# Smokecraft vs BBQ Captain

The clearest difference is update cadence: Smokecraft at every 3 days against BBQ Captain's every 2 weeks. On price, rating, ratings volume and ads there is nothing between them.

Both are free to download. Smokecraft sells 2 in-app purchases, starting at $2.99 per month and BBQ Captain sells 1 one-off in-app purchase. Whichever you choose, the download price is not the number that matters.

On the App Store both sit at effectively the same score — 5.0 for Smokecraft against 5.0 for BBQ Captain. Both are backed by a comparable volume of ratings — 1 and 1 respectively.

Smokecraft ships an update every 3 days, BBQ Captain every 2 weeks. The most recent releases landed on October 24, 2026 and October 23, 2026 respectively.

## The numbers

| Metric | Smokecraft | BBQ Captain |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Price | Free | Free |
| Rating | [5.0 (1 ratings)](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/smokecraft/id6763552744/reviews) | [5.0 (1 ratings)](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/bbq-captain-smoker-timer/id6781492781/reviews) |
| Number of ratings | 1 | 1 |
| In-app purchases | Yes | Yes |
| Ads | No | No |
| Update frequency | **Every 3 days** | Every 2 weeks |
| Monetization | Freemium | Free with in-app purchases |
| Size | 7 MB | 8 MB |
| Requires iOS | 17.0 | 17.0 |
| Devices | **iPhone, iPad** | iPhone |
| Age rating | 4+ | 4+ |
| Developer | [Brett Wilson](https://appshunter.io/developer/1862344253) | [Brett Stalcup](https://appshunter.io/developer/1896199957) |

## What reviewers say

### Smokecraft

[App page](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/smokecraft/id6763552744)

This app acts as a real-time coach for BBQ cooking, creating personalized schedules and sending alerts for every stage of the cook. It supports various meats and grilling methods, offering precise temperature guidance and rest time calculations. The companion watch app provides at-a-glance information and haptic alerts.

**Highlights:** Personalized cook scheduling, Real-time coaching notifications, Supports various meats and grilling methods, Doneness selector for grilled cuts, Multiple simultaneous timers, Apple Watch companion app, Cook logging and export

**Features:** macOS Compatibility, Family Sharing, Vision Pro support

**In-app purchases (2)**

| Purchase | Price | Billing |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Smokecraft Pro | $2.99 | per month |
| Smokecraft Pro Annual | $14.99 | per year |


### BBQ Captain

[App page](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/bbq-captain-smoker-timer/id6781492781)

This app helps home smokers plan and execute perfect cooks by calculating start times backward from your desired dinner time. It adaptively adjusts projected finish times based on real-time temperature readings, detects the stall phase, and provides timely reminders for wrapping, pulling, and resting meat.

**Highlights:** Backward planning from dinner time, Adaptive cook time projection, Stall detection and wrap alerts, Customizable reminders for key steps, Cook history log with notes and photos (Pro), Privacy-first, no account or ads

**Features:** macOS Compatibility, Vision Pro support

**In-app purchases (1)**

| Purchase | Price | Billing |
| --- | --- | --- |
| MeatGenius Pro | $9.99 | one-time |


## Frequently asked questions

### Is Smokecraft free?

Smokecraft is free to download, with in-app purchases available.

### Is BBQ Captain free?

BBQ Captain is free to download, with in-app purchases available.

### Which has better reviews, Smokecraft or BBQ Captain?

Smokecraft and BBQ Captain are both rated 5.0 out of 5 on the App Store, from 1 and 1 ratings respectively.

### Do Smokecraft or BBQ Captain have ads?

Neither Smokecraft nor BBQ Captain shows ads.

### Which is updated more often, Smokecraft or BBQ Captain?

Smokecraft ships an update every 3 days, and BBQ Captain every 2 weeks. Most recently, Smokecraft was updated on October 24, 2026 and BBQ Captain on October 23, 2026.

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*Compared by [AppsHunter](https://appshunter.io/) from daily US App Store data. Review summaries are generated from verbatim App Store reviews.*