Comparison
Fullbench vs. ESS: an exclusive program vs. an open one
ESS (founded 2000, New Jersey; majority-owned by The Vistria Group since 2022) is one of the largest fully managed substitute programs in the country: 1,200+ partner districts by its own count, with ESS recruiting, employing, training, and paying its own substitutes, on its willsub+ software. It is a genuine end-to-end service. Structurally, it is close to the opposite of Fullbench — and the differences show up in the contract.
Side by side
What the public record shows
| Question | Fullbench | ESS (per public materials & records) |
|---|---|---|
| The model | An open multi-agency network. Agencies compete for every requisition; the district selects; every release and decision is timestamped. | A fully managed program staffed by ESS's own W-2 employees — ESS recruits, employs, trains, schedules, and pays the substitutes itself. |
| Exclusivity | Nonexclusive by design — published. Districts keep existing agency relationships and can add or remove agencies at will. | A publicly posted district contract (Council Rock SD, PA, 2022–24) names ESS "the exclusive contract provider of Substitute Staff to the LEA," and its 2022 investor announcement describes ESS as "the exclusive outsourced substitute teacher management provider" to clients. We did not locate the word on ESS's own marketing site as of August 2026; the contracts in public records use it. |
| Pricing | Published: $0 to districts, with no annual escalator and no rate formula — every posting is priced by competing agencies under a maximum bill rate your office sets and can reset at any time. Agencies pay Fullbench 3–5% at collection, itemized. | Not published. Public board records show negotiated per-position markups — in the Council Rock contract, a $150.00/day substitute billed at $194.25 (~29.5%), with an annual escalator of 3% or CPI, whichever is greater. |
| Hiring your own substitute | Hire anyone onto your own staff whenever you want. Fullbench's district agreement has no buyout, lost-markup, or notification clause — a hire costs the program nothing, ever. | The same public contract obligates the district to pay ESS the exhibit markup if it uses ESS substitutes directly for covered services, plus lost markup and collection costs if ESS isn't promptly notified. |
| The software | One platform built for a competitive network: simultaneous releases, credential gates, consolidated invoicing, scorecards, a per-decision record. | Proprietary willsub+ (2018) for absence management and time tracking, plus integrations with Frontline, Red Rover, SmartFind Express, and Tyler. No public timestamped-release or audit-record mechanism was located as of August 2026. |
| Scale | A new program, honest about it — which is why everything is published and everything is recorded. You can verify us in a 30-minute walkthrough. | Very large: 1,200+ districts, 100,000+ employees, ~35,000 daily placements by its own count, with affiliates in virtual teaching (Proximity Learning) and clinical/behavioral roles (ESS Clinical, PSI). |
Based on publicly available information as of August 2026: ess.com (About, District FAQs), The Vistria Group's 2022 announcement, and the publicly posted Council Rock School District 2022–24 agreement with ESS Northeast, LLC (district board documents). Contract terms quoted are from that one public agreement; other districts' terms may differ. ESS and willsub+ are trademarks of their owners. Spot an error? Tell us and we'll correct it.
The takeaway
The year-two question
An exclusive single-employer program can work — ESS's scale says plenty of districts choose it. The questions that matter come later: when fill rates sag, an exclusivity clause means you can't bring in help; when you find a substitute your principals love, a direct-hire clause means hiring them costs you the markup. Fullbench is built on the opposite premise: add agencies whenever coverage needs it, hire anyone onto your staff without owing the program a dollar, and pay nothing for any of it.
Next step
Request a walkthrough
Thirty minutes on the live platform — your roles, your rate ceilings, your agencies' names on the screen. No slideware.
- Watch a requisition release to every agency at one recorded instant
- See the credential gate hold a start date until the file clears
- Trace approved hours into the one consolidated invoice your business office pays