Comparison

ESS Mobile vs Shift Day Work Calendar

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

Head to head
About

ESS Mobile

This app offers flexible time tracking for employees, allowing them to punch in/out, review hours worked, check schedules, and manage benefit balances. It facilitates communication with supervisors for attendance-related matters and supports various time entry methods.

Highlights
  • Flexible time tracking
  • Review hours worked
  • Check schedules and benefit balances
  • Request time off
  • Enter tips and mileage
  • Communicate with supervisor
Features
Read full description

ESS Mobile is a smart, adaptive app that, when used with your employer's Attendance on Demand system, provides employees with flexible time tracking options. You have access to the information needed to track your hours worked and review schedules or benefit balances. Notifications can be sent when your time card needs action, such as the addition of a missing punch. Messages can be exchanged with your supervisor to record attendance-related activities like an absence or if you will be late for your shift. Using ESS Mobile hourly employees may be able to punch in and out, request time off, or enter tips. For employees that simply report total hours worked multiple time sheet views are available. Additional operations such as entering mileage, expenses, or tips are also available. Contact your payroll administrator or Attendance on Demand service provider for additional details. Note: ESS Mobile uses location services to obtain your location during app usage. Continued use of the app or background GPS tracking can dramatically decrease battery life.

About

Shift Day Work Calendar

Easily track your work shifts with a clear, intuitive calendar. Assign colors and names to shifts, add reminders, and view your entire month at a glance. Share your schedule and sync across devices.

Highlights
  • Color-coded shift tracking
  • Intuitive rota interface
  • Shift widget
  • Schedule sharing
  • iCloud sync
  • Push notifications
Features
Read full description

Spoke: Shift Day Work Calendar Tracking your shifts has never been easier! With Spoke, you can see at a glance when you’re working. Suitable for your iPhone and/or iPad, the clear, easily readable calendar allows you to track your working days and hours with minimal effort – you can add or remove a shift with a single tap. Designed with shift workers in mind, Spoke enables you to see a full month of shifts on the screen, making it easier than ever to manage your working life. Key features: - Color-code your shifts and assign short-names for at-a-glance insights - Intuitive rota interface for quick rotation application - Add multiple memos for quick reminders of each day’s events - Shift widget enables you to see upcoming shifts without even opening the app - Share your schedule easily with friends and family - Sync with iCloud for real-time updates across your iPad and iPhone Additional benefits: - See up to two shifts per day. - Add unlimited shifts to your calendar. - Change your shift schedule just by tapping on the calendar. - Copy and paste shifts for rapid diary updates. - Add your rotation and automatically fill the calendar in a few simple steps. - Get push notifications for shift events. - Week number with four different patterns (1-2, 2-1, 1-52, 0-51). - Set the start day of your week to any day. - Email your shift events. - Share your monthly shift view (via email/SMS/print/photo album) The intuitive shift managing interface makes Spoke suitable for anyone who wants to take the pain out of their diary management. The app is perfect for those working random hours and days, as well as individuals working fixed shifts on rotation. People already benefitting from Shift Days include: - Nurses - Doctors - Emergency workers - Police- Firefighters - Military- Paramedics - Security Guards - Cleaners - Bartenders - Reporters - Students and part timers - Taxi or Uber drivers - Waiters and waitresses - Truckers - Construction workers - Men of the Night’s Watch --- -SUBSCRIPTION PRICING & TERMS Spoke is free to download. Spoke Subscription gives you unlimited access to our premium content and features. - Spoke's auto-renewing subscription options are $2.99 monthly or $24.99 annually - This price is for United States customers. Pricing in other countries may vary, and actual charges may be converted to your local currency depending on the country of residence. - Payment will be charged to your iTunes Account at confirmation of your subscription - Subscription automatically renews unless auto-renew is turned off at least 24-hours before the end of the current period - The account will be charged for renewal within 24-hours prior to the end of the current period, and at the cost of the chosen package - Any unused portion of a free trial period, if offered, will be forfeited when the user purchases a subscription to that publication, where applicable. - Your subscription automatically renews unless you turn if off in Account Settings 24+ hours before the end of the billing period. - You can turn off auto-renew at any time from your iTunes account settings, but refunds will not be provided for any unused portion of the term. [ Privacy Policy ]https://www.iubenda.com/privacy-policy/77398254 [ Terms of Service ]https://www.iubenda.com/terms-and-conditions/77398254 [ Support ]Contact at 'support@pixo.co'

Screenshots

ESS Mobile3 screens
Shift Day Work Calendar4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is review sentiment: Shift Day Work Calendar at 86% against ESS Mobile's 3%. Shift Day Work Calendar also leads on rating (4.7 vs 1.7) and update cadence (every 4 days vs every 3 months). ESS Mobile's advantage is in-app purchases (none vs 14) and ads (none vs shown). On price, device support and iOS requirement 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. Shift Day Work Calendar sells 10 in-app purchases, starting at $4.99 per month. ESS Mobile asks for nothing beyond the download.

