News Product update

We're Bringing Back Free Rota Planning (Plus Full AI Scheduling)

22 July 2026

You shouldn't have to choose between "free" and "actually good".

For years RotaPlanner was completely free, no catch. Then we built one of the most powerful AI auto-scheduling engines in the market, added real-time publishing, hours tracking, requestable shifts and a modern calendar experience that people actually love. To keep building at that level we introduced paid plans.

We heard the feedback loud and clear: "We loved you when you were free. The AI is incredible, but we just want the real thing without a bill every month."

Get started free No credit card required

What's Included — Completely Free

Everything you need to run a professional rota without paying a penny:

• Full AI auto-scheduling, the same engine our paid customers use. Set availability, skills, contracted hours and rest rules once. Click Auto-Populate and watch a fair, balanced, compliant rota appear in seconds.
• Unlimited shifts, locations and recurring patterns
• Real-time updates, changes go out by email instantly; staff always see the latest version
• Hours worked vs contracted hours tracking, plus live cost visibility while you build
• Requestable shifts, multi-person shifts, printable PDF schedules
• Beautiful modern calendar view that works perfectly on mobile
• Free shift pattern generator and ready-made templates (4-on-4-off, DuPont, café patterns, and more)
• No watermarks. No "Powered by…" badges. No upgrade nags on core features.

Why This Free Plan Beats Every Other "Free" Rota Tool

We looked at what "free" actually means elsewhere:

• Findmyshift, free for 5 staff only, and you're limited to planning one week ahead with almost no advanced features.
• Most other free tiers (Homebase, Sling, Connecteam, etc.), either cap team size but strip out automation, AI, history, or advanced rules, or hit you with ads and constant upgrade prompts the second you try to do anything serious.
• RotaPlanner Free, unlimited planning horizon, full AI auto-build, modern UI, real-time everything. We simply refuse to cripple the free experience.

Quick comparison:

If you want to stop living in Excel and WhatsApp groups, this is the free tool that finally works.

How the AI Actually Works (Yes, Even on Free)

1. Tell RotaPlanner about your people, availability, skills, contracted hours, preferred rest times.
2. Define what each shift needs (or grab one of our free templates).
3. Hit Auto-Populate. The AI evaluates thousands of combinations in seconds and builds a rota that is fair, meets contracted hours, respects rest rules, and matches skills.
4. Tweak anything you want, then publish. Your team gets the update by email instantly and can view the live rota on any device.

There's also a sidebar AI Agent that can answer natural language questions like "Who is free and trained for floor duty this Saturday?" or "Build next week's rota based on last month's busiest days." It works on Free too.

Perfect For

Get Started in Under 5 Minutes

1. Visit rotaplanner.app and click Get started free, no credit card required.
2. Add your team.
3. Set availability and your first shift pattern (or use a free template).
4. Click Auto-Populate and let the AI build your first rota.
5. Publish. You're live.

When (or If) You'll Want to Upgrade

The Free tier is not a trap. Stay on it forever — it's everything most teams need.

If you need advanced permissions, location-based access control, or WhatsApp notifications, upgrade to Plus at just £2 per employee per month.

We'll never make Free feel broken just to force an upgrade. That's a promise.

Built by a team that still replies to feature requests (often within 24 hours). Made for real teams who just want a rota that works.

Questions or ideas to make Free even better? Drop us a note via the feedback form or support, we read everything.

Start sharing your shifts with RotaPlanner today

Try RotaPlanner.app today

Totally free. Fast Email support.