ESS Mobile vs Zebra Workcloud Comm
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
Read full descriptionHide 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.
Zebra Workcloud Comm
This app consolidates communication tools for frontline teams, offering real-time chat and note-taking functionalities. It allows for quick, targeted messaging and collaboration within an organization, accessible on various devices.
- Real-time peer-to-peer chat
- Quick note-taking functionality
- Multimedia messaging (images, emojis)
- Document attachment for notes
- Consolidated module experience
- Mobile-first design
Read full descriptionHide full description
Formerly chat, now updated to include multiple modules in a consolidated Comm experience! To better streamline and simplify deployment and management, the latest version of Comm contains the following Zebra Workcloud Task Management modules: Note Chat Depending on your existing enterprise licensing agreement you may access to either or both modules. As such, only licensed modules will be visible. Users can navigate through hamburger menu to either of the 2 modules. The mobile-first design of Zebra Workcloud ensures that all solutions and modules are intuitive and easy to use on any device and enables frontline teams to work more efficiently and effectively. Please read below for more information on the functionality and capabilities of each module. ##### Zebra Workcloud Chat: A peer-to-peer (P2P) real-time chat system embedded in Workcloud Comm that allows personnel to send real-time messages within your organization. Chat allows for quick, targeted and messaging within a controlled, safe environment. Create group and personal conversations and leverage multimedia messaging to include images and emojis without any difficulties. Zebra Workcloud Note: A peer-to-peer (P2P) messaging system embedded in Workcloud Comm that allows field managers, store managers, and corporate personnel to send quick notes within the organization. Note facilitates quick, targeted messaging without the complications and privacy issues of many communication platforms. Attach pictures and documents to help your team communicate and collaborate more efficiently. Zebra Workcloud Comm is intended for users of Zebra Workcloud Task Management. For help getting started with Comm, please contact your Zebra administrator. For more information about Zebra Workcloud, visit us online at: https://www.zebra.com/us/en/software.html
Screenshots
Verdict
The clearest difference is ratings volume: ESS Mobile at 343 against Zebra Workcloud Comm's 11. Zebra Workcloud Comm's advantage is update cadence (monthly vs every 3 months) and iOS requirement (15.5.0 vs 18.6). On price, rating, review sentiment 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.
On the App Store both sit at effectively the same score — 1.7 for ESS Mobile against 1.8 for Zebra Workcloud Comm. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: ESS Mobile has 343 ratings behind it against 11, so its average is the more settled of the two. Written reviews are what separate them: 3% of ESS Mobile's written reviews are positive against 0% of Zebra Workcloud Comm's.
ESS Mobile ships an update every 3 months, Zebra Workcloud Comm monthly. The most recent releases landed on October 13, 2026 and October 10, 2026 respectively.
| Parameter | ESS Mobile | Zebra Workcloud Comm |
|---|---|---|
| Price | Free | Free |
| Rating | 1.7 (343 ratings) | 1.8 (11 ratings) — better |
| Positive reviews | 2.9% of reviews — better | 0.0% of reviews |
| Number of ratings | 343 — better | 11 |
| Update frequency | Every 3 months | Monthly — better |
| Ads | No | No |
| In-app purchases | No | No |
| Monetization | Free | Free |
| Devices | iPhone, iPad | iPhone, iPad, iPod — better |
| Requires iOS | 18.6 | 15.5.0 — better |
| Further details — not scored | ||
| Size | 1 MB | 86 MB |
| Age rating | 4+ | 17+ |
| Developer | Attendance on Demand, Inc. | Reflexis Systems Inc |
Customer experience
ESS Mobile
Zebra Workcloud Comm
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
Zebra Workcloud Comm
Not enough reviews yet to summarise bugs or requests.
In-app purchases
ESS Mobile
No in-app purchases
Zebra Workcloud Comm
No in-app purchases
Questions
Is ESS Mobile free?
Is Zebra Workcloud Comm free?
Which has better reviews, ESS Mobile or Zebra Workcloud Comm?
Do ESS Mobile or Zebra Workcloud Comm have ads?
Which is updated more often, ESS Mobile or Zebra Workcloud Comm?
Other comparisons















