CStore Essentials vs Core
Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both apps, side by side — with what reviewers say about each.
CStore Essentials
Monitor and manage all your retail stores remotely from your smartphone. Get real-time insights into sales, transactions, and inventory changes, even when you're away.
- Remote store management
- Live transaction monitoring
- Full transaction receipts
- Live department and gas sales
- Add new items
- Change item prices
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Manage all your stores from your phone. Stay on top of everything happening in your store even when you are not present. - View full day reports - See live transactions as they are happing on your register - See full transaction receipts with line voids, full transaction voids and no sale register openings - See live department and gas sales - Add new items and change prices for existing item
Core
This app provides a seamless mobile and web ordering solution for businesses. It allows users to submit orders, manage credit requests, and access crucial business information like invoices and delivery details. The platform aims to simplify ordering, reduce labor costs, and improve inventory management.
- Submit orders
- Process credit requests
- Access invoices
- View credit request status
- Track delivery details
- Optimize inventory
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Our brand-new cutting edge ordering solution, CustomerFirst continues our industry leadership in online ordering and business solutions. The mobile app is fully integrated with web, allowing customers to seamlessly move between devices. • Submit orders and process credit requests • Make ordering easier by providing a complete business solution • Reduces customer labor, improves order accuracy and optimizes inventory levels • Access helpful customer information, like invoices, credit request status, delivery details and more
Screenshots
Verdict
The clearest difference is rating: CStore Essentials at 2.8 against Core's 1.4. CStore Essentials also leads on review sentiment (40% vs 0%) and iOS requirement (11.0 vs 15.6). Core's advantage is update cadence (monthly vs every 30 months). On price, ratings volume, 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
Both are free to download. Neither carries in-app purchases, so what you see is what you pay.
CStore Essentials holds the better App Store score, 2.8 against 1.4. Both are backed by a comparable volume of ratings — 68 and 186 respectively. Written reviews point the same way: 40% of CStore Essentials's written reviews are positive against 0% of Core's.
CStore Essentials ships an update every 30 months, Core monthly. The most recent releases landed on November 1, 2026 and November 4, 2026 respectively.
| Parameter | CStore Essentials | Core |
|---|---|---|
| Price | Free | Free |
| Rating | 2.8 (68 ratings) — better | 1.4 (186 ratings) |
| Positive reviews | 39.5% of reviews — better | 0.0% of reviews |
| Number of ratings | 68 | 186 — better |
| Update frequency | Every 30 months | Monthly — better |
| Ads | No | No |
| In-app purchases | No | No |
| Monetization | Free | Free |
| Devices | iPhone, iPad, iPod | iPhone, iPad, iPod |
| Requires iOS | 11.0 — better | 15.6 |
| Further details — not scored | ||
| Size | 21 MB | 73 MB |
| Age rating | 4+ | 4+ |
| Developer | Excentus | Core-Mark US, LLC |
Customer experience
CStore Essentials
Core
Bugs and requests
CStore Essentials
Reported bugs
18 issues- App doesn't work for a week
- Sign in problem after new app download
- Session expired, infinite relog loop
- Service down for over a week
- Live data doesn't work first hour of sales
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- Live data doesn't work past 12am
- Camera not focusing while scanning
- iOS scan for price change not working
- Live Sales stops updating every few days
- Sales data upload crashes
- Random charges to credit card
- Back office not working every week
- Desktop site and app layout incongruent
- Cost updating iffy, deletes cost
- Adding new items creates 12 UPC digits, causing errors
- App not updated for a year (iOS)
- Screen inaccuracy on iPad
- No optimization for iPhone X
Requested features
11 requests- Ability to change gas prices from the app
- Add ability to scan tags
- Add tender detail in live transactions
- Add departments and categories view
- Add ability to see departments and categories overall
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- Standalone lottery app for nightly reading
- Lottery app for non-gas station stores
- Bulk update for cost price
- Update app for iPhone X optimization
- Update software for iPad compatibility
- Update app to show clock, battery, signal
Core
Not enough reviews yet to summarise bugs or requests.
In-app purchases
CStore Essentials
No in-app purchases
Core
No in-app purchases
