Comparison

Levain vs PantryChef

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

Head to head
About

Levain

Manage your sourdough starters and bread baking recipes in one place. Track recipe steps, get notifications for feeding and baking, and monitor progress with widgets. Syncs across devices via iCloud.

Highlights
  • Recipe management
  • Sourdough starter maintenance
  • Baking step tracking
  • Customizable notifications
  • Home and lock screen widgets
  • iCloud synchronization
Features
Read full description

Bread Baking and Sourdough Maintenance Management for iOS and iPadOS Keep all your bread baking recipes in one single place. Define the individual recipe steps entering all details relevant to you (step duration, automatic or manual start, ingredients, temperatures, equipment etc) Bring your recipes to life by creating bakings. Get notified when a step is ready to start or has just started. Manage your sourdoughs and get notified when it’s time to feed or store them. Monitor your bakings and levains without opening the app by using the home screen and lock screen widgets. iCloud support: your recipes, bakings and levains will be available across all your iOS/iPadOS devices. Levain is totally free, In-App-Purchases allow you to tip the developer and have no impact on the app's functionality.

About

PantryChef

Features
Read full description

Photograph your fridge, pantry, or counter to identify visible ingredients and get recipes ranked by what you can cook now. Free gives you the top recipe with cook mode, substitutions, its shopping gaps, and saving; Premium unlocks every ranked recipe, with substitutions, cook mode, shopping gaps, and saving for each one. PantryChef provides cooking ideas and kitchen organization only; always check labels and allergens yourself. Premium is available as a Weekly Premium auto-renewable subscription or Lifetime Premium (one-time purchase), depending on your App Store region. Prices may vary by country or region. Terms of Use: https://www.apple.com/legal/internet-services/itunes/dev/stdeula/ Privacy Policy: https://pantrychef.skybringup.com/privacy/

Screenshots

Levain4 screens
PantryChef4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is update cadence: Levain at every 2 weeks against PantryChef's every 3 months. PantryChef's advantage is iOS requirement (15.5 vs 17.6). On price, ads, in-app purchases and device support 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. Levain sells 3 one-off in-app purchases and PantryChef sells 2 in-app purchases, starting at $1.99 per 7 days. Whichever you choose, the download price is not the number that matters.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

Levain ships an update every 2 weeks, PantryChef every 3 months. The most recent releases landed on October 24, 2026 and October 23, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard2 real differences · 8 level
Levain versus PantryChef: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterLevainPantryChef
PriceFreeFree
Rating4.8 (4 ratings) — better—
Positive reviews100.0% of reviews—
Number of ratings4 — better—
Update frequencyEvery 2 weeks — betterEvery 3 months
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesYesYes
MonetizationFree with in-app purchases—
DevicesiPhone, iPadiPhone, iPad, iPod — better
Requires iOS17.615.5 — better
Further details — not scored
Size10 MB33 MB
Age rating4+4+
DeveloperMichael Klugskybringup

In-app purchases

3 purchases

Levain

One-time3
  • Small Tip$0.99
  • Medium Tip$4.99
  • Large Tip$9.99
2 purchases

PantryChef

Subscriptions1
  • Weekly Premium$1.997 Days
One-time1
  • Lifetime Premium$6.99

Questions

Is Levain free?
Levain is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Is PantryChef free?
PantryChef is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Do Levain or PantryChef have ads?
Neither Levain nor PantryChef shows ads.
Which is updated more often, Levain or PantryChef?
Levain ships an update every 2 weeks, and PantryChef every 3 months. Most recently, Levain was updated on October 24, 2026 and PantryChef on October 23, 2026.

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