# Summary vs Essence

The clearest difference is update cadence: Summary at every 4 weeks against Essence's every 5 months. Summary also leads on rating (4.5 vs 4.2). Essence's advantage is review sentiment (100% vs 82%) and iOS requirement (15.0 vs 18.0). On price, ratings volume, ads and in-app purchases there is nothing between them.

Both are free to download. Summary sells 4 in-app purchases, starting at $9.99 per month and Essence sells 3 in-app purchases, starting at $3.99 per 7 days. Whichever you choose, the download price is not the number that matters.

Summary holds the better App Store score, 4.5 against 4.2. Both are backed by a comparable volume of ratings — 40 and 30 respectively. Written reviews complicate that: 82% of Summary's written reviews are positive against 100% of Essence's, so the app with the better star average is not the one people write more warmly about.

Summary ships an update every 4 weeks, Essence every 5 months. The most recent releases landed on September 20, 2026 and August 12, 2026 respectively.

## The numbers

| Metric | Summary | Essence |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Price | Free | Free |
| Rating | **[4.5 (40 ratings)](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/summary-ai-text-summarizer/id6446232928/reviews)** | [4.2 (30 ratings)](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/essence-text-summary/id6449463299/reviews) |
| Number of ratings | **40** | 30 |
| Positive reviews | 82.4% of reviews | **100.0% of reviews** |
| In-app purchases | Yes | Yes |
| Ads | No | No |
| Update frequency | **Every 4 weeks** | Every 5 months |
| Monetization | Free with in-app purchases | Freemium |
| Size | 63 MB | 25 MB |
| Requires iOS | 18.0 | **15.0** |
| Devices | iPhone | **iPhone, iPod** |
| Age rating | 4+ | 4+ |
| Developer | [Ruben Avanesov](https://appshunter.io/developer/1676835916) | [Dopefin Limited](https://appshunter.io/developer/1429704004) |

## What reviewers say

### Summary

[App page](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/summary-ai-text-summarizer/id6446232928)

This AI-powered tool simplifies long texts into concise summaries and bullet points. It also offers instant translation of content into over 40 languages, making information more accessible and efficient to consume.

**Highlights:** AI-powered summarization, Bullet point summaries, Translate to 40+ languages, Intuitive user interface, Share Extension integration, Fast and accurate translation

**Features:** macOS Compatibility

**In-app purchases (4)**

| Purchase | Price | Billing |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Monthly Access | $9.99 | per month |
| Six Months Subscription | $29.99 | per 6 months |
| Summarizr Premium - Monthly | $9.99 | one-time |
| Lifetime Full Access | $29.99 | one-time |


### Essence

[App page](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/essence-text-summary/id6449463299)

This app uses AI to intelligently extract the core ideas from various text formats, including articles, PDFs, and documents. It offers customizable summary lengths and versatile formats, making it ideal for students and professionals to quickly grasp essential information and boost productivity.

**Highlights:** Adaptive AI summarization, Customizable summary lengths, Supports various file formats (web, PDF, DOCX), Share summaries, Night mode, Bookmark articles

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

**In-app purchases (3)**

| Purchase | Price | Billing |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Weekly Essence Premium | $3.99 | per 7 days |
| Monthly Essence Premium | $12.99 | per month |
| Yearly Essence Premium | $49.99 | per year |


## Frequently asked questions

### Is Summary free?

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

### Is Essence free?

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

### Which has better reviews, Summary or Essence?

Summary is rated higher. Summary averages 4.5 out of 5 from 40 ratings, while Essence averages 4.2 from 30 ratings.

### Do Summary or Essence have ads?

Neither Summary nor Essence shows ads.

### Which is updated more often, Summary or Essence?

Summary ships an update every 4 weeks, and Essence every 5 months. Most recently, Summary was updated on September 20, 2026 and Essence on August 12, 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.*