Alchemy Cocktails vs BarReader
Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both apps, side by side — with what reviewers say about each.
Alchemy Cocktails
Discover and craft a curated selection of cocktails with detailed instructions and ingredient tracking. Customize recipes, get smart substitutions, and share your creations. Ideal for home bar enthusiasts looking to perfect their drink-making skills.
- Curated cocktail recipes
- Ingredient tracking (My Bar)
- Custom recipe creation
- Smart ingredient substitutions
- Party Mode for iPad
- Recipe customization and sharing
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78 cocktails. Every one handpicked, tested, and worth making. Most cocktail apps give you thousands of recipes and leave you scrolling. Alchemy takes the opposite approach: a curated collection of classics, modern favorites, and original recipes, each presented with clean steps, rich photography, and just the details you need. WHAT'S IN YOUR BAR? Tell Alchemy what bottles and ingredients you have on hand, and it shows you exactly what you can make. No more browsing recipes only to find you're missing a key ingredient. My Bar keeps track of your stock and updates your options automatically. PARTY MODE (iPAD) Hosting friends? Select up to 6 cocktails and turn your iPad into a full-screen cocktail menu your guests can browse. No other cocktail app does this. Designed for the kitchen counter or the bar cart - it keeps recipes visible and easy to follow without interrupting the evening. MAKE EVERY RECIPE YOUR OWN Take any recipe and make it yours. Prefer your Margarita with mezcal? Like your Old Fashioned with maple syrup? Save your twist alongside the original. Add entirely new recipes from scratch to build a personal collection that reflects how you actually drink and entertain. SMART SUBSTITUTIONS Real home bars are rarely perfect. When you're missing an ingredient, Alchemy suggests sensible alternatives so you can still make a great drink with what you have. FEATURES - 44 classic cocktails free, 34 more with Pro - My Bar: track your ingredients, see what you can make - Party Mode: full-screen cocktail menu on iPad - Fork classics to create your own versions - Add custom recipes from scratch - Smart ingredient substitutions - Rate, filter, and search by flavor, spirit, or style - iCloud sync across iPhone and iPad - Voice search and Siri integration - Light and dark mode - No ads. No clutter. No account required. FREE VS. PRO The free version includes 44 classic cocktail recipes with full instructions, custom recipe creation, up to 5 favorites, and a preview of My Bar. Upgrade to Pro for 34 additional recipes (modern classics, bartender favorites, originals), unlimited favorites, full My Bar access, smart substitutions, recipe sharing, bulk import, and Party Mode on iPad. $29.99/year or $4.99/month. New handpicked recipes added over time and included with subscription. Alchemy is not about trends or gimmicks. It's about making better drinks, more confidently, one pour at a time. The submission did not include all the required information for apps offering auto-renewable subscriptions. The following information needs to be included within the app: - A functional link to the Terms of Use (EULA) - A functional link to the privacy policy You can use SubscriptionStoreView to easily include all of the required information in the app's purchase flow. The following information needs to be included in the App Store metadata: Terms of Use: https://www.apple.com/legal/internet-services/itunes/dev/stdeula/
BarReader
This app provides hands-free cocktail recipes for bartenders. It uses voice commands to display ingredients and steps, and can suggest drinks based on flavor descriptions. It's designed for busy bar environments and helps build confidence by acting as a training tool.
