Comparison

Tea Timer vs Steep

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

Steep

Features
Read full description

Steep is the tea app for people who care how their tea is brewed. Set a precise timer for green, black, oolong, white, or puerh — with smart presets for temperature and time. In gongfu mode, Steep tracks each short infusion in sequence, auto-bumping the next steep and counting down right on your Lock Screen and Dynamic Island, so your hands stay on the gaiwan. Build your stash by photographing a tin or pouch — Steep reads the label and fills in type, origin, vendor, and harvest year for you to confirm. See your whole collection at a glance, track quantity and value, and mark aging puerh cakes you're saving. Journal every session: log each infusion, dictate tasting notes hands-free, and let on-device intelligence organize them into aroma, body, and finish. Suggestions, never appraisals — your palate stays the authority. When your shelf is worth showing off, export a beautiful tea-shelf card to share with your community. Everything syncs privately across your devices with iCloud. Nothing leaves your phone for our servers. Free to brew with built-in timers and a starter stash. Steep Pro unlocks unlimited teas and sessions, label scanning, AI notes, value tracking, and unbranded cards — monthly, annual, or a one-time lifetime unlock. Steep your tea. Remember it. Terms of Use (EULA): https://www.apple.com/legal/internet-services/itunes/dev/stdeula/ Privacy Policy: https://brainrash.com/privacy

Screenshots

Tea Timer4 screens
Steep4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is update cadence: Tea Timer at weekly against Steep's every 2 months. Tea Timer also leads on iOS requirement (18.5 vs 26.0). On price, ads, in-app purchases and device support 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 and Steep sells 2 in-app purchases, starting at $2.99 per month. Whichever you choose, the download price is not the number that matters.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

Tea Timer ships an update weekly, Steep every 2 months. The most recent releases landed on October 12, 2026 and October 15, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard2 real differences · 8 level
Tea Timer versus Steep: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterTea TimerSteep
PriceFreeFree
Rating5.0 (4 ratings) — better—
Positive reviews80.0% of reviews—
Number of ratings4 — better—
Update frequencyWeekly — betterEvery 2 months
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesYesYes
MonetizationFree with in-app purchases—
DevicesiPhone, Apple Watch — betteriPhone
Requires iOS18.5 — better26.0
Further details — not scored
Size42 MB4 MB
Age rating4+4+
DeveloperIvan TerekhinJustin Pruskowski

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
2 purchases

Steep

Subscriptions2
  • Steep Pro Monthly$2.991 Month
  • Steep Pro Annual$14.991 Year

Questions

Is Tea Timer free?
Tea Timer is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Is Steep free?
Steep is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Do Tea Timer or Steep have ads?
Neither Tea Timer nor Steep shows ads.
Which is updated more often, Tea Timer or Steep?
Tea Timer ships an update weekly, and Steep every 2 months. Most recently, Tea Timer was updated on October 12, 2026 and Steep on October 15, 2026.

Other comparisons