Comparison

Thyme vs Recipe Keeper

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

Recipe Keeper

Organize all your recipes in one place, import from websites, scan handwritten notes, and plan your meals. Automatically generate shopping lists and share your culinary creations with others.

Highlights
  • Recipe import from websites
  • Scan recipes with OCR
  • Meal planning calendar
  • Automatic shopping list generation
  • Recipe sharing
  • Cookbook creation
  • Hands-free cooking with Alexa
Read full description

Recipe Keeper is the easy to use, all-in-one recipe organizer, shopping list and meal planner available across all of your devices. ADD RECIPES QUICKLY AND EASILY Enter your recipes with as much or as little information as you like. Copy and paste recipes from your existing documents or apps. Categorize your recipes by course and category. Add photos, rate your recipes and flag your favorites. IMPORT RECIPES FROM WEBSITES Search for recipes on the web and add them straight to your collection. Hundreds of popular recipe websites supported. Customize imported recipes to suit your needs. SCAN FROM COOKBOOKS, MAGAZINES AND HANDWRITTEN RECIPES Scan recipes using your phone's camera or from your existing photos and PDF files. OCR technology automatically converts images to text. Keep all your favorite family recipes safe forever. FIND ANY RECIPE INSTANTLY Quickly lookup your recipes by name, ingredient or directions or simply browse your recipes by course, category and rating. Got leftovers in the fridge? Search for a recipe to use them up. Cook more of your favorite meals and rediscover those long-forgotten recipes to make mealtimes interesting again. SHARE RECIPES WITH FRIENDS AND FAMILY Share your recipes by email and to your favorite social networks. Create a shared family recipe collection. Add recipes from other Recipe Keeper users with a single tap. CREATE BEAUTIFUL COOKBOOKS Create cookbooks from your recipes for printing or sharing as a PDF with cover page, table of contents, custom layouts and more. UNEXPECTED GUESTS? Adjust a recipe serving size up or down and let Recipe Keeper automatically recalculate your ingredients for you. PLAN AHEAD AND STAY IN CONTROL Integrated weekly and monthly meal planner allows you to plan your meals in advance. Add all your meals to your shopping list in one step. Recipe Keeper can even create a random meal plan for you based on your hints and suggestions. Get rid of that "what should I cook tonight?" feeling. MAKE SHOPPING SIMPLER Fully featured shopping list that automatically groups your items by aisle. Save money by only buying what you need. No more trips back to the store for that one thing you forgot. AVAILABLE ACROSS ALL OF YOUR DEVICES Share your recipes, shopping lists and meal planner across all your iPhones, iPads, Macs, PCs and other mobile and tablet devices (separate purchase required for other platforms). "ALEXA, ASK RECIPE KEEPER FOR COOKIE RECIPES." Search your recipes, cook hands-free with step-by-step instructions and add items to your shopping list using the Recipe Keeper skill for Amazon Alexa, (English language only). TRANSFER YOUR EXISTING RECIPES Transfer your recipes from other apps such as Living Cookbook, MasterCook, MacGourmet, BigOven, Cook'n, My Cookbook, My Recipe Book, Paprika Recipe Manager, Pepperplate, OrganizEat, Recipe Box and many more. AND MORE! • Choose from 25 different color schemes, light & dark modes • Format recipes using bold and italics • Customizable recipe collections, courses and categories • Add nutrition information and search for recipes by nutritional amounts • Check off ingredients while cooking, highlight the current direction • Adjustable text size when viewing recipes - great for reading recipes across the kitchen • Convert recipes between US/Imperial and Metric units • Link related recipes together • Add links to online videos • Pin your favorite recipes to the home screen for quick access • Works offline - take your recipes with you wherever you go • Bulk update multiple recipes at once • Screen lock disabled while viewing recipes - no more messy fingers on screen trying to wake your device • Available in 15 languages GREAT SUPPORT We love hearing from you! If you need any help, have a question, or want to suggest a new feature, please email us at support@tudorspan.com Cook more. Eat healthier. Shop smarter. Try Recipe Keeper free today!

Screenshots

Thyme3 screens
Recipe Keeper4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is rating: Recipe Keeper at 4.8 against Thyme's 3.0. Recipe Keeper also leads on review sentiment (78% vs 46%) and ratings volume (30K vs 73). Thyme's advantage is in-app purchases (none vs 1) and update cadence (every 10 days vs every 3 weeks). 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. Recipe Keeper sells 1 one-off in-app purchase. Thyme asks for nothing beyond the download.

ReceptionRating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings

Recipe Keeper holds the better App Store score, 4.8 against 3.0. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: Recipe Keeper has 30K ratings behind it against 73, so its average is the more settled of the two. Written reviews point the same way: 46% of Thyme's written reviews are positive against 78% of Recipe Keeper's.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

Thyme ships an update every 10 days, Recipe Keeper every 3 weeks. The most recent releases landed on October 15, 2026 and October 18, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard8 real differences · 3 level
Thyme versus Recipe Keeper: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterThymeRecipe Keeper
PriceFreeFree
Rating3.0 (73 ratings)4.8 (30K ratings) — better
Positive reviews46.2% of reviews77.9% of reviews — better
Number of ratings7330K — better
Update frequencyEvery 10 days — betterEvery 3 weeks
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesNo — betterYes
MonetizationPaidFree with in-app purchases — better
Best chart rank—#30 — better
DevicesiPhone, iPodiPhone, iPad, iPod — better
Requires iOS9.0 — better12.2
Further details — not scored
Size31 MB167 MB
Age rating4+17+
DeveloperThuy Gia NguyenTudorspan Limited

Customer experience

Thyme

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

Recipe Keeper

All ratings29,635 ratings
Positive96.8%
Neutral1.1%
Negative2.1%
Written reviews1,082 reviews
Positive77.9%
Neutral6.6%
Negative15.5%

Bugs and requests

Thyme

Not enough reviews yet to summarise bugs or requests.

Recipe Keeper

Reported bugs

2 issues
  • Occasional crashes or freezes
  • Issues with recipe import accuracy, especially for handwritten recipes

Requested features

5 requests
  • Import recipes from Instagram and other social media
  • Pantry inventory management
  • Ability to add notes and instructions to meal plans
  • Day view option in meal planner
  • Automatic ingredient adjustments for recipe scaling

In-app purchases

None

Thyme

No in-app purchases

1 purchases

Recipe Keeper

One-time1
  • Recipe Keeper Pro Upgrade$19.99

Questions

Is Thyme free?
Thyme is free to download, with no in-app purchases.
Is Recipe Keeper free?
Recipe Keeper is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Which has better reviews, Thyme or Recipe Keeper?
Recipe Keeper is rated higher. Thyme averages 3.0 out of 5 from 73 ratings, while Recipe Keeper averages 4.8 from 30K ratings.
Do Thyme or Recipe Keeper have ads?
Neither Thyme nor Recipe Keeper shows ads.
Which is updated more often, Thyme or Recipe Keeper?
Thyme ships an update every 10 days, and Recipe Keeper every 3 weeks. Most recently, Thyme was updated on October 15, 2026 and Recipe Keeper on October 18, 2026.

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