Comparison

Backbar vs Van Eerden

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

Head to head
About

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.

Highlights
  • Real-time inventory syncing
  • Barcode scanning for products
  • Streamlined vendor purchasing
  • Menu costing and pricing optimization
  • Digital invoice management
  • Staff education on beverages
Features
Read full description

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

About

Van Eerden

Easily browse a complete product catalog, manage your ordering guide, and make purchases on the go. Stay updated on delivery days and cutoff times, and communicate directly with your sales representative.

Highlights
  • Complete product catalog access
  • Manage and update ordering guide
  • On-demand purchasing
  • Delivery and cutoff time tracking
  • Direct communication with sales rep
Features
Read full description

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 - Keep everything together: delivery days, cutoff times, and order updates, all in one - place - Get in touch anytime: communicate directly with your Van Eerden rep in the app

Screenshots

Backbar4 screens
Van Eerden4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is rating: Van Eerden at 5.0 against Backbar's 3.6. Van Eerden also leads on ads (none vs shown) and monetization model (free vs free with in-app purchases). Backbar's advantage is update cadence (every 3 weeks vs every 4 months) and ratings volume (33 vs 1). 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

CostPrice · In-app purchases · Ads · Monetization

Both are free to download. Neither carries in-app purchases, so what you see is what you pay.

ReceptionRating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings

Van Eerden holds the better App Store score, 5.0 against 3.6. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: Backbar has 33 ratings behind it against 1, so its average is the more settled of the two.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

Backbar ships an update every 3 weeks, Van Eerden every 4 months. Both last shipped on October 8, 2026.

Scorecard5 real differences · 5 level
Backbar versus Van Eerden: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterBackbarVan Eerden
PriceFreeFree
Rating3.6 (33 ratings)5.0 (1 ratings) — better
Positive reviews60.0% of reviews—
Number of ratings33 — better1
Update frequencyEvery 3 weeks — betterEvery 4 months
AdsYesNo — better
In-app purchasesNoNo
MonetizationFree with in-app purchasesFree — better
DevicesiPhone, iPad, iPodiPhone, iPad, iPod
Requires iOS15.115.1
Further details — not scored
Size32 MB86 MB
Age rating17+4+
DeveloperBackbarPomegranate Technologies, Inc.

Customer experience

Backbar

All ratings33 ratings
Positive60.6%
Neutral6.1%
Negative33.3%
Written reviews20 reviews
Positive60.0%
Neutral5.0%
Negative35.0%

Van Eerden

All ratings1 ratings
Positive100.0%
Neutral0.0%
Negative0.0%

In-app purchases

None

Backbar

No in-app purchases

None

Van Eerden

No in-app purchases

Questions

Is Backbar free?
Backbar is free to download, with no in-app purchases.
Is Van Eerden free?
Van Eerden is free to download, with no in-app purchases.
Which has better reviews, Backbar or Van Eerden?
Van Eerden is rated higher. Backbar averages 3.6 out of 5 from 33 ratings, while Van Eerden averages 5.0 from 1 ratings.
Do Backbar or Van Eerden have ads?
Backbar shows ads; Van Eerden does not.
Which is updated more often, Backbar or Van Eerden?
Backbar ships an update every 3 weeks, and Van Eerden every 4 months. Most recently, Backbar was updated on October 8, 2026 and Van Eerden on October 8, 2026.

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