SteepPilot vs Nine Steeps
Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both apps, side by side โ with what reviewers say about each.
SteepPilot
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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 ยฐC or ยฐF. 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/
Nine Steeps
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Nine Steeps is a tea companion for brewing, tasting, and keeping a small cellar. Build timed steeping sessions, record infusion notes, rate aroma, body, and finish, save teas, export and import tea files, and use Apple Watch and Live Activities during a session. Full Access is a one-time non-consumable in-app purchase with Apple StoreKit purchase and restore.
Screenshots
Verdict
The clearest difference is update cadence: Nine Steeps at every 2 days against SteepPilot's every 6 months. SteepPilot's advantage is iOS requirement (15.0 vs 18.0). On price, ads, in-app purchases and device support there is nothing between them.
Scored on Price ยท Rating ยท Positive reviews ยท Number of ratings ยท Update frequency ยท Ads ยท In-app purchases ยท Monetization ยท Best chart rank ยท Devices ยท Requires iOS
Both are free to download. SteepPilot sells 3 in-app purchases, starting at $1.99 per month and Nine Steeps sells 3 one-off in-app purchases. Whichever you choose, the download price is not the number that matters.
SteepPilot ships an update every 6 months, Nine Steeps every 2 days. Both last shipped on October 28, 2026.
| Parameter | SteepPilot | Nine Steeps |
|---|---|---|
| Price | Free | Free |
| Update frequency | Every 6 months | Every 2 days โ better |
| Ads | No | No |
| In-app purchases | Yes | Yes |
| Devices | iPhone, iPad, iPod | iPhone, iPad, Mac, Apple Watch โ better |
| Requires iOS | 15.0 โ better | 18.0 |
| Further details โ not scored | ||
| Size | 9 MB | 26 MB |
| Age rating | 4+ | 4+ |
| Developer | Alex Galkin | Rizk Corsight, LLC |
In-app purchases
SteepPilot
- Pro Monthly$1.991 Month
- Pro Yearly$9.991 Year
- Pro Lifetime$19.99
Nine Steeps
- 3-Day TrialFree
- Nine Steeps Full Access$1.99
- Nine Steeps Pro$1.99
Questions
Is SteepPilot free?
Is Nine Steeps free?
Do SteepPilot or Nine Steeps have ads?
Which is updated more often, SteepPilot or Nine Steeps?
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