Comparison

Timer.Coffee vs homebrew

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

Head to head
About

Timer.Coffee

This app provides a free, open-source timer and calculator for coffee brewing, offering step-by-step instructions for numerous methods. It allows users to adjust quantities, save grind settings, and track their brewing history. Enjoy real-time community insights and share your own custom recipes.

Highlights
  • 22 Brewing Methods
  • Coffee Calculator
  • Custom Grind Size
  • Background Brewing
  • Live Activities
  • Create & Share Recipes
  • Brew Diary
  • Bean Tracking
Features
Read full description

Timer.Coffee is a free, open-source coffee brewing timer and calculator designed to enhance your brewing experience. The app is completely free. Optional in-app donations support ongoing development and never affect access to features. Key Features - 27 Brewing Methods: Step-by-step instructions for Hario V60, AeroPress, Chemex, French Press, Clever Dripper, Kalita Wave, Wilfa Svart Pour Over, Origami Dripper, Hario Switch, and more. - Coffee Calculator: Adjust coffee and water quantities on the fly. - Custom Grind Size: Save your grind settings per recipe — never forget your Comandante clicks again. - Background Brewing: The timer keeps running accurately when you minimize the app — switch apps or check a message without losing your place. - Live Activities: Follow your brew step-by-step on the Lock Screen and in the Dynamic Island without unlocking your phone. - Pulse: See what coffee lovers around the world are brewing right now, in real time. - Create & Share Recipes: Build your own brewing recipes and share them with the community. - Brew Diary: Automatically save timer-guided brews or add entries manually, with notes, ratings, taste, tags, grind, water temperature, and extraction. - Bean Tracking: Manage your coffee bean inventory with AI-powered label recognition. - Favorites: Quick access to your most-used recipes. - Audio Chime: Audio alerts for every brewing step. - Dial In Your Beans: Search and filter your history, bookmark best cups, compare attempts, follow bean journeys, and review monthly progress. - Device Sync: Recipes, beans, and brews synced across all your devices. - 22 Languages: Fully localized for a global audience. - Dark Mode: Easy on the eyes at any hour.

About

homebrew

Features
Read full description

homebrew is a small app for people who make coffee by hand. It does two things. It keeps a curated library of recipes — every one credited to the person or roaster who developed it. And it walks you through the brew, step by step, with a timer that tells you when to pour and how much. That's the whole app. No account. No feed. No streak to keep up. THE RECIPES 29 recipes for the Hario Switch and the AeroPress, including every World AeroPress Championship winning recipe from 2009 onward, Tetsu Kasuya's 4:6 method, and James Hoffmann's Ultimate AeroPress. Every recipe names its source. Water amounts are cumulative, the way your scale actually reads — "pour to 150g", not "add 50g". Temperatures show in Celsius or Fahrenheit, whichever you prefer. THE TIMER Start it and the app follows along. The current step highlights as it arrives, the timeline moves with it, and a haptic tap marks every transition — firm for a pour, soft for a rest — so you can keep your eyes on the kettle instead of the screen. Drag the timeline to scrub anywhere in the brew and it snaps to the nearest step. MAKE IT YOURS Adjust any recipe — dose, water, temperature, grind, or the steps themselves — or build one from scratch. Your recipes sit alongside the curated ones and get the same guided timer. The whole app is free. No subscription, no in-app purchases, no ads. PRIVATE BY DESIGN There is no account, no analytics, and no tracking. The app makes no network requests at all. Turn on airplane mode and everything still works — the whole library, the timer, and your own recipes. It isn't private because of a promise in a policy. It's private because there is nothing to collect.

Screenshots

Timer.Coffee4 screens
homebrew4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is in-app purchases: homebrew at none against Timer.Coffee's 3. Timer.Coffee's advantage is device support (3 vs 1) and iOS requirement (15.0 vs 17.0). On price, update cadence and ads 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. Timer.Coffee sells 3 one-off in-app purchases. homebrew asks for nothing beyond the download.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

Timer.Coffee ships an update every 10 days, homebrew every 3 weeks. The most recent releases landed on November 3, 2026 and October 31, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard3 real differences · 7 level
Timer.Coffee versus homebrew: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterTimer.Coffeehomebrew
PriceFreeFree
Rating5.0 (137 ratings) — better—
Positive reviews100.0% of reviews—
Number of ratings137 — better—
Update frequencyEvery 10 days — betterEvery 3 weeks
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesYesNo — better
MonetizationFree with in-app purchases—
DevicesiPhone, iPad, iPod — betteriPhone
Requires iOS15.0 — better17.0
Further details — not scored
Size56 MB4 MB
Age rating4+4+
DeveloperAnton KarlinerSamyak Ramteke

In-app purchases

3 purchases

Timer.Coffee

One-time3
  • Buy a small coffee$1.99
  • Buy a medium coffee$4.99
  • Buy a large coffee$9.99
None

homebrew

No in-app purchases

Questions

Is Timer.Coffee free?
Timer.Coffee is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Is homebrew free?
homebrew is free to download, with no in-app purchases.
Do Timer.Coffee or homebrew have ads?
Neither Timer.Coffee nor homebrew shows ads.
Which is updated more often, Timer.Coffee or homebrew?
Timer.Coffee ships an update every 10 days, and homebrew every 3 weeks. Most recently, Timer.Coffee was updated on November 3, 2026 and homebrew on October 31, 2026.

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