Easy Cooking Timer vs Sous Chef
Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both apps, side by side — with what reviewers say about each.
Easy Cooking Timer
Plan your meals with precision by timing each component to finish simultaneously. Input your recipe steps and cooking durations, and the app calculates the optimal start time for each task. Receive timely alerts and manage multiple recipes with ease.
- Automatic start time calculation
- Background timer operation
- Audio and visual alerts
- Store and manage multiple meals
- Search meals by name or item
- Today widget integration
- Apple Watch app support
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Easy Cooking Timer lets you time the items in your meal so that they all finish together. Simply enter the details of the steps and times for the items in your meal and the app will calculate when each step needs to start. FEATURES ======== You can start cooking immediately or choose a meal end time. The timers run in the background so you can turn off your iPhone, iPad or iPod touch or use other apps while your meal is cooking. Cooking timer: • Displays a timer for each step in your meal, showing when the step will start. • Quickly see when the meal will be ready and when the next step will start. • Audio and visual alerts warn you when a step needs to be performed. • Hands-free operation to avoid getting your screen dirty. Manage your meals: • Store the details for as many different meals as you want. • Need to eat by 6pm? View meal times as the time the meal will be ready if you start cooking now. • Hungry for chicken? Search meals by meal name, item name or both. • Duplicate meals/items or copy items/steps from other meals to quickly create combinations. Today widget: • Quickly see which step starts next and how long until the meal is ready. • Tap a step to open the main app. Apple Watch app: • View cooking timer and notifications. REVIEWS ======= ***** "Perfect for those big complicated meals where everything needs different cooking times or where there are many stages to a dish. I looked at several different apps which claimed to do similar kind of thing, but none had depth of functionality, nor the ease of use and streamlined interface of this one." — littlesquidge, UK. ***** "Best cooking timer I can find, with clear sequential steps throughout the whole process!" — Midamoor, UK. ***** "It does one thing and one thing well and is probably the best 'kitchen' timer on the App Store for cooking." — Orca1910, UK. ***** "Excellent app, very simple to set up and has multiple stages built in. Visually clear and perfect for a big meal like Christmas." — BT2203, Ireland. If you would like more information please visit https://hacknicity.com/easycookingtimer where you can read the User Guide and a Tutorial to get a feel for how the app works before you buy.
Sous Chef
This kitchen helper offers a suite of tools for meal preparation, including multiple configurable timers that function even when the app is closed. It also features a servings calculator and a handy conversion chart to simplify cooking tasks.
- 5 configurable timers
- Timers work in background
- Servings calculator
- Popular conversions chart
- Stores notes and favorite websites
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Kitchen Sous Chef is a set of everyday tools to assist you around the kitchen. This little kitchen helper is ready and waiting to help you serve up that delicious meal! *Note* Timers use the device notification system. Make sure notifications are turned on and that your device volume/ringer is not muted!! App Highlights • 5 Configurable timers. • Timers work even if app is not running. • Servings calculator • Chart of popular conversions. • Stores notes and favorite websites. • Available for both iPhone and iPad.
Screenshots
Verdict
The clearest difference is price: Sous Chef at Free against Easy Cooking Timer's $1.99. Sous Chef also leads on ratings volume (338 vs 17) and rating (4.5 vs 4.3). Easy Cooking Timer's advantage is in-app purchases (none vs 4) and ads (none vs shown). On update cadence 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
Sous Chef is free to download; Easy Cooking Timer costs $1.99 up front. Sous Chef sells 4 one-off in-app purchases. Easy Cooking Timer asks for nothing beyond the download.
Sous Chef holds the better App Store score, 4.5 against 4.3. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: Sous Chef has 338 ratings behind it against 17, so its average is the more settled of the two. Written reviews point the same way: 80% of Easy Cooking Timer's written reviews are positive against 90% of Sous Chef's.
Both ship on a similar rhythm, roughly every 3 months. The most recent releases landed on October 15, 2026 and October 6, 2026 respectively.
| Parameter | Easy Cooking Timer | Sous Chef |
|---|---|---|
| Price | $1.99 | Free — better |
| Rating | 4.3 (17 ratings) | 4.5 (338 ratings) — better |
| Positive reviews | 80.0% of reviews | 90.0% of reviews — better |
| Number of ratings | 17 | 338 — better |
| Update frequency | Every 3 months | Every 3 months |
| Ads | No — better | Yes |
| In-app purchases | No — better | Yes |
| Monetization | Paid | Free with in-app purchases — better |
| Best chart rank | #121 — better | — |
| Devices | iPhone, iPad, iPod, Apple Watch — better | iPhone, iPad, iPod |
| Requires iOS | 11.0 | 9.0 — better |
| Further details — not scored | ||
| Size | 3 MB | 21 MB |
| Age rating | 4+ | 4+ |
| Developer | Geoff Hackworth | ChuChu Train Productions |
Customer experience
Easy Cooking Timer
Sous Chef
Bugs and requests
Easy Cooking Timer
Not enough reviews yet to summarise bugs or requests.
Sous Chef
Reported bugs
5 issues- App crashes frequently during use
- Timer doesn't alert when phone is in lock mode
- Accidental timer reset when phone placed in pocket
- Pop-up ads appear during timer setup
- Free version upgrade doesn't convert to Pro (requires repurchase)
Requested features
13 requests- Custom alarm sounds for each timer
- Different ringtones/tones for different timers
- Count-up feature after timer reaches zero
- Larger readout/display text
- Cooking temperature reference charts
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- More than 5 timers available
- Gram conversion option
- Landscape mode support
- Volume control for alerts
- Number of alert repetitions option
- Menu planning features
- Additional sous chef functionality
- Ability to select iPhone system ringtones
In-app purchases
Easy Cooking Timer
No in-app purchases
Sous Chef
- KS - Remove Ad Banner$9.99
- Unlimited Reference Entries$9.99
- Enable All Timers$9.99
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- All Features$24.99
Questions
Is Easy Cooking Timer free?
Is Sous Chef free?
Which has better reviews, Easy Cooking Timer or Sous Chef?
Do Easy Cooking Timer or Sous Chef have ads?
Which is updated more often, Easy Cooking Timer or Sous Chef?
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