Comparison

Notate for Microsoft 365 vs ESS Workforce

Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both apps, side by side — with what reviewers say about each.

Head to head
About

Notate for Microsoft 365

This app is an all-in-one productivity tool designed to manage notes, tasks, contacts, calendar events, and email attachments. It integrates seamlessly with Microsoft 365 accounts, allowing users to edit documents, annotate PDFs, and scan business cards directly within the application.

Highlights
  • Edit Outlook email attachments
  • Fill and sign PDF forms
  • Annotate and collaborate on PDFs
  • Scan business cards to Outlook contacts
  • Scan paper documents to PDF
  • Syncs with Microsoft 365 accounts
  • Handwriting and Apple Pencil support
Features
Read full description

IMPORTANT: NOTATE REQUIRES a Microsoft 365, Hotmail, or Outlook.com email account. It has been specially designed to operate with Microsoft Office 365. Perfect for small & midsize businesses. Stay productive while you work from home! Notate is the ultimate Office 365 Information Manager. Notate syncs notes, tasks, contacts, calendar, and email attachments with your Outlook Office 365 account. Notate is an all-in-one tool for Microsoft Office 365. Edit and store your documents so they are always available on all of your devices. * Notes - Create handwritten notes -- sync with your Microsoft Outlook 365 Account * PDF - Desktop quality PDF editor! Fill out PDF forms, edit PDF, annotate PDF, create PDFs, and sign PDF documents * Files - Edit Microsoft 365 email attachments without leaving Notate. Scan paper documents into PDF files. * Todo - Manage your Microsoft 365 to do list * Calendar - Take notes and to do items in meetings and send meeting minutes * Contacts - Business card scanner converts cards directly into Microsoft 365 Outlook contacts * Email - View and edit email attachments. Document converter converts office documents into PDF All syncing with your Microsoft 365, Hotmail, or Outlook.com account! Business card scanner supports 19 languages for fast, accurate OCR. Document converter transforms office docs to PDF. Full PDF annotation and PDF editor capabilities including Adobe Forms support. Sign PDF documents and return them with ease. STAY FOCUSED, GET WORK DONE. Notate helps you get organized and stay productive. Start by capturing all your important information. With Notate you can quickly create typed or handwritten notes and insert images, audio recordings, web clippings, PDF documents and more. SAVE EVERYTHING. Collect everything that matters knowing that you'll always be able to find it. Enhance your notes with handwriting, drawings, images, documents, PDFs, web clippings, and more. FIND YOUR INFORMATION QUICKLY by organizing your notebooks like folders. Notes and to do items are searchable. Easily search across all notebooks or search for text within notes. The Notate preview mode provides users a quick glance into the note subject matter. —FEATURES— - View and EDIT Outlook email attachments from your Microsoft Office 365 account - Fill out PDF forms - ANNOTATE, collaborate, and comment on PDF documents with peers - SCAN business cards into Office 365 Outlook contacts - Advanced word processor - Embed images, audio, web clippings and documents - SCAN paper documents into PDF files - Annotate and SIGN PDF files - To do management with reminder notifications - Handwriting and Apple Pencil support - Shared workspaces for collaboration - Syncs with Microsoft Outlook, Hotmail, or Microsoft Office 365 - Features like Evernote, OneNote, Notability, provided in a secure enterprise environment Notate includes the following functions. Notes Writer PDF Scanner Scan Documents Business card scanner PDF signer Microsoft Office 365 To Do manager —MEMBERSHIP— Download Notate to try it free for thirty days. Cancel easily right from within Notate. After your free trial, Notate requires a subscription which provides you with regular app updates and syncing of your data. After your trial, you will not be charged unless you purchase a subscription. Subscriptions will be charged to your iTunes account at confirmation of purchase. Your subscription will automatically renew unless automatic renewal is turned off at least 24 hours before the end of the current period. Your account will be charged for renewal within 24 hours prior to the end of the current period. You can manage your subscriptions and automatic renewal status in Account Settings after purchase. Any unused portion of the free trial period will be forfeited when you purchase a subscription. Price may vary by location. Privacy policy: http://notateapp.com/privacy-policy

About

ESS Workforce

Features
Read full description

ESS Workforce is a comprehensive Employee Self-Service mobile app designed for field service companies. Empower your team to manage their work day efficiently from their mobile device. KEY FEATURES: - Attendance & Check-ins - Clock in/out with geofence verification - Timesheets - Log and submit work hours easily - Tasks - View and update assigned tasks in real time - Visits & Scheduling - Manage customer visits and schedules - Expenses - Submit and track expense reports - Leave Requests - Request and track time off - Push Notifications - Stay updated on approvals and assignments - Inventory & Warehouse - Track materials and tools - Face ID / Biometric Authentication - Secure and fast login Built for companies that need to keep their field teams connected and productive.

Screenshots

Notate for Microsoft 3654 screens
ESS Workforce4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is in-app purchases: ESS Workforce at none against Notate for Microsoft 365's 9. ESS Workforce also leads on update cadence (every 3 weeks vs every 2 months). Notate for Microsoft 365's advantage is device support (3 vs 1) and iOS requirement (14.0 vs 16.6). On price and ads 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

CostPrice · In-app purchases · Ads · Monetization

Both are free to download. Notate for Microsoft 365 sells 9 in-app purchases, starting at $3.49 per month. ESS Workforce asks for nothing beyond the download.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

Notate for Microsoft 365 ships an update every 2 months, ESS Workforce every 3 weeks. The most recent releases landed on October 3, 2026 and October 7, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard4 real differences · 6 level
Notate for Microsoft 365 versus ESS Workforce: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterNotate for Microsoft 365ESS Workforce
PriceFreeFree
Rating4.3 (33 ratings) — better—
Positive reviews25.0% of reviews—
Number of ratings33 — better—
Update frequencyEvery 2 monthsEvery 3 weeks — better
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesYesNo — better
MonetizationFree with in-app purchases—
DevicesiPhone, iPad, iPod — betteriPhone
Requires iOS14.0 — better16.6
Further details — not scored
Size157 MB24 MB
Age rating17+4+
DeveloperShafer Systems LLCGarcia Innovations LLC

In-app purchases

9 purchases

Notate for Microsoft 365

Subscriptions8
  • Monthly Subscription1 Month trial$3.491 Month
  • Monthly subscription(promo)1 Year trial$3.491 Month
  • Monthly Subscription14 Days trial$3.491 Month
Show 5 more
  • Monthly Premium Subscription$3.491 Month
  • Annual subscription1 Month trial$29.991 Year
  • Annual subscription (promo)1 Year trial$29.991 Year
  • Annual Subscription14 Days trial$29.991 Year
  • Annual Premium Subscription$29.991 Year
One-time1
  • 14 day premium trialFree
None

ESS Workforce

No in-app purchases

Questions

Is Notate for Microsoft 365 free?
Notate for Microsoft 365 is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Is ESS Workforce free?
ESS Workforce is free to download, with no in-app purchases.
Do Notate for Microsoft 365 or ESS Workforce have ads?
Neither Notate for Microsoft 365 nor ESS Workforce shows ads.
Which is updated more often, Notate for Microsoft 365 or ESS Workforce?
Notate for Microsoft 365 ships an update every 2 months, and ESS Workforce every 3 weeks. Most recently, Notate for Microsoft 365 was updated on October 3, 2026 and ESS Workforce on October 7, 2026.

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