Comparison

Anova Culinary vs PatioFinder

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

PatioFinder

Features
Read full description

Never wander looking for the perfect patio again. PatioFinder turns your iPhone into a Find-My-style compass for outdoor dining. Point your phone in any direction and a live arrow rotates to the nearest restaurant patio, with distance and walking ETA updating as you move. HOW IT WORKS - The arrow always points toward the closest spot with outdoor seating, using your live compass heading. - Swipe the arrow to cycle through other nearby patios without leaving the main screen. - Tap the list button to see every nearby patio at once, sorted by distance, with "open now" badges. - Tap any address to get walking directions in Apple Maps. - Star ratings and open/closed status appear right under each patio's name. DESIGNED FOR REAL USE