Comparison

IKAWA Pro vs VST CoffeeTools PRO for iPhone

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

Head to head
About

IKAWA Pro

This app enables precise, repeatable coffee sample roasting with digital control. Design, edit, and share roast profiles, and access a global library for consistent results across teams and locations. It automates heat and airflow for hands-free operation.

Highlights
  • Digital roast profile design and editing
  • Automated heat and airflow control
  • Global roast profile library access
  • Profile sharing with colleagues
  • Hands-free roasting execution
  • Roast data logging and history
Features
Read full description

IKAWA’s Sample Roaster is enabling consistent, repeatable roasting by using digital precision. It improves quality, saves time and encourages collaboration and learning through profile sharing. SMARTER SAMPLE ROASTING The IKAWA Sample Roaster will automatically adjust heat and airflow to match your roast profile. This means consistency between your roasts and everyone else on the team, over and over again. Design and edit roast profiles with up to 20 temperature points and 10 fan points, then repeat roasts or fine tune your roast profiles. Edit profiles for the Exhaust Temperature Sensor, Inlet Sensor, and airflow with up to 20 control points on each line. ONLINE ROAST PROFILE LIBRARY IKAWA Sample Roaster profiles are shareable, and you can access our global roast profile library or share your own with your colleagues. HANDS FREE ROASTING WITH DIGITAL PRECISION AND CONTROL The IKAWA Pro App delivers hands free roasting with the incredible precision and control. Set a profile on the app, press go and the roaster will execute that roast with precision. CREATING A COMMON LANGUAGE Not only will you have access to our Roast Profile Library with profiles from around the world, but you can create a company set of roasts. This means from location to location, day to day, the roasts you and your team sample are the same. Save and share profiles and roast history, including; Colour Change, First Crack, Development Time Ratio, Rate of Rise graph, Roast Data CSV, Photos and Notes IKAWA’s patented Sample Rosters and designed and manufactured in our London workshop. To learn more, please visit www.ikawacoffee.com/for-professionals

About

VST CoffeeTools PRO for iPhone

This professional tool assists baristas, roasters, and café operators in designing and analyzing coffee and espresso beverages. It offers a simple, drag-and-drop interface for recipe creation, with automatic calculations and conversions for various brewing methods. The software also supports detailed data entry and analysis for equipment design.

Highlights
  • 2-step design process with direct chart data entry
  • Drag-and-drop coffee recipe design
  • Supports all brewing methods
  • Conversions for volume, weight, and units
  • Extraction Yield normalization
  • Full recipe details database
  • Touch-screen data input with pan and zoom
Features
Read full description

PROFESSIONAL COFFEE TOOLS DESIGN SOFTWARE for the BARISTA, SPECIALTY ROASTER, CAFÉ and RESTAURANT OPERATOR and COFFEE & ESPRESSO BEVERAGE EQUIPMENT DESIGNER Based on MoJoToGo – Best New Product SCAA EXPO 2010 VST's UNIVERSAL BREWING CONTROL CHART SOFTWARE For Coffee, Espresso, Cupping and Equipment Design • Simple 2-Step Design Process with Direct Chart Data Entry Select the point on the Chart and the amount of Beverage, Brew Water or Coffee Dose. VST CoffeeTools™ does everything else. • Drag-and-Drop coffee recipe design works in all modes. All recipe values are automatically calculated and displayed for any brewing recipe protocol. Full conversions provided, including between brewing methods. • Portrait and Landscape mode charts supported • Works with all types of brewing methods including: drip and auto-drip; infusion and full-immersion, cupping and espresso methods. • Supports iTunes File Sharing. Import/Export all data and measurements. • Share individual recipes, data & measurements to/from other versions of VST CoffeeTools. • Fully functional with or without a coffee refractometer. Refractometer measurements may be plotted separately using measured total dissolved solids (% TDS) and Beverage amounts to chart and compare actual brew results to design target values. • Conversions for volume and weight measurements and U.S. Standard (English) to Metric units are supported in any combination. Design recipes for Drip can be directly converted to/from Infusion/Immersion methods, while maintaining identical extraction and strength relationships. •Extraction Yield normalization is automatically provided on the VST Universal Brewing Control Chart for all brew methods: Drip, Infusion, Espresso, Cupping; brew water temperature (volume measurements); liquid retained in spent grounds; CO2 & Moisture content of the ground coffee. Defaults are provided for all preferences, and may be customized separately for all modes as required. • A wide array of Presets are provided in all modes of operation that are typical of those found in home and commercial service. Each mode provides a full set of custom Presets that are user defined. • Full recipe details database maintained separately for Coffee, Espresso and Cupping. Sorting by Date, Name and Taste Score provided. • The VST Universal Brewing Control Chart supports direct touch-screen data input, pan and zoom functions, auto-scrolling of chart with ordinate and abscissa axis and reset functions. Design points for % TDS and % EXT are step-less with snap-to-grid increments provided (TDS @ 0.05% and EXT at 0.1% increments). Region of Interest (ROI) overlays are optionally provided for SCAA, SCAE, NCA regions with taste defect labels. Custom User defined ROI is also included separately for all modes. • Complete calculation results are displayed for: Dose, Brew Water, Beverage, Liquid Retained Ratio, Spent Grounds Weight, Coffee or Espresso Brew Ratio, Extraction Yield in both Design and Measured values.

