Comparison

Anova Culinary vs MEATER® Smart Meat Thermometer

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

Head to head
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/

About

MEATER® Smart Meat Thermometer

This app works with a wireless meat thermometer to help you cook meats perfectly. It provides cook time estimates, guided cooking instructions, and notifications when your food is ready. Monitor your food remotely and enjoy perfectly cooked meals every time.

Highlights
  • Wireless meat thermometer integration
  • Cook time estimates
  • Guided Cook™ system
  • Audio and visual notifications
  • Supports up to four probes
  • Customizable cooking options
  • Cooking history
Features
Read full description

MEATER® is the world’s first Wireless Smart Meat Thermometer that can help you cook meats perfectly every time. The MEATER® app, together with the MEATER® meat thermometer (sold separately at https://meater.com/shop) will change the way you cook your meals, and make it a new and exciting experience. Using patented software algorithms, the MEATER® app will give you cook time estimates, and guide you towards the juiciest steak, chicken, turkey, fish or other cut of meat that you've ever cooked. It’s time to break free from the kitchen or grill and let the MEATER® app monitor your food for you. When your food is ready, you'll receive audio and visual notifications on your smart device. This way, you can stop watching your food cook, giving you more time to focus on the things that matter the most to you. * Unlike other smart meat thermometers, MEATER® is completely wireless! All of the electronics are contained inside the MEATER® probe, eliminating the need for any external wires. * Easily connect up to four MEATER® probes at once to cook every steak exactly the way each person likes them. * The smart Guided Cook™ system lets you know how long to cook your food, when to remove it from heat, and how long to let it rest. Simply select the type of meat, cut, and cook you want in the MEATER® app, then sit back and relax as perfect results are achieved. * For veteran chefs, fully customizable cooking and alert options are available to give you total control over your cooking experience. * Access your complete cooking history with ‘Previous Cooks’ so you can repeat your favorites whenever you want. Cook smarter with MEATER®! Learn more at https://meater.com. Get to know us! Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/MEATERmade/ Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/meatermade/ YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/c/MEATER/ Twitter: https://twitter.com/MEATERmade TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@meatermade Check out meals cooked with MEATER® by searching the hashtag #meatermade, and don't forget to use the hashtag when you share your own cooks online! This app requires at least one MEATER® probe to operate (sold separately at https://meater.com/shop). The MEATER® app supports all iOS devices with Bluetooth® LE (Bluetooth® Smart) support, running iOS 14.0 or later.

Screenshots

Anova Culinary4 screens
MEATER® Smart Meat Thermometer3 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is in-app purchases: MEATER® Smart Meat Thermometer at none against Anova Culinary's 2. MEATER® Smart Meat Thermometer also leads on ratings volume (141K vs 26K). Anova Culinary's advantage is chart position (#34 vs unranked). On price, rating, review sentiment and update cadence 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. MEATER® Smart Meat Thermometer asks for nothing beyond the download.

ReceptionRating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings

MEATER® Smart Meat Thermometer holds the better App Store score, 4.6 against 4.4. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: MEATER® Smart Meat Thermometer has 141K ratings behind it against 26K, so its average is the more settled of the two. Written reviews point the same way: 32% of Anova Culinary's written reviews are positive against 38% of MEATER® Smart Meat Thermometer's.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

Anova Culinary ships an update monthly, MEATER® Smart Meat Thermometer every 3 weeks. Both last shipped on September 24, 2026.

Scorecard4 real differences · 7 level
Anova Culinary versus MEATER® Smart Meat Thermometer: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterAnova CulinaryMEATER® Smart Meat Thermometer
PriceFreeFree
Rating4.4 (26K ratings)4.6 (141K ratings) — better
Positive reviews31.6% of reviews37.7% of reviews — better
Number of ratings26K141K — better
Update frequencyMonthlyEvery 3 weeks — better
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesYesNo — better
MonetizationFree with in-app purchasesFree — better
Best chart rank#34 — better—
DevicesiPhone, iPodiPhone, iPad, Apple Watch — better
Requires iOS15.1 — better16.4
Further details — not scored
Size80 MB140 MB
Age rating12+4+
DeveloperAnova CulinaryApption Labs

Customer experience

Anova Culinary

All ratings25,585 ratings
Positive85.1%
Neutral3.2%
Negative11.7%
Written reviews1,217 reviews
Positive31.6%
Neutral9.4%
Negative59.0%

MEATER® Smart Meat Thermometer

All ratings141,044 ratings
Positive91.6%
Neutral1.9%
Negative6.5%
Written reviews1,611 reviews
Positive37.7%
Neutral7.3%
Negative55.1%

User reviews

Anova Culinary

From 26K App Store ratings

What we love

  • 🚀 Easy to use
  • 🚀 Consistent cooking results
  • 🚀 Versatile for various foods
  • 🚀 Game-changing cooking method
  • 🚀 Convenient remote control

Room to improve

  • 🐛 Connectivity issues with app
  • 🐛 Unreliable timer functionality
  • 🐛 Glitchy app interface
  • 🐛 Difficult WiFi setup
  • 🐛 Lack of manual controls

MEATER® Smart Meat Thermometer

From 141K App Store ratings

What we love

  • 🚀 Accurate temperature readings
  • 🔍 Helpful cooking data and graphs
  • 🤖 Automated cooking assistance
  • 🧑‍🍳 Improved cooking results
  • 🔌 Wireless and cordless design

Room to improve

  • 🔌 Connectivity issues and signal range limitations
  • 🕰️ Inaccurate cooking time estimates
  • 🔋 Battery life and charging concerns
  • 📱 Clunky and unintuitive app experience
  • 🤯 Overly complicated setup and configuration

Bugs and 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

MEATER® Smart Meat Thermometer

Reported bugs

4 issues
  • Probe disconnection during cooks
  • Inconsistent temperature readings
  • App crashes and freezes
  • Issues with firmware updates

Requested features

4 requests
  • Ability to save custom cooking profiles
  • Apple Watch app integration
  • More flexible cooking monitoring and control options
  • Improved data logging and note-taking features

In-app purchases

2 purchases

Anova Culinary

Subscriptions2
  • Monthly Subscription14 Days trial$1.991 Month
  • Sous Vide Yearly Subscription14 Days trial$9.991 Year
None

MEATER® Smart Meat Thermometer

No in-app purchases

Questions

Is Anova Culinary free?
Anova Culinary is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Is MEATER® Smart Meat Thermometer free?
MEATER® Smart Meat Thermometer is free to download, with no in-app purchases.
Which has better reviews, Anova Culinary or MEATER® Smart Meat Thermometer?
MEATER® Smart Meat Thermometer is rated higher. Anova Culinary averages 4.4 out of 5 from 26K ratings, while MEATER® Smart Meat Thermometer averages 4.6 from 141K ratings.
Do Anova Culinary or MEATER® Smart Meat Thermometer have ads?
Neither Anova Culinary nor MEATER® Smart Meat Thermometer shows ads.
Which is updated more often, Anova Culinary or MEATER® Smart Meat Thermometer?
Anova Culinary ships an update monthly, and MEATER® Smart Meat Thermometer every 3 weeks. Most recently, Anova Culinary was updated on September 24, 2026 and MEATER® Smart Meat Thermometer on September 24, 2026.

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