Comparison

Baking Journal vs Sourdough Forge

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

Head to head
About

Baking Journal

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
Read full description

Manage all of your baking projects in one app. The Baking Journal app makes it easy. * Build your recipes, with ingredients, notes, and step-by-step instructions. It will even calculate Hydration percentages for you! * Track each individual bake for a recipe. Record start and end times, remember which steps you have completed (or which you’ve decided to skip), and take notes on what went right, what went wrong, and what you changed each time. * Share your data across multiple devices. Terms of Use: https://www.apple.com/legal/internet-services/itunes/dev/stdeula/ Privacy Policy: https://www.zmosoft.com/privacy-policy

About

Sourdough Forge

This app helps you manage your sourdough starter, plan fermentation, and improve your baking with tracking tools and an AI coach. Log feedings, calculate hydration, and troubleshoot issues to achieve better bread results.

Highlights
  • Starter feeding reminders
  • Hydration and flour ratio tracking
  • Fermentation and proof timing
  • Dough calculators
  • AI sourdough troubleshooting
  • Bake journaling
  • Recipe timelines
Features
Read full description

Sourdough Forge is a focused sourdough starter tracker for home bakers who want clearer feeding reminders, better bake planning, and practical bread-making tools. STARTER TRACKER - Track one or multiple sourdough starters - Log feedings, hydration, flour mix, ratios, and observations - Set reminders so your starter stays active and ready - Review starter history to spot patterns over time BAKE PLANNING - Follow built-in sourdough recipes - Plan each bake with step-by-step timelines - Track bulk fermentation, proofing, and baking - Keep notes so your next loaf improves HYDRATION & BAKER'S TOOLS - Hydration calculator - Formula builder - Feeding ratio calculator - Levain build tools - Dough temperature helpers - Rise time and fermentation estimates - Unit conversions and recipe scaling BAKING JOURNAL - Save feedings, completed bakes, notes, and ratings - Compare what worked across loaves - Build a useful logbook for better crumb, timing, and flavor SOURDOUGH PRO Unlock the full toolkit with unlimited starters, custom recipes, advanced calculators, full journal history, insights, and CSV export. Whether you are building your first starter or refining a weekly bread routine, Sourdough Forge gives you a simple way to track, plan, calculate, and improve every bake. Terms of Use: https://app.notion.com/p/Terms-of-Use-Sourdough-Forge-2de880124e85806487d4dd0e4fb29265 Privacy Policy: https://app.notion.com/p/Privacy-Policy-Sourdough-Forge-2d1880124e8580189725c4601f9f7225

Screenshots

Baking Journal4 screens
Sourdough Forge4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is update cadence: Baking Journal at every 3 days against Sourdough Forge's weekly. Sourdough Forge's advantage is ratings volume (7 vs 1) and iOS requirement (15.1 vs 17.6). On price, rating, ads and in-app purchases 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. Baking Journal sells 2 in-app purchases, starting at $4.99 per month and Sourdough Forge sells 4 in-app purchases, starting at $3.99 per month. Whichever you choose, the download price is not the number that matters.

ReceptionRating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings

On the App Store both sit at effectively the same score — 5.0 for Baking Journal against 5.0 for Sourdough Forge. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: Sourdough Forge has 7 ratings behind it against 1, so its average is the more settled of the two.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

Baking Journal ships an update every 3 days, Sourdough Forge weekly. The most recent releases landed on October 8, 2026 and October 19, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard3 real differences · 7 level
Baking Journal versus Sourdough Forge: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterBaking JournalSourdough Forge
PriceFreeFree
Rating5.0 (1 ratings)5.0 (7 ratings)
Positive reviews—88.9% of reviews
Number of ratings17 — better
Update frequencyEvery 3 days — betterWeekly
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesYesYes
MonetizationFree with in-app purchasesFreemium
DevicesiPhone, iPadiPhone, iPad, iPod — better
Requires iOS17.615.1 — better
Further details — not scored
Size63 MB83 MB
Age rating4+4+
DeveloperZMo SoftwareHadrien Patin

Customer experience

Baking Journal

All ratings1 ratings
Positive100.0%
Neutral0.0%
Negative0.0%

Sourdough Forge

All ratings7 ratings
Positive100.0%
Neutral0.0%
Negative0.0%
Written reviews9 reviews
Positive88.9%
Neutral0.0%
Negative11.1%

In-app purchases

2 purchases

Baking Journal

Subscriptions2
  • Baking Journal Premium$4.991 Month
  • Baking Journal Premium$39.991 Year
4 purchases

Sourdough Forge

Subscriptions3
  • Monthly Subscription$3.991 Month
  • Sourdough Forge Pro - Yearly7 Days trial$23.991 Year
  • Sourdough Forge Pro - Annual7 Days trial$29.991 Year
One-time1
  • Lifetime Access$39.99

Questions

Is Baking Journal free?
Baking Journal is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Is Sourdough Forge free?
Sourdough Forge is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Which has better reviews, Baking Journal or Sourdough Forge?
Baking Journal and Sourdough Forge are both rated 5.0 out of 5 on the App Store, from 1 and 7 ratings respectively.
Do Baking Journal or Sourdough Forge have ads?
Neither Baking Journal nor Sourdough Forge shows ads.
Which is updated more often, Baking Journal or Sourdough Forge?
Baking Journal ships an update every 3 days, and Sourdough Forge weekly. Most recently, Baking Journal was updated on October 8, 2026 and Sourdough Forge on October 19, 2026.

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