Comparison

Dram Diary vs BarVault

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

Head to head
About

Dram Diary

This app helps whiskey enthusiasts meticulously track their collection, including purchase price, market value, tasting notes, and fill levels. It offers features like barcode scanning for quick entry, deep analytics on collection composition, and a wishlist for future acquisitions.

Highlights
  • Import existing collections
  • Catalog bottle details
  • Track fill levels and tasting notes
  • Monitor portfolio value
  • Barcode scanning for quick lookup
  • Deep collection analytics
  • Wishlist management
Features
Read full description

Built by a whiskey collector, for whiskey collectors. Dram Diary started because keeping a serious whiskey collection in spreadsheets became cumbersome. We wanted a better way to know what we owned, what we'd paid, what we'd tasted, and how the collection was changing — so we built it. Dram Diary is the premium whiskey collection tracker built for serious collectors. Whether you're hunting allocated releases, building a cellar, or simply logging every dram, Dram Diary gives you the tools to track, analyze, and share your passion. IMPORT YOUR COLLECTION Already tracking your bottles in a spreadsheet or another app? Import your whole collection in minutes. We match your columns and check each bottle against the catalog. COLLECTION TRACKING Catalog every bottle with proof, age, distillery, purchase price, market value, barrel number, storage location, and more. Track fill levels as you enjoy each bottle and log tasting notes and personal ratings. PORTFOLIO VALUE See exactly what your collection is worth. Track what you paid versus current market value, view your total gain, and identify your top performing bottles by return on investment. BARCODE SCANNER Scan any bottle barcode to instantly look up details and market pricing. Add it to your collection or wishlist in seconds — no typing required. DEEP ANALYTICS Understand your collection like never before. Distillery loyalty breakdowns, price-per-ounce rankings, collection rarity analysis, and bottle removal history all in one place. ACHIEVEMENTS Earn badges as your collection grows. From First Dram to The Warehouse, track your milestones and see how you rank against the Dram Diary community. WISHLIST Build and prioritize your hunt list. Set maximum prices and notes for every bottle you're chasing. COMMUNITY See how your collection stacks up on the leaderboard. Connect with fellow collectors and share your passion for whiskey. --- SUBSCRIPTION INFORMATION Dram Diary Premium unlocks Analytics, Community, Infinity Bottles, and Pick My Flight. - Monthly: $3.99/month, auto-renewing - Annual: $34.99/year, auto-renewing Payment will be charged to your Apple ID at confirmation of purchase. Subscription automatically renews unless auto-renew is turned off at least 24 hours before the end of the current period. Your account will be charged for renewal within 24 hours prior to the end of the current period. You can manage and cancel subscriptions in your App Store account settings after purchase. Privacy Policy: https://www.dramdiary.com/privacy.html Terms of Use (EULA): https://www.dramdiary.com/terms.html

About

BarVault

Features
Read full description

BarVault is a home bar inventory for people who collect bottles: whiskey, bourbon, scotch, gin, rum, tequila, mezcal, brandy, vodka, wine, sake, vermouth and liqueurs. See what you own, what's open, how much is left and what you want to buy next. No account and no sign-up. YOUR BAR, GROUPED Bottles are grouped by product, so three bottles of the same whiskey sit together. A compact list fits a whole shelf on one screen, or switch to cards. Mark each bottle sealed or opened, set how much is left with a slider, and add a photo and notes. FAST TO ADD Start typing and BarVault suggests from a built-in catalogue of more than 2,000 brands and 4,700 bottles, filling in the type, strength and country. Bottles that aren't in the catalogue are typed in freely and remembered for next time. OPENED BOTTLES THAT DON'T LAST Vermouth, port, sherry, cream liqueurs, wine and sake fade once opened. BarVault suggests a typical number of days after opening, which you can change, and flags bottles before they turn. EVERY DETAIL A COLLECTOR KEEPS Date bought, where you bought it, store pick, barrel, batch and release year. Give a product your own star rating and a "buy again?" mark, and sort by what has been on the shelf the longest. A finished bottle moves to a Finished list, and one tap puts it back on the wishlist. A WISHLIST THAT SHOPS WITH YOU Keep the bottles you're hunting for with the price you want to pay. In a shop, type the price and size on the label and see the price per litre and how it compares with your target. Turn on Restock and bottles running low or recently finished show up on the wishlist. BRING YOUR SPREADSHEET Import bottles from a CSV file saved in Excel, Numbers or Google Sheets: match the columns, check the preview, then add. Export the whole collection to a CSV any time. FIND ANY BOTTLE Search by name or brand, even with a typo, and filter by type, opened, sealed, expiring or finished. BACKUP YOU CONTROL Save the whole collection to one file, see when you last saved, and restore it on a new phone. Choose replace or merge. PRIVATE AND CALM BarVault has no account and no server of its own. Your collection stays on your device unless you save a backup or switch on Keep in iCloud, which uses your own t themes. Volumes in ml, cl or fl oz. InEnglish, Russian and Armenian. FREE AND SUPPORTER Everything above is free. The free app holds 5s 50 finished ones and shows a small banner ad. Supporter is a one-time purchase, no subscription, and adds: no ads, no bottle limit, Keep in iCloud on iPhone and iPad, a pour log with each bottle's history, cics screen with your own exchange rates, andaccent colours. Made by a solo developer with a home bar of their own.

Screenshots

Dram Diary4 screens
BarVault4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is ads: Dram Diary at none against BarVault's shown. On price, update cadence, 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. Dram Diary sells 2 in-app purchases, starting at $3.99 per month and BarVault sells 4 one-off in-app purchases. Whichever you choose, the download price is not the number that matters.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

Dram Diary ships an update weekly, BarVault every 10 days. The most recent releases landed on November 10, 2026 and October 31, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard1 real difference · 9 level
Dram Diary versus BarVault: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterDram DiaryBarVault
PriceFreeFree
Rating4.5 (4 ratings) — better—
Positive reviews50.0% of reviews—
Number of ratings4 — better—
Update frequencyWeekly — betterEvery 10 days
AdsNo — betterYes
In-app purchasesYesYes
MonetizationFreemium—
DevicesiPhone, iPodiPhone, iPad, iPod — better
Requires iOS15.115.0 — better
Further details — not scored
Size42 MB34 MB
Age rating17+17+
DeveloperROBERT BLANCHARDKaren Simonyan

In-app purchases

2 purchases

Dram Diary

Subscriptions2
  • Dram Diary Premium Monthly$3.991 Month
  • Dram Diary Premium Annual$34.991 Year
4 purchases

BarVault

One-time4
  • Small tip$1.99
  • Supporter$4.99
  • Tip$4.99
Show 1 more
  • Generous tip$9.99

Questions

Is Dram Diary free?
Dram Diary is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Is BarVault free?
BarVault is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Do Dram Diary or BarVault have ads?
BarVault shows ads; Dram Diary does not.
Which is updated more often, Dram Diary or BarVault?
Dram Diary ships an update weekly, and BarVault every 10 days. Most recently, Dram Diary was updated on November 10, 2026 and BarVault on October 31, 2026.

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