Comparison

Backbar vs BarCount

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

BarCount

Features
Read full description

BarCount is the offline bottle and keg inventory book for bar managers. Count in shelf order with full bottles and tenths (or keg %). Close the count and see variance vs last Friday — optional dollar usage when you set unit costs. Below-PAR restock list after every close. Same-as-last speed for weekly walks. Fully offline — no account, no server. Built for the walk-in: • Close count → variance sorted by shrink • Same as last + mark remaining • PAR low flags and restock checklist • Receive stock mid-week without POS • Share variance report (Pro clean) PRIVACY BarCount has no account and no server. Inventory never leaves your device. BARCOUNT PRO Free: 1 area and 1 bottle, full count and variance. Pro: unlimited areas and SKUs, clean reports. BarCount Pro is available as an auto-renewing subscription: $7.99/month or $39.99/year (with a 7-day free trial on the annual plan). Payment is charged to your Apple Account at confirmation of purchase. It renews automatically unless cancelled at least 24 hours before the end of the current period. Manage or cancel in your Apple Account settings. Or buy BarCount Pro Lifetime once for $29.99: a one-time purchase that never renews. Terms of Use: https://jmarrr.github.io/barcount/terms.html Privacy Policy: https://jmarrr.github.io/barcount/privacy.html

Screenshots

Backbar4 screens
BarCount3 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is in-app purchases: Backbar at none against BarCount's 2. Backbar also leads on device support (3 vs 1) and iOS requirement (15.1 vs 17.0). BarCount's advantage is ads (none vs shown). On price and update cadence 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. BarCount sells 2 in-app purchases, starting at $7.99 per month. Backbar asks for nothing beyond the download.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

Both ship on a similar rhythm, roughly every 3 weeks. The most recent releases landed on October 8, 2026 and October 12, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard4 real differences · 6 level
Backbar versus BarCount: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterBackbarBarCount
PriceFreeFree
Rating3.6 (33 ratings) — better—
Positive reviews60.0% of reviews—
Number of ratings33 — better—
Update frequencyEvery 3 weeksEvery 3 weeks
AdsYesNo — better
In-app purchasesNo — betterYes
MonetizationFree with in-app purchases—
DevicesiPhone, iPad, iPod — betteriPhone
Requires iOS15.1 — better17.0
Further details — not scored
Size32 MB2 MB
Age rating17+4+
DeveloperBackbarJhomar Maravillas

In-app purchases

None

Backbar

No in-app purchases

2 purchases

BarCount

Subscriptions2
  • Pro Monthly$7.991 Month
  • Pro Annual7 Days trial$39.991 Year

Questions

Is Backbar free?
Backbar is free to download, with no in-app purchases.
Is BarCount free?
BarCount is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Do Backbar or BarCount have ads?
Backbar shows ads; BarCount does not.
Which is updated more often, Backbar or BarCount?
Backbar ships an update every 3 weeks, and BarCount every 3 weeks. Most recently, Backbar was updated on October 8, 2026 and BarCount on October 12, 2026.

Other comparisons