Comparison

SideСhef vs PourDirection

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

Head to head
About

SideСhef

Discover and cook delicious meals with step-by-step instructions, personalized recommendations, and integrated grocery shopping. This app simplifies meal planning and helps you explore new cuisines, even if you're a beginner cook.

Highlights
  • Step-by-step recipe guidance
  • Personalized recipe recommendations
  • Integrated grocery list creation
  • One-click online grocery shopping
  • Meal planning tools
  • Smart appliance control
  • Beginner-friendly cooking tutorials
Features
Read full description

SideChef’s 18,000 step-by-step recipes help you get from “what’s for dinner?” to cooking your next meal in just minutes. Filter by diet and preferences, search by ingredients, create a grocery list, and instantly shop ingredients from your favorite grocer. Called “best app” by USA Today and the New York Times’s “favorite cooking app,” SideChef empowers you to eat healthier, save money, and live your most delicious life. PERSONALIZED RECIPE RECOMMENDATIONS Quickly find recipe inspiration tailored to your preferences. Filter by dietary requirements, allergies, food preferences, and ingredients you already have at home to find a recipe you like in less than one minute. ONE-CLICK GROCERY SHOPPING Easily create a grocery list, and shop ingredients directly from Instacart, Walmart, Amazon Fresh, Target, and more online grocers. Ingredients are intelligently matched to in-store products, and updated with real-time prices and availability. Make smarter decisions by seeing the percentage of each ingredient used in a recipe – an easy way to plan for leftovers and minimize food waste, while also saving money. GREAT FOR BEGINNERS New to cooking? Our step-by-step recipes include an image or video at every cooking step so you know exactly what to do. Built-in timers ensure you never overcook anything again, while how-to videos teach you valuable culinary skills – from how to properly dice an onion, to how to press tofu. Rate recipes, upload photos, exchange tips, and share cooking fails and successes with the SideChef home cooking community. EASY MEAL PLANNING Use our meal planning tool to select recipes for the week, or save appealing recipes to your cookbook. Browse thousands of curated recipe collections and meal plans for more inspiration and ideas on what you’ll cook next. RECIPES FOR EVERYONE Personalized recipe recommendations for these diets and allergens: Vegan, Vegetarian, Pescatarian, Low-Carb, Paleo, Keto, Gluten, Egg, Dairy, Soy, Peanut, Tree Nuts, Fish, Shellfish Recipes cover a variety of cuisines: American, Italian, Mediterranean, Mexican, Chinese, Japanese, Korean, Indian, French, and more! Browse recipes from your favorite culinary influencers – top food bloggers, writers, and renowned chefs. PRAISE FROM MEDIA “If you’re always scorching the stew and you just can’t seem to achieve perfectly puffed chocolate chip cookies, let this free app serve as your new cooking companion.” — Real Simple “If you’ve ever ruined an entire meal because of a seemingly tiny mistake in timing or ingredient proportioning, then we have an app for you.” — Business Insider _________________ By downloading and using this app or purchasing a SideChef Premium subscription, you are agreeing to the SideChef terms of use and service: https://www.sidechef.com/terms For more information about how we use your personal data, please see our Privacy Policy: https://www.sidechef.com/privacy-policy. By downloading this app, you acknowledge the terms of our Privacy Policy. SIDECHEF PREMIUM SUBSCRIPTION PRICING & TERMS SideChef is free to download and use. Should you choose to upgrade to SideChef Premium, we offer two auto-renewing subscription options: * Monthly SideChef Premium subscription: $4.99 USD. Cancel anytime. * Annual SideChef Premium subscription: $49.99 USD. Cancel anytime. These auto-renewing subscription plans renew automatically unless canceled at least 24 hours prior to the end of the subscription period. Your payment will be charged to your iTunes account at confirmation of purchase. Your subscription will automatically renew each month or year 24-hours before the end of the current period. You can turn off auto-renew at any time from your iTunes account settings.

About

PourDirection

Features
Read full description

PourDirection is the fastest way to find somewhere to go tonight. Choose what you're after — bars, restaurants, clubs, dispensaries, late-night spots — and PourDirection points you there. Literally. A compass navigates you to the nearest match, no scrolling, no searching required. See everything around you on a live map. Get walking distance, hours, ratings, and photos at a glance. Found the spot? Tap Let's Go and you're moving. Need a ride? Book an Uber directly from the app in one tap. No algorithms. No endless lists. Just the nearest good time, pointed right at you. PourDirection is free to use. Upgrade to PourPro to remove ads and support the app. Terms of Use: https://www.apple.com/legal/internet-services/itunes/dev/stdeula/

Screenshots

SideСhef4 screens
PourDirection4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is ads: SideСhef at none against PourDirection's shown. SideСhef also leads on device support (3 vs 1) and iOS requirement (15.1 vs 17.6). PourDirection's advantage is update cadence (every 3 days vs every 2 months). On price and in-app purchases 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. SideСhef sells 2 in-app purchases, starting at $4.99 per month and PourDirection sells 1 in-app purchase, starting at $9.99 per year. Whichever you choose, the download price is not the number that matters.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

SideСhef ships an update every 2 months, PourDirection every 3 days. The most recent releases landed on November 6, 2026 and October 31, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard4 real differences · 6 level
SideСhef versus PourDirection: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterSideСhefPourDirection
PriceFreeFree
Rating4.7 (1.7K ratings) — better—
Positive reviews66.7% of reviews—
Number of ratings1.7K — better—
Update frequencyEvery 2 monthsEvery 3 days — better
AdsNo — betterYes
In-app purchasesYesYes
MonetizationFree with in-app purchases—
DevicesiPhone, iPad, iPod — betteriPhone
Requires iOS15.1 — better17.6
Further details — not scored
Size71 MB11 MB
Age rating12+17+
DeveloperSideChef Group LimitedWILLIAM ROBERT FRANK KIZELL

In-app purchases

2 purchases

SideСhef

Subscriptions2
  • SideChef Premium - Monthly7 Days trial$4.991 Month
  • SideChef Premium - Annual7 Days trial$49.991 Year
1 purchases

PourDirection

Subscriptions1
  • PourPro$9.991 Year

Questions

Is SideСhef free?
SideСhef is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Is PourDirection free?
PourDirection is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Do SideСhef or PourDirection have ads?
PourDirection shows ads; SideСhef does not.
Which is updated more often, SideСhef or PourDirection?
SideСhef ships an update every 2 months, and PourDirection every 3 days. Most recently, SideСhef was updated on November 6, 2026 and PourDirection on October 31, 2026.

Other comparisons