# Salt & Pepper vs Backbar

The clearest difference is price: Backbar at Free against Salt & Pepper's $4.99. Backbar also leads on iOS requirement (15.1 vs 18.5). Salt & Pepper's advantage is rating (4.7 vs 3.7) and ads (none vs shown). On in-app purchases and device support there is nothing between them.

Backbar is free to download; Salt & Pepper costs $4.99 up front. Neither carries in-app purchases, so what you see is what you pay.

Salt & Pepper holds the better App Store score, 4.7 against 3.7. Both are backed by a comparable volume of ratings — 120 and 32 respectively. Written reviews point the same way: 69% of Salt & Pepper's written reviews are positive against 60% of Backbar's.

Salt & Pepper ships an update every 9 days, Backbar every 3 weeks. The most recent releases landed on November 13, 2026 and November 3, 2026 respectively.

## The numbers

| Metric | Salt & Pepper | Backbar |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Price | $4.99 | **Free** |
| Rating | **[4.7 (120 ratings)](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/salt-and-pepper/id689697950/reviews)** | [3.7 (32 ratings)](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/backbar/id1461796151/reviews) |
| Number of ratings | **120** | 32 |
| Positive reviews | **68.8% of reviews** | 60.0% of reviews |
| In-app purchases | No | No |
| Ads | **No** | Yes |
| Update frequency | **Every 9 days** | Every 3 weeks |
| Monetization | Paid | **Free with in-app purchases** |
| Best chart rank | **#88** | — |
| Size | 2 MB | 32 MB |
| Requires iOS | 18.5 | **15.1** |
| Devices | iPhone, iPad | **iPhone, iPad, iPod** |
| Age rating | 4+ | 17+ |
| Developer | [Bleecker Street Solutions](https://appshunter.io/developer/306241454) | [Backbar](https://appshunter.io/developer/1461796150) |

## What reviewers say

### Salt & Pepper

[App page](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/salt-and-pepper/id689697950)

**Currently charting:** #88 Top Paid · Food & Drink (US App Store)

This app helps food businesses and home cooks manage recipes, track ingredient costs, and calculate profit margins. It allows for detailed recipe creation, inventory management, and shopping list generation. Users can also scale recipes, track expiration dates, and organize ingredients by supplier or category.

**Highlights:** Create detailed recipes with ingredients and steps, Calculate recipe cost and profit margins, Manage ingredient inventory and track expiration dates, Generate dynamic shopping lists, Scale recipes up or down, Organize ingredients by supplier and category

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

**In-app purchases:** none

**What reviewers like**

- 👍 Great resource with customization
- 👍 Fantastic for small businesses
- 👍 Useful for recipe costing and management
- 👍 Simple yet comprehensive
- 👍 Good value for price

**What reviewers complain about**

- 👎 No Android app available
- 👎 Poor customer support
- 👎 App crashes/won't open
- 👎 UI is terrible/atrocious
- 👎 Difficult to use/not intuitive

**Reported bugs**

- App keeps jumping back to home icon
- App crashes/won't open
- Recipe view scrolls to top when switching to edit mode
- Sliding to delete is inconsistent
- Switching screens throws out of edit mode

**Requested features**

- Android app version
- Ability to re-order ingredients
- Desktop support
- Sync over Dropbox
- Group sharing for suppliers and shopping list


### Backbar

[App page](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/backbar/id1461796151)

This application streamlines bar and restaurant management by simplifying inventory counting, vendor purchasing, and menu costing. It helps reduce costs and improve efficiency for beverage programs. Features include real-time syncing across devices, barcode scanning, and integration with over 1,300 beverage suppliers.

**Highlights:** Real-time inventory syncing, Barcode scanning for products, Streamlined vendor purchasing, Menu costing and pricing optimization, Digital invoice management, Staff education on beverages

**Features:** macOS Compatibility

**In-app purchases:** none


## Frequently asked questions

### Is Salt & Pepper free?

Salt & Pepper costs $4.99, with no in-app purchases.

### Is Backbar free?

Backbar is free to download, with no in-app purchases.

### Which has better reviews, Salt & Pepper or Backbar?

Salt & Pepper is rated higher. Salt & Pepper averages 4.7 out of 5 from 120 ratings, while Backbar averages 3.7 from 32 ratings.

### Do Salt & Pepper or Backbar have ads?

Backbar shows ads; Salt & Pepper does not.

### Which is updated more often, Salt & Pepper or Backbar?

Salt & Pepper ships an update every 9 days, and Backbar every 3 weeks. Most recently, Salt & Pepper was updated on November 13, 2026 and Backbar on November 3, 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.*