# Moderna vs Essia

The clearest difference is rating: Moderna at 3.0 against Essia's 1.3. Moderna also leads on review sentiment (10% vs 0%) and iOS requirement (9.3 vs 15.0). Essia's advantage is update cadence (fortnightly vs every 2 months) and ratings volume (7 vs 1). On price, ads, in-app purchases and monetization model there is nothing between them.

Both are free to download. Neither carries in-app purchases, so what you see is what you pay.

Moderna holds the better App Store score, 3.0 against 1.3. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: Essia has 7 ratings behind it against 1, so its average is the more settled of the two. Written reviews point the same way: 10% of Moderna's written reviews are positive against 0% of Essia's.

Moderna ships an update every 2 months, Essia fortnightly. The most recent releases landed on September 8, 2026 and September 9, 2026 respectively.

## The numbers

| Metric | Moderna | Essia |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Price | Free | Free |
| Rating | **[3.0 (1 ratings)](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/moderna/id808714349/reviews)** | [1.3 (7 ratings)](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/essia/id1015101071/reviews) |
| Number of ratings | 1 | **7** |
| Positive reviews | **10.0% of reviews** | 0.0% of reviews |
| In-app purchases | No | No |
| Ads | No | No |
| Update frequency | Every 2 months | **Fortnightly** |
| Monetization | Free | Free |
| Size | 29 MB | 66 MB |
| Requires iOS | **9.3** | 15.0 |
| Devices | iPhone, iPad, iPod | iPhone, iPad, iPod |
| Age rating | 4+ | 4+ |
| Developer | [Santillana Educação Ltda](https://appshunter.io/developer/1761592884) | [POLIGNO PLATAFORMA DIGITAL LTDA](https://appshunter.io/developer/1708994796) |

## What reviewers say

### Moderna

[App page](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/moderna/id808714349)

Access interactive digital textbooks from Moderna, Richmond, and Santillana Español. Engage with multimedia content like films, music, and animations to enhance learning. Offers specialized support for teachers, students, and families.

**Highlights:** Interactive digital textbooks, Multimedia content (films, music, animations), Specialized support for users, Access to Moderna, Richmond, Santillana Español works, Enhanced learning experience

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

**In-app purchases:** none


### Essia

[App page](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/essia/id1015101071)

This digital textbook platform offers interactive learning experiences designed to align with school curricula. Students can read books, complete assignments digitally, and interact with educational content and peers. It provides a practical way to access learning materials on mobile devices.

**Highlights:** Interactive digital textbooks, Complete assignments digitally, Offline reading capability, Share book excerpts with classmates, Interact with digital objects, Ask teachers questions

**Features:** macOS Compatibility

**In-app purchases:** none


## Frequently asked questions

### Is Moderna free?

Moderna is free to download, with no in-app purchases.

### Is Essia free?

Essia is free to download, with no in-app purchases.

### Which has better reviews, Moderna or Essia?

Moderna is rated higher. Moderna averages 3.0 out of 5 from 1 ratings, while Essia averages 1.3 from 7 ratings.

### Do Moderna or Essia have ads?

Neither Moderna nor Essia shows ads.

### Which is updated more often, Moderna or Essia?

Moderna ships an update every 2 months, and Essia fortnightly. Most recently, Moderna was updated on September 8, 2026 and Essia on September 9, 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.*