Simple Church Rota review
A low-cost church rota tool with strong scheduling, messaging and calendar support.
Reviewed by iTechGuides Editors · Editorial team · Updated Oct 2026
Simple Church Rota is a scheduling and rota management service for churches and faith-based organisations. It is designed for small and growing churches that need to organise weekly services, one-off events and volunteer teams. Administrators can create custom categories and roles, assign people with drag-and-drop tools, manage availability, and coordinate swaps or cover requests. Volunteers can receive email, SMS or Telegram notifications, while printable and PDF-exportable rotas support teams that still need physical or shareable schedules.
Pricing is straightforward. The Free Trial provides full access to every feature, unlimited volunteers, a guided setup wizard and email support for 30 days. The Annual subscription costs £35 per church per year, billed annually, and adds the ongoing use of unlimited rota types and volunteers, the swap and cover request system, message centre, Google Calendar sync, iCal feed and SMS notifications. The church-wide billing model suits congregations that want predictable annual software costs rather than per-user pricing. There is no permanent free plan, so continued use requires the annual subscription after the trial.
Calendar and communication support are the product’s strongest ecosystem features. Google Calendar synchronization and iCal feeds connect with Google Calendar, Apple Calendar and Outlook, while Telegram and SMS extend notification options beyond email. Volunteer participation reports and family scheduling add useful administrative context for tracking involvement. Churches seeking a focused rota tool with Android access, availability management and special-event scheduling should find the scope well matched to their needs. Organisations looking for a broader church management system or a permanent free option should choose a different category of product.
Simple Church Rota pros and cons
- Where it wins
- £35 per church per year with unlimited volunteers and rota types
- Availability, swaps, messages and notifications support volunteer coordination
- Google Calendar, iCal, Apple Calendar and Outlook connectivity
- Where it doesn't
- There is no permanent free plan after the 30-day full-access trial
- Platform access is centered on web and Android
- Its focus is rota management rather than broader church administration
Simple Church Rota fact sheet, pricing and score →
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