Fermentation Lab vs Fermenta
Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both apps, side by side β with what reviewers say about each.
Fermentation Lab
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Fermentation Lab is the cellar notebook for people who ferment at home. Pick a ferment and a recipe: the app weighs the ingredients, tells you what to do each day and keeps track of temperature, pH and salt, jar by jar. Start from a recipe 95 recipes for 39 ferments β sauerkraut, kimchi, kombucha, kefir, yogurt, miso, shoyu, koji, tempeh, cured meats, cheese, vinegar, beer, wine, mead and more β plus bread recipes and pizza styles. Ingredients arrive already weighed and stay in proportion: change how much you make, or one line, and the rest follows. Next to each ingredient you see whether it is in your pantry; what is missing goes to the shopping list. Or write your own recipe and keep it for next time. The right step, every day Each type has its own care sheet: the phases, the task of each phase and the checkpoints β minimum salt, pH by the expected day, temperature limits, humidity, weight loss. Home follows what is fermenting and reminds you of today's task, with a notification when it is due. Short ferments such as bread, koji or yogurt are counted in hours. Log it, understand it Temperature, pH, gravity, notes and photos in one tap. Every reading is read for your ferment: whether it is within the limits of its care sheet, whether it is too early to tell, what counts besides that number. Measuring guides explain how to read pH and Β°Brix properly. You can connect an Inkbird Bluetooth sensor for temperature and humidity. Bread and pizza Baker's percentages on total flour, hydration, sourdough starter, biga and poolish. The method is part of the recipe: autolyse, folds, a night in the fridge, the pan. Doughs made in pieces are asked in pieces β four 250 g dough balls β and the step-by-step recipe has timers. The water temperature that brings the dough to the right temperature is one tap away from Home. The Laboratory Pantry and supplies, a shopping list with a barcode scanner, your cultures, the archive of finished ferments, statistics across batches, a calendar and timers. The Library Problems and doubts ("is it mold?"), techniques and microbes, with a search that reads inside the cards. Share An Instagram story or post with the jar's photo, log or recipe, plus a link to its web page. The Community Your profile is your lab: a jar for every ferment in progress. A weekly leaderboard, daily quests, culture swaps and a swap map. Others see only the types and progress of your lab β never names, notes or photos β and you can hide it. The Brigade, for kitchens A shared lab for kitchen teams: tickets on the rail, shift handovers, the week's HACCP checks, roles. And more Eight languages, a paper or cellar theme, and a predicted flavor profile and umami score (they are estimates). Fermentation Lab helps you keep count and not skip a check. Its values are the common ones of home fermentation: a number within limits says that number is within limits, not that a food is safe or ready. When in doubt, don't taste it.
Fermenta
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Fermentation is rewarding, but timing, safety checks, and scattered notes can make it harder than it needs to be. Fermenta gives you a clear way to start, follow, and finish homemade ferments with confidence. With Fermenta, making your favourite fermented foods becomes simple. Choose a guided recipe, start a batch, follow the steps, and keep track of what needs your attention. Each recipe helps you prepare the right ingredients and equipment, understand what to look for, and decide when to taste, store, bottle, or keep fermenting. Use Fermenta for sourdough, kombucha, kimchi, yoghurt and more. What Fermenta helps you do: β’ Discover guided fermentation recipes β’ Start a batch from a recipe β’ Follow clear step-by-step actions β’ Get reminders and see what is due today β’ Track batch progress over time β’ Add notes and observations β’ Check ingredients, equipment, timelines, storage, and safety notes Fermenta is made for beginners and curious home fermenters who want practical guidance without overcomplication. It keeps the process calm, organised, and easy to return to. Fermenta gives practical guidance, but it does not replace trusted food-safety advice. Always use clean equipment, follow recipe safety notes, and discard anything that looks or smells unsafe. Terms of Use (EULA): https://www.apple.com/legal/internet-services/itunes/dev/stdeula/ Terms of Service: https://getfermenta.com/terms-of-service/ Privacy Policy: https://getfermenta.com/privacy-policy/
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Verdict
The clearest difference is in-app purchases: Fermentation Lab at none against Fermenta's 3. On price, update cadence, ads and device support there is nothing between them.
Scored on Price Β· Rating Β· Positive reviews Β· Number of ratings Β· Update frequency Β· Ads Β· In-app purchases Β· Monetization Β· Best chart rank Β· Devices Β· Requires iOS
Both are free to download. Fermenta sells 3 in-app purchases, starting at $3.99 per month. Fermentation Lab asks for nothing beyond the download.
Both ship on a similar rhythm, roughly fortnightly. The most recent releases landed on October 24, 2026 and October 25, 2026 respectively.
| Parameter | Fermentation Lab | Fermenta |
|---|---|---|
| Price | Free | Free |
| Update frequency | Fortnightly | Fortnightly |
| Ads | No | No |
| In-app purchases | No β better | Yes |
| Devices | iPhone, iPad, iPod β better | iPhone, iPod |
| Requires iOS | 15.1 β better | 16.4 |
| Further details β not scored | ||
| Size | 84 MB | 72 MB |
| Age rating | 4+ | 4+ |
| Developer | Antonio Lice | Merlijn van Engelen |
In-app purchases
Fermentation Lab
No in-app purchases
Fermenta
- Fermenta Premium14 Days trial$3.991 Month
- Fermenta Premium14 Days trial$8.993 Months
- Fermenta Premium14 Days trial$24.991 Year
Questions
Is Fermentation Lab free?
Is Fermenta free?
Do Fermentation Lab or Fermenta have ads?
Which is updated more often, Fermentation Lab or Fermenta?
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