Comparison

FermentBuddy vs Ferment Tracker

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

Head to head
About

FermentBuddy

This kitchen companion helps you track and manage all your fermentation projects, from sourdough starters to kombucha. It provides smart timers, guided workflows, and troubleshooting assistance to ensure successful ferments. Document your progress with notes and photos, and access your data offline.

Highlights
  • Track multiple ferment types
  • Smart recurring reminders
  • Guided step-by-step workflows
  • Troubleshooting diagnostic system
  • Log ingredients, notes, and photos
  • Home screen widgets
  • Offline functionality
Features
Read full description

Fermentation is all about timing — and your sourdough starter won't remind you when it's hungry. FermentBuddy is the kitchen companion that remembers what you forget, so you never kill another starter or over-ferment your kombucha again. TRACK ALL YOUR FERMENTS IN ONE PLACE Whether you're nurturing a sourdough starter, brewing kombucha, culturing kefir, or making sauerkraut, FermentBuddy keeps every project organized with timers, notes, and photo logs. Support for 13 fermentation types including kimchi, miso, tempeh, yogurt, jun, vinegar, water kefir, and pickles. SMART TIMERS THAT ACTUALLY HELP Set recurring feeding reminders for your sourdough starter. Get notified when your kombucha first ferment is ready. FermentBuddy sends push notifications so you can stop setting random phone alarms and sticky notes. Pro users get temperature-adjusted timers that use fermentation science to adapt timing to your kitchen conditions. GUIDED WORKFLOWS FOR EVERY STAGE New to fermentation? Follow step-by-step timelines that walk you through each stage — from mixing your first sourdough starter to bottling your kombucha. Visual progress tracking shows exactly where you are and what comes next. TROUBLESHOOTING THAT ACTUALLY WORKS Mold on your sauerkraut? Starter not rising? Kombucha too vinegary? FermentBuddy's diagnostic system helps you identify problems with 34+ symptoms, causes, severity levels, and actionable solutions. No more frantic googling — get answers in seconds. DOCUMENT YOUR PROGRESS Log each batch with ingredients, dates, notes, and photos. Track what works and what doesn't. Build your personal fermentation recipe book over time. Export your history as CSV or PDF to share or save. HOME SCREEN WIDGETS Check on your active ferments without opening the app. Small, medium, and large iOS widgets show your running timers and next actions at a glance. BEAUTIFUL, WARM DESIGN FermentBuddy's "Artisan Pantry" design feels like a cozy kitchen companion, not a clinical spreadsheet. Warm terracotta and olive tones, organic typography, and signature rising bubble animations bring your ferments to life. Full dark mode support with warm undertones for late-night feeding sessions. WORKS OFFLINE Start tracking immediately — no account required. FermentBuddy works offline with automatic cloud sync when you're connected. Your data is always safe and accessible across devices. FREE TO START, PRO TO MASTER Get started free with 2 active projects, 3 ferment types, smart timers, and basic troubleshooting. Upgrade to Pro for unlimited projects, all 13 ferment types, temperature-adjusted timers, feeding calculator, discard recipe library, home screen widgets, batch export, and more. SUBSCRIPTION & PRICING FermentBuddy Pro is available as: • Annual auto-renewing subscription: $34.99/year (just $2.90/month) • Monthly auto-renewing subscription: $3.99/month • Lifetime one-time purchase: $14.99 Subscriptions auto-renew at the end of each period unless canceled at least 24 hours before the current period ends. Manage or cancel anytime in your iTunes Account Settings. Payment is charged to your Apple ID account at confirmation of purchase. Whether you're starting your first sourdough starter or managing a kitchen full of ferments, FermentBuddy helps you ferment with confidence. Terms of Use (EULA): https://fermentbuddy.app/terms Privacy Policy: https://fermentbuddy.app/privacy

About

Ferment Tracker

Track and organize all your food fermentation projects, from sauerkraut to kombucha. Log progress, monitor key metrics like pH and temperature, and build a comprehensive recipe journal. Includes a helpful reference guide for common fermentation types and troubleshooting.

Highlights
  • Track active ferments with status indicators
  • Log check-ins with notes, pH, and temperature
  • Photo documentation for each stage
  • Built-in salt percentage calculator
  • Structured recipe journal for ingredients and methods
  • Fermentation reference guide and troubleshooting
Features
Read full description

