Comparison

Thyme vs Anova Culinary

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

Head to head
About

Thyme

This app offers a simple and intuitive kitchen timer experience with a unique stove-like interface. It allows users to set multiple timers simultaneously for various cooking tasks, ensuring precise timing for delicious meals.

Highlights
  • Multiple timers simultaneously
  • Stove-inspired UI
  • Easy timer setting
  • Hours and minutes support
  • Modern design
Features
Read full description

IT ONLY DOES ONE THING, BUT DOES IT VERY WELL. Over half a million home-chefs uses Thyme and knows that fine dining needs fine timing. “It gets the job done and makes those complicated meals a little bit easier." - Lifehacker “Thyme is a simple, yet cleverly designed app with an interface that looks like a kitchen stove and has a separate timer for each part..” - BuzzFeed “Thyme offers a unique combination of features that easily sets it apart from the rest.” - Beautiful Pixels Thyme is the simplest and easiest kitchen timer you could envision. It covers all your timer needs in the kitchen. This is so you can give full focus on that delicious food you’ve got cooking. Our kitchen timer gives you a simple and clean layout over your kitchen stove. Four hot plates on top and an oven in the front. To set a timer you simply tap it, swipe it. Boom! You’re done! It´s really that simple! Because fine dining needs fine timing. - The smart and simple UI makes setting new timers super easy. - Multiple timers running at the same time - Our timers support setting hours as well as minutes - Gorgeous and modern UI design that fits right in with iOS - It just works as you’d expect it to Since its launch in Christmas 2013 Thyme has won numerous awards and continues to receive critical acclaim.

About

Anova Culinary

Discover and create sous vide recipes with a vast collection from professional chefs and home cooks. Control your precision cooker remotely, monitor cooking progress, and share your culinary creations. Offers guided cooking, time and temperature guides, and personal recipe saving.

Highlights
  • Largest sous vide recipe collection
  • Remote cooker control
  • Guided cooking instructions
  • Recipe creation and sharing
  • Time and temperature guides
  • Personalized cooking profiles
Features
Read full description

The Anova family of precision cookers allows everyone to cook like a pro! Paired with the Anova Culinary app, now perfectly cooked restaurant quality meals are as easy as the touch of a button. Browse the largest collection of sous vide recipes by Michelin star chefs and home cooks just like you. Then simply connect your cooker to the app and start, stop, and monitor your cook right from your mobile phone. Feeling inspired? Create and share your own recipes and go viral on the ‘gram. Whatever your pleasure, the Anova Culinary app is the place for everything sous vide. FEATURES ======== • LARGEST COLLECTION OF SOUS VIDE RECIPES: Access sous vide recipes created by Michelin star chefs and home cooks just like you. • COOK FROM AFAR: Start, stop, change the temperature, set the timer, and monitor your cooking status from just about anywhere, as long as your device is within Wi-Fi range. • RECIPE DISCOVERY: Cook recipes by James Beard Award-winning chefs, food editors, celebrity chefs, and more. • GUIDED COOKING: Follow the step-by-step instructions and click start to start cooking. • COOK NOTIFICATIONS: Stay up-to-date on your cooking status without getting tied to the kitchen. • RECIPE SHARING: Share your recipe with friends directly through the app. • TIME AND TEMP GUIDES: Learn the basics with our simple sous vide guides. • MANUAL CONTROL: Customize your cook settings with manual time and temperature control. • RECIPE COLLECTIONS: A series of new and appetizing recipe collections that are sure to keep you cooking. • RECIPE CREATION: Easily create and save your own personal sous vide recipe. • FAVORITES: Have a recipe or two that you love? Mark it as a favorite for quick and easy access. • PERSONAL PROFILE: Create your personal profile and see a history of all the meals you’ve cooked. Try all the features free for 14 days. Options in-app for monthly or yearly subscription terms. Payment will be charged to the iTunes Account at confirmation of purchase. Subscription automatically renews unless auto-renew is turned off at least 24 hours before the end of the current period. The account will be charged for renewal within 24 hours before the end of the current period, and the renewal cost will be identified. Subscriptions may be managed by the user, and auto-renewal may be turned off by going to the user's Account Settings after purchase. Any unused portion of a free trial period, if offered, will be forfeited when the user purchases a subscription to that publication, where applicable. End User License Agreement (EULA): https://www.apple.com/legal/internet-services/itunes/dev/stdeula/

