LCBO vs By The Case
Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both apps, side by side — with what reviewers say about each.
LCBO
Shop a wide selection of alcoholic beverages, including spirits, wine, beer, and coolers. Browse thousands of products, scan items in-store for details, and order for pickup or delivery. Find product availability and save your favorites.
- Browse and shop thousands of products
- In-store barcode scanner
- Order for pickup or delivery
- Check product availability
- Favorite products and stores
- Find store locations
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The official LCBO app lets you browse and shop thousands of wine, beers & ciders, spirits, coolers and more! The LCBO app allows you to: • Browse and shop thousands of LCBO & Vintages products. • Scan products in-store using the app’s barcode scanner to get more info. • Order products to be picked up in-store or shipped directly to you. • Find up-to-date product availability in your favourite store or closest store. • Add products and stores to your favourite list for quick access. • Find a location.
By The Case
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By The Case® is an app and cloud service that helps Ontario wine enthusiasts, collectors and sommeliers find wine that often never makes it to retail LCBO shelves. With a simple search, find the agent that represents the wine producer that you are interested in. Contacting that agent is just a tap away. By The Case also features a home screen news feed and events listing with interesting and timely news related to the Ontario wine scene. Key features include: • details for over 400 agents and more than 10,000 producers listed for Ontario • search for producers, regions or keywords • view full agent contact details incl. social media links • browse full list of agents and their producer portfolio • mark agents or regions as favourites • view most popular agents amongst the community • wine news feed on home page with interesting Ontario specific news
Screenshots
Verdict
The clearest difference is iOS requirement: By The Case at 12.0 against LCBO's 15.0. On price, update cadence, 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
Both are free to download. Neither carries in-app purchases, so what you see is what you pay.
LCBO ships an update every 2 months, By The Case every 6 weeks. The most recent releases landed on November 1, 2026 and October 26, 2026 respectively.
| Parameter | LCBO | By The Case |
|---|---|---|
| Price | Free | Free |
| Rating | 1.4 (7 ratings) — better | — |
| Positive reviews | 4.5% of reviews | — |
| Number of ratings | 7 — better | — |
| Update frequency | Every 2 months | Every 6 weeks — better |
| Ads | No | No |
| In-app purchases | No | No |
| Monetization | Free | — |
| Devices | iPhone, iPod | iPhone, iPad, iPod — better |
| Requires iOS | 15.0 | 12.0 — better |
| Further details — not scored | ||
| Size | 44 MB | 12 MB |
| Age rating | 17+ | 17+ |
| Developer | Liquor Control Board of Ontario | Ken Bereskin |
In-app purchases
LCBO
No in-app purchases
By The Case
No in-app purchases
