# Chef vs smartchef

The clearest difference is in-app purchases: Chef at none against smartchef's 1. smartchef's advantage is update cadence (every 9 days vs every 3 weeks). On price, review sentiment, ads and device support there is nothing between them.

Both are free to download. smartchef sells 1 in-app purchase, starting at $9.99 per month. Chef asks for nothing beyond the download.

Chef ships an update every 3 weeks, smartchef every 9 days. The most recent releases landed on October 31, 2026 and October 24, 2026 respectively.

## The numbers

| Metric | Chef | smartchef |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Price | Free | Free |
| Rating | **[5.0 (1 ratings)](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/chef-cooking-made-simple/id6742151214/reviews)** | — |
| Number of ratings | **1** | — |
| Positive reviews | 100.0% of reviews | 100.0% of reviews |
| In-app purchases | **No** | Yes |
| Ads | No | No |
| Update frequency | Every 3 weeks | **Every 9 days** |
| Monetization | **Free** | Freemium |
| Size | 39 MB | 49 MB |
| Requires iOS | 15.1 | 15.1 |
| Devices | iPhone, iPad, iPod | iPhone, iPad, iPod |
| Age rating | 4+ | 4+ |
| Developer | [Pablo Munoz Garcia](https://appshunter.io/developer/1797099953) | [Roman Moroz](https://appshunter.io/developer/1734239091) |

## What reviewers say

### Chef

[App page](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/chef-cooking-made-simple/id6742151214)

Organize your recipes, plan meals, and create shopping lists. Cook step-by-step with guided instructions and import recipes from various online sources. Discover and share culinary creations with a community of home cooks.

**Highlights:** Recipe import from online sources, Digital cookbook with search, Weekly meal planner, Smart shopping list generation, Step-by-step Cooking Mode, Recipe discovery and sharing

**Features:** Vision Pro support

**In-app purchases:** none


### smartchef

[App page](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/smartchef/id6743173031)

Generate personalized recipes based on ingredients you have, dietary needs, and available appliances. Discover classic dishes and build a digital recipe book. Scan your fridge for automatic ingredient detection.

**Highlights:** AI-generated personalized recipes, Recipes based on available ingredients, Classic global recipes, Digital recipe book, Automatic ingredient detection via camera

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

**In-app purchases (1)**

| Purchase | Price | Billing |
| --- | --- | --- |
| smartchef Plus | $9.99 | per month |


## Frequently asked questions

### Is Chef free?

Chef is free to download, with no in-app purchases.

### Is smartchef free?

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

### Do Chef or smartchef have ads?

Neither Chef nor smartchef shows ads.

### Which is updated more often, Chef or smartchef?

Chef ships an update every 3 weeks, and smartchef every 9 days. Most recently, Chef was updated on October 31, 2026 and smartchef on October 24, 2026.

---

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