Comparison

Sidekick by Sorted Food vs SimpleTime

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

Head to head
About

Sidekick by Sorted Food

This app simplifies weekly meal planning with over 1,000 recipes and smart grocery lists. It helps users explore new flavors, reduce food waste, and build cooking confidence with step-by-step instructions and personalized suggestions.

Highlights
  • 1,000+ recipes
  • Smart shopping lists
  • Step-by-step instructions
  • Personalized recipe suggestions
  • Dietary & allergen filters
  • Portion size adjustments
  • Offline mode
Read full description

Sidekick - Your Personal Kitchen Sidekick Tired of the same old meals? Let Sidekick solve your dinner dilemma with exciting new recipes, smarter shopping and stress-free cooking. Over 4,000,000 dishes cooked so far… Sidekick is here to simplify your weekly meal planning, making cooking at home easier, more enjoyable and never boring. Get started with a FREE 1-month trial and start cooking delicious, stress-free meals today! Here’s how Sidekick helps you: Unlock Your Kitchen Confidence From beginner to pro, Sidekick helps you explore bold new flavours, experiment with ingredients, and build your cooking skills - all at your own pace. Whether you’re cooking solo or sharing the kitchen with loved ones, we make every meal feel like a celebration. Stress-Free Home Cooking No more staring at empty cupboards wondering what to cook. Simply tell Sidekick what you’ve got or what you’re in the mood for, and we’ll guide you with simple, step-by-step recipes. Less stress, more time to enjoy your culinary success! Smart Grocery Shopping Sidekick creates a shopping list for the week that’s tailored to your meals. We’ll help you save time and money by using the same ingredients across different recipes. Sustainable Cooking Made Easy Food waste is out, smart cooking is in. Sidekick's Recipe Packs help you share ingredients across multiple dishes, so you don’t end up with unused fresh foods. Plus, we maximise store-cupboard staples to cut down on shopping and save you money. Key Features: - 1,000+ Delicious Recipes to suit every taste - from speedy meals to one-pot wonders - Meat, Fish, Veggie & Vegan Options - catering to various dietary preferences - Smart Shopping Lists - auto-generated based on your weekly menu to simplify grocery shopping and reduce waste - Personalised Recipe Suggestions - based on your preferences, ingredients, and dietary needs - Step-by-Step Instructions with images - clear, easy-to-follow, and fun to cook - Audio Guides - hands-free cooking with instructions read aloud to you - Cooking Timers - keep track of your food with built-in timers, ensuring no more overcooked dinners - Store-Cupboard Essentials - helpful suggestions to make your meals cheaper by using pantry staples - Weekly Menu Planner - plan your meals for the week to save time and reduce last-minute decision stress - Ingredient Substitutions & Twists - recommended swaps and twists from the Sorted community to keep things exciting - Dietary & Allergen Filters – filter for specific needs like gluten-free, dairy-free, halal, kosher, and more - Portion Size Adjustments - customise recipes based on your needs, from solo meals to family feasts (1-10 portions) - Smart Ingredient Use - share ingredients across recipes, reducing food waste and saving money - Offline Mode - access your recipes and shopping lists without needing an internet connection - Chef’s Tips - helpful tricks from our chefs to enhance your cooking experience - Nutritional Info - track your meals and stay on top of your nutritional goals - Household - Share your menu and shopping list with whoever you’re cooking with by adding them to your household -------------------------------- Start cooking smarter with Sidekick today. Free 1-month trial – what are you waiting for? -------------------------------- After purchase, payment will be charged to your App Store account, and your subscription will auto-renew within 24 hours of the end of the current period. Auto-renewal can be managed in your App Store settings. -------------------------------- Terms of Use (EULA): https://www.apple.com/legal/internet-services/itunes/dev/stdeula/

About

SimpleTime

This app helps you plan and time multiple dishes simultaneously for perfect meal preparation. It generates a cooking schedule, provides step-by-step instructions, and offers smart timer features to ensure everything finishes at the same time.

Highlights
  • Synchronized multi-dish meal planning
  • Step-by-step cooking checkpoints
  • Live Activity timer display
  • Countdown and count-up modes
  • Multi-oven support (Premium)
  • Temperature flexibility
  • Customizable completion alarms
Features
Read full description

SimpleTime - Cooking Timer Never stress about timing multiple dishes again. Add what you're cooking - we build you a plan and timer so everything finishes together, right when you need it. PLAN EVERYTHING TOGETHER Add all your dishes - roast chicken, vegetables, sides, desserts - and we'll build a complete cooking schedule. We work out start times, temperatures and durations so every dish is ready at the same moment. You cook; we handle the rest. STEP-BY-STEP CHECKPOINTS Know exactly what to do and when. We break down your plan into clear checkpoints: "Preheat oven to 180°C" "Add chicken to oven" "Add vegetables at 1:19 PM" "Remove everything at 2:54 PM" Get notifications at each checkpoint (or 30 seconds early with Premium) so you never miss a step. MULTI-OVEN SUPPORT (Premium) Have multiple ovens? We support both electric and fan ovens. Add your kitchen equipment, mark which ovens are active, and we'll build plans that use your setup for the best results. SMART TIMER FEATURES Live Activity - See the timer countdown on your Lock Screen and Dynamic Island without opening the app Countdown or Count-Up Mode - Choose how you want to track time Pause & Resume - Life happens. Pause anytime and resume when ready Multiple Active Timers - Track several cooking plans at once Completion Alarms - Customizable alarm sounds and volume when cooking finishes Dark Mode - Easy on the eyes, day or night TEMPERATURE FLEXIBILITY Set your desired oven temperature - we adjust cooking times automatically Switch between Celsius and Fahrenheit Works with any temperature you prefer EXPLANATIONS & CHAT Curious why we chose certain timings? Tap the info button for detailed explanations. Ask questions in the built-in chat to understand your plan better. PREMIUM FEATURES Unlock more with SimpleTime Premium: Early checkpoint notifications (30 seconds before each step) Multiple oven support and management PERFECT FOR: Holiday dinners and family gatherings Meal prep and batch cooking Trying new recipes with confidence Cooking multiple dishes at once Anyone who wants perfectly timed meals WHY SIMPLETIME? Traditional timers only handle one dish. We think bigger - we plan entire meals with multiple dishes, different temperatures and complex timing. Whether it's a weeknight dinner or a holiday feast, we make sure everything comes together perfectly. Download SimpleTime today and let us do the rest. Privacy Policy: https://www.simpletimeapp.com/privacy Terms of Use: https://www.apple.com/legal/internet-services/itunes/dev/stdeula/

