Comparison

Anova Culinary vs meChef

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

meChef

Transform ingredients into delicious meals with AI-powered recipe suggestions. Scan your fridge, import recipes, and plan your week with personalized meal ideas tailored to your family's needs.

Highlights
  • Fridge ingredient scanning
  • AI-powered recipe generation
  • Import recipes by photo or URL
  • Family profiles with dietary needs
  • Weekly/monthly meal planning
  • Personal recipe library
  • Share recipes with friends
Features
Read full description

meChef turns whatever's in your fridge into delicious meals. Snap a photo of your ingredients and get personalized recipe ideas in seconds. KEY FEATURES Fridge Scanning Take a photo of your ingredients and let meChef identify what you have on hand. No more staring at the fridge wondering what to cook. Recipe Generation Get custom recipe suggestions tailored to your ingredients, dietary needs, cuisine preferences, and cooking goals. Every recipe includes ingredients, step-by-step instructions, prep and cook times, and nutritional info. Import recipes - take a pic of your favorite hand-written recipes and/pr screenshot with ones you like from Facebook! Reverse-engineer a cooked dish! That's right, meChef lets you take a picture of that beautiful dish you're enjoying, but don't fully know what it is, and lets you reverse-engineer the recipe so you can make it at home. Family Profiles Create profiles for everyone in your household with their own dietary restrictions, allergies, and cuisine preferences. meChef generates meals the whole family will enjoy. Meal Planning Build weekly or monthly meal plans aligned with your goals, whether that's eating healthier, saving time, or trying new cuisines. Recipes are automatically organized by day and meal type. Recipe Library Save your favorite recipes, rate them after cooking, mark them as loved, and build your personal cookbook over time. Share with Friends and Family Connect with other meChef users to share recipes directly. Send a recipe to a friend with a personal note and discover what others are cooking. Voice and Image Recipe Import Add recipes by voice, by snapping a photo of a printed recipe, or by importing from a URL. meChef extracts and formats everything automatically. Achievement Badges Earn badges as you cook, scan, share, and build your recipe collection. Terms of Use (EULA): https://www.apple.com/legal/internet-services/itunes/dev/stdeula/ Privacy Policy: https://food-snap-creations.lovable.app/privacy

Screenshots

Anova Culinary4 screens
meChef4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is rating: meChef at 5.0 against Anova Culinary's 4.4. meChef also leads on update cadence (every 2 days vs monthly). Anova Culinary's advantage is ratings volume (26K vs 3) and chart position (#44 vs unranked). On price, ads, in-app purchases and monetization model 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 and meChef sells 4 in-app purchases, starting at $4.99 per month. Whichever you choose, the download price is not the number that matters.

ReceptionRating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings

meChef holds the better App Store score, 5.0 against 4.4. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: Anova Culinary has 26K ratings behind it against 3, so its average is the more settled of the two.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

Anova Culinary ships an update monthly, meChef every 2 days. The most recent releases landed on November 9, 2026 and October 31, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard4 real differences · 7 level
Anova Culinary versus meChef: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterAnova CulinarymeChef
PriceFreeFree
Rating4.4 (26K ratings)5.0 (3 ratings) — better
Positive reviews31.7% of reviews—
Number of ratings26K — better3
Update frequencyMonthlyEvery 2 days — better
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesYesYes
MonetizationFree with in-app purchasesFree with in-app purchases
Best chart rank#44 — better—
DevicesiPhone, iPodiPhone, iPad, iPod — better
Requires iOS15.115.0 — better
Further details — not scored
Size80 MB19 MB
Age rating12+4+
DeveloperAnova CulinaryGuillaume Tarralle

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

meChef

Not enough reviews yet to summarise bugs or requests.

In-app purchases

2 purchases

Anova Culinary

Subscriptions2
  • Monthly Subscription14 Days trial$1.991 Month
  • Sous Vide Yearly Subscription14 Days trial$9.991 Year
4 purchases

meChef

Subscriptions4
  • meChef$4.991 Month
  • meChef$9.991 Month
  • meChef$49.991 Year
Show 1 more
  • meChef$99.991 Year

Questions

Is Anova Culinary free?
Anova Culinary is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Is meChef free?
meChef is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Which has better reviews, Anova Culinary or meChef?
meChef is rated higher. Anova Culinary averages 4.4 out of 5 from 26K ratings, while meChef averages 5.0 from 3 ratings.
Do Anova Culinary or meChef have ads?
Neither Anova Culinary nor meChef shows ads.
Which is updated more often, Anova Culinary or meChef?
Anova Culinary ships an update monthly, and meChef every 2 days. Most recently, Anova Culinary was updated on November 9, 2026 and meChef on October 31, 2026.

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