ESS Mobile vs Octopus Authenticator
Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both apps, side by side — with what reviewers say about each.
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.
- Flexible time tracking
- Review hours worked
- Check schedules and benefit balances
- Request time off
- Enter tips and mileage
- Communicate with supervisor
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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.
Octopus Authenticator
This app eliminates the need for password management, offering a seamless login experience across various work applications. Organizations benefit from enhanced security and control over domain accounts, VPNs, and cloud services.
- Passwordless login
- Seamless authentication
- High assurance credential control
- Supports domain accounts
- Supports VPN
- Supports cloud applications
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With Secret Double Octopus, users no longer need to manage passwords and can enjoy a consistent seamless login experience throughout their work day. Organizations gain the benefits of high assurance and credential control across domain accounts, VPN, cloud applications and legacy apps.
Screenshots
Verdict
The clearest difference is rating: Octopus Authenticator at 2.4 against ESS Mobile's 1.7. Octopus Authenticator also leads on review sentiment (23% vs 3%) and iOS requirement (15.0 vs 18.6). On price, ratings volume, update cadence 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
Both are free to download. Neither carries in-app purchases, so what you see is what you pay.
Octopus Authenticator holds the better App Store score, 2.4 against 1.7. Both are backed by a comparable volume of ratings — 355 and 163 respectively. Written reviews point the same way: 3% of ESS Mobile's written reviews are positive against 23% of Octopus Authenticator's.
ESS Mobile ships an update every 3 months, Octopus Authenticator every 2 months. The most recent releases landed on November 6, 2026 and November 11, 2026 respectively.
| Parameter | ESS Mobile | Octopus Authenticator |
|---|---|---|
| Price | Free | Free |
| Rating | 1.7 (355 ratings) | 2.4 (163 ratings) — better |
| Positive reviews | 2.9% of reviews | 23.1% of reviews — better |
| Number of ratings | 355 — better | 163 |
| Update frequency | Every 3 months | Every 2 months — better |
| Ads | No | No |
| In-app purchases | No | No |
| Monetization | Free | Free |
| Devices | iPhone, iPad | iPhone, iPod |
| Requires iOS | 18.6 | 15.0 — better |
| Further details — not scored | ||
| Size | 1 MB | 16 MB |
| Age rating | 4+ | 4+ |
| Developer | Attendance on Demand, Inc. | Secret Double Octopus |
Customer experience
ESS Mobile
Octopus Authenticator
User reviews
ESS Mobile
From 355 App Store ratingsWhat 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
Octopus Authenticator
From 163 App Store ratingsWhat we love
- 🚀 Faster than other MFA
- 👍 No password needed
- 👍 FaceID integration
- 👍 Responsive, pushes arrive immediately
- 👍 Works perfectly for years
Room to improve
- 🐛 Annoying Bluetooth notification
- 🐛 Daily annoyance with Bluetooth pop-up
- 🐛 Update wiped out account info
- 🐛 Non-intuitive and painful
- 🐛 Confusing and difficult
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 moreShow fewer
- 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 moreShow fewer
- 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
Octopus Authenticator
Reported bugs
19 issues- Bluetooth notification impossible to get rid of
- App pops up asking for Bluetooth access even when not needed
- Update wiped out all account info
- Constant issues: connection problems, app locks up, pings but won't respond
- Apple Watch app hangs 90% of the time
Show 14 moreShow fewer
- Psychotic notification sound
- Apple Watch notification only works sometimes
- App crashes on launch
- Push notifications for Apple Watch broken for months
- Cannot accept request from phone Lock Screen
- Apple Watch component stuck at 'Loading...'
- Must manually launch Watch app before prompt
- Apple Watch app does not work
- Clicking notification does not open app
- Not receiving welcome email or setup email
- Apple Watch app has never worked
- App will not send authentication to new phone
- No Apple Watch app
- App crashes immediately on startup after OS update
Requested features
12 requests- Fix Bluetooth notification issue
- Allow opting out of Bluetooth notifications
- Improve Apple Watch app reliability
- Allow authentication from notification
- Fix watch app hanging issue
Show 7 moreShow fewer
- Fix push notifications for Apple Watch
- Allow accepting requests from phone Lock Screen
- Set time limit for facial recognition
- Provide instructions for new phone registration
- Allow users to supply their email address for setup
- Fix app crashes on launch
- Fix app not opening after OS updates
In-app purchases
ESS Mobile
No in-app purchases
Octopus Authenticator
No in-app purchases
Questions
Is ESS Mobile free?
Is Octopus Authenticator free?
Which has better reviews, ESS Mobile or Octopus Authenticator?
Do ESS Mobile or Octopus Authenticator have ads?
Which is updated more often, ESS Mobile or Octopus Authenticator?
Other comparisons
