IKAWA Pro vs Hikaru Brew
Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both apps, side by side — with what reviewers say about each.
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.
- 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
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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
Hikaru Brew
Control your smart coffee brewer with this app. Monitor brewing status, access a variety of recipes, and create your own custom blends. It also provides guided setup and maintenance support for your coffee machine.
- Real-time machine status monitoring
- Access built-in and master-crafted recipes
- Create and import custom recipes
- Guided setup and maintenance
- Ice drip coffee brewing support
- Share recipes via QR code
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Designed for the Hiroia Hikaru coffee brewer, this app makes consistent, delicious pour-over coffee a one-tap affair. Key features - One-tap brewing: four recipe slots — S, M, L and P — with 9 preset recipes built in, switched anytime - Hiroia Selects: recipes from coffee professionals, ready to brew - Live Brew: adjust the flow rate as you pour, then save it as a recipe - Brew Sequence and Ice Drip: let the machine do the work - Machine status at a glance, plus help with initial setup, machine calibration, descaling and draining Advanced features (login required) - Create and save your own recipes
Screenshots
Verdict
The clearest difference is rating: IKAWA Pro at 3.3 against Hikaru Brew's 3.0. IKAWA Pro also leads on ratings volume (12 vs 4). On price, review sentiment, update cadence and ads 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
Both are free to download. Neither carries in-app purchases, so what you see is what you pay.
IKAWA Pro holds the better App Store score, 3.3 against 3.0. Both are backed by a comparable volume of ratings — 12 and 4 respectively. Written reviews complicate that: 35% of IKAWA Pro's written reviews are positive against 36% of Hikaru Brew's, so the app with the better star average is not the one people write more warmly about.
IKAWA Pro ships an update every 2 weeks, Hikaru Brew every 3 weeks. The most recent releases landed on October 29, 2026 and October 24, 2026 respectively.
| Parameter | IKAWA Pro | Hikaru Brew |
|---|---|---|
| Price | Free | Free |
| Rating | 3.3 (12 ratings) — better | 3.0 (4 ratings) |
| Positive reviews | 34.8% of reviews | 36.4% of reviews — better |
| Number of ratings | 12 — better | 4 |
| Update frequency | Every 2 weeks — better | Every 3 weeks |
| Ads | No | No |
| In-app purchases | No | No |
| Monetization | Free | Free |
| Devices | iPhone, iPad, iPod — better | iPhone, iPod |
| Requires iOS | 15.0 — better | 15.5 |
| Further details — not scored | ||
| Size | 124 MB | 38 MB |
| Age rating | 4+ | 4+ |
| Developer | IKAWA ltd. | HIROIA Communications Pte. Ltd. |
Customer experience
IKAWA Pro
Hikaru Brew
In-app purchases
IKAWA Pro
No in-app purchases
Hikaru Brew
No in-app purchases