Free: the full recipe library (59 recipes), up to 3 active ferments, 2 cultures and 2 recipes of your own, check-ins, reminders, the mould and kahm guide, widgets, jar labels, story cards and timelapses. Paid Crock Pro subscription required for unlimited ferments, cultures and recipes, AI photo checks (3 free to try), Insights charts, batch comparisons and Lock Screen countdowns. Crock turns your fermentation shelf into something alive. Every batch is drawn as its own printed jar: the brine clouds as it sours, bubbles rise faster in a warm kitchen, and kombucha bottles fizz until you burp them. KNOW WHAT EVERY JAR NEEDS TODAY - Your shelf shows each batch with what it needs next: burp, taste, check or move to the fridge - Timelines adjust to your room temperature, so you know when a kraut at 18 C will actually be ready - Ready by Saturday? Pick the day and Crock tells you when to start - Bottle in flavours: split a kombucha or kefir first ferment into several flavoured bottles, each tracked - A jars and gear list that shows which jars are free - Reminders at sensible hours, quiet hours, or mute a single jar A LIBRARY THAT WALKS YOU THROUGH IT - 59 recipes: sauerkraut, kimchi, dill pickles, hot sauces, salsa, preserved lemons, garlic honey, ketchup and mustard, kombucha, jun, kefir, ginger bug sodas, tepache, kvass, yogurt, tempeh, natto, shio koji, miso, gochujang, nukazuke, idli and dosa batter, injera, sourdough bread and starter, and vinegar - What's in season this month, and long cold ferments like kimchi-fridge kimchi at 2 C - Scale any recipe and Crock recalculates the salt by weight, plus a salt and brine calculator in grams or spoons - Bake planner: baker's percentages in grams, and when to start so your bread is ready on time, with reminders - Write your own recipes, or save the batch that turned out perfect - Share or print any recipe as a PDF, or make a shopping list from it IS THIS OKAY? - Illustrated guide to what is normal, what is harmless (kahm yeast) and what means throw it out (fuzzy or coloured mould) - A step-by-step check that rules out the risky cases first - AI photo check: snap the surface for a second opinion on kahm versus mould (Pro, 3 free checks) - pH guidance around the 4.6 line for hot sauces and salsas CULTURES THAT LIVE FOR YEARS - Sourdough starters, kefir grains, SCOBY hotels, continuous-brew kombucha, ginger bugs and nuka beds - Feeding schedules for counter or fridge, streaks, and a growth chart when you weigh kefir grains - Link each batch to the starter, SCOBY or grains it was made with - Split a culture to gift it and Crock remembers its family tree SEE WHAT MAKES A GOOD BATCH - pH and temperature charts for every batch - Insights across all your ferments, and any two batches side by side (Pro) - Turn a batch's photos into a timelapse video to share MADE FOR IPHONE - Widgets with Burped and Fed buttons, right on your Home Screen - Lock Screen and Dynamic Island countdowns (Pro) - Siri and Shortcuts: "What needs me?", burp a batch, feed a starter - Follow a HomeKit temperature sensor - Jar labels with QR codes, story cards, iCloud sync, metric and imperial - Back up everything to one file and restore it any time - In English, German, Polish, Japanese, Spanish, Portuguese and French Crock never tells you food is safe to eat. When something looks wrong, it helps you decide, and when in doubt, it says throw it out. CROCK PRO Unlimited active ferments, cultures and your own recipes, unlimited AI photo checks, Insights charts, batch comparisons and Lock Screen countdowns. Available as a monthly or yearly subscription. Subscriptions renew automatically unless cancelled at least 24 hours before the end of the current period. Manage or cancel any time in your App Store account settings. Privacy Policy: https://237LR.github.io/app-legal/Crock/privacy.html Terms of Use (EULA): https://www.apple.com/legal/internet-services/itunes/dev/stdeula/

Screenshots

FermentBuddy4 screens
Ferment Tracker4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is update cadence: FermentBuddy at weekly against Ferment Tracker's every 3 months. FermentBuddy also leads on iOS requirement (15.1 vs 18). On price, ads, in-app purchases and monetization model 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. FermentBuddy sells 3 in-app purchases, starting at $3.99 per month and Ferment Tracker sells 3 in-app purchases, starting at $4.99 per month. Whichever you choose, the download price is not the number that matters.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

FermentBuddy ships an update weekly, Ferment Tracker every 3 months. Both last shipped on October 31, 2026.

Scorecard2 real differences · 8 level
FermentBuddy versus Ferment Tracker: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterFermentBuddyFerment Tracker
PriceFreeFree
Rating5.0 (1 ratings) — better—
Positive reviews—0.0% of reviews
Number of ratings1 — better—
Update frequencyWeekly — betterEvery 3 months
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesYesYes
MonetizationFreemiumFreemium
DevicesiPhone, iPod — betteriPhone
Requires iOS15.1 — better18
Further details — not scored
Size103 MB16 MB
Age rating4+12+
DeveloperLight Works Studio, LLCKarol Jaworski

In-app purchases

3 purchases

FermentBuddy

Subscriptions2
  • FermentBuddy Pro (Monthly)$3.991 Month
  • FermentBuddy Pro (Annual)$34.991 Year
One-time1
  • FermentBuddy Pro (Lifetime)$39.99
3 purchases

Ferment Tracker

Subscriptions3
  • Crock Pro$4.991 Month
  • Crock Pro$39.991 Year
  • Crock Pro1 Year trial$39.991 Year

Questions

Is FermentBuddy free?
FermentBuddy is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Is Ferment Tracker free?
Ferment Tracker is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Do FermentBuddy or Ferment Tracker have ads?
Neither FermentBuddy nor Ferment Tracker shows ads.
Which is updated more often, FermentBuddy or Ferment Tracker?
FermentBuddy ships an update weekly, and Ferment Tracker every 3 months. Most recently, FermentBuddy was updated on October 31, 2026 and Ferment Tracker on October 31, 2026.

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