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Updated July 2026 · real, multi-region App Store reviews
Head-to-head

Heja vs ESPN

Heja 4.8★ · Free to download 75
Winner Heja
ESPN 4.6★ · Free + IAP 60

Heja is the better choice for managing amateur sports teams due to its strong organizational features and communication tools, while ESPN is best for general sports news and scores, despite its issues with ads and customization.

Full reviews: Heja · ESPN

Heja excels as a team management app, offering reliable scheduling and communication, though recent ad intrusions and paywalls for features like calendar sync are frustrating users. ESPN, while a comprehensive source for sports news and scores, suffers from excessive ads, frequent crashes, and a lack of customization for its vast content.

Head to head

Features & Functionality edge: HejaR5R8R10R11
Heja Heja is praised for its ability to organize schedules, posts, and chats, making team communication and management easier for coaches and parents R5R8R11R51. Users appreciate knowing game times, cancellations, and what's needed for games R5. However, a significant complaint is the recent move to charge for features previously free, such as calendar syncing R10R22R24.
ESPN ESPN is valued for providing live scores, news, highlights, and schedules across a wide range of sports . Users like the ability to follow favorite teams and players . However, there are complaints about the lack of customization, with users unable to filter out unwanted sports or specific content R61. Some users also report missing or broken features, such as iMessage score sharing and specific league coverage .
Ease of Use edge: HejaR7R8R11R29
Heja Heja is frequently described as easy to learn and use, with a straightforward interface for connecting and organizing events R8R11R29. Users find it simple to keep up with coaches and teammates R39. However, some recent reviews call it convoluted and confusing R7.
ESPN ESPN is generally considered easy to use for checking scores and getting updates R72. However, users report difficulties navigating the app, finding specific matches, or filtering content R61R81. There are also complaints about slow loading times and lag .
Reliability & Performance tieR12R16R19R33
Heja Heja is generally seen as reliable for communication and scheduling R11R51. However, recent reviews highlight significant performance issues, including freezing, not displaying information, buffering for extended periods, and glitches where new members are added multiple times R12R16R19R33.
ESPN ESPN users frequently report issues with the app crashing, especially when reading articles R72R81R103R105. Streaming quality can be poor, with streams stopping frequently . The app is also criticized for lagging and being slow to load, even with a strong signal . Notifications are also reported as broken or defaulting to unwanted settings .
Price & Value tieR10R22R23R24
Heja Heja is free to download, but many users express frustration over new paywalls for features that were previously free, such as calendar syncing R10R22R24. The cost to remove ads is also mentioned as being high . Some users feel the app is becoming greedy R24.
ESPN ESPN is free to download but offers in-app purchases and subscriptions (e.g., $30/month for ESPN+ mentioned in R61, $29.99 for Wimbledon in R96). Users who pay for subscriptions are annoyed by the continued presence of ads, even after paying R61R96R112. Some feel the paid subscription offers limited value, especially for replays R61R112.
Ads & Monetization tieR6R9R12R15
Heja Heja has recently introduced a significant number of intrusive ads, which users find annoying, disruptive, and sometimes deceptive R6R9R12R15. These ads often appear as pop-ups, take over the screen, play sound, and make navigation difficult . Some users upgraded to remove ads but still received them R6.
ESPN ESPN users complain about overwhelming advertisements, including full app takeovers for UFC fights and ESPN+ sign-up funnels . Even paying subscribers report seeing ads, which is a major source of frustration R61R96R112. Some ads are described as having deceptively hidden close buttons .
Pick Heja if

You need a dedicated app for managing an amateur sports team, focusing on communication, scheduling, and attendance, and are willing to tolerate recent ad intrusions or pay for a premium version R5R8R11R51.

Pick ESPN if

You primarily want a comprehensive source for general sports news, scores, and highlights across a wide variety of sports, and are willing to navigate frequent ads and occasional performance issues .

Evidence note: Heja's reviews are heavily skewed by recent negative feedback regarding increased ads and paywalls, which contrasts with its higher lifetime rating. ESPN has a much larger user base and a broader scope, leading to a wider variety of complaints, but also many positive reviews about its comprehensive coverage.

Frequently asked

Does Heja offer a free version?
Yes, Heja is free to download and use for basic team communication and scheduling, but many users report that features like calendar syncing, which were previously free, now require payment, and the free version is heavily impacted by intrusive ads R10R22R24.
Can I remove ads from ESPN?
Users report that even after purchasing subscriptions like ESPN+ (e.g., $30/month or $29.99 for specific events), they still encounter frequent and annoying advertisements, which diminishes the value of the paid service R61R96R112.
Is Heja good for coaches?
Yes, Heja is highly recommended by coaches for its effectiveness in communicating updates, reminders, and organizing team events, making the coach-to-team experience much easier R11R39R51R57.
Why is ESPN crashing frequently?
Many users report that the ESPN app frequently crashes, especially when reading articles, and experiences issues with slow loading times and freezing, making it unreliable for some R72R81R103R105.

What reviewers actually said

Built only from these 120 real reviews (foreign ones translated). Superscripts jump to the quote here. Apple has no per-review links, so [ref] opens that app's reviews on the App Store.

