# Meals By Mel vs Baking Journal

The clearest difference is in-app purchases: Meals By Mel at none against Baking Journal's 2. Meals By Mel also leads on iOS requirement (14.0 vs 17.6). Baking Journal's advantage is update cadence (every 3 days vs every 5 months). On price, ads and device support there is nothing between them.

Both are free to download. Baking Journal sells 2 in-app purchases, starting at $4.99 per month. Meals By Mel asks for nothing beyond the download.

Meals By Mel ships an update every 5 months, Baking Journal every 3 days. The most recent releases landed on October 3, 2026 and October 8, 2026 respectively.

## The numbers

| Metric | Meals By Mel | Baking Journal |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Price | Free | Free |
| Rating | — | **[5.0 (1 ratings)](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/baking-journal/id6746287632/reviews)** |
| Number of ratings | — | **1** |
| In-app purchases | **No** | Yes |
| Ads | No | No |
| Update frequency | Every 5 months | **Every 3 days** |
| Monetization | — | Free with in-app purchases |
| Size | 61 MB | 63 MB |
| Requires iOS | **14.0** | 17.6 |
| Devices | **iPhone, iPad, iPod** | iPhone, iPad |
| Age rating | 4+ | 4+ |
| Developer | [Function Flo Corporation](https://appshunter.io/developer/1540182185) | [ZMo Software](https://appshunter.io/developer/1816053930) |

## What reviewers say

### Meals By Mel

[App page](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/meals-by-mel/id6745340706)

**Features:** macOS Compatibility

**In-app purchases:** none


### Baking Journal

[App page](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/baking-journal/id6746287632)

Easily manage all your baking projects with this app. Build recipes with detailed instructions, track individual bakes, and note what worked and what didn't. Share your baking data across multiple devices.

**Highlights:** Recipe building with ingredients and instructions, Hydration percentage calculation, Individual bake tracking, Notes on bake outcomes and changes, Cross-device data sharing

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

**In-app purchases (2)**

| Purchase | Price | Billing |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Baking Journal Premium | $4.99 | per month |
| Baking Journal Premium | $39.99 | per year |


## Frequently asked questions

### Is Meals By Mel free?

Meals By Mel is free to download, with no in-app purchases.

### Is Baking Journal free?

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

### Do Meals By Mel or Baking Journal have ads?

Neither Meals By Mel nor Baking Journal shows ads.

### Which is updated more often, Meals By Mel or Baking Journal?

Meals By Mel ships an update every 5 months, and Baking Journal every 3 days. Most recently, Meals By Mel was updated on October 3, 2026 and Baking Journal on October 8, 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.*