Screenshots

Sidekick by Sorted Food4 screens
SimpleTime4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is rating: SimpleTime at 5.0 against Sidekick by Sorted Food's 4.5. SimpleTime also leads on review sentiment (100% vs 73%). Sidekick by Sorted Food's advantage is ads (none vs shown) and ratings volume (299 vs 1). On price, update cadence, in-app purchases and monetization model 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. Sidekick by Sorted Food sells 8 in-app purchases, starting at $4.99 per month and SimpleTime sells 3 in-app purchases, starting at $2.99 per month. Whichever you choose, the download price is not the number that matters.

ReceptionRating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings

SimpleTime holds the better App Store score, 5.0 against 4.5. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: Sidekick by Sorted Food has 299 ratings behind it against 1, so its average is the more settled of the two. Written reviews point the same way: 73% of Sidekick by Sorted Food's written reviews are positive against 100% of SimpleTime's.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

Sidekick by Sorted Food ships an update every 3 weeks, SimpleTime every 2 weeks. The most recent releases landed on October 20, 2026 and October 17, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard5 real differences · 6 level
Sidekick by Sorted Food versus SimpleTime: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterSidekick by Sorted FoodSimpleTime
PriceFreeFree
Rating4.5 (299 ratings)5.0 (1 ratings) — better
Positive reviews73.2% of reviews100.0% of reviews — better
Number of ratings299 — better1
Update frequencyEvery 3 weeksEvery 2 weeks — better
AdsNo — betterYes
In-app purchasesYesYes
MonetizationFree with in-app purchasesFree with in-app purchases
Best chart rank#71 — better—
DevicesiPhone, iPodiPhone, iPad, iPod — better
Requires iOS15.115.1
Further details — not scored
Size103 MB43 MB
Age rating4+4+
DeveloperSorted FoodVolga Technology

Customer experience

Sidekick by Sorted Food

All ratings299 ratings
Positive86.0%
Neutral4.3%
Negative9.7%
Written reviews295 reviews
Positive73.2%
Neutral8.1%
Negative18.6%

SimpleTime

All ratings1 ratings
Positive100.0%
Neutral0.0%
Negative0.0%
Written reviews1 reviews
Positive100.0%
Neutral0.0%
Negative0.0%

Bugs and requests

Sidekick by Sorted Food

Reported bugs

4 issues
  • App freezing and crashing
  • Calendar issues and lost meal plans
  • Inaccurate timers and instructions
  • Compatibility issues on newer devices

Requested features

5 requests
  • Ability to customize meal packs
  • Option to filter by dietary needs
  • Nutritional information for recipes
  • iPad/tablet version of the app
  • Ability to rate and save individual recipes

SimpleTime

Not enough reviews yet to summarise bugs or requests.

In-app purchases

8 purchases

Sidekick by Sorted Food

Subscriptions8
  • Monthly Subscription1 Month trial$4.991 Month
  • Promo: Monthly Subscription$5.491 Month
  • Home: Monthly Subscription1 Month trial$6.001 Month
Show 5 more
  • Monthly Subscription1 Month trial$6.001 Month
  • Annual Subscription1 Month trial$50.991 Year
  • Promo: Annual Subscription$56.991 Year
  • Home: Annual Subscription1 Month trial$60.001 Year
  • Annual Subscription1 Month trial$60.001 Year
3 purchases

SimpleTime

Subscriptions2
  • SimpleTime Monthly$2.991 Month
  • SimpleTime Yearly$19.991 Year
One-time1
  • SimpleTime Lifetime$39.99

Questions

Is Sidekick by Sorted Food free?
Sidekick by Sorted Food is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Is SimpleTime free?
SimpleTime is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Which has better reviews, Sidekick by Sorted Food or SimpleTime?
SimpleTime is rated higher. Sidekick by Sorted Food averages 4.5 out of 5 from 299 ratings, while SimpleTime averages 5.0 from 1 ratings.
Do Sidekick by Sorted Food or SimpleTime have ads?
SimpleTime shows ads; Sidekick by Sorted Food does not.
Which is updated more often, Sidekick by Sorted Food or SimpleTime?
Sidekick by Sorted Food ships an update every 3 weeks, and SimpleTime every 2 weeks. Most recently, Sidekick by Sorted Food was updated on October 20, 2026 and SimpleTime on October 17, 2026.

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