Anova Culinary vs Mug Link
Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both apps, side by side — with what reviewers say about each.
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.
- Largest sous vide recipe collection
- Remote cooker control
- Guided cooking instructions
- Recipe creation and sharing
- Time and temperature guides
- Personalized cooking profiles
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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/
Mug Link
This app connects to a Bluetooth device to display and control its temperature. You can set your desired temperature using buttons or directly on the device, and view power status. It supports both Celsius and Fahrenheit, and automatically reconnects after initial pairing.
- Bluetooth device connection
- Real-time temperature display
- Set desired temperature
- Power status indicator
- Celsius and Fahrenheit support
- Automatic reconnection
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Connect the device using Bluetooth. Display the current temperature of the device and display the desired set temperature. Set the desired temperature by +/- button or the device. Display the power of the device. Express the temperature in degrees and Celsius and Fahrenheit. Automatically connect after the first time.
Screenshots
Verdict
The clearest difference is rating: Anova Culinary at 4.4 against Mug Link's 2.0. Anova Culinary also leads on ratings volume (26K vs 4) and chart position (#31 vs unranked). Mug Link's advantage is in-app purchases (none vs 2) and iOS requirement (9.0 vs 15.1). 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. Anova Culinary sells 2 in-app purchases, starting at $1.99 per month. Mug Link asks for nothing beyond the download.
Anova Culinary holds the better App Store score, 4.4 against 2.0. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: Anova Culinary has 26K ratings behind it against 4, so its average is the more settled of the two. Written reviews complicate that: 32% of Anova Culinary's written reviews are positive against 33% of Mug Link's, so the app with the better star average is not the one people write more warmly about.
Anova Culinary ships an update monthly, Mug Link every 6 weeks. The most recent releases landed on September 29, 2026 and August 2, 2026 respectively.
| Parameter | Anova Culinary | Mug Link |
|---|---|---|
| Price | Free | Free |
| Rating | 4.4 (26K ratings) — better | 2.0 (4 ratings) |
| Positive reviews | 31.6% of reviews | 33.3% of reviews — better |
| Number of ratings | 26K — better | 4 |
| Update frequency | Monthly — better | Every 6 weeks |
| Ads | No | No |
| In-app purchases | Yes | No — better |
| Monetization | Free with in-app purchases | Free — better |
| Best chart rank | #31 — better | — |
| Devices | iPhone, iPod | iPhone, iPod |
| Requires iOS | 15.1 | 9.0 — better |
| Further details — not scored | ||
| Size | 80 MB | 28 MB |
| Age rating | 12+ | 4+ |
| Developer | Anova Culinary | Shenzhen Hansuo Technology Development Co,.Ltd |
Customer experience
Anova Culinary
Mug Link
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
Mug Link
Not enough reviews yet to summarise bugs or requests.
In-app purchases
Anova Culinary
- Monthly Subscription14 Days trial$1.991 Month
- Sous Vide Yearly Subscription14 Days trial$9.991 Year
Mug Link
No in-app purchases