Screenshots

IKAWA Pro4 screens
VST CoffeeTools PRO for iPhone4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is price: IKAWA Pro at Free against VST CoffeeTools PRO for iPhone's $39.99. IKAWA Pro also leads on update cadence (every 2 weeks vs every 5 months). VST CoffeeTools PRO for iPhone's advantage is rating (4.0 vs 3.3) and review sentiment (75% vs 35%). On ratings volume, ads, in-app purchases 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

IKAWA Pro is free to download; VST CoffeeTools PRO for iPhone costs $39.99 up front. Neither carries in-app purchases, so what you see is what you pay.

ReceptionRating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings

VST CoffeeTools PRO for iPhone holds the better App Store score, 4.0 against 3.3. Both are backed by a comparable volume of ratings — 12 and 6 respectively. Written reviews point the same way: 35% of IKAWA Pro's written reviews are positive against 75% of VST CoffeeTools PRO for iPhone's.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

IKAWA Pro ships an update every 2 weeks, VST CoffeeTools PRO for iPhone every 5 months. The most recent releases landed on September 22, 2026 and October 1, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard6 real differences · 5 level
IKAWA Pro versus VST CoffeeTools PRO for iPhone: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterIKAWA ProVST CoffeeTools PRO for iPhone
PriceFree — better$39.99
Rating3.3 (12 ratings)4.0 (6 ratings) — better
Positive reviews34.8% of reviews75.0% of reviews — better
Number of ratings12 — better6
Update frequencyEvery 2 weeks — betterEvery 5 months
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesNoNo
MonetizationFree — betterPaid
Best chart rank—#119 — better
DevicesiPhone, iPad, iPod — betteriPhone, iPod
Requires iOS15.0 — better15.6
Further details — not scored
Size124 MB5 MB
Age rating4+4+
DeveloperIKAWA ltd.VST

Customer experience

IKAWA Pro

All ratings12 ratings
Positive58.3%
Neutral8.3%
Negative33.3%
Written reviews23 reviews
Positive34.8%
Neutral8.7%
Negative56.5%

VST CoffeeTools PRO for iPhone

All ratings6 ratings
Positive83.3%
Neutral0.0%
Negative16.7%
Written reviews4 reviews
Positive75.0%
Neutral0.0%
Negative25.0%

In-app purchases

None

IKAWA Pro

No in-app purchases

None

VST CoffeeTools PRO for iPhone

No in-app purchases

Questions

Is IKAWA Pro free?
IKAWA Pro is free to download, with no in-app purchases.
Is VST CoffeeTools PRO for iPhone free?
VST CoffeeTools PRO for iPhone costs $39.99, with no in-app purchases.
Which has better reviews, IKAWA Pro or VST CoffeeTools PRO for iPhone?
VST CoffeeTools PRO for iPhone is rated higher. IKAWA Pro averages 3.3 out of 5 from 12 ratings, while VST CoffeeTools PRO for iPhone averages 4.0 from 6 ratings.
Do IKAWA Pro or VST CoffeeTools PRO for iPhone have ads?
Neither IKAWA Pro nor VST CoffeeTools PRO for iPhone shows ads.
Which is updated more often, IKAWA Pro or VST CoffeeTools PRO for iPhone?
IKAWA Pro ships an update every 2 weeks, and VST CoffeeTools PRO for iPhone every 5 months. Most recently, IKAWA Pro was updated on September 22, 2026 and VST CoffeeTools PRO for iPhone on October 1, 2026.

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