ReceptionRating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings

Shift Day Work Calendar holds the better App Store score, 4.7 against 1.7. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: Shift Day Work Calendar has 14K ratings behind it against 343, so its average is the more settled of the two. Written reviews point the same way: 3% of ESS Mobile's written reviews are positive against 86% of Shift Day Work Calendar's.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

ESS Mobile ships an update every 3 months, Shift Day Work Calendar every 4 days. The most recent releases landed on October 17, 2026 and October 20, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard7 real differences · 3 level
ESS Mobile versus Shift Day Work Calendar: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterESS MobileShift Day Work Calendar
PriceFreeFree
Rating1.7 (343 ratings)4.7 (14K ratings) — better
Positive reviews2.9% of reviews85.9% of reviews — better
Number of ratings34314K — better
Update frequencyEvery 3 monthsEvery 4 days — better
AdsNo — betterYes
In-app purchasesNo — betterYes
MonetizationFree — betterFreemium
DevicesiPhone, iPadiPhone, iPad
Requires iOS18.617.3 — better
Further details — not scored
Size1 MB243 MB
Age rating4+4+
DeveloperAttendance on Demand, Inc.PIXO Incorporation

Customer experience

ESS Mobile

All ratings324 ratings
Positive14.2%
Neutral3.7%
Negative82.1%
Written reviews104 reviews
Positive2.9%
Neutral1.0%
Negative96.2%

Shift Day Work Calendar

All ratings14,345 ratings
Positive94.7%
Neutral2.4%
Negative3.0%
Written reviews1,028 reviews
Positive85.9%
Neutral3.6%
Negative10.5%

User reviews

ESS Mobile

From 343 App Store ratings

What we love

  • ✅ Simple and straightforward time tracking functionality
  • 📧 Email records linked to time card
  • ⚙️ Works reliably on Android devices

Room to improve

  • 🐛 Connect button functions as text box instead of button
  • ❌ App crashes frequently after updates
  • ⚪ White screen loading issues
  • 📍 Location detection inaccurate (4-5 miles off)
  • 🔐 Login failures and credential issues

Shift Day Work Calendar

From 14K App Store ratings

What we love

  • 🚀 Simple and efficient
  • 👍 Easy to use and navigate
  • 🎨 Helpful color coding
  • 🗓️ Convenient for shift scheduling
  • ⏰ Shift reminders

Room to improve

  • 🔒 Paid upgrade required for full functionality
  • 🔀 Issues with syncing across devices
  • 🗓️ Limited view of calendar
  • 📝 Memos not prominently displayed

Bugs and requests

ESS Mobile

Reported bugs

17 issues
  • Connect button treats input as editable text field
  • App fails to load or shows blank white screen
  • Location services report incorrect location
  • Login credentials rejected despite correct information
  • Clock-in button disappears or becomes non-functional
Show 12 more
  • App freezes when entering information
  • Cannot proceed past login screen
  • App crashes on latest iOS versions
  • Automatic logout without user action
  • Cannot clock in to new job within one minute of clock out
  • Punch functionality only works on second attempt
  • Controls render off-screen on certain devices
  • App incompatible with iOS 15
  • Timesheet data fails to load
  • Notifications sent to wrong phone numbers
  • Pay stubs missing tip percentage and hourly information
  • Redundant navigation buttons on same page

Requested features

12 requests
  • Face ID or biometric authentication
  • Remember me/stay logged in functionality
  • Current time display on home screen
  • Manager approval system for early out/late in requests
  • Ability to view all punch times and historical data
Show 7 more
  • Support for multiple employers without app reinstallation
  • Landscape mode support
  • Easy password reset functionality
  • Loading indicators for better UX
  • Visible phone number management (primary/secondary)
  • Better accessibility and menu navigation
  • Improved pay stub formatting and clarity

Shift Day Work Calendar

Reported bugs

3 issues
  • App crashing or closing unexpectedly
  • Shifts not displaying correctly
  • Issues with paid version not working after device change

Requested features

5 requests
  • Ability to add more than 2 shifts per day
  • Integration with other calendar apps
  • Customizable color options
  • Recurring memo/event feature
  • Week view option

In-app purchases

None

ESS Mobile

No in-app purchases

10 purchases

Shift Day Work Calendar

Subscriptions8
  • Monthly Subscription Trial7 Days trial$4.991 Month
  • Month-Subscription2 variants$4.991 Month
  • Monthly Subscription Trial3 Days trial$4.991 Month
Show 5 more
  • Yearly Subscription Intro Offer7 Days trial$19.991 Year
  • Yearly Subscription Special Offer$24.991 Year
  • Yearly Pro Subscription Trial7 Days trial2 variants$34.991 Year
  • Year-Subscription2 variants$34.991 Year
  • Yearly Pro Subscription14 Days trial$34.991 Year
One-time2
  • Pro Upgrade Now$2.99
  • Pro Upgrade$79.99

Questions

Is ESS Mobile free?
ESS Mobile is free to download, with no in-app purchases.
Is Shift Day Work Calendar free?
Shift Day Work Calendar is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Which has better reviews, ESS Mobile or Shift Day Work Calendar?
Shift Day Work Calendar is rated higher. ESS Mobile averages 1.7 out of 5 from 343 ratings, while Shift Day Work Calendar averages 4.7 from 14K ratings.
Do ESS Mobile or Shift Day Work Calendar have ads?
Shift Day Work Calendar shows ads; ESS Mobile does not.
Which is updated more often, ESS Mobile or Shift Day Work Calendar?
ESS Mobile ships an update every 3 months, and Shift Day Work Calendar every 4 days. Most recently, ESS Mobile was updated on October 17, 2026 and Shift Day Work Calendar on October 20, 2026.

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