bartender.live vs Mixology
Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both apps, side by side — with what reviewers say about each.
bartender.live
Discover cocktail recipes based on ingredients you have. Browse over a thousand drinks, star favorites, and share creations. Learn drink histories and find new concoctions.
- Ingredient-based drink discovery
- Browse 1000+ cocktail recipes
- Favorite drinks for quick access
- Share recipes with friends
- Learn drink history
- Discover new cocktails
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bartender.live tells you what you can make with what you already have. Check off the bottles in your bar and the app narrows a library of more than a thousand cocktails down to the ones you can pour tonight - complete, with nothing missing. Free. WHAT'S FREE - The whole drink library, with photos, honest measures, glassware, and the story behind each drink. New recipes almost every day. - My Bar: track as many bottles as you like, synced across your devices with iCloud. - I Can Make: the filter that started it all. One tap and you see only the cocktails your shelf can already pour. - Favorites and sharing: keep the good ones and send the recipe to whoever is thirsty. - Ingredient pages: what each bottle is, how it tastes, and every drink that calls for it. TOP SHELF One purchase, kept forever, no subscription: - The Almost filter: every cocktail you are exactly one bottle away from making, with the bottle named. - Home Screen widgets. - The daily cocktail suggestion. - Suggestions limited to what you can actually make. - Custom icons for your favorites. FOUNDERS Bought the app back when it cost money? You are a Founder: every Top Shelf feature is yours automatically, forever. The first round was on you, and the house does not forget that. Cheers!
Mixology
Discover and create a wide variety of cocktails with an extensive recipe library. Find new drinks based on your preferences, ingredients you have, or explore popular and random suggestions. Elevate your home bartending with detailed instructions and pairing ideas.
- Extensive cocktail recipe library
- Search by name, ingredient, or type
- Save favorite cocktails
- Random cocktail generator
- Home bar inventory suggestions
- Ingredient information
- Detailed step-by-step instructions
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Whether you are making a drink for the first time or you are an experienced mixologist, Pocket Bartender turns your phone into a complete drink-making assistant. Designed with a clean layout and powerful tools, the app takes the guesswork out of cocktail preparation so you can focus on making and enjoying great drinks. Key Features * Designed for All Skill Levels Beginners get clear step-by-step instructions and automatic measurement conversions to build confidence without technical jargon. Seasoned pros can build custom recipes from scratch, use advanced ingredient substitution options, and batch cocktails for large gatherings. * Vast Library of High-Quality Recipes Access thousands of classic, modern, signature, and seasonal recipes for holidays like Halloween and Valentine's Day. Explore a wide variety of both alcoholic drinks and zero-proof mocktails, smoothies, and party punches. * AI-Powered Photo Recognition Snap a photo of any cocktail to instantly view its name, history, and detailed step-by-step recipe. Take a picture of your available ingredients, and the app will immediately show you every drink you can create with them. * Smart Inventory & "What Can I Make?" Input your home bar stock to see every cocktail you can make right now without extra store trips. View exact missing ingredient counts for drinks you want to try, making shopping quick and focused. Manage your home bar inventory by listing ingredients and available quantities for automated daily suggestions. * Smart Substitutions & Precision Scaling Get instant ingredient swap suggestions—like substituting light rum for gin—with notes on how flavor profiles change. Scale any recipe instantly by number of servings or liquid volume so your proportions remain accurate for any crowd size. * Custom Recipe Builder & Shared Shopping Lists Create your own unique recipes or tweak existing classics to match your personal taste. Add missing items directly from recipe cards to an in-app shopping list and share it instantly with friends or family. * Smart Search, Folders & Discovery Search easily by drink name, specific spirit, or style categories like tiki, punch, or highball. Organize your favorite cocktails into custom folders like Date Night or Summer Party. Use the Random Cocktail Generator to discover new flavors, explore popular trending drinks, or browse similar cocktail recommendations. View curated food and snack pairings designed to complement the flavor profile of your selected drink. Privacy Policy: https://pocketbartender.app/privacypolicy/ Terms of Use: https://pocketbartender.app/tos/
Screenshots
Verdict
The clearest difference is monetization model: bartender.live at free against Mixology's free with in-app purchases. bartender.live also leads on review sentiment (77% vs 61%) and ratings volume (388 vs 84). On price, rating, update cadence and ads 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. bartender.live sells 1 one-off in-app purchase and Mixology sells 5 in-app purchases, starting at $3.99 per month. Whichever you choose, the download price is not the number that matters.
bartender.live holds the better App Store score, 4.8 against 4.6. Both are backed by a comparable volume of ratings — 388 and 84 respectively. Written reviews point the same way: 77% of bartender.live's written reviews are positive against 61% of Mixology's.
bartender.live ships an update every 8 days, Mixology fortnightly. The most recent releases landed on November 2, 2026 and November 8, 2026 respectively.
| Parameter | bartender.live | Mixology |
|---|---|---|
| Price | Free | Free |
| Rating | 4.8 (388 ratings) — better | 4.6 (84 ratings) |
| Positive reviews | 76.7% of reviews — better | 61.1% of reviews |
| Number of ratings | 388 — better | 84 |
| Update frequency | Every 8 days — better | Fortnightly |
| Ads | No | No |
| In-app purchases | Yes | Yes |
| Monetization | Free — better | Free with in-app purchases |
| Devices | iPhone, iPad | iPhone, iPad, Mac — better |
| Requires iOS | 17.0 | 16.0 — better |
| Further details — not scored | ||
| Size | 76 MB | 115 MB |
| Age rating | 17+ | 17+ |
| Developer | Jacket Industries, LLC | Vincent Kiptirgei |
Customer experience
bartender.live
Mixology
Bugs and requests
bartender.live
Reported bugs
5 issues- Search returns no results for valid queries (e.g., 'Gin Campari')
- 'New' tab in drinks list remains grayed out
- New drink notifications not accessible if alert is missed
- Missing ingredients in some recipe descriptions despite correct images
- Inconsistent notification delivery for daily drink feature
Requested features
15 requests- Search/filter by specific spirit or ingredient (e.g., mint, bourbon)
- Ability to add personal notes and modify recipes
- Quantity tracking for inventory items
- Filter drinks by number of missing ingredients (1-3 missing)
- Ingredient suggestions to unlock more drinks
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- Non-Twitter method to submit new recipes (email preferred)
- Filter 'In My Bar' section by spirit or ingredient
- Seasonal categorization (summer/winter/spring/autumn)
- Back-to-top button or persistent search bar
- Grocery list generation based on inventory
- Expand spirit varieties (spiced rum, different gin brands, etc.)
- Correct recipe errors (e.g., classic vs. modern martini definitions)
- Quality control feedback feature for recipe corrections
- Notification system for new daily drinks
- iOS 10.0 compatibility for older devices
Mixology
Not enough reviews yet to summarise bugs or requests.
In-app purchases
bartender.live
- Top Shelf$4.99
Mixology
- Monthly$3.991 Month
- Annual$12.991 Year
- Annual$16.991 Year
- Lifetime$19.99
- Lifetime$24.99
Questions
Is bartender.live free?
Is Mixology free?
Which has better reviews, bartender.live or Mixology?
Do bartender.live or Mixology have ads?
Which is updated more often, bartender.live or Mixology?
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