Comparison

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.

Head to head
About

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.

Highlights
  • 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
Features
Read full description

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.

About

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.

Highlights
  • Scale setup guide
  • Personalize scale messages
  • Browse official recipes
  • Create and share recipes
  • Transfer recipes to scale
  • Guided brewing mode
Read full description

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

VST CoffeeTools PRO for iPhone4 screens
Brewguide4 screens

Verdict

The call

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

CostPrice · In-app purchases · Ads · Monetization

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.

ReceptionRating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings

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.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

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.

Scorecard6 real differences · 5 level
VST CoffeeTools PRO for iPhone versus Brewguide: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterVST CoffeeTools PRO for iPhoneBrewguide
Price$39.99Free — better
Rating4.0 (6 ratings) — better3.1 (14 ratings)
Positive reviews75.0% of reviews — better46.4% of reviews
Number of ratings614 — better
Update frequencyEvery 5 monthsMonthly — better
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesNoNo
MonetizationPaidFree — better
Best chart rank#116 — better—
DevicesiPhone, iPodiPhone, iPod
Requires iOS15.614.0 — better
Further details — not scored
Size5 MB18 MB
Age rating4+4+
DeveloperVSTacaia

Customer experience

VST CoffeeTools PRO for iPhone

All ratings6 ratings
Positive83.3%
Neutral0.0%
Negative16.7%
Written reviews4 reviews
Positive75.0%
Neutral0.0%
Negative25.0%

Brewguide

All ratings14 ratings
Positive42.9%
Neutral21.4%
Negative35.7%
Written reviews28 reviews
Positive46.4%
Neutral21.4%
Negative32.1%

In-app purchases

None

VST CoffeeTools PRO for iPhone

No in-app purchases

None

Brewguide

No in-app purchases

Questions

Is VST CoffeeTools PRO for iPhone free?
VST CoffeeTools PRO for iPhone costs $39.99, with no in-app purchases.
Is Brewguide free?
Brewguide is free to download, with no in-app purchases.
Which has better reviews, VST CoffeeTools PRO for iPhone or Brewguide?
VST CoffeeTools PRO for iPhone is rated higher. VST CoffeeTools PRO for iPhone averages 4.0 out of 5 from 6 ratings, while Brewguide averages 3.1 from 14 ratings.
Do VST CoffeeTools PRO for iPhone or Brewguide have ads?
Neither VST CoffeeTools PRO for iPhone nor Brewguide shows ads.
Which is updated more often, VST CoffeeTools PRO for iPhone or Brewguide?
VST CoffeeTools PRO for iPhone ships an update every 5 months, and Brewguide monthly. Most recently, VST CoffeeTools PRO for iPhone was updated on October 1, 2026 and Brewguide on October 11, 2026.

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