Comparison

Cooking vs SimpleTime

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

Head to head
About

Cooking

Simplify meal preparation by coordinating multiple dishes to be ready simultaneously. Input your desired mealtime and individual cooking durations, and the app generates a precise schedule for starting each item. Avoid juggling multiple timers and ensure perfectly cooked food for any occasion.

Highlights
  • Synchronize multiple dish cooking times
  • Set desired meal completion time
  • Input individual ingredient cooking durations
  • Generate start/finish time plan
  • Create custom alerts for each step
  • Ideal for holidays and dinner parties
Features
Read full description

Cooking multiple dishes for Christmas, a Sunday roast or a big family meal? CookingTimer takes the maths and stress out of meal preparation by ensuring all your food is ready at the same time. Add all your dishes in one place, set when you want to eat, and let the app tell you when to start each one. Perfect for: • Christmas dinner • Sunday roasts • Dinner parties • Meal prep and batch cooking Simply follow these 4 simple steps for a stress free evening of cooking: 1. Enter the time you want to eat. 2. Add all your ingredients and their cooking times. 3. Click the create time plan button to see the start/finish times for each ingredient. 4. Create alerts so you don't miss a thing! Never juggle multiple timers again - CookingTimer ensures perfectly timed meals every time! Download now and take control of your kitchen.

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

Cooking4 screens
SimpleTime4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is review sentiment: SimpleTime at 100% against Cooking's 64%. SimpleTime also leads on update cadence (every 2 weeks vs every 2 months). On price, ads, 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. Cooking sells 1 in-app purchase, starting at $0.99 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.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

Cooking ships an update every 2 months, SimpleTime every 2 weeks. The most recent releases landed on September 22, 2026 and October 7, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard2 real differences · 8 level
Cooking versus SimpleTime: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterCookingSimpleTime
PriceFreeFree
Rating—5.0 (1 ratings) — better
Positive reviews63.6% of reviews100.0% of reviews — better
Number of ratings—1 — better
Update frequencyEvery 2 monthsEvery 2 weeks — better
AdsYesYes
In-app purchasesYesYes
MonetizationFree with in-app purchasesFree with in-app purchases
DevicesiPhone, iPadiPhone, iPad, iPod — better
Requires iOS16.615.1 — better
Further details — not scored
Size16 MB43 MB
Age rating4+4+
DeveloperAlexander RichardsonVolga Technology

Customer experience

Cooking

Written reviews11 reviews
Positive63.6%
Neutral0.0%
Negative36.4%

SimpleTime

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

In-app purchases

1 purchases

Cooking

Subscriptions1
  • Go Ad Free$0.991 Month
3 purchases

SimpleTime

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

Questions

Is Cooking free?
Cooking is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Is SimpleTime free?
SimpleTime is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Do Cooking or SimpleTime have ads?
Both Cooking and SimpleTime show ads.
Which is updated more often, Cooking or SimpleTime?
Cooking ships an update every 2 months, and SimpleTime every 2 weeks. Most recently, Cooking was updated on September 22, 2026 and SimpleTime on October 7, 2026.

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