone • In 31 languages Without a purchase you see this month's calendar and your next shift. Other months, editing days, your own rotation, Calendar sync, reminders, hours and pay, the widget and backups come with Shift Cycle Pro, an in-app purchase. CHANGES Swapped a shift? Tap the day and change it. Add a note. Your rotation stays intact around it, and your Calendar and reminders follow. WHAT WE PROMISE A lifetime purchase stays a lifetime purchase. We will not move it to a subscription later, and we will never put ads in this app. We never see your shifts. No server, no account, no tracking — your rotation stays on your phone. Terms of Use (EULA): https://www.apple.com/legal/internet-services/itunes/dev/stdeula/ Privacy Policy: https://anilsancarr-web.github.io/shiftcycle-site/privacy/
RotaCell
This app helps manage complex work schedules with a visually appealing interface. It offers features like schedule scanning, overtime tracking, and pay calculation, with optional advanced tools for live updates and health integration.
- Schedule scanning from printed documents
- Multiple job support with double-booking warnings
- Overtime and pay tracking
- Live Activity for Lock Screen and Dynamic Island
- Sharing schedules with others
- Customizable themes and languages
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Your whole shift life in one calm place. RotaCell is the shift planner that doesn't look like homework: bold colored paper, a calendar you can read at a glance and little helpers that look after you. Free to use. RotaCell Plus adds the extras, and you can try it free for a week. Built for nurses and healthcare staff, factory and warehouse workers, retail and hospitality teams, drivers, emergency services, and anyone whose week doesn't fit nine to five. WORKS WITH YOUR REAL SCHEDULE • Ready-made patterns: 4 on/4 off, Continental, DuPont, 2-2-2, rotating Early/Late/Night, or a plain Monday to Friday • Scan a printed schedule with your camera: it is read on your device and nothing is uploaded • Import a calendar (.ics) and run more than one job in one calendar, with double-booking warnings • Swap a shift, add overtime or mark leave in two taps, and keep your past days when your schedule changes A MONTH YOU CAN READ AT A GLANCE • Today, this week and your whole rotation months ahead • Public holidays for 200+ countries built in • Reminders sit right next to your shifts YOUR SHIFT, LIVE (Plus) • A Live Activity paints the sky of your shift, from sun to stars, on your Lock Screen, in the Dynamic Island, on Apple Watch and in CarPlay KNOW WHEN TO LEAVE (Plus) • Time to Leave shows live traffic and a little road with a walker: drive, walk, cycle or transit, with Leave-By alerts A HELPER THAT HAS YOUR BACK • Spots a short rest or a double booking before it hurts • RotaRest (Plus) reads your Apple Health sleep and warns you about tired weeks before they bite SHARE WITH YOUR CIRCLE • Invite a partner, the other parent, a friend or a coworker with a link, a QR code or iCloud • See your schedule next to theirs, the days you are both off and who is free for the school pickup • A live partner link keeps their view up to date by itself (Plus). Invite-only: nobody can find you, and you can stop sharing any time KNOW WHAT YOU'VE EARNED • Hourly or salaried pay, night and weekend premiums, overtime multipliers, and a Break Room with what you have earned so far • Check your pay stub against your schedule, or scan a pay stub (Plus) • An approximate take-home pay after tax for 200+ countries (Plus) • Vacation, PTO, comp time and a mileage log (Plus) MAKE IT YOURS • Six looks: Paper, Slate, Graphite, Pop, Forest and Berry. Your widgets and Apple Watch follow your pick • iPhone, iPad and Apple Watch, with notifications in RotaCell's own style • English, Español, Français, Deutsch, Polski, 简体中文 and 繁體中文 YOUR DATA STAYS YOURS • No account, no ads, no tracking • Everything lives on your device; iCloud backup is optional (Plus) • Sharing links are encrypted: only the people you send them to can read them FREE FOREVER: your schedule calendar and patterns, more than one job, reminders, widgets, pay, hours and overtime, scanning a printed schedule, double-booking and rest warnings, and sharing your schedule as a link or QR code. ROTACELL PLUS adds: Live Activity and Apple Watch, Time to Leave and Leave-By alerts, fatigue and sleep warnings, Circle's live partner link, take-home pay after tax, pay stub check, vacation, PTO and comp time, mileage, text and print your schedule, and iCloud backup and sync. New to Plus? Try it free for a week, then choose yearly or a one-time Forever unlock, priced right here in the App Store. Terms of Use (EULA): https://www.apple.com/legal/internet-services/itunes/dev/stdeula/ Privacy Policy: https://rotacell.com/privacy Support: https://rotacell.com/support
Screenshots
Verdict
The clearest difference is update cadence: RotaCell at every 8 days against Shift Calendar's every 3 weeks. RotaCell also leads on device support (3 vs 1). Shift Calendar's advantage is iOS requirement (16.4 vs 18.0). On price, 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
Both are free to download. Shift Calendar sells 2 in-app purchases, starting at $2.99 per month and RotaCell sells 2 in-app purchases, starting at $6.99 per year. Whichever you choose, the download price is not the number that matters.
Shift Calendar ships an update every 3 weeks, RotaCell every 8 days. The most recent releases landed on October 2, 2026 and October 9, 2026 respectively.
| Parameter | Shift Calendar | RotaCell |
|---|---|---|
| Price | Free | Free |
| Rating | — | 5.0 (1 ratings) — better |
| Positive reviews | — | 100.0% of reviews |
| Number of ratings | — | 1 — better |
| Update frequency | Every 3 weeks | Every 8 days — better |
| Ads | No | No |
| In-app purchases | Yes | Yes |
| Monetization | — | Freemium |
| Devices | iPhone | iPhone, iPad, Apple Watch — better |
| Requires iOS | 16.4 — better | 18.0 |
| Further details — not scored | ||
| Size | 45 MB | 35 MB |
| Age rating | 4+ | 4+ |
| Developer | anil sancar | Rodolfo Antonio Zorrilla Pena |
In-app purchases
Shift Calendar
- Monthly$2.991 Month
- Pro$24.99
RotaCell
- RotaCell (Yearly)$6.991 Year
- RotaCell (Forever)$29.99
Questions
Is Shift Calendar free?
Is RotaCell free?
Do Shift Calendar or RotaCell have ads?
Which is updated more often, Shift Calendar or RotaCell?
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