Free rota apps, October 2026
Free rota apps in the UK, and who each one suits
A rota for a café, a rota for the village hall volunteers and a rota for whose turn it is to take the bins out are three different jobs. Here are the free and cheap options worth knowing, with each free plan taken from the product’s own site.
Pick the kind of rota first
At the Hollins Lane allotment society, the watering rota for the shared polytunnel covers 22 plot holders through the summer. Nobody is paid, nobody clocks in, and nobody wants an app. What they need is a fair rotation, a link to check, and a way to say “I’m in Cornwall that week”. A staff rota app would be overkill; a group poll would never settle it.
So before comparing apps, decide which of these you have:
- A staff rota: paid shifts, holidays, hours. Look at Sling, Connecteam, Findmyshift or RotaCloud.
- A sign-up rota: people put their own names down. Look at RotaFish or a sign-up sheet.
- A shared-out rota: the same jobs repeat and one person shares out the turns. That is what FairTurns does.
The apps
FairTurns
Free for any number of people and dates. You add repeating dates (“Every second Saturday”), set how many people each job needs, and Fill gives each place to whoever has had the fewest turns. People mark the days they’re away. Anyone can view the rota on a public link with no sign-in. Pro is A$1 a month per organisation (prices are in Australian dollars), paid a year or more at a time, and adds reminder emails and replies. Suits volunteers, clubs, households and small teams. Not for self sign-up, holiday allowances, timesheets or text messages.
RotaFish
A free online rota tool with no account sign-up, no ads and no cookies. People share their availability and the roles they’d like; an auto-complete assistant drafts the rota; everyone gets an email reminder about two days before. Free rotas allow up to 15 sign-ups, 15 occurrences and 10 roles. UK upgrades per rota: 50 sign-ups for £1.50, 50 occurrences for £2.00, or both for £3.15. Suits a small group where people say which roles and dates they can do.
Findmyshift
Free for a team of up to 5 staff with 1 manager and 1 week of forward planning. Its UK site is findmyshift.co.uk. Paid plans are priced per team. Suits a very small staff team doing a weekly rota.
Sling
Free for up to 30 users, with shift scheduling, time-off requests, open shifts and private messaging. Premium is US$1.70 per user a month billed annually; Sling displays prices in US dollars. Suits small businesses with staff who use a phone app.
Connecteam
Free Small Business plan for up to 10 users with all hubs and features, according to its pricing page; paid plans from US$29 a month for the first 30 users, billed yearly. Suits small crews wanting scheduling, time clock and chat together.
RotaCloud
No free plan, but a 30-day trial with no payment details. Standard for 1–5 employees is £120 a year or £10 a month, and includes shift swapping, staff availability, holiday management and free mobile apps. Suits UK employers who want holidays and absence in the same place as the rota.
A spreadsheet
Google Sheets or Excel, with view-only sharing and version history. Suits one small rota that hardly changes. See spreadsheet vs roster app.
At a glance
| App | Free plan | Cheapest paid option | Built for |
|---|---|---|---|
| FairTurns | No limit on people or dates | A$12 a year per organisation | Shared-out turns |
| RotaFish | 15 sign-ups, 15 dates, 10 roles | From £1.50 per rota | Small sign-up rotas |
| Findmyshift | 5 staff, 1 week ahead | Per team, see their site | Staff rotas |
| Sling | Up to 30 users | US$1.70 per user a month | Staff rotas |
| Connecteam | Up to 10 users | US$29 a month for 30 users | Staff rotas and time clock |
| RotaCloud | 30-day trial | £120 a year for 1–5 staff | Staff rotas and holidays |
| Spreadsheet | Free to use | Not needed | Anything you type |
Tips for a rota people keep to
- Publish at least a month ahead. Six weeks is better for anything involving childcare.
- Agree one place the rota lives, and one person who changes it.
- Ask people for the dates they’re away before you fill, not after.
- Count turns over a term or a season, not week by week. The fair rota tool does a quick count for you.
Questions
What is the best free rota app for a small team?
It depends on the job. For paid staff with holidays, Sling or Connecteam have free plans for small teams. For volunteers or a household where one person shares out the turns, FairTurns is free for any number of people.
Is there a free rota app with no user limit?
Of the apps checked, FairTurns has no limit on people or dates. RotaFish’s free rotas allow 15 sign-ups, Findmyshift 5 staff, Connecteam 10 users and Sling 30 users.
Can staff swap shifts in these apps?
RotaCloud lists shift swapping on its Standard plan. In FairTurns, the organiser moves people by hand, and on Pro someone can say they can’t make it and, with filling by itself switched on, the next person is asked.
Is FairTurns available in the UK?
Yes. It is a website, so it works anywhere, and the free plan is the same everywhere. Pro is priced in Australian dollars.
Checked against each product’s own pages on 24 October 2026; prices and features change, so check theirs before you decide.
Read next
Free roster apps compared
Ten free or low-cost ways to run a roster, checked against each one’s own pages, and who each one suits.
Free rota maker
A rota maker for the UK: names in, a fair rota out, ready to print or open in Excel.
Rota template
A free rota template for UK workplaces and groups: week commencing, shift, who’s on and cover.
Make your roster free
Click a day, add people, share one link. No card, no limit on people or dates.