Comparison

Best Bartender vs POOLS™

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

Head to head
About

Best Bartender

Step into a virtual saloon and become a master bartender. Mix various spirits, liqueurs, and garnishes to create the perfect cocktail. Be mindful of ratios and ingredients to avoid disastrous concoctions.

Highlights
  • Mix various spirits
  • Add ice and lemon
  • Follow drink ratios
  • Choose from a drink shelf
  • Experiment with ingredients
Features
Currently charting
Read full description

Welcome to Western saloon bar. Do you want become to Bartender ? Help the bartender mix drinks in the right ratios ! Choose from a shelf full of different drinks that range from Vodka, Whiskey, Vermouth, Tripple-Sec, Gin etc. and mix them together for the ultimate drink for a good night out. Add ice or lemon to the drinks to give it that extra kick but be careful, mixing the drinks in the wrong amounts or simply mixing the wrong drinks could end in in the worst of ways! Warning: Drinks may cause more than just a hangover.

About

POOLS™

This app offers a slow, reflective, and immersive experience focused on exploration and atmosphere. It evokes feelings of unease and curiosity through its unique environments, inspired by liminal spaces and internet phenomena. Discover changing worlds and subtle narratives without traditional gameplay mechanics.

Highlights
  • Slow, reflective exploration
  • Atmospheric and immersive environments
  • Inspired by liminal spaces
  • Unfolding narrative through exploration
  • Six distinct chapters
  • Unique sound design
Features
Read full description

Explore, admire and listen. That’s it. Uncanny. Relaxing. Unnerving. Eerie. Immersive. POOLS isn’t a traditional game. it’s slow, reflective, and intentionally uneventful, perhaps a bit like virtual museum. So take your time. Breathe. POOLS unfolds slowly, rewarding patience and quiet attention. No monsters chasing you or jumping at your screen. Yet it can feel oppressive at times by invoking quiet fears of getting lost, the dark, tight spaces and the strange beauty of liminal space architecture. There's no typical story. But as you explore and advance further, you start to notice that the game's world changes around you, deeper you go… Rooms look and feel… different. Base game features six chapters, each lasting 10-30 minutes. Inspired by the internet phenomena Liminal spaces, Found footage and The Backrooms, especially the Poolrooms concept. One of the original artists behind the Poolrooms concept is Jared Pike.

Screenshots

Best Bartender4 screens
POOLS™4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is review sentiment: POOLS™ at 80% against Best Bartender's 28%. POOLS™ also leads on rating (4.5 vs 3.6) and ads (none vs shown). Best Bartender's advantage is in-app purchases (none vs 1) and chart position (#191 vs unranked). 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. POOLS™ sells 1 one-off in-app purchase. Best Bartender asks for nothing beyond the download.

ReceptionRating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings

POOLS™ holds the better App Store score, 4.5 against 3.6. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: POOLS™ has 1.7K ratings behind it against 33, so its average is the more settled of the two. Written reviews point the same way: 28% of Best Bartender's written reviews are positive against 80% of POOLS™'s.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

Best Bartender ships an update every 32 months, POOLS™ monthly. The most recent releases landed on October 24, 2026 and October 25, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard9 real differences · 2 level
Best Bartender versus POOLS™: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterBest BartenderPOOLS™
PriceFreeFree
Rating3.6 (33 ratings)4.5 (1.7K ratings) — better
Positive reviews28.2% of reviews79.5% of reviews — better
Number of ratings331.7K — better
Update frequencyEvery 32 monthsMonthly — better
AdsYesNo — better
In-app purchasesNo — betterYes
MonetizationAd-supported — betterFree with in-app purchases
Best chart rank#191 — better—
DevicesiPhone, iPad, iPodiPhone, iPad, iPod, Mac — better
Requires iOS10.0 — better15.6
Further details — not scored
Size105 MB1.9 GB
Age rating17+9+
Developermelanie thomasTensori

Customer experience

Best Bartender

All ratings32 ratings
Positive62.5%
Neutral9.4%
Negative28.1%
Written reviews78 reviews
Positive28.2%
Neutral5.1%
Negative66.7%

POOLS™

All ratings1,738 ratings
Positive88.0%
Neutral3.2%
Negative8.7%
Written reviews630 reviews
Positive79.5%
Neutral6.3%
Negative14.1%

Bugs and requests

Best Bartender

Not enough reviews yet to summarise bugs or requests.

POOLS™

Reported bugs

2 issues
  • Unable to move on iPad Pro
  • Glitches reported

Requested features

3 requests
  • Expand to different Backrooms-inspired themes
  • Add a multiplayer mode
  • Introduce more interactive elements (e.g., monsters, items to discover)

In-app purchases

None

Best Bartender

No in-app purchases

1 purchases

POOLS™

One-time1
  • POOLS: Full Game$9.99

Questions

Is Best Bartender free?
Best Bartender is free to download, with no in-app purchases.
Is POOLS™ free?
POOLS™ is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Which has better reviews, Best Bartender or POOLS™?
POOLS™ is rated higher. Best Bartender averages 3.6 out of 5 from 33 ratings, while POOLS™ averages 4.5 from 1.7K ratings.
Do Best Bartender or POOLS™ have ads?
Best Bartender shows ads; POOLS™ does not.
Which is updated more often, Best Bartender or POOLS™?
Best Bartender ships an update every 32 months, and POOLS™ monthly. Most recently, Best Bartender was updated on October 24, 2026 and POOLS™ on October 25, 2026.

Other comparisons