  1. [R5] Heja 5/5 · US Sooo good: It helps me with everything like knowing when a game is or what I need for that game or if something is canceled I know it had helped me soooo much 5 stars 1000 percent totally recommend
  2. [R8] Heja 5/5 · US Exceptional: Awesome app. Very organized and quick responses from team members. Easy to learn.
  3. [R10] Heja 2/5 · US Doesn’t sync with calendars without paying more: Not cool to make me pay more to sync with Google Calendar
  4. [R11] Heja 4/5 · US Very reliable: This app is reliable and easy to use. Heja keeps schedules, posts, and chats all organized and easily manageable. It makes the coach to team experience 10x easier. So glad to be using Heja, and would definitely recommend.
  5. [R7] Heja 1/5 · US Horrible: This app is the most convoluted and confusing app ever.
  6. [R29] Heja 5/5 · US Great!: Easy to use and great way to communicate with team and coaches!
  7. [R12] Heja 3/5 · GB Glitchy!: Used for many years with no issues, until now! When new members join the team, it’s adding them 50+ times, meaning me as admin needs to remove the duplicates one by one. Lots of adverts recently added which is annoying when wanting to check something quick.
  8. [R16] Heja 1/5 · US Not working: My app is not working … it keeps on freezing and will not display any info..
  9. [R19] Heja 2/5 · US Nauty: Loved this app until it buffered for 2 days straight not allowing me to use it. Please fix this issue. I have been in 3 different places with wifi and used my own mobile data, waited a day, logged out logged back in and…. Nothing. Im annoyrd
  10. [R33] Heja 3/5 · GB Unable to view schedule since latest update.: Please sort. Unable to view schedule since latest update.
  11. [R22] Heja 1/5 · US Worst Team App Ever: Pop ups, pop ups, pop ups, oh and super long pop ups. Also, just to through lighter fluid on the raging fire, no free calendar sync. I may leave my son’s baseball team solely because they use this app. He will cry because he loves his team but honestly I can’t take it anymore.
  12. [R23] Heja 4/5 · US Calendar: My organization loves Heja, we use it for all team communication. Recently we have been unable to update and add new events to the calendar under the free version.
  13. [R24] Heja 3/5 · GB Good app but getting greedy: Used this app for a few years with a number of teams and used to find one of the best. But extra costs are creeping in for features that were always there for free previously like calendar syncing. Disappointing approach. Downgraded from 4 star to 3 star as a result.
  14. [R6] Heja 3/5 · US Ads: That app works pretty well but I upgraded to get no ads as they are annoying. Little did I know that I would keep getting ads from Heja. They still spam you with their own ads. Not sure it was worth upgrading
  15. [R9] Heja 3/5 · GB Used to be a brilliant app!: Used to be a brilliant app but it now plagued with rubbish adverts for things nobody wants! Time to go back to a group chat on WhatsApp.
  16. [R15] Heja 3/5 · GB Invasive adds: This is a great app but the adds have become highly invasive lately and very annoying.
  17. [R61] ESPN 1/5 · US No customization - my thumb is tired: Unlimited???? NOT! It’s very limited!!! Esp no tennis replays of major matches- live only. For $30/mo extra that is robbery. Too many sports I don’t care to watch that I can’t filter out. UI great for free app but for paid subscription I would expect ability to filter what I want to see, not what ESPN wants me to see EASILY. I spend too much time hunting an
  18. [R96] ESPN 3/5 · US 29.99 for adds: Purchased the app to watch Wimbledon matches. I think for 29.99$ I don’t have to watch 2 min ads every time I want to fast forward the video. Those ads are so annoying!
  19. [R112] ESPN 1/5 · US Do not waste your money on subscriptions: I subscribed to ESPN specifically to watch the Wimbledon 2026 men’s and women’s singles matches in the US. Because of the time difference, the matches are played while I’m at work, so I expected to watch the replays in the evening. Instead, I paid for a subscription that still includes a lot of advertising, and by the time I get home, many of the matches
  20. [R39] Heja 5/5 · US Heja is a great app!: Heja is a very convenient sports app. It is very easy to use. It has been really easy to keep up with my coaches and teammates. I would recommend Heja to any coaches or teams, really to anyone who plays sports.⚽️🏀🏈
  21. [R51] Heja 5/5 · US It’s recommended: As a coach, this app is really good for communicating updates and reminders for parents. You can also upload team pictures. I find this app very useful and reliable.
  22. [R57] Heja 5/5 · US Great App: I’ve used this app to manage multiple teams across multiple programs and have found it easy to use, straight forward and a great communication tool for athletes and parents.
  23. [R72] ESPN 3/5 · US App Crashing: I like the app, and it’s easy to use. The issue with it though is that it will randomly crash while I’m reading an article. Happens too often and I don’t experience this with my other apps. If it weren’t for this I’d give it 5 stars.
  24. [R81] ESPN 3/5 · US App Issues: App keeps crashing
  25. [R103] ESPN 1/5 · US Broken app: Every time I try and read article, or anything else, I get about five sentences in and the app tries to break itself. It will either send me to the home page, switch to some random article, or gray screen. The app has been completely unusable for the last month. I’ve had the app for multiple years and just uninstalled it.
  26. [R105] ESPN 3/5 · GB My fave app is crashing constantly: For almost 3 weeks, it’s been crashing once a minute. No Apple update taken. And it looks like it doesn’t support Liquid Glass. Related?

Synthesized from 120 recent App Store reviews · updated July 2026 · View on the App Store