Comparison

Anova Culinary vs The MeatStick

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

The MeatStick

This app helps you achieve perfect meat cooking results every time. Monitor and control your meal remotely, ensuring your meat is never overcooked or undercooked.

Highlights
  • Monitor and control cooking remotely
  • Achieve meat perfection
  • Prevent overcooking/undercooking
  • Easy to use interface
  • Cook juicy and tender meats
Features
Read full description

The MeatStick App is designed to work with the MeatStick so you can Achieve Meat Perfection Every Time. Cook perfect, juicy, and tender meats without hassle! The MeatStick App is straightforward & easy to use. With our technology, you can monitor and control your meal from anywhere. Never worry about overcooking or undercooking again! Get a MeatStick at themeatstick.com if you don’t have one already!

Screenshots

Anova Culinary4 screens
The MeatStick4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is in-app purchases: The MeatStick at none against Anova Culinary's 2. The MeatStick also leads on device support (4 vs 2) and iOS requirement (9.0 vs 15.1). Anova Culinary's advantage is ratings volume (26K vs 1.2K) and chart position (#33 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. The MeatStick asks for nothing beyond the download.

ReceptionRating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings

On the App Store both sit at effectively the same score — 4.4 for Anova Culinary against 4.3 for The MeatStick. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: Anova Culinary has 26K ratings behind it against 1.2K, so its average is the more settled of the two. Written reviews are what separate them: 32% of Anova Culinary's written reviews are positive against 26% of The MeatStick's.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

Anova Culinary ships an update monthly, The MeatStick every 3 weeks. The most recent releases landed on September 25, 2026 and September 24, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard6 real differences · 5 level
Anova Culinary versus The MeatStick: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterAnova CulinaryThe MeatStick
PriceFreeFree
Rating4.4 (26K ratings) — better4.3 (1.2K ratings)
Positive reviews31.6% of reviews — better26.3% of reviews
Number of ratings26K — better1.2K
Update frequencyMonthlyEvery 3 weeks — better
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesYesNo — better
MonetizationFree with in-app purchasesFree — better
Best chart rank#33 — better—
DevicesiPhone, iPodiPhone, iPad, iPod, Apple Watch — better
Requires iOS15.19.0 — better
Further details — not scored
Size80 MB357 MB
Age rating12+4+
DeveloperAnova CulinarySoma Labs LLC

Customer experience

Anova Culinary

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

The MeatStick

All ratings1,208 ratings
Positive81.8%
Neutral2.0%
Negative16.2%
Written reviews171 reviews
Positive26.3%
Neutral5.8%
Negative67.8%

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

The MeatStick

From 1.2K App Store ratings

What we love

  • 🚀 Great performance and reliable
  • 👍 Perfect meat all the time
  • 👍 Game changer!
  • 👍 Quality product
  • 👍 Straightforward and easy to use

Room to improve

  • 🐛 Constant connection issues and slow to get temp
  • 🐛 Verbindung bricht ab
  • 🐛 Loses connection frequently
  • 🐛 Doesn't work, support is terrible
  • 🐛 Doesn't work when you need it

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

The MeatStick

Reported bugs

5 issues
  • Firmware update issues
  • Connectivity problems
  • Thermometer inaccuracies
  • App crashes
  • Stick failures after limited use

Requested features

4 requests
  • Dark mode option
  • Ability to rename sticks
  • Ability to edit past sessions without stick
  • Simpler one-press operation to start and stop

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

The MeatStick

No in-app purchases

Questions

Is Anova Culinary free?
Anova Culinary is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Is The MeatStick free?
The MeatStick is free to download, with no in-app purchases.
Which has better reviews, Anova Culinary or The MeatStick?
Anova Culinary is rated higher. Anova Culinary averages 4.4 out of 5 from 26K ratings, while The MeatStick averages 4.3 from 1.2K ratings.
Do Anova Culinary or The MeatStick have ads?
Neither Anova Culinary nor The MeatStick shows ads.
Which is updated more often, Anova Culinary or The MeatStick?
Anova Culinary ships an update monthly, and The MeatStick every 3 weeks. Most recently, Anova Culinary was updated on September 25, 2026 and The MeatStick on September 24, 2026.

Other comparisons