# Crouton vs Homebaker

The clearest difference is rating: Crouton at 4.8 against Homebaker's 1.0. Crouton also leads on ads (none vs shown) and ratings volume (2.9K vs 1). Homebaker's advantage is review sentiment (100% vs 79%) and iOS requirement (14.0.0 vs 16.1). On price, update cadence, in-app purchases and monetization model there is nothing between them.

Both are free to download. Crouton sells 8 in-app purchases, starting at $1.99 per month and Homebaker sells 1 in-app purchase, starting at $1.99 per month. Whichever you choose, the download price is not the number that matters.

Crouton holds the better App Store score, 4.8 against 1.0. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: Crouton has 2.9K ratings behind it against 1, so its average is the more settled of the two. Written reviews complicate that: 79% of Crouton's written reviews are positive against 100% of Homebaker's, so the app with the better star average is not the one people write more warmly about.

Crouton ships an update monthly, Homebaker fortnightly. The most recent releases landed on October 29, 2026 and October 24, 2026 respectively.

## The numbers

| Metric | Crouton | Homebaker |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Price | Free | Free |
| Rating | **[4.8 (2.9K ratings)](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/crouton-recipe-manager/id1461650987/reviews)** | [1.0 (1 ratings)](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/homebaker-bread-baking-notes/id6467456391/reviews) |
| Number of ratings | **2.9K** | 1 |
| Positive reviews | 78.7% of reviews | **100.0% of reviews** |
| In-app purchases | Yes | Yes |
| Ads | **No** | Yes |
| Update frequency | Monthly | **Fortnightly** |
| Monetization | Free with in-app purchases | Free with in-app purchases |
| Best chart rank | **#49** | — |
| Size | 345 MB | 52 MB |
| Requires iOS | 16.1 | **14.0.0** |
| Devices | **iPhone, iPad, Mac, Apple Watch, Vision Pro** | iPhone, iPad, iPod |
| Age rating | 4+ | 4+ |
| Developer | [Crouton LLC](https://appshunter.io/developer/1807416236) | [SIMON RAYMOND SCHOEN](https://appshunter.io/developer/1708665361) |

## What reviewers say

### Crouton

[App page](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/crouton-recipe-manager/id1461650987)

**Currently charting:** #49 Top Grossing · Food & Drink (US App Store)

Organize your favorite recipes from any source, plan your weekly meals, and generate grocery lists automatically. Features step-by-step cooking guidance, integrated timers, and AI-powered recipe importing.

**Highlights:** Import recipes from websites, books, and handwritten notes, AI and OCR recipe scanning, Weekly meal planning and automatic plan generation, Step-by-step cooking mode with hands-free navigation, Integrated timers and ingredient quantity display, Automatic grocery list creation, Cloud syncing across devices

**Features:** Family Sharing, Apple Watch app, SharePlay, iPhone Duo support

**In-app purchases (8)**

| Purchase | Price | Billing |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Discover Monthly | $1.99 | per month |
| Discover Yearly | $14.99 | per year |
| Kind Tip | $0.99 | one-time |
| Great Tip | $1.99 | one-time |
| Amazing Tip | $3.99 | one-time |
| Outrageous Tip | $7.99 | one-time |
| Crouton+ Early Bird | $17.99 | one-time |
| Crouton Plus | $24.99 | one-time |

**What reviewers like**

- 🚀 Easy to use
- 👍 Intuitive interface
- 🚀 Seamless recipe import
- 🚀 Hands-free navigation
- 👍 Household sharing

**What reviewers complain about**

- 🐛 Buggy recipe import
- 🐛 Inconsistent hands-free navigation
- 🔒 Limited free features
- 🔒 Subscription required for full functionality
- 🔒 Inability to share recipes with non-users

**Reported bugs**

- Grocery list not remembering checked items
- Syncing issues between devices
- Inability to add more than 5 recipes in free version

**Requested features**

- Recipe rating system
- Nutrition information
- Ability to add recipe notes and descriptions
- Improved grocery list organization
- Web/Windows app version


### Homebaker

[App page](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/homebaker-bread-baking-notes/id6467456391)

This app helps home bakers track bread recipes and baking sessions. It allows users to create custom recipes, log detailed session notes with timings and photos, and manage sourdough starters. Push notifications remind users of important steps and feeding times.

**Highlights:** Create custom bread recipes, Log detailed baking sessions with photos, Automatic baker's percentage calculation, Manage sourdough starter activity, Step-by-step baking session tracking, Push notification reminders

**In-app purchases (1)**

| Purchase | Price | Billing |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Homebaker Pro | $1.99 | per month |


## Frequently asked questions

### Is Crouton free?

Crouton is free to download, with in-app purchases available.

### Is Homebaker free?

Homebaker is free to download, with in-app purchases available.

### Which has better reviews, Crouton or Homebaker?

Crouton is rated higher. Crouton averages 4.8 out of 5 from 2.9K ratings, while Homebaker averages 1.0 from 1 ratings.

### Do Crouton or Homebaker have ads?

Homebaker shows ads; Crouton does not.

### Which is updated more often, Crouton or Homebaker?

Crouton ships an update monthly, and Homebaker fortnightly. Most recently, Crouton was updated on October 29, 2026 and Homebaker on October 24, 2026.

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*Compared by [AppsHunter](https://appshunter.io/) from daily US App Store data. Review summaries are generated from verbatim App Store reviews.*