Backbar vs Merrill Distributing Inc.
Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both apps, side by side — with what reviewers say about each.
Backbar
This application streamlines bar and restaurant management by simplifying inventory counting, vendor purchasing, and menu costing. It helps reduce costs and improve efficiency for beverage programs. Features include real-time syncing across devices, barcode scanning, and integration with over 1,300 beverage suppliers.
- Real-time inventory syncing
- Barcode scanning for products
- Streamlined vendor purchasing
- Menu costing and pricing optimization
- Digital invoice management
- Staff education on beverages
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Backbar helps restaurants and bars increase profitability, decrease COGS, and run a more efficient beverage program. Backbar, the only free bar inventory app, saves hours on counting inventory and simplifies bar management. Backbar not only solves inventory management, but also streamlines vendor purchasing and tracking, menu costing, and financial tracking. Here are some of the many features of Backbar: - Quickly count inventory across many locations, devices and users, syncing in real-time - Count inventory in multiple locations and on multiple devices simultaneously - Scan barcodes to instantly find and count products - Streamline purchasing by sending orders to all your distributors with a single tap - Track past orders and invoices for all your distributors - Connect to your point-of-sale (POS) system for real-time inventory depletions - Save digital invoices easily by taking a photo - Connect to over 1,300 beverage suppliers for automated product updates and cost changes - Educate staff with tasting notes and drink information - Cost out cocktail recipes and optimize menu pricing - Quickly add a new item from our global database of over 300,000 wines, beers, spirits and other beverages Download the app today and make beverage management easier with Backbar
Merrill Distributing Inc.
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Order from Merrill Distributing, Inc anytime, anywhere—with just a few taps. Our mobile app lets you search our complete product catalog, manage and update your ordering guide, and buy what you need at the moment you need it. It’s part of our commitment to giving you an ordering experience you’ll love. Select benefits include: - No-headache ordering: access our full catalog & re-order easily - Better manage deliveries: track order status and view full order history - Keep everything together: delivery days, cutoff times, order updates, and promotions all in one - place - Align your team: Fully viewable records of chats and order history to make sure everyone stays on - the same page - Get in touch anytime: communicate directly with your Merrill Distributing, Inc rep in the app
Screenshots
Verdict
The clearest difference is ads: Merrill Distributing Inc. at none against Backbar's shown. Backbar's advantage is update cadence (every 3 weeks vs every 5 months). On price, in-app purchases, device support and iOS requirement 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. Neither carries in-app purchases, so what you see is what you pay.
Backbar ships an update every 3 weeks, Merrill Distributing Inc. every 5 months. The most recent releases landed on July 26, 2026 and September 10, 2026 respectively.
| Parameter | Backbar | Merrill Distributing Inc. |
|---|---|---|
| Price | Free | Free |
| Rating | 3.6 (33 ratings) — better | — |
| Positive reviews | 60.0% of reviews | — |
| Number of ratings | 33 — better | — |
| Update frequency | Every 3 weeks — better | Every 5 months |
| Ads | Yes | No — better |
| In-app purchases | No | No |
| Monetization | Free with in-app purchases | — |
| Devices | iPhone, iPad, iPod | iPhone, iPad, iPod |
| Requires iOS | 15.1 | 15.1 |
| Further details — not scored | ||
| Size | 32 MB | 86 MB |
| Age rating | 17+ | 4+ |
| Developer | Backbar | Pomegranate Technologies, Inc. |
In-app purchases
Backbar
No in-app purchases
Merrill Distributing Inc.
No in-app purchases
