Comparison

SteepPilot vs Kiri

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

Head to head
About

SteepPilot

Features
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SteepPilot times every infusion of your tea session. Pick your tea and it sets the water temperature, the leaf for your vessel and how long each steep runs, a few seconds longer every round. Then it times them one by one. GONGFU OR WESTERN Gongfu mode is many short steeps in a small gaiwan or teapot. Set the first steep, the seconds added each round and the number of infusions. Western mode is one long steep in a large mug. EIGHT TEAS Green, black, oolong, white, sheng and shou pu-erh, herbal and matcha each come with their own water temperature and starting steep times. Pu-erh starts with a rinse. Temperatures in °C or °F. LEAF FOR YOUR VESSEL Set the size of your gaiwan, teapot or mug and SteepPilot suggests how much leaf to use, depending on the tea and the brewing method. ICED TEA One switch splits the water into hot water and ice. THE TIMER Each infusion gets its own countdown ring. A soft chime and a vibration tell you when to pour, and the screen stays on. Pause, skip, or let the infusions advance on their own. The timer keeps running when your iPhone locks, and a notification tells you when each steep is done. A running session survives the app being closed. TASTE AS YOU GO Between infusions, tap the flavors you taste and give the infusion stars. Pro adds a short written note for each infusion. At the end, the summary shows how many infusions you made, how long the session took and a rough caffeine estimate. TEA JOURNAL Save a session with its rating and tasting notes and read back through it later. The free version keeps three sessions. Pro keeps them all and exports your journal as a CSV file. MY TEAS Keep your loose leaf teas with origin, vendor and how many grams are left. Save a session with one of them and its leaf comes off what's left, and SteepPilot tells you when a tea is running low. Five teas are free, Pro has no limit. PRESETS Save a setup you like and start it again with one tap. ICLOUD SYNC Your journal, teas and presets reach your other Apple devices through your own iCloud. You can turn sync off in Settings. PRIVACY No account and no SteepPilot server. No analytics, no ads, no tracking. Notifications are scheduled on your iPhone and never pass through a server. FREE AND PRO Free: all eight teas, gongfu and western timers, iced tea, flavor tags and ratings, presets, three journal sessions and five teas. SteepPilot Pro keeps an unlimited journal and tea collection, adds a written note for each infusion and exports your journal as CSV. Pro is available as a monthly or yearly subscription, or as a one-time lifetime purchase. The price is shown in the app before you buy. Payment is charged to your Apple ID when you confirm the purchase. A subscription renews automatically unless you cancel it at least 24 hours before the end of the current period, and the renewal is charged within the 24 hours before the period ends. You can manage or cancel it in your iPhone's Settings under your name, then Subscriptions. Help: https://apps.alexgalkin.de/steeppilot/ Privacy policy: https://apps.alexgalkin.de/steeppilot/privacy/ Terms of use: https://www.apple.com/legal/internet-services/itunes/dev/stdeula/

About

Kiri

This app helps you brew tea precisely with a multi-steep timer and Apple Watch integration. Scan tea labels to identify and organize your collection, discover new teas from a large catalog, and explore tea origins. It also offers dedicated timers for cold brew tea.

Highlights
  • Multi-steep gongfu brewing timer
  • Apple Watch integration
  • Tea label scanning and identification
  • Digital tea collection organization
  • 700+ tea catalog
  • Interactive tea origin map
  • Cold brew tea timer presets
Features
Read full description

Kiri is your personal tea companion. •Brew gongfu precisely with a multi-steep timer with Apple Watch integration. •Scan tea labels to quickly identify tea and save it to your digital shelf. •Organize your collection in one place. •Discover new teas from a 700+ tea catalog. •Explore tea origins on an interactive map. •Make cold brew tea with dedicated timer presets. •Add your own custom teas Kiri is designed for daily tea drinkers who want better cups, cleaner organization, and a deeper connection to tea origins. Terms of Use (EULA): https://www.apple.com/legal/internet-services/itunes/dev/stdeula/

Screenshots

SteepPilot4 screens
Kiri4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is update cadence: Kiri at every 6 weeks against SteepPilot's every 6 months. SteepPilot's advantage is iOS requirement (15.0 vs 17.0). 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. SteepPilot sells 3 in-app purchases, starting at $1.99 per month and Kiri sells 2 in-app purchases, starting at $4.99 per month. Whichever you choose, the download price is not the number that matters.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

SteepPilot ships an update every 6 months, Kiri every 6 weeks. The most recent releases landed on October 28, 2026 and October 25, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard2 real differences · 7 level
SteepPilot versus Kiri: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterSteepPilotKiri
PriceFreeFree
Rating—3.0 (1 ratings) — better
Number of ratings—1 — better
Update frequencyEvery 6 monthsEvery 6 weeks — better
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesYesYes
Monetization—Freemium
DevicesiPhone, iPad, iPod — betteriPhone, Apple Watch
Requires iOS15.0 — better17.0
Further details — not scored
Size9 MB35 MB
Age rating4+9+
DeveloperAlex GalkinIvan Ostrolutskyi

In-app purchases

3 purchases

SteepPilot

Subscriptions2
  • Pro Monthly$1.991 Month
  • Pro Yearly$9.991 Year
One-time1
  • Pro Lifetime$19.99
2 purchases

Kiri

Subscriptions2
  • Kiri Pro - Monthly7 Days trial$4.991 Month
  • Kiri Pro - Annual7 Days trial$39.991 Year

Questions

Is SteepPilot free?
SteepPilot is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Is Kiri free?
Kiri is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Do SteepPilot or Kiri have ads?
Neither SteepPilot nor Kiri shows ads.
Which is updated more often, SteepPilot or Kiri?
SteepPilot ships an update every 6 months, and Kiri every 6 weeks. Most recently, SteepPilot was updated on October 28, 2026 and Kiri on October 25, 2026.

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