- Hands-free voice recognition
- Teleprompter recipe display
- Smart flavor search
- 120+ cocktail recipes
- Offline functionality
- Add custom recipes
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A guest orders a drink you’ve never made. Instead of guessing, BaReader shows you the recipe instantly. BaReader is a hands-free recipe teleprompter built for working bartenders. Just say a cocktail name and the recipe appears on screen — ingredients and steps, one at a time, large and clear. No touching the screen. No fumbling with your phone. Your hands stay on the shaker. VOICE-FIRST, BUILT FOR BUSY BARS BaReader lets you say a cocktail name and the recipe appears instantly. It’s designed to work in noisy bar environments — music, blenders, conversations. For best results, speak close to the mic. Many bartenders use earphones or a small mic, or quickly grab the phone, say the drink, and get back to work. ` SMART FLAVOR SEARCH Don't know the name? Describe what you want. Say "something sweet and creamy" or "refreshing with citrus" and BaReader shows you every matching recipe. It understands flavors, ingredients, and even negation — "not too sweet but tropical" narrows it down intelligently. TELEPROMPTER DISPLAY Recipes scroll automatically like a teleprompter — title, ingredients, steps — sized for a glance from arm's length. Pause with a long press. Skip forward with a double tap. Restart the loop with a triple tap or swipe. Designed for speed behind a busy bar. 120+ COCKTAIL RECIPES From classics (Negroni, Manhattan, Daiquiri) to modern favorites (Espresso Martini, Aperol Spritz, Paloma). Every recipe includes glass type, technique icons, garnish, and ice indicators at a glance. BUILD CONFIDENCE, NOT DEPENDENCE BaReader is a training tool. The looping teleprompter builds muscle memory — after making the same drink three times with BaReader, you won't need it anymore. It's how you go from "let me check" to "I got this." KEY FEATURES • Hands-free voice recognition optimized for noisy bars • Teleprompter-style recipe display with auto-scroll • Smart flavor and ingredient search with natural language • 120+ cocktail recipes in English and Spanish • Adjustable speed (Fast / Balanced / Slow) • Dark and light mode for any lighting • oz/ml unit toggle • Quick access favorites • Add and edit your own recipes • Works completely offline — no internet needed BUILT BY A BARTENDER BaReader was born from real shifts behind the bar. Every feature exists because it solved a real problem. No bloat, no social feeds, no AI gimmicks that don't work — just the recipe you need, when you need it. Free to start with a curated selection of recipes. Unlock the full library with BaReader Pro. SUBSCRIPTION INFORMATION • BaReader Pro Monthly: $2.99/month • BaReader Pro Yearly: $24.99/year • BaReader Pro Lifetime: $59.99 one-time purchase Subscriptions automatically renew unless canceled at least 24 hours before the end of the current period. Manage subscriptions in Settings > Apple ID > Subscriptions. Terms of Use: https://bar-eader.com/terms/ Privacy Policy: https://bar-eader.com/privacy/
Screenshots
Verdict
The clearest difference is iOS requirement: BarReader at 16.6 against Alchemy Cocktails's 26.2. On price, rating, review sentiment and ratings volume 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
Both are free to download. Alchemy Cocktails sells 2 in-app purchases, starting at $4.99 per month and BarReader sells 3 in-app purchases, starting at $2.99 per month. Whichever you choose, the download price is not the number that matters.
On the App Store both sit at effectively the same score — 5.0 for Alchemy Cocktails against 5.0 for BarReader. Both are backed by a comparable volume of ratings — 3 and 2 respectively. Written reviews split almost evenly too, at 100% and 100% positive.
| Parameter | Alchemy Cocktails | BarReader |
|---|---|---|
| Price | Free | Free |
| Rating | 5.0 (3 ratings) | 5.0 (2 ratings) |
| Positive reviews | 100.0% of reviews | 100.0% of reviews |
| Number of ratings | 3 — better | 2 |
| Update frequency | — | Fortnightly |
| Ads | No | No |
| In-app purchases | Yes | Yes |
| Monetization | Freemium | Freemium |
| Devices | iPhone, iPad | iPhone, iPad |
| Requires iOS | 26.2 | 16.6 — better |
| Further details — not scored | ||
| Size | 28 MB | 6 MB |
| Age rating | 17+ | 17+ |
| Developer | Paul de Hall | PYMESOFT LLC |
Customer experience
Alchemy Cocktails
BarReader
In-app purchases
Alchemy Cocktails
- Alchemy Cocktails Pro$4.991 Month
- Alchemy Cocktails Pro$29.991 Year
BarReader
- Monthly$2.991 Month
- Yearly$24.991 Year
- BaReader Pro One-Time$59.99
Questions
Is Alchemy Cocktails free?
Is BarReader free?
Which has better reviews, Alchemy Cocktails or BarReader?
Do Alchemy Cocktails or BarReader have ads?
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