# Cocktail vs bartender.live

The clearest difference is price: bartender.live at Free against Cocktail's $1.99. bartender.live also leads on rating (4.8 vs 4.3) and update cadence (every 8 days vs every 6 months). Cocktail's advantage is in-app purchases (none vs 1) and iOS requirement (15.0 vs 17.0). On ads and device support there is nothing between them.

bartender.live is free to download; Cocktail costs $1.99 up front. bartender.live sells 1 one-off in-app purchase. Cocktail asks for nothing beyond the download.

bartender.live holds the better App Store score, 4.8 against 4.3. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: bartender.live has 388 ratings behind it against 16, so its average is the more settled of the two. Written reviews point the same way: 64% of Cocktail's written reviews are positive against 77% of bartender.live's.

Cocktail ships an update every 6 months, bartender.live every 8 days. The most recent releases landed on October 7, 2026 and October 13, 2026 respectively.

## The numbers

| Metric | Cocktail | bartender.live |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Price | $1.99 | **Free** |
| Rating | [4.3 (16 ratings)](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/cocktail/id604382284/reviews) | **[4.8 (388 ratings)](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/bartenderlive/id1309377225/reviews)** |
| Number of ratings | 16 | **388** |
| Positive reviews | 63.6% of reviews | **76.7% of reviews** |
| In-app purchases | **No** | Yes |
| Ads | No | No |
| Update frequency | Every 6 months | **Every 8 days** |
| Monetization | Paid | **Free** |
| Size | 9 MB | 76 MB |
| Requires iOS | **15.0** | 17.0 |
| Devices | **iPhone, iPad, iPod** | iPhone, iPad |
| Age rating | 17+ | 17+ |
| Developer | [Marco Tini](https://appshunter.io/developer/544232459) | [Jacket Industries, LLC](https://appshunter.io/developer/1126517950) |

## What reviewers say

### Cocktail

[App page](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/cocktail/id604382284)

Discover and create cocktails with this app. Search recipes by ingredient, type, or liquor. Includes a guide to cocktail glasses and the ability to add and share your own recipes.

**Highlights:** Search cocktails by ingredient, type, or liquor, Add and share custom cocktail recipes, Guide to cocktail glasses, Apple Watch integration, Save favorite cocktails

**Features:** macOS Compatibility, Vision Pro support

**In-app purchases:** none


### bartender.live

[App page](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/bartenderlive/id1309377225)

Discover cocktail recipes based on ingredients you have. Browse over a thousand drinks, star favorites, and share creations. Learn drink histories and find new concoctions.

**Highlights:** Ingredient-based drink discovery, Browse 1000+ cocktail recipes, Favorite drinks for quick access, Share recipes with friends, Learn drink history, Discover new cocktails

**Features:** macOS Compatibility, Family Sharing, Vision Pro support

**In-app purchases (1)**

| Purchase | Price | Billing |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Top Shelf | $4.99 | one-time |

**What reviewers like**

- 👍 Intuitive and easy-to-use interface
- 💡 Innovative 'In My Bar' feature to find drinks based on available ingredients
- 📚 Extensive database of cocktail recipes
- 🎯 Generic ingredient categories instead of brand-specific items
- ⏰ Daily drink reminder at 5pm

**What reviewers complain about**

- 🔍 Search function inconsistent and sometimes returns no results
- ❌ Limited ability to add personal recipes and notes
- 🐦 Twitter-only submission method for new recipes (inaccessible to many)
- 📋 Incomplete recipe database missing common drinks
- ⚠️ Quality control issues with some recipes (missing ingredients)

**Reported bugs**

- Search returns no results for valid queries (e.g., 'Gin Campari')
- 'New' tab in drinks list remains grayed out
- New drink notifications not accessible if alert is missed
- Missing ingredients in some recipe descriptions despite correct images
- Inconsistent notification delivery for daily drink feature

**Requested features**

- Search/filter by specific spirit or ingredient (e.g., mint, bourbon)
- Ability to add personal notes and modify recipes
- Quantity tracking for inventory items
- Filter drinks by number of missing ingredients (1-3 missing)
- Ingredient suggestions to unlock more drinks


## Frequently asked questions

### Is Cocktail free?

Cocktail costs $1.99, with no in-app purchases.

### Is bartender.live free?

bartender.live is free to download, with in-app purchases available.

### Which has better reviews, Cocktail or bartender.live?

bartender.live is rated higher. Cocktail averages 4.3 out of 5 from 16 ratings, while bartender.live averages 4.8 from 388 ratings.

### Do Cocktail or bartender.live have ads?

Neither Cocktail nor bartender.live shows ads.

### Which is updated more often, Cocktail or bartender.live?

Cocktail ships an update every 6 months, and bartender.live every 8 days. Most recently, Cocktail was updated on October 7, 2026 and bartender.live on October 13, 2026.

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*Compared by [AppsHunter](https://appshunter.io/) from daily US App Store data. Review summaries are generated from verbatim App Store reviews.*