Optimal Coffee Extraction vs Act Four
Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both apps, side by side — with what reviewers say about each.
Optimal Coffee Extraction
This app helps coffee enthusiasts and professionals scientifically measure coffee extraction. It uses modern tools and coffee specifications to guide users towards the perfect cup, aligning with SCA guidelines for cafes and roasters.
- Measure coffee extraction scientifically
- Align with SCA guidelines
- Calculate dose, time, and output
- Support for espresso and filter coffee
- Beautiful and functional design
- Useful for cafes and roasters
Read full descriptionHide full description
We are coffee people that wanted a better way to calculate extraction of our coffee's. Using modern tools & basic specs from our coffee's we are able to now measure the extraction & rely more on science in conjunction with taste in order to produce the best cup of coffee for ourselves and those we serve. We wanted to produce a beautiful design that helps represent the amount of work we put into our coffee which & our roasters put into sourcing & producing fantastic coffees. Why would I use this? Café's: Using quality roasters & quality beans isn't the only thing necessary in serving an awesome cup of coffee. Preparation & Brewing play an important role in a good cup of coffee. Our Optimal Coffee Extraction app will help you find out if you are inline with the SCA guidelines for perfect extraction. Roasters: Want to find perfect specs for your coffee's that you can give to your café? Finding the proper dose, time, & final output for espresso & filter coffee is a helpful thing to pass onto your café's and other wholesale clients to uphold proper quality standards. Things needed for this app to work: A Refractometer, either Atago or VST would work. Have feedback? Email us at help@kaleo.design
Act Four
Learn to brew perfect espresso with video guidance and taste analysis. The app tracks your brew automatically, helping you adjust your machine and recipe for your ideal cup. Designed for both beginners and experienced baristas.
- Video-guided brewing workflow
- Speed and taste analysis
- Machine and grinder adjustment guidance
- Automatic recipe tracking
- Hands-free operation
- Brew Weight and Timing adjustments
Read full descriptionHide full description
Let’s brew amazing espresso. New to espresso? Act Four’s video-guided workflow is designed to quickly walk you through the same steps used by professional baristas. We’ll analyze the speed and taste of each brew to tweak your machine, grinder, and brew recipe until you land on your ideal cup. Espresso pro? Let’s dial in by taste. After each brew, we’ll dive into the tasting experience to drive adjustments to Brew Weight and Brew Timing. Each brew iterates on the previous until we hit that magic cup. Act Four’s minimal workflow is designed to be hands-free and out of your way. Just open the app for automatic recipe, preinfusion, brew, and flow rate tracking. Privacy Policy: https://actfour.coffee/privacy Terms: https://www.apple.com/legal/internet-services/itunes/dev/stdeula/
Screenshots
Verdict
The clearest difference is rating: Act Four at 5.0 against Optimal Coffee Extraction's 4.3. Act Four also leads on review sentiment (100% vs 80%) and update cadence (every 8 days vs monthly). Optimal Coffee Extraction's advantage is in-app purchases (none vs 3) and iOS requirement (9.1 vs 16.0). On price, ratings volume, ads 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
Both are free to download. Act Four sells 3 in-app purchases, starting at $3.99 per month. Optimal Coffee Extraction asks for nothing beyond the download.
Act Four holds the better App Store score, 5.0 against 4.3. Both are backed by a comparable volume of ratings — 15 and 17 respectively. Written reviews point the same way: 80% of Optimal Coffee Extraction's written reviews are positive against 100% of Act Four's.
Optimal Coffee Extraction ships an update monthly, Act Four every 8 days. The most recent releases landed on September 29, 2026 and September 22, 2026 respectively.
| Parameter | Optimal Coffee Extraction | Act Four |
|---|---|---|
| Price | Free | Free |
| Rating | 4.3 (15 ratings) | 5.0 (17 ratings) — better |
| Positive reviews | 80.0% of reviews | 100.0% of reviews — better |
| Number of ratings | 15 | 17 — better |
| Update frequency | Monthly | Every 8 days — better |
| Ads | No | No |
| In-app purchases | No — better | Yes |
| Monetization | Free — better | Free with in-app purchases |
| Devices | iPhone, iPod — better | iPhone |
| Requires iOS | 9.1 — better | 16.0 |
| Further details — not scored | ||
| Size | 31 MB | 4 MB |
| Age rating | 4+ | 4+ |
| Developer | Andrew Daniels | AIV, LLC |
Customer experience
Optimal Coffee Extraction
Act Four
In-app purchases
Optimal Coffee Extraction
No in-app purchases
Act Four
- Monthly3 Days trial$3.991 Month
- Yearly7 Days trial$29.991 Year
- SwitchBot Integration$19.99
Questions
Is Optimal Coffee Extraction free?
Is Act Four free?
Which has better reviews, Optimal Coffee Extraction or Act Four?
Do Optimal Coffee Extraction or Act Four have ads?
Which is updated more often, Optimal Coffee Extraction or Act Four?
Other comparisons