Screenshots

Thyme3 screens
Anova Culinary4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is rating: Anova Culinary at 4.4 against Thyme's 3.0. Anova Culinary also leads on ratings volume (26K vs 73) and chart position (#37 vs unranked). Thyme's advantage is in-app purchases (none vs 2) and update cadence (every 10 days vs monthly). On price, ads 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. Anova Culinary sells 2 in-app purchases, starting at $1.99 per month. Thyme asks for nothing beyond the download.

ReceptionRating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings

Anova Culinary holds the better App Store score, 4.4 against 3.0. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: Anova Culinary has 26K ratings behind it against 73, so its average is the more settled of the two. Written reviews complicate that: 46% of Thyme's written reviews are positive against 32% of Anova Culinary's, so the app with the better star average is not the one people write more warmly about.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

Thyme ships an update every 10 days, Anova Culinary monthly. The most recent releases landed on September 28, 2026 and October 3, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard8 real differences · 3 level
Thyme versus Anova Culinary: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterThymeAnova Culinary
PriceFreeFree
Rating3.0 (73 ratings)4.4 (26K ratings) — better
Positive reviews46.2% of reviews — better31.6% of reviews
Number of ratings7326K — better
Update frequencyEvery 10 days — betterMonthly
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesNo — betterYes
MonetizationPaidFree with in-app purchases — better
Best chart rank—#37 — better
DevicesiPhone, iPodiPhone, iPod
Requires iOS9.0 — better15.1
Further details — not scored
Size31 MB80 MB
Age rating4+12+
DeveloperThuy Gia NguyenAnova Culinary

Customer experience

Thyme

All ratings73 ratings
Positive46.6%
Neutral6.8%
Negative46.6%
Written reviews91 reviews
Positive46.2%
Neutral13.2%
Negative40.7%

Anova Culinary

All ratings25,593 ratings
Positive85.1%
Neutral3.2%
Negative11.7%
Written reviews1,217 reviews
Positive31.6%
Neutral9.4%
Negative59.0%

Bugs and requests

Thyme

Not enough reviews yet to summarise bugs or requests.

Anova Culinary

Reported bugs

5 issues
  • App unable to maintain connection to device
  • Timer resets unexpectedly during cooking
  • Recipes not saving properly in the app
  • Compatibility issues with certain WiFi networks
  • Notifications not working as expected

Requested features

5 requests
  • Improved recipe management
  • Better app integration with smart home devices
  • More customization options for cooking
  • Clearer instructions and troubleshooting guides
  • Ability to save personal recipes

In-app purchases

None

Thyme

No in-app purchases

2 purchases

Anova Culinary

Subscriptions2
  • Monthly Subscription14 Days trial$1.991 Month
  • Sous Vide Yearly Subscription14 Days trial$9.991 Year

Questions

Is Thyme free?
Thyme is free to download, with no in-app purchases.
Is Anova Culinary free?
Anova Culinary is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Which has better reviews, Thyme or Anova Culinary?
Anova Culinary is rated higher. Thyme averages 3.0 out of 5 from 73 ratings, while Anova Culinary averages 4.4 from 26K ratings.
Do Thyme or Anova Culinary have ads?
Neither Thyme nor Anova Culinary shows ads.
Which is updated more often, Thyme or Anova Culinary?
Thyme ships an update every 10 days, and Anova Culinary monthly. Most recently, Thyme was updated on September 28, 2026 and Anova Culinary on October 3, 2026.

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