Comparison

Tea Timer vs Gongfu Tea Timer

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

Head to head
About

Tea Timer

This app helps you brew the perfect cup of tea with precise timers and temperature guidance for various tea types. It syncs seamlessly between your iPhone and Apple Watch, offering convenient control and customization for your tea-making experience.

Highlights
  • Synchronized iPhone and Apple Watch timers
  • Preset brew times and temperatures
  • Customizable tea library
  • Apple Watch complications
  • Live Activities and Dynamic Island support
  • Optional pre-alert haptics
Features
Read full description

A precise tea timer and brew journal for iPhone and Apple Watch. Start a timer from your wrist or phone, follow the right time and temperature, and keep every brew in one place. BREW FROM APPLE WATCH • Start timers instantly from the app or a complication. • Pause, resume, add time, or cancel from your wrist. • Get optional pre-alert haptics before your tea is ready. • Keep brewing when your iPhone is not nearby. PRECISE TIMERS FOR EVERY TEA • Built-in presets for green, black, oolong, white, herbal, chai, pu-erh, matcha, and rooibos. • Time and temperature guidance for loose leaf tea or tea bags. • Multi-steep profiles for gongfu sessions and repeat infusions. • Run several tea timers at once. BUILD YOUR TEA LIBRARY • Add custom teas, notes, photos, and favorite brewing parameters. • Organize teas into collections and choose what appears on Apple Watch. • Save ratings and tasting notes to remember your best cups. TRACK BREWS AND CAFFEINE • Review brew history, streaks, and weekly insights. • See estimated caffeine adjusted for steep time and infusion number. • Get an optional bedtime caffeine warning. • Sync completed brews with Apple Health. STAY IN SYNC • Follow active timers with Live Activities on the Lock Screen and Dynamic Island. • Keep teas, history, collections, settings, and photos synced with iCloud. • Use iPhone and Apple Watch together or independently. STEEP PRO Choose monthly, yearly, or lifetime access to unlock unlimited custom teas, caffeine insights, complete brew history, multiple simultaneous timers, iCloud sync, and advanced timer controls. Whether you brew once a day or run an afternoon gongfu session, Steep keeps every cup precise. Terms of Use: https://trifoiltrailblazer.com/en/terms-of-service Privacy Policy: https://trifoiltrailblazer.com/en/privacy-policy

About

Gongfu Tea Timer

Master traditional Chinese tea ceremonies with precise steep timing for various tea types. This app offers pre-configured settings and custom profiles to ensure perfect results for every brew, including Lock Screen and Dynamic Island notifications.

Highlights
  • Pre-configured timing for 5 tea types
  • Multiple rounds with adjusted steep times
  • Rinse step support
  • Custom tea profile creation
  • Lock Screen timer
  • Dynamic Island support
Features
Read full description

Master the art of gongfu tea brewing with precise timing for every steep. Gongfu Tea Timer guides you through the traditional Chinese tea ceremony with optimized steep times for different tea types. Whether you're brewing delicate green tea or robust pu-erh, get perfect results every time. FEATURES: • Pre-configured timing for 5 tea types: Green, Black, Oolong, White, and Pu-erh • Multiple rounds with automatically adjusted steep times • Rinse step for teas that benefit from it • Additional steep generation for extended sessions • Create and save custom tea profiles LIVE ACTIVITIES: • See your timer on the Lock Screen • Dynamic Island support for iPhone 14 Pro and newer • Get alerts when each round completes without opening the app DESIGNED FOR GONGFU: Unlike generic kitchen timers, this app understands gongfu brewing. Each tea type has carefully calibrated times that increase with each steep, following traditional gongfu methodology. Perfect for tea enthusiasts who want consistent, delicious results from their gongfu sessions.

Screenshots

Tea Timer4 screens
Gongfu Tea Timer3 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is in-app purchases: Gongfu Tea Timer at none against Tea Timer's 3. Gongfu Tea Timer also leads on review sentiment (100% vs 80%) and iOS requirement (16.2 vs 18.5). On price, rating, ratings volume and update cadence 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. Tea Timer sells 3 in-app purchases, starting at $6.99 per month. Gongfu Tea Timer asks for nothing beyond the download.

ReceptionRating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings

On the App Store both sit at effectively the same score — 5.0 for Tea Timer against 5.0 for Gongfu Tea Timer. Both are backed by a comparable volume of ratings — 4 and 5 respectively. Written reviews are what separate them: 80% of Tea Timer's written reviews are positive against 100% of Gongfu Tea Timer's.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

Tea Timer ships an update weekly, Gongfu Tea Timer every 2 weeks. The most recent releases landed on October 12, 2026 and October 8, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard4 real differences · 6 level
Tea Timer versus Gongfu Tea Timer: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterTea TimerGongfu Tea Timer
PriceFreeFree
Rating5.0 (4 ratings)5.0 (5 ratings)
Positive reviews80.0% of reviews100.0% of reviews — better
Number of ratings45 — better
Update frequencyWeekly — betterEvery 2 weeks
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesYesNo — better
MonetizationFree with in-app purchasesFree — better
DevicesiPhone, Apple Watch — betteriPhone
Requires iOS18.516.2 — better
Further details — not scored
Size42 MB2 MB
Age rating4+4+
DeveloperIvan TerekhinRAYMOND LIU LUO

Customer experience

Tea Timer

All ratings4 ratings
Positive100.0%
Neutral0.0%
Negative0.0%
Written reviews5 reviews
Positive80.0%
Neutral0.0%
Negative20.0%

Gongfu Tea Timer

All ratings5 ratings
Positive100.0%
Neutral0.0%
Negative0.0%
Written reviews1 reviews
Positive100.0%
Neutral0.0%
Negative0.0%

In-app purchases

3 purchases

Tea Timer

Subscriptions2
  • Tea Timer Pro Monthly$6.991 Month
  • Tea Timer Pro Yearly3 Days trial$24.991 Year
One-time1
  • Premium$39.99
None

Gongfu Tea Timer

No in-app purchases

Questions

Is Tea Timer free?
Tea Timer is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Is Gongfu Tea Timer free?
Gongfu Tea Timer is free to download, with no in-app purchases.
Which has better reviews, Tea Timer or Gongfu Tea Timer?
Tea Timer and Gongfu Tea Timer are both rated 5.0 out of 5 on the App Store, from 4 and 5 ratings respectively.
Do Tea Timer or Gongfu Tea Timer have ads?
Neither Tea Timer nor Gongfu Tea Timer shows ads.
Which is updated more often, Tea Timer or Gongfu Tea Timer?
Tea Timer ships an update weekly, and Gongfu Tea Timer every 2 weeks. Most recently, Tea Timer was updated on October 12, 2026 and Gongfu Tea Timer on October 8, 2026.

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