Comparison

Essential CU vs S1 FinFit

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

Head to head
About

Essential CU

Manage your credit union accounts conveniently from your mobile device. Access account information, transfer funds, pay bills, and deposit checks on the go. Easily locate ATMs and branches with this secure and user-friendly application.

Highlights
  • Check account balances
  • View transaction history
  • Transfer funds
  • Pay bills
  • Send money to contacts
  • Deposit checks
  • Find ATMs and branches
Features
Read full description

The Essential Credit Union Mobile App allows you the power to access your account information on your mobile device at any time and from anywhere! Once you download the Essential mobile app, you simply login using the same credentials you have for Online Banking. The Essential app gives you the ability to: • Check balances • View your transaction history • Transfer funds • Pay bills • Pay or transfer money to friends and family in your device contacts • Deposit checks • Find ATMs and branches quickly and easily Download the convenient Essential Mobile App today!

About

S1 FinFit

This financial assistant helps you organize your finances, track spending, monitor your credit score, and prepare for homeownership. It provides insights into your financial wellness and offers resources for personal finance management.

Highlights
  • Financial dashboard summary
  • Spending tracking by category
  • Free credit score and report monitoring
  • Homeownership preparation tools
  • Debt-to-income ratio management
  • Encrypted data sharing
Features
Read full description

S1 FinFit is a financial digital assistant available to you free through an invitation from Synergy One Lending. We’re here to help you achieve your financial wellness goals. Organize in one place: Your S1 FinFit dashboard summarizes important financial information such as: account balances, transactions, net worth, budgeting, credit score, cash flow analysis, estimated home value, spending analysis, offers and promotions from Synergy One Lending, and an information center with personal finance articles and videos, all in one place. Budgeting: Understand what you are spending and where. Track your spending by categories and drill down into subcategories. Receive alerts if you are off track or confirmation if you are on track. Free Credit Score, Report and Monitoring: Your credit score is prominently displayed in your dashboard - and it doesn't cost you anything. Track changes month to month and learn the key factors that make up your score like length of credit, timely payment history, utilization of credit, total accounts opened and inquiries. Don't worry, this is a "soft credit pull," meaning there is no impact to your score by checking it. Look through your credit report for accuracy. Access helpful articles that explain credit bureaus, credit score, and more. Prepare: Prepare for home ownership by planning for a down payment, establishing reserves, managing your debt-to-income ratio, improving or maintaining your credit, creating loan scenarios through our calculators, establishing your projected loan-to-value, and more. Visit the readiness assessment in your app to see a snapshot of your credit overview, debt-to-income ratio, cash reserves, employment, down payment, and sales price. Share: When you are ready to move forward with a financial transaction, you choose to share information from your accounts to easily get the process started. All data is always encrypted.  Security: Security is our #1 job so you can feel confident that the financial accounts you’ve connected and documents you’ve uploaded are secure. See more here: https://www.finlocker.com/security/ Privacy: Your privacy is important to us. To learn how we protect your privacy, visit: https://s1l.com/privacy-policy/

Screenshots

Essential CU4 screens
S1 FinFit4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is monetization model: S1 FinFit at free against Essential CU's free with in-app purchases. S1 FinFit also leads on update cadence (every 5 weeks vs every 3 months) and iOS requirement (15.0 vs 17.0). Essential CU's advantage is ratings volume (4.6K vs 16) and rating (4.8 vs 4.5). On price, ads, in-app purchases and device support 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

Essential CU holds the better App Store score, 4.8 against 4.5. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: Essential CU has 4.6K ratings behind it against 16, so its average is the more settled of the two. Written reviews point the same way: 80% of Essential CU's written reviews are positive against 71% of S1 FinFit's.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

Essential CU ships an update every 3 months, S1 FinFit every 5 weeks. The most recent releases landed on November 6, 2026 and November 3, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard6 real differences · 4 level
Essential CU versus S1 FinFit: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterEssential CUS1 FinFit
PriceFreeFree
Rating4.8 (4.6K ratings) — better4.5 (16 ratings)
Positive reviews80.3% of reviews — better71.4% of reviews
Number of ratings4.6K — better16
Update frequencyEvery 3 monthsEvery 5 weeks — better
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesNoNo
MonetizationFree with in-app purchasesFree — better
DevicesiPhone, iPad, Apple WatchiPhone, iPad, iPod
Requires iOS17.015.0 — better
Further details — not scored
Size114 MB115 MB
Age rating4+12+
DeveloperEssential Credit UnionSynergy One Lending Inc

Customer experience

Essential CU

All ratings4,560 ratings
Positive95.5%
Neutral1.6%
Negative2.9%
Written reviews61 reviews
Positive80.3%
Neutral4.9%
Negative14.8%

S1 FinFit

All ratings16 ratings
Positive87.5%
Neutral0.0%
Negative12.5%
Written reviews7 reviews
Positive71.4%
Neutral0.0%
Negative28.6%

Bugs and requests

Essential CU

Reported bugs

4 issues
  • Login screen freezes
  • Account information not displaying correctly
  • Deposit issues and delays
  • Compatibility problems with newer devices

Requested features

4 requests
  • Ability to lock debit card
  • Faster credit card payment updates
  • More account management features
  • Apple Pay integration

S1 FinFit

Not enough reviews yet to summarise bugs or requests.

In-app purchases

None

Essential CU

No in-app purchases

None

S1 FinFit

No in-app purchases

Questions

Is Essential CU free?
Essential CU is free to download, with no in-app purchases.
Is S1 FinFit free?
S1 FinFit is free to download, with no in-app purchases.
Which has better reviews, Essential CU or S1 FinFit?
Essential CU is rated higher. Essential CU averages 4.8 out of 5 from 4.6K ratings, while S1 FinFit averages 4.5 from 16 ratings.
Do Essential CU or S1 FinFit have ads?
Neither Essential CU nor S1 FinFit shows ads.
Which is updated more often, Essential CU or S1 FinFit?
Essential CU ships an update every 3 months, and S1 FinFit every 5 weeks. Most recently, Essential CU was updated on November 6, 2026 and S1 FinFit on November 3, 2026.

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