ShiftCal® for Houston Fire vs Mach Mobile Alerting
Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both apps, side by side — with what reviewers say about each.
ShiftCal® for Houston Fire
This utility app helps manage work schedules for firefighters, clearly displaying shifts and optionally highlighting paydays. It focuses exclusively on shift-based calendars, not general appointments.
- Shift calendar management
- Debit day highlighting
- Optional payday display
- Firefighter-specific scheduling
- Dedicated shift calendar
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ShiftCal® for Houston Fire Department is a shift calendar with full support for debit days, which are displayed in an alternate color. ShiftCal also optionally displays paydays. Note: ShiftCal is a shift calendar; it is not an event/appointment calendar.
Mach Mobile Alerting
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Mach Alert is a full featured fire station alerting (FSA) solution designed to provide state of the art alerting functionality and reliability to public safety answering points (PSAP), fire and EMS facilities, and, with optional add-ons, to first responders in the field. Whether operating as a standalone system or via interface to a computer aided dispatch (CAD) product, Mach Alert is designed to minimize time spent dispatching at the 911 center and maximize the amount of critical information delivered to first responders when they need it most with tones, voice, and a robust catalog of add-ons and customization options. The Mach Alert Mobile Application is an optional companion for full Mach Alert FSA systems. Like functionality is only available with an associated services agreement. This application gives the user the ability to assign teams which correlate to emergencies they would like to receive information on. Displays the alert history with previous emergencies that have occurred within the last 24 hours. Individualized notification options can be configured in Options. For more information refer to the Help section of the app.
Screenshots
Verdict
The clearest difference is price: Mach Mobile Alerting at Free against ShiftCal® for Houston Fire's $6.99. Mach Mobile Alerting also leads on update cadence (every 2 months vs every 5 months). ShiftCal® for Houston Fire's advantage is iOS requirement (11.0 vs 16.0). On ads, in-app purchases and device support 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
Mach Mobile Alerting is free to download; ShiftCal® for Houston Fire costs $6.99 up front. Neither carries in-app purchases, so what you see is what you pay.
ShiftCal® for Houston Fire ships an update every 5 months, Mach Mobile Alerting every 2 months. The most recent releases landed on October 13, 2026 and October 11, 2026 respectively.
| Parameter | ShiftCal® for Houston Fire | Mach Mobile Alerting |
|---|---|---|
| Price | $6.99 | Free — better |
| Rating | 3.2 (5 ratings) — better | — |
| Positive reviews | 50.0% of reviews | — |
| Number of ratings | 5 — better | — |
| Update frequency | Every 5 months | Every 2 months — better |
| Ads | No | No |
| In-app purchases | No | No |
| Monetization | Paid | — |
| Devices | iPhone, iPad, iPod — better | iPhone, iPad |
| Requires iOS | 11.0 — better | 16.0 |
| Further details — not scored | ||
| Size | 23 MB | 47 MB |
| Age rating | 4+ | 4+ |
| Developer | Thomas Wesley Erickson | Mach Alert Inc. |
In-app purchases
ShiftCal® for Houston Fire
No in-app purchases
Mach Mobile Alerting
No in-app purchases
Questions
Is ShiftCal® for Houston Fire free?
Is Mach Mobile Alerting free?
Do ShiftCal® for Houston Fire or Mach Mobile Alerting have ads?
Which is updated more often, ShiftCal® for Houston Fire or Mach Mobile Alerting?
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