Comparison

BIOLAB Cafe vs Joe Merchant PLUS

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

Head to head
About

BIOLAB Cafe

Experience a unique café with a modern art and laboratory theme. Enjoy drinks served in distinctive lab glassware in a relaxing atmosphere. This business is the brainchild of a young Khmer entrepreneur.

Highlights
  • Modern art decor
  • Laboratory theme
  • Drinks served in lab glasses
  • Relaxing atmosphere
  • Khmer entrepreneur owned
Features
Read full description

BioLAB Coffee & Office is a relaxing café in a modern art decor setting. The theme of the café is that of a laboratory, with wall art reflecting this, as well as drinks served in lab glasses. The business is owned by a young Khmer entrepreneur who came up with the concept himself, designed it from top to bottom, and even built the entire café with his own two hands.

About

Joe Merchant PLUS

This app empowers independent coffee shops with advanced technology to compete with larger chains. It offers automated deals, loyalty programs, and marketing tools to attract and retain customers. Multiple modes, including Point of Sale and Barista Mode, cater to various operational needs.

Highlights
  • Automated deals and discounts
  • Built-in loyalty program
  • Customer acquisition tools
  • Marketing suite
  • Point of Sale Mode
  • Barista Mode
  • Square POS integration
Features
Read full description

BUILT TO HELP INDIE COFFEE THRIVE The joe Merchant Plus app puts big technology in the hands of small independent coffee shops to beat corporate giants. Run the app in Point of Sale Mode, Barista Mode, or integrate with Square Point of Sale to launch contactless ordering and access hundreds of thousands of coffee lovers in about 24 hours. AUTOMATED DEALS & DISCOUNTS As a joe partner, coffee shops unlock unlimited deals and discounts for customers paid for by joe and a fully automated loyalty program built-in at no extra cost. ACQUIRE NEW CUSTOMERS When you launch with joe, you tap into the largest community of coffee lovers choosing to support local coffee over corporate giants wherever they are. MARKETING TOOLS The joe marketing suite gives you all the tools you need in addition to automated discounts and rewards that we run in the background. Select items to upsell your customers at checkout Create custom promo codes and flash deals to drive traffic during slow times Create deals on featured items Create Happy Hour specials Feature signature drinks and food items to highlight on your menu Add photos to your menu to entice customers … and more! BUILT FOR EVERY COFFEE SHOP Built specifically for coffee, the joe merchant app can run in three different modes to meet the needs of any independent coffee shop or cafe. Square Integration: Receive orders directly into your Square POS for unified reporting and one place to accept orders. Run joe in the background to message customers and track customer purchase history. Now additional hardware is required. Barista Mode: Accepting and managing incoming orders is a breeze on a dedicated tablet. Designed to fit any workflow, joe allows you to manage orders across multiple devices and custom configure printers to accommodate full-service kitchens and multiple coffee bars. Runs on a tablet or behind any Point of Sale with access to the App Store. Point of Sale Mode: Run the joe POS on any iPad. Complete with a customer facing screen and optimized for contactless ordering in-person or via mobile order ahead, the joe POS automates loyalty marketing and brings you new customers in a snap. Runs on iOS for barista-facing view. Requires additional hardware to launch. INTEGRATIONS Fully integrated with Star Micronics printers and Square Point of Sale. REPORTING Keep your finger on the pulse of your business with robust reports and trends. Easily export to .csv compatible with QuickBooks. WORKS WITH FULL SERVICE KITCHEN/ CAFE Joe integrates with Star Micronics printers and allows for custom configurations so you can send food tickets to the kitchen and drink tickets to your espresso bar.

Screenshots

BIOLAB Cafe4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is update cadence: Joe Merchant PLUS at every 3 weeks against BIOLAB Cafe's every 3 months. Joe Merchant PLUS also leads on ratings volume (3 vs 1). BIOLAB Cafe's advantage is device support (3 vs 1). On price, rating, ads and in-app purchases 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

On the App Store both sit at effectively the same score — 5.0 for BIOLAB Cafe against 5.0 for Joe Merchant PLUS. Both are backed by a comparable volume of ratings — 1 and 3 respectively.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

BIOLAB Cafe ships an update every 3 months, Joe Merchant PLUS every 3 weeks. The most recent releases landed on October 20, 2026 and October 21, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard3 real differences · 7 level
BIOLAB Cafe versus Joe Merchant PLUS: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterBIOLAB CafeJoe Merchant PLUS
PriceFreeFree
Rating5.0 (1 ratings)5.0 (3 ratings)
Positive reviews—100.0% of reviews
Number of ratings13 — better
Update frequencyEvery 3 monthsEvery 3 weeks — better
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesNoNo
MonetizationFreeFree
DevicesiPhone, iPad, iPod — betteriPad
Requires iOS10.0 — better11.2
Further details — not scored
Size44 MB113 MB
Age rating4+4+
DeveloperTheom BuntheounCoffey Ventures, Inc.

In-app purchases

None

BIOLAB Cafe

No in-app purchases

None

Joe Merchant PLUS

No in-app purchases

Questions

Is BIOLAB Cafe free?
BIOLAB Cafe is free to download, with no in-app purchases.
Is Joe Merchant PLUS free?
Joe Merchant PLUS is free to download, with no in-app purchases.
Which has better reviews, BIOLAB Cafe or Joe Merchant PLUS?
BIOLAB Cafe and Joe Merchant PLUS are both rated 5.0 out of 5 on the App Store, from 1 and 3 ratings respectively.
Do BIOLAB Cafe or Joe Merchant PLUS have ads?
Neither BIOLAB Cafe nor Joe Merchant PLUS shows ads.
Which is updated more often, BIOLAB Cafe or Joe Merchant PLUS?
BIOLAB Cafe ships an update every 3 months, and Joe Merchant PLUS every 3 weeks. Most recently, BIOLAB Cafe was updated on October 20, 2026 and Joe Merchant PLUS on October 21, 2026.

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