Comparison

HelloSake vs SakeScan

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

Head to head
About

HelloSake

Discover the world of Japanese sake with this app. Scan sake labels to access detailed information, save your favorites with notes, and read reviews from other users. Enhance your sake experience with precise search and rich brand stories.

Highlights
  • Scan sake labels for instant information
  • Save favorite sakes with notes
  • Read and refer to user reviews
  • Detailed sake information (origin, flavor, sweetness)
  • Precise search functions
  • Search sake by name
Features
Read full description

Welcome to HelloSake! Japanese sake has a lot of variety of products as well as tastes and each sake has its own brand story. HelloSake provides all sake lovers with access to detailed information extremely easily to help discover the best one. We help enrich the sake experience through this app to enhance the sake community. FEATURES/ HOW TO USE •Take a photo of the sake label to get access to the information easily. •Save your favorite sake that you had with some notes and simple reviews. •Refer to reviews of experienced users. •Information includes sake name, details, place of origin, flavor, and degree of sweetness/ spiciness. •Highly accurate machine learning enables super precise search functions. •Simply search sake information by name.

About

SakeScan

Identify Japanese sake by scanning labels or menus. Discover tasting notes, food pairings, and reviews from other users. Track your sake journey and explore breweries.

Highlights
  • Scan sake labels for identification
  • Scan menus to match sakes
  • View tasting notes and food pairings
  • Read and write user reviews
  • Track scanned sakes in a journal
  • Explore sake catalog and breweries
Features
Read full description

Snap a sake label or a whole menu and know exactly what you're drinking. SakeScan identifies Japanese sake from a photo and shows you what's in the bottle: the brewery and region, the style, tasting notes, food pairings and what other drinkers think. Our catalog covers 35,000+ sakes. SCAN A LABEL Point your camera at a bottle. SakeScan reads the label (Japanese or English) and opens the sake's page: brewery, prefecture, style (Junmai, Ginjo, Daiginjo and more), polishing ratio, SMV (sweet or dry), rice and ABV where known. SCAN A WHOLE MENU At an izakaya or sake bar, scan the menu and SakeScan matches every listed sake to the catalog, then suggests the ones that fit your taste and budget. RATINGS, REVIEWS & TASTING NOTES Rate what you drink, write tasting notes and read reviews from other sake lovers. FOOD PAIRINGS & SERVING See which dishes go well with each sake and whether to serve it chilled, at room temperature or warm. EXPLORE SAKE AND BREWERIES Search the catalog and filter by style, region, sweetness (SMV) and polishing ratio. Browse breweries and discover what each one makes. YOUR SAKE JOURNAL Every scan is saved to your history. Save favorites and keep track of the bottles you've tried. FOLLOW FRIENDS Follow other drinkers, comment on their finds and get notified when someone follows you or comments on your activity. Available in English, Japanese, Korean and Traditional Chinese. SAKESCAN PRO Free accounts include label scanning, the full catalog and 3 menu scans per month. Pro unlocks unlimited menu scans, full food pairings, an unlimited collection and saved menus. SUBSCRIPTIONS SakeScan Pro Monthly: 1-month auto-renewable subscription. SakeScan Pro Annual: 1-year auto-renewable subscription (includes a 7-day free trial). Payment is charged to your Apple ID account at confirmation of purchase. The subscription renews automatically unless canceled at least 24 hours before the end of the current period. Manage or cancel in your Account Settings after purchase. Terms of Use (EULA): https://www.apple.com/legal/internet-services/itunes/dev/stdeula/ Privacy Policy: https://www.sakescan.com/privacy Please enjoy sake responsibly.

Screenshots

HelloSake4 screens
SakeScan4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is rating: HelloSake at 4.7 against SakeScan's 3.0. HelloSake also leads on in-app purchases (none vs 2) and ratings volume (32 vs 2). On price, update cadence, ads 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. SakeScan sells 2 in-app purchases, starting at $4.99 per month. HelloSake asks for nothing beyond the download.

ReceptionRating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings

HelloSake holds the better App Store score, 4.7 against 3.0. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: HelloSake has 32 ratings behind it against 2, so its average is the more settled of the two.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

Both ship on a similar rhythm, roughly fortnightly. The most recent releases landed on November 7, 2026 and November 9, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard4 real differences · 6 level
HelloSake versus SakeScan: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterHelloSakeSakeScan
PriceFreeFree
Rating4.7 (32 ratings) — better3.0 (2 ratings)
Positive reviews40.0% of reviews—
Number of ratings32 — better2
Update frequencyFortnightlyFortnightly
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesNo — betterYes
MonetizationFree — betterFreemium
DevicesiPhone, iPad — betteriPhone
Requires iOS16.416.4
Further details — not scored
Size120 MB138 MB
Age rating17+12+
DeveloperHelloSake, IncSS Systems

Customer experience

HelloSake

All ratings32 ratings
Positive87.5%
Neutral9.4%
Negative3.1%
Written reviews5 reviews
Positive40.0%
Neutral60.0%
Negative0.0%

SakeScan

All ratings2 ratings
Positive50.0%
Neutral0.0%
Negative50.0%

In-app purchases

None

HelloSake

No in-app purchases

2 purchases

SakeScan

Subscriptions2
  • SakeScan Monthly$4.991 Month
  • SakeScan Annual$49.991 Year

Questions

Is HelloSake free?
HelloSake is free to download, with no in-app purchases.
Is SakeScan free?
SakeScan is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Which has better reviews, HelloSake or SakeScan?
HelloSake is rated higher. HelloSake averages 4.7 out of 5 from 32 ratings, while SakeScan averages 3.0 from 2 ratings.
Do HelloSake or SakeScan have ads?
Neither HelloSake nor SakeScan shows ads.
Which is updated more often, HelloSake or SakeScan?
HelloSake ships an update fortnightly, and SakeScan fortnightly. Most recently, HelloSake was updated on November 7, 2026 and SakeScan on November 9, 2026.

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