Comparison

ESP vs Ghost

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

Head to head
About

ESP

Track South Africa's loadshedding schedules with accurate, real-time notifications for your specific area. Connect with neighbors in local community chats to discuss power outages, local faults, and other neighborhood happenings.

Highlights
  • Accurate loadshedding schedules by suburb
  • Real-time push notifications
  • Local community chat groups
  • Report local issues (power, water, etc.)
  • Follow multiple areas
  • Neighbor-to-neighbor communication
Features
Read full description

Whole street dark? Water off again? Wifi down? ESP (previously EskomSePush) shows live power, water and internet outages in your suburb, reported by the neighbours living through them. Then you can talk to them about it. Free, made in South Africa, and used by millions. IS IT JUST ME? Open ESP and know in seconds. Every area you follow shows the live status of power, water and internet, built from your neighbours' reports. - Check in with one tap: "Mine's off" or "I have power" - Watch it happen on a 24-hour chart of off and on reports - Read a short summary of what's going on while it lasts - See the moment it starts coming back on TALK TO YOUR AREA Every area has its own chats for power, water, internet and Ask my street. Post a photo of the burst pipe, ask who else heard the bang, find a plumber, return a lost dog. - Message people near you. They get a request first and decide whether to chat - Add a profile photo so the neighbours know who's who - Sign in with WhatsApp, Apple, Google or email STILL THE LOADSHEDDING APP Nobody wants it back. If it comes, ESP is ready. - Schedules for your actual suburb, not a block number - The famous 55-minute heads-up, so the kettle's on in time - Home, work, school and the folks, all in one list WEATHER FOR YOUR STREET Current conditions, the next 24 hours, a 14-day outlook and weather warnings for every area you follow. ALERTS ON YOUR TERMS Choose which chats notify you and for how long: 8 hours, 24 hours or always. Mute the noisy ones, keep the ones that matter. ESP SUPPORTER ESP is free. Become a Supporter to remove ads, add the home screen widget with your area's status and schedule, and get a supporter badge in chat. All of South Africa, suburb by suburb. Building something? The ESP Business API puts the same outage and schedule data in your product. More at esp.info Terms of use: https://esp.info/terms Privacy policy: https://esp.info/privacy ESP is independent and not affiliated with Eskom or any municipality.

About

Ghost

Read full description

GHOST Anti Theft System with Bluetooth Function Install the GHOST Connect app on your smartphone and take control of your car! Highlights: Automatic activation / deactivation Service mode on / off Multiple paring with other vehicles Bypass/ Fail safe mode Operating mode: - Simply connect your smartphone to your GHOST Anti Theft System - Tap and hold " disconnected " tab to select your GHOST - Enter in the 4 digit code that you have been provided with to unlock the GHOST - Activate or deactivate the GHOST ( Red button=Activated / Green button=Deactivated ) For all modern vehicles from 2005 - onwards. This app is available only for GHOST Systems equipped with the Bluetooth function. Compatibility may vary depending on the smartphone. Get your GHOST Anti Theft System online at www.ghostsa.co.za or our local fitment centers country wide.

Screenshots

ESP4 screens
Ghost4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is in-app purchases: Ghost at none against ESP's 4. Ghost also leads on ads (none vs shown) and iOS requirement (11.0 vs 15.0). ESP's advantage is update cadence (every 2 days vs every 6 months). On price 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. ESP sells 4 in-app purchases, starting at $1.99 per month. Ghost asks for nothing beyond the download.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

ESP ships an update every 2 days, Ghost every 6 months. The most recent releases landed on October 14, 2026 and October 1, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard4 real differences · 6 level
ESP versus Ghost: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterESPGhost
PriceFreeFree
Rating4.7 (4.5K ratings) — better—
Positive reviews84.5% of reviews—
Number of ratings4.5K — better—
Update frequencyEvery 2 days — betterEvery 6 months
AdsYesNo — better
In-app purchasesYesNo — better
MonetizationFree with in-app purchases—
DevicesiPhone, iPad, iPod — betteriPhone, iPod
Requires iOS15.011.0 — better
Further details — not scored
Size106 MB5 MB
Age rating12+4+
DeveloperWELLWELLWELLSELETRON SNC DI LAGO EMANUEL & STEFANO

Bugs and requests

ESP

Reported bugs

3 issues
  • Schedules not updating in real-time
  • Notifications not working as expected
  • Certain areas/suburbs disappearing from the app

Requested features

4 requests
  • Add calendar integration for schedule planning
  • Improve user interface and layout
  • Provide more detailed historical data
  • Enable location services for automatic area detection

Ghost

Not enough reviews yet to summarise bugs or requests.

In-app purchases

4 purchases

ESP

Subscriptions4
  • Pay Monthly$1.991 Month
  • Remove Ads for a year$13.991 Year
  • Pay Monthly$17.491 Year
Show 1 more
  • Pay Yearly$19.991 Year
None

Ghost

No in-app purchases

Questions

Is ESP free?
ESP is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Is Ghost free?
Ghost is free to download, with no in-app purchases.
Do ESP or Ghost have ads?
ESP shows ads; Ghost does not.
Which is updated more often, ESP or Ghost?
ESP ships an update every 2 days, and Ghost every 6 months. Most recently, ESP was updated on October 14, 2026 and Ghost on October 1, 2026.

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