Comparison

America's Test Kitchen vs Magnifying Light

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

Head to head
About

America's Test Kitchen

Access thousands of rigorously tested recipes, cooking videos, and expert product reviews. Enhance your culinary skills with on-demand classes taught by test kitchen professionals. Save favorites, create shopping lists, and discover new dishes for any occasion.

Highlights
  • 14,000+ tested recipes
  • Expert-led cooking classes
  • App-exclusive content
  • Product reviews and ratings
  • Save favorite recipes
  • Create shopping lists
  • Ad-free cooking episodes
Read full description

The America's Test Kitchen app delivers the best-tasting recipes, cooking videos, product reviews, and more than 30 years of test kitchen discoveries! Get every rigorously tested recipe from America’s Test Kitchen, Cook’s Illustrated, and Cook’s Country. Recipe collections for every occasion: Weeknight recipes, healthy recipes, desserts, slow cooker recipes, and more all include “Why This Recipe Works” so you’ll know every test kitchen discovery. Save favorite recipes, cook great food, and get the recipe app that has it all. New app-exclusive feature! ATK Classes add on with expert-led cooking classes for all skill levels and personal connections with ATK instructors. Download America’s Test Kitchen today and become a culinary master! America’s Test Kitchen Features: Save Favorite Recipes - Cooking app with 14,000+ best-ever recipes - Recipes tested by test cooks and 70,000 volunteer home cooks - Recipe Collections: slow cooker recipes, seasonal picks, quick meals & more - Recipes added every month and cooking articles added every day! - Save favorite recipes, customize recipes with personal notes & get quick access on any device Kitchen Reviews - Kitchen appliance reviews and ingredient ratings at your fingertips - Save money and time with 8,000+ rigorously researched product reviews & trusted kitchen reviews Full Episodes, Ad-Free - Cooking episodes from 42 seasons of our top-rated TV shows America’s Test Kitchen and Cook’s Country And More! - Get Fresh Pick recommendations based on your favorites with Recipe Recommendations - Find, compare, save favorite recipes & share with others - Shopping lists are created with ease and you’ll never forget anything again New Feature: Add On ATK Classes! - Focused, fun on-demand classes taught by test kitchen experts - Build your skills and refine your cooking intuition - Use “Cook Along” mode to see every step - Enjoy a personal connection with instructors - Access classes for all skill levels Try out the entire app with a free trial. - Current ATK Essential members can access this app at no additional charge after logging in - Access to the ATK app requires a monthly or annual ATK Essential membership, which also includes all the content across the America’s Test Kitchen, Cook’s Illustrated, and Cook’s Country sites. - Bundle ATK Essential + ATK Classes and save! Privacy Policy: https://www.americastestkitchen.com/guides/corporate-pages/privacy-policy CA Privacy Notice: https://www.americastestkitchen.com/guides/corporate-pages/privacy-policy Terms of Service: https://www.americastestkitchen.com/guides/corporate-pages/terms-of-use Contact Us: support@Americastestkitchen.com All subscriptions start at the end of the applicable free trial period. Free trials are only available upon an initial subscription. Payment will be charged to your iTunes account after your free trial period or at confirmation of purchase. Your subscription will automatically renew each month or year 24 hours before the end of the current period and your credit card will be charged through your iTunes account unless auto-renew is turned off at least 24-hours before the end of the current period. You can turn off auto-renew at any time from your iTunes account settings. Any unused portion of a free trial period, if offered, will be forfeited when you purchase a subscription to that publication, where applicable. All products reviewed by America’s Test Kitchen are independently chosen, researched, and reviewed by our editors. We buy products for testing at retail locations and do not accept unsolicited samples for testing. We list suggested sources for recommended products as a convenience to our readers but do not endorse specific retailers. When you choose to purchase our editorial recommendations from the links we provide, we may earn an affiliate commission. Prices are subject to change.

About

Magnifying Light

Easily read small text and examine objects up close with a digital magnifying glass and built-in flashlight. Capture clear images of what you see and save them to your device.

Highlights
  • Maximum zoom capability
  • Integrated flashlight
  • Photo capture and save
  • Simple user interface
  • QR code scanning (in-app purchase)
  • Ad removal (in-app purchase)
Features
Read full description

Having trouble reading small text? Or want to view objects up close? This simple magnifying glass app with a flashlight, will help you read and see clearly in any situation. This app can be very helpful for: - Reading menus in restaurants - Reading ingredients of a grocery item - Reading prescription bottles - Examining small objects - etc Features: - Maximum zooming / magnification capability - Flashlight mode - Take photos and save in your library - Simple and easy to use Upgrade your in-app experience by purchasing the following features: - QR code scanner - Remove ads How to use: - Open app - Turn on flashlight with button - Pinch to zoom or adjust zoom with sliding button - Take photo to stabilize if needed (and save to library if desired)

Screenshots

America's Test Kitchen4 screens
Magnifying Light4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is monetization model: Magnifying Light at free with in-app purchases against America's Test Kitchen's subscription. Magnifying Light also leads on review sentiment (100% vs 66%). America's Test Kitchen's advantage is ratings volume (18K vs 6) and update cadence (fortnightly vs every 5 weeks). On price, rating, ads and in-app purchases 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. America's Test Kitchen sells 6 in-app purchases, starting at $9.99 per month and Magnifying Light sells 2 one-off in-app purchases. Whichever you choose, the download price is not the number that matters.

ReceptionRating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings

On the App Store both sit at effectively the same score — 4.9 for America's Test Kitchen against 4.8 for Magnifying Light. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: America's Test Kitchen has 18K ratings behind it against 6, so its average is the more settled of the two. Written reviews are what separate them: 66% of America's Test Kitchen's written reviews are positive against 100% of Magnifying Light's.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

America's Test Kitchen ships an update fortnightly, Magnifying Light every 5 weeks. The most recent releases landed on October 22, 2026 and October 13, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard5 real differences · 6 level
America's Test Kitchen versus Magnifying Light: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterAmerica's Test KitchenMagnifying Light
PriceFreeFree
Rating4.9 (18K ratings) — better4.8 (6 ratings)
Positive reviews66.1% of reviews100.0% of reviews — better
Number of ratings18K — better6
Update frequencyFortnightly — betterEvery 5 weeks
AdsYesYes
In-app purchasesYesYes
MonetizationSubscriptionFree with in-app purchases — better
Best chart rank#9 — better—
DevicesiPhone, iPad, iPodiPhone, iPad, iPod
Requires iOS15.615.0 — better
Further details — not scored
Size129 MB5 MB
Age rating12+4+
DeveloperAmerica's Test Kitchen LPCole Duclos

Customer experience

America's Test Kitchen

All ratings18,073 ratings
Positive98.6%
Neutral0.4%
Negative1.0%
Written reviews514 reviews
Positive66.1%
Neutral7.2%
Negative26.7%

Magnifying Light

All ratings6 ratings
Positive100.0%
Neutral0.0%
Negative0.0%
Written reviews3 reviews
Positive100.0%
Neutral0.0%
Negative0.0%

Bugs and requests

America's Test Kitchen

Reported bugs

4 issues
  • Recipes and content not loading properly
  • Inability to access account after updates
  • Syncing issues between app and website
  • Frequent log-outs and need to re-login

Requested features

4 requests
  • Add ability to categorize and organize saved recipes
  • Improve search functionality and filtering options
  • Implement sharing capabilities to easily share recipes
  • Add support for metric measurements alongside imperial

Magnifying Light

Not enough reviews yet to summarise bugs or requests.

In-app purchases

6 purchases

America's Test Kitchen

Subscriptions6
  • ATK Essential - Monthly14 Days trial$9.991 Month
  • Classes Monthly$9.991 Month
  • Essential + Classes - Monthly$19.991 Month
Show 3 more
  • Classes Annual$39.991 Year
  • ATK Essential - Annual14 Days trial$49.991 Year
  • Essential + Classes - Annual14 Days trial$89.991 Year
2 purchases

Magnifying Light

One-time2
  • QR Scanner$0.99
  • Remove Ads$0.99

Questions

Is America's Test Kitchen free?
America's Test Kitchen is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Is Magnifying Light free?
Magnifying Light is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Which has better reviews, America's Test Kitchen or Magnifying Light?
America's Test Kitchen is rated higher. America's Test Kitchen averages 4.9 out of 5 from 18K ratings, while Magnifying Light averages 4.8 from 6 ratings.
Do America's Test Kitchen or Magnifying Light have ads?
Both America's Test Kitchen and Magnifying Light show ads.
Which is updated more often, America's Test Kitchen or Magnifying Light?
America's Test Kitchen ships an update fortnightly, and Magnifying Light every 5 weeks. Most recently, America's Test Kitchen was updated on October 22, 2026 and Magnifying Light on October 13, 2026.

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