# Powertime vs ESP

The clearest difference is review sentiment: ESP at 85% against Powertime's 42%. ESP also leads on update cadence (every 2 days vs every 3 months) and ratings volume (4.5K vs 6). Powertime's advantage is in-app purchases (none vs 4) and ads (none vs shown). On price and device support there is nothing between them.

Both are free to download. ESP sells 4 in-app purchases, starting at $1.99 per month. Powertime asks for nothing beyond the download.

Powertime holds the better App Store score, 5.0 against 4.7. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: ESP has 4.5K ratings behind it against 6, so its average is the more settled of the two. Written reviews complicate that: 42% of Powertime's written reviews are positive against 85% of ESP's, so the app with the better star average is not the one people write more warmly about.

Powertime ships an update every 3 months, ESP every 2 days. The most recent releases landed on October 7, 2026 and October 16, 2026 respectively.

## The numbers

| Metric | Powertime | ESP |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Price | Free | Free |
| Rating | **[5.0 (6 ratings)](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/powertime/id345272537/reviews)** | [4.7 (4.5K ratings)](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/esp-eskomsepush/id968648379/reviews) |
| Number of ratings | 6 | **4.5K** |
| Positive reviews | 41.8% of reviews | **84.5% of reviews** |
| In-app purchases | **No** | Yes |
| Ads | **No** | Yes |
| Update frequency | Every 3 months | **Every 2 days** |
| Monetization | **Free** | Free with in-app purchases |
| Size | 6 MB | 106 MB |
| Requires iOS | **11.0** | 15.0 |
| Devices | iPhone, iPod | **iPhone, iPad, iPod** |
| Age rating | 4+ | 12+ |
| Developer | [Powertime](https://appshunter.io/developer/345272540) | [WELLWELLWELL](https://appshunter.io/developer/1597145589) |

## What reviewers say

### Powertime

[App page](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/powertime/id345272537)

Easily purchase prepaid electricity and airtime, and pay municipal bills with a single click. Access your purchase history, view usage graphs, and find energy-saving tips. This app is exclusively for South African meters and networks.

**Highlights:** Prepaid electricity purchase, Airtime purchase, Municipal bill payment, Purchase history, Usage graphs, Energy saving tips

**Features:** macOS Compatibility

**In-app purchases:** none


### ESP

[App page](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/esp-eskomsepush/id968648379)

Track South Africa's loadshedding schedules with accurate, real-time notifications for your specific area. Connect with neighbors in local community chats to discuss power outages, local faults, and other neighborhood happenings.

**Highlights:** Accurate loadshedding schedules by suburb, Real-time push notifications, Local community chat groups, Report local issues (power, water, etc.), Follow multiple areas, Neighbor-to-neighbor communication

**Features:** macOS Compatibility, Vision Pro support

**In-app purchases (4)**

| Purchase | Price | Billing |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Pay Monthly | $1.99 | per month |
| Remove Ads for a year | $13.99 | per year |
| Pay Monthly | $17.49 | per year |
| Pay Yearly | $19.99 | per year |

**What reviewers like**

- 👍 Helpful for planning around load shedding
- 🚀 Accurate and up-to-date information
- 🔍 Useful for tracking load shedding schedules
- 💡 Provides notifications and reminders
- 🎉 Essential app for South African residents

**What reviewers complain about**

- 🐛 Occasional inaccuracies or inconsistencies
- 🔍 Difficulty finding/adding specific locations
- 💸 Concerns about ads or paid features
- 🤔 Confusion about Eskom vs app responsibility

**Reported bugs**

- Schedules not updating in real-time
- Notifications not working as expected
- Certain areas/suburbs disappearing from the app

**Requested features**

- Add calendar integration for schedule planning
- Improve user interface and layout
- Provide more detailed historical data
- Enable location services for automatic area detection


## Frequently asked questions

### Is Powertime free?

Powertime is free to download, with no in-app purchases.

### Is ESP free?

ESP is free to download, with in-app purchases available.

### Which has better reviews, Powertime or ESP?

Powertime is rated higher. Powertime averages 5.0 out of 5 from 6 ratings, while ESP averages 4.7 from 4.5K ratings.

### Do Powertime or ESP have ads?

ESP shows ads; Powertime does not.

### Which is updated more often, Powertime or ESP?

Powertime ships an update every 3 months, and ESP every 2 days. Most recently, Powertime was updated on October 7, 2026 and ESP on October 16, 2026.

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*Compared by [AppsHunter](https://appshunter.io/) from daily US App Store data. Review summaries are generated from verbatim App Store reviews.*