Comparison

symplr Workforce vs Firstup

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

Head to head
About

symplr Workforce

This app allows employees to manage their schedules, request time off, and clock in/out with location verification. Managers can oversee employee timecards, approve requests, and monitor staffing levels to ensure optimal workforce management.

Highlights
  • Self-scheduling and shift requests
  • Location-based clocking with alerts
  • Timecard management and approval
  • Request time off
  • View employee schedules and timecards
  • Monitor staffing levels
Features
Currently charting
Read full description

The Workforce app streamlines key features from Time and Attendance, Staffing and Scheduling, and ShiftSelect®. Note: Available features differ based on your solution. FEATURES As an employee: • Add shifts during self-scheduling periods. • Request open shifts and trade. • View your schedule and request time off. • Clock in based on your location and get notified when there is a mismatch with your location. • View missed clocking alerts, clock in/out, sign off your timecard, and add/edit/delete clockings and calendars. As a manager: • View your employees' timecards, requests, exceptions, and contact information. • Correct a clocking or location mismatch by editing the schedule or clocking. • View missed clocking alerts and preventable overtime, approve employee clockings, calendars, and timecards, and add, edit, or delete employee clockings and calendars. • View hourly staffing levels to show situations that need immediate attention such as over or understaffing.

About

Firstup

This app connects employees with essential company information, fostering engagement and improving communication. It provides a centralized hub for news, updates, and resources, ensuring everyone stays informed and connected.

Highlights
  • Official source for workforce communications
  • Push notifications for news and tasks
  • Upload and share videos, photos, documents
  • Personalized user experience
  • Save and find important information
  • Comment and share content
  • Connect company employees
Features
Read full description

Firstup is a workforce communications app that helps companies reach employees with relevant, personalized information they need to do their best work. Firstup solves the problem of poor employee engagement by keeping all workers informed and connected. Employees have one place to find out what’s happening at work—no more searching through emails and intranets to get information. Companies have an easier, faster way to publish content and news and can measure how many employees engaged with their content. Why you’ll love Firstup: * An official source for all workforce communications—reach every worker with the information they need to know to do their best work. * Push notifications and reminders for breaking news or time-sensitive tasks * Ability to upload and share videos, photos, documents, or articles * Personalized user experience with profiles and the ability to choose channels to follow * A simple way to save and find important information with bookmarking and powerful search * The ability for users to comment and share * A powerful way to connect everyone at your company and create a better digital employee experience for all

Screenshots

symplr Workforce4 screens
Firstup4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is rating: Firstup at 3.7 against symplr Workforce's 2.2. Firstup also leads on review sentiment (27% vs 3%). symplr Workforce's advantage is monetization model (free vs freemium) and ratings volume (2.1K vs 133). On price, update cadence, 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

Firstup holds the better App Store score, 3.7 against 2.2. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: symplr Workforce has 2.1K ratings behind it against 133, so its average is the more settled of the two. Written reviews point the same way: 3% of symplr Workforce's written reviews are positive against 27% of Firstup's.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

symplr Workforce ships an update every 5 weeks, Firstup monthly. The most recent releases landed on September 22, 2026 and September 8, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard5 real differences · 6 level
symplr Workforce versus Firstup: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
Parametersymplr WorkforceFirstup
PriceFreeFree
Rating2.2 (2.1K ratings)3.7 (133 ratings) — better
Positive reviews3.1% of reviews26.9% of reviews — better
Number of ratings2.1K — better133
Update frequencyEvery 5 weeksMonthly — better
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesNoNo
MonetizationFree — betterFreemium
Best chart rank#203 — better—
DevicesiPhone, iPadiPhone, iPad
Requires iOS17.0 — better17.6
Further details — not scored
Size49 MB145 MB
Age rating4+4+
Developersymplr software LLCFirstup, Inc.

Customer experience

symplr Workforce

All ratings2,063 ratings
Positive25.6%
Neutral7.2%
Negative67.2%
Written reviews259 reviews
Positive3.1%
Neutral5.0%
Negative91.9%

Firstup

All ratings133 ratings
Positive64.7%
Neutral6.0%
Negative29.3%
Written reviews26 reviews
Positive26.9%
Neutral11.5%
Negative61.5%

Bugs and requests

symplr Workforce

Reported bugs

4 issues
  • Inconsistent clock-in/out registration
  • Timecard errors and discrepancies
  • Frequent app crashes and freezes
  • Schedule not accurately reflecting shifts

Requested features

5 requests
  • Ability to view full team schedules
  • Option to customize schedule display
  • Improved calendar integration
  • Streamlined login process
  • More flexible time editing capabilities

Firstup

Not enough reviews yet to summarise bugs or requests.

In-app purchases

None

symplr Workforce

No in-app purchases

None

Firstup

No in-app purchases

Questions

Is symplr Workforce free?
symplr Workforce is free to download, with no in-app purchases.
Is Firstup free?
Firstup is free to download, with no in-app purchases.
Which has better reviews, symplr Workforce or Firstup?
Firstup is rated higher. symplr Workforce averages 2.2 out of 5 from 2.1K ratings, while Firstup averages 3.7 from 133 ratings.
Do symplr Workforce or Firstup have ads?
Neither symplr Workforce nor Firstup shows ads.
Which is updated more often, symplr Workforce or Firstup?
symplr Workforce ships an update every 5 weeks, and Firstup monthly. Most recently, symplr Workforce was updated on September 22, 2026 and Firstup on September 8, 2026.

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