Comparison

Steak Locker 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

Steak Locker

This app controls a smart dry-aging fridge, allowing users to monitor and manage temperature and humidity for aging steak and charcuterie. It provides visual inventory, detailed reporting, and profit monitoring, making professional dry-aging accessible at home.

Highlights
  • Smart fridge control
  • Temperature and humidity monitoring
  • Visual inventory
  • Product yield reporting
  • Remote performance monitoring
  • 5GHz WiFi connectivity
Features
Read full description

From one chef to another: great dry-aging isn't luck. It's control. Steak Locker is the companion app for your Steak Locker smart dry age fridge — trusted in home kitchens and professional ones alike. Whether you're chasing your first 30-day ribeye or running a full dry-aging program in a restaurant, it's the difference between hoping a cut turns out and knowing it will. Open the app and your whole operation is right there: temperature, humidity, and everything that's aging, at a glance. KNOW, DON'T GUESS Watch temperature and humidity in real time, around the clock. Set your targets and Steak Locker keeps watch, sending an alert the moment something drifts — so you can step in before a single cut is at risk, whether you're in the next room or across the country. SEE THE WHOLE STORY Review 24-hour, 7-day, and 30-day history for every reading. Spot trends, confirm stability, and prove consistency — the kind of record a serious program needs. TRACK EVERY CUT Log each piece with its cut, weight, and start date. Follow days elapsed and remaining, estimated yield, and progress toward target — from a single primal to a full locker. RUN ONE LOCKER OR MANY Manage multiple lockers from a single app, each with its own targets and program. Scale from one fridge at home to a row of them in a commercial kitchen without losing the thread. GUIDED FROM DAY ONE New to dry-aging? You're covered. Built-in lessons meet you exactly where you are — from your first cut to advanced charcuterie. Seasoned pros can skip straight to the controls. STEAKHOUSE QUALITY, FOR LESS Dry-age premium beef, charcuterie, cheese, and more — results that rival the best steakhouses, at a fraction of the cost of buying it finished. Built for home cooks and professional chefs, butchers, and restaurants. Steak Locker gives you the control the craft demands. Requires a Steak Locker smart dry age fridge (or Steak Locker Smart Aging Controller).

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

Steak Locker2 screens
Anova Culinary4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is in-app purchases: Steak Locker at none against Anova Culinary's 2. Anova Culinary's advantage is review sentiment (32% vs 15%) and chart position (#37 vs unranked). On price, update cadence, 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. Steak Locker asks for nothing beyond the download.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

Steak Locker ships an update every 2 months, Anova Culinary monthly. The most recent releases landed on September 24, 2026 and October 3, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard4 real differences · 7 level
Steak Locker versus Anova Culinary: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterSteak LockerAnova Culinary
PriceFreeFree
Rating—4.4 (26K ratings) — better
Positive reviews15.0% of reviews31.6% of reviews — better
Number of ratings—26K — better
Update frequencyEvery 2 monthsMonthly — better
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesNo — betterYes
MonetizationFree — betterFree with in-app purchases
Best chart rank—#37 — better
DevicesiPhoneiPhone, iPod — better
Requires iOS15.115.1
Further details — not scored
Size36 MB80 MB
Age rating4+12+
DeveloperBRUNO INVESTMENTS LLCAnova Culinary

Customer experience

Steak Locker

All ratings22 ratings
Positive18.2%
Neutral0.0%
Negative81.8%
Written reviews20 reviews
Positive15.0%
Neutral0.0%
Negative85.0%

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

Steak Locker

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

Steak Locker

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 Steak Locker free?
Steak Locker is free to download, with no in-app purchases.
Is Anova Culinary free?
Anova Culinary is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Do Steak Locker or Anova Culinary have ads?
Neither Steak Locker nor Anova Culinary shows ads.
Which is updated more often, Steak Locker or Anova Culinary?
Steak Locker ships an update every 2 months, and Anova Culinary monthly. Most recently, Steak Locker was updated on September 24, 2026 and Anova Culinary on October 3, 2026.

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