VST CoffeeTools PRO for iPhone vs Brewguide
Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both apps, side by side — with what reviewers say about each.
VST CoffeeTools PRO for iPhone
This professional tool assists baristas, roasters, and café operators in designing and analyzing coffee and espresso beverages. It offers a simple, drag-and-drop interface for recipe creation, with automatic calculations and conversions for various brewing methods. The software also supports detailed data entry and analysis for equipment design.
- 2-step design process with direct chart data entry
- Drag-and-drop coffee recipe design
- Supports all brewing methods
- Conversions for volume, weight, and units
- Extraction Yield normalization
- Full recipe details database
- Touch-screen data input with pan and zoom
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PROFESSIONAL COFFEE TOOLS DESIGN SOFTWARE for the BARISTA, SPECIALTY ROASTER, CAFÉ and RESTAURANT OPERATOR and COFFEE & ESPRESSO BEVERAGE EQUIPMENT DESIGNER Based on MoJoToGo – Best New Product SCAA EXPO 2010 VST's UNIVERSAL BREWING CONTROL CHART SOFTWARE For Coffee, Espresso, Cupping and Equipment Design • Simple 2-Step Design Process with Direct Chart Data Entry Select the point on the Chart and the amount of Beverage, Brew Water or Coffee Dose. VST CoffeeTools™ does everything else. • Drag-and-Drop coffee recipe design works in all modes. All recipe values are automatically calculated and displayed for any brewing recipe protocol. Full conversions provided, including between brewing methods. • Portrait and Landscape mode charts supported • Works with all types of brewing methods including: drip and auto-drip; infusion and full-immersion, cupping and espresso methods. • Supports iTunes File Sharing. Import/Export all data and measurements. • Share individual recipes, data & measurements to/from other versions of VST CoffeeTools. • Fully functional with or without a coffee refractometer. Refractometer measurements may be plotted separately using measured total dissolved solids (% TDS) and Beverage amounts to chart and compare actual brew results to design target values. • Conversions for volume and weight measurements and U.S. Standard (English) to Metric units are supported in any combination. Design recipes for Drip can be directly converted to/from Infusion/Immersion methods, while maintaining identical extraction and strength relationships. •Extraction Yield normalization is automatically provided on the VST Universal Brewing Control Chart for all brew methods: Drip, Infusion, Espresso, Cupping; brew water temperature (volume measurements); liquid retained in spent grounds; CO2 & Moisture content of the ground coffee. Defaults are provided for all preferences, and may be customized separately for all modes as required. • A wide array of Presets are provided in all modes of operation that are typical of those found in home and commercial service. Each mode provides a full set of custom Presets that are user defined. • Full recipe details database maintained separately for Coffee, Espresso and Cupping. Sorting by Date, Name and Taste Score provided. • The VST Universal Brewing Control Chart supports direct touch-screen data input, pan and zoom functions, auto-scrolling of chart with ordinate and abscissa axis and reset functions. Design points for % TDS and % EXT are step-less with snap-to-grid increments provided (TDS @ 0.05% and EXT at 0.1% increments). Region of Interest (ROI) overlays are optionally provided for SCAA, SCAE, NCA regions with taste defect labels. Custom User defined ROI is also included separately for all modes. • Complete calculation results are displayed for: Dose, Brew Water, Beverage, Liquid Retained Ratio, Spent Grounds Weight, Coffee or Espresso Brew Ratio, Extraction Yield in both Design and Measured values.
Brewguide
This app helps you set up and personalize your Acaia Pearl S coffee scale. You can also browse, create, and share coffee recipes, and transfer them directly to your scale for guided brewing.
- Scale setup guide
- Personalize scale messages
- Browse official recipes
- Create and share recipes
- Transfer recipes to scale
- Guided brewing mode
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Brewguide is the companion App for the Acaia Pearl S Welcome to your new scale! The Acaia Pearl S pairs with all of our apps but this is the one to use to set up the scale. If you don’t have a Pearl S, you can still browse and create recipes. In Brewguide, you can: * Walk through a setup guide to adjust settings like turning on/off modes, changing the weight unit, adjusting the auto-off timer, turning on/off the button sound, and changing the temperature unit. * Personalize your Pearl S with your own loading message * Browse official recipes or create and share your own with a QR code or link * Easily transfer a recipe to your Pearl S - the scale holds one recipe at a time To enter Brewguide mode, where you view the loaded recipe’s prompted steps, hold the Tare button until you see “Brewguide” on the scale.
Screenshots
Verdict
The clearest difference is price: Brewguide at Free against VST CoffeeTools PRO for iPhone's $39.99. Brewguide also leads on update cadence (monthly vs every 5 months). VST CoffeeTools PRO for iPhone's advantage is rating (4.0 vs 3.1) and review sentiment (75% vs 46%). On ratings volume, 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
Brewguide is free to download; VST CoffeeTools PRO for iPhone costs $39.99 up front. Neither carries in-app purchases, so what you see is what you pay.
VST CoffeeTools PRO for iPhone holds the better App Store score, 4.0 against 3.1. Both are backed by a comparable volume of ratings — 6 and 14 respectively. Written reviews point the same way: 75% of VST CoffeeTools PRO for iPhone's written reviews are positive against 46% of Brewguide's.
VST CoffeeTools PRO for iPhone ships an update every 5 months, Brewguide monthly. The most recent releases landed on October 1, 2026 and October 11, 2026 respectively.
| Parameter | VST CoffeeTools PRO for iPhone | Brewguide |
|---|---|---|
| Price | $39.99 | Free — better |
| Rating | 4.0 (6 ratings) — better | 3.1 (14 ratings) |
| Positive reviews | 75.0% of reviews — better | 46.4% of reviews |
| Number of ratings | 6 | 14 — better |
| Update frequency | Every 5 months | Monthly — better |
| Ads | No | No |
| In-app purchases | No | No |
| Monetization | Paid | Free — better |
| Best chart rank | #116 — better | — |
| Devices | iPhone, iPod | iPhone, iPod |
| Requires iOS | 15.6 | 14.0 — better |
| Further details — not scored | ||
| Size | 5 MB | 18 MB |
| Age rating | 4+ | 4+ |
| Developer | VST | acaia |
Customer experience
VST CoffeeTools PRO for iPhone
Brewguide
In-app purchases
VST CoffeeTools PRO for iPhone
No in-app purchases
Brewguide
No in-app purchases
Questions
Is VST CoffeeTools PRO for iPhone free?
Is Brewguide free?
Which has better reviews, VST CoffeeTools PRO for iPhone or Brewguide?
Do VST CoffeeTools PRO for iPhone or Brewguide have ads?
Which is updated more often, VST CoffeeTools PRO for iPhone or Brewguide?
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