# Kol Yaakob vs Essia

The clearest difference is review sentiment: Kol Yaakob at 64% against Essia's 0%. Kol Yaakob also leads on rating (4.4 vs 1.3) and ratings volume (118 vs 7). Essia's advantage is update cadence (fortnightly vs every 3 months) and iOS requirement (15.0 vs 18.6). On price, ads, in-app purchases and monetization model there is nothing between them.

Both are free to download. Neither carries in-app purchases, so what you see is what you pay.

Kol Yaakob holds the better App Store score, 4.4 against 1.3. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: Kol Yaakob has 118 ratings behind it against 7, so its average is the more settled of the two. Written reviews point the same way: 64% of Kol Yaakob's written reviews are positive against 0% of Essia's.

Kol Yaakob ships an update every 3 months, Essia fortnightly. The most recent releases landed on October 20, 2026 and October 11, 2026 respectively.

## The numbers

| Metric | Kol Yaakob | Essia |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Price | Free | Free |
| Rating | **[4.4 (118 ratings)](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/kol-yaakob/id405278063/reviews)** | [1.3 (7 ratings)](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/essia/id1015101071/reviews) |
| Number of ratings | **118** | 7 |
| Positive reviews | **63.5% of reviews** | 0.0% of reviews |
| In-app purchases | No | No |
| Ads | No | No |
| Update frequency | Every 3 months | **Fortnightly** |
| Monetization | Free | Free |
| Size | 11 MB | 66 MB |
| Requires iOS | 18.6 | **15.0** |
| Devices | iPhone, iPad, iPod | iPhone, iPad, iPod |
| Age rating | 4+ | 4+ |
| Developer | [Sephardic Heritage Foundation Inc](https://appshunter.io/developer/405278066) | [POLIGNO PLATAFORMA DIGITAL LTDA](https://appshunter.io/developer/1708994796) |

## What reviewers say

### Kol Yaakob

[App page](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/kol-yaakob/id405278063)

This app provides an official Sephardic daily Siddur based on Syrian customs. It includes a full table of contents with prayers for the entire year, weekdays, holidays, and special occasions. Features GPS location services to orient prayer direction and display sunrise/sunset times.

**Highlights:** Official Sephardic Siddur, GPS prayer orientation, Sunrise & sunset times, Full table of contents, Prayers for all occasions, Aleppo, Syria customs

**Features:** macOS Compatibility

**In-app purchases:** none

**What reviewers like**

- 👍 Great app for Sephardim
- 👍 Useful for travel
- 👍 Daily use
- 👍 Community service
- 👍 Familiar layout

**What reviewers complain about**

- 🐛 Crashing frequently
- 🐛 New UI not user-friendly
- 🐛 Old UI was better
- 🐛 Losing place after swipe
- 🐛 Text too small

**Reported bugs**

- New update crashes
- New update loses place
- Bookmark issues
- Added pages not available
- Missing words in birchat hamazon

**Requested features**

- Add Tehilim
- Open amida at designated time
- Use microphone for live cursor
- Add tefillah times
- List of shuls and prayer times


### Essia

[App page](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/essia/id1015101071)

This digital textbook platform offers interactive learning experiences designed to align with school curricula. Students can read books, complete assignments digitally, and interact with educational content and peers. It provides a practical way to access learning materials on mobile devices.

**Highlights:** Interactive digital textbooks, Complete assignments digitally, Offline reading capability, Share book excerpts with classmates, Interact with digital objects, Ask teachers questions

**Features:** macOS Compatibility

**In-app purchases:** none


## Frequently asked questions

### Is Kol Yaakob free?

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

### Is Essia free?

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

### Which has better reviews, Kol Yaakob or Essia?

Kol Yaakob is rated higher. Kol Yaakob averages 4.4 out of 5 from 118 ratings, while Essia averages 1.3 from 7 ratings.

### Do Kol Yaakob or Essia have ads?

Neither Kol Yaakob nor Essia shows ads.

### Which is updated more often, Kol Yaakob or Essia?

Kol Yaakob ships an update every 3 months, and Essia fortnightly. Most recently, Kol Yaakob was updated on October 20, 2026 and Essia on October 11, 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.*