Comparison

ESS Mobile vs ESS 41

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

ESS 41

Manage your work schedule, request time off, and trade shifts with colleagues. This app allows you to view your timecard, update availability, and even clock in and out using geofencing technology.

Highlights
  • View schedule
  • Request day-off & time-off
  • Perform Shift Trade
  • Bid on open shifts
  • View timecard
  • Update availability
  • Geofence enabled mobile clock
Read full description

With ESS app, team members can: · View schedule · Request day-off & time-off · Perform Shift Trade with teammates · Bid on open shifts or request additional shifts · View timecard · Update availability and get shifts accordingly · Request for alternate work locations · Clock your work hours using Geofence enabled mobile clock

Screenshots

ESS Mobile3 screens
ESS 414 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is rating: ESS Mobile at 1.7 against ESS 41's 1.4. ESS 41's advantage is update cadence (every 5 weeks vs every 3 months) and ratings volume (3.1K vs 343). On price, review sentiment, ads and in-app purchases 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. Neither carries in-app purchases, so what you see is what you pay.

ReceptionRating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings

ESS Mobile holds the better App Store score, 1.7 against 1.4. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: ESS 41 has 3.1K ratings behind it against 343, so its average is the more settled of the two. Written reviews split almost evenly too, at 3% and 3% positive.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

ESS Mobile ships an update every 3 months, ESS 41 every 5 weeks. The most recent releases landed on September 23, 2026 and September 21, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard4 real differences · 6 level
ESS Mobile versus ESS 41: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterESS MobileESS 41
PriceFreeFree
Rating1.7 (343 ratings) — better1.4 (3.1K ratings)
Positive reviews2.9% of reviews3.3% of reviews — better
Number of ratings3433.1K — better
Update frequencyEvery 3 monthsEvery 5 weeks — better
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesNoNo
MonetizationFreeFree
DevicesiPhone, iPadiPhone, iPod
Requires iOS18.611.0 — better
Further details — not scored
Size1 MB43 MB
Age rating4+4+
DeveloperAttendance on Demand, Inc.Reflexis Systems Inc

Customer experience

ESS Mobile

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

ESS 41

All ratings3,052 ratings
Positive8.6%
Neutral2.7%
Negative88.7%
Written reviews307 reviews
Positive3.3%
Neutral2.6%
Negative94.1%

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

ESS 41

From 3.1K App Store ratings

What we love

  • 👍 Useful for viewing work schedule
  • 🔒 Secure login process
  • 📆 Ability to sync with calendar

Room to improve

  • 🐛 Frequent crashes and bugs
  • ⏱️ Slow loading times
  • 🔑 Requires manual login every time
  • 🔍 Difficult to navigate and find information
  • 📱 Incompatible with some devices

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

ESS 41

Reported bugs

4 issues
  • Login errors and inability to log in
  • Schedules not displaying correctly
  • Sync issues with calendar
  • Crashing on certain device models

Requested features

4 requests
  • Push notifications for schedule changes
  • Ability to request time off directly in the app
  • Improved user interface and navigation
  • Support for biometric login (Face ID, Touch ID)

In-app purchases

None

ESS Mobile

No in-app purchases

None

ESS 41

No in-app purchases

Questions

Is ESS Mobile free?
ESS Mobile is free to download, with no in-app purchases.
Is ESS 41 free?
ESS 41 is free to download, with no in-app purchases.
Which has better reviews, ESS Mobile or ESS 41?
ESS Mobile is rated higher. ESS Mobile averages 1.7 out of 5 from 343 ratings, while ESS 41 averages 1.4 from 3.1K ratings.
Do ESS Mobile or ESS 41 have ads?
Neither ESS Mobile nor ESS 41 shows ads.
Which is updated more often, ESS Mobile or ESS 41?
ESS Mobile ships an update every 3 months, and ESS 41 every 5 weeks. Most recently, ESS Mobile was updated on September 23, 2026 and ESS 41 on September 21, 2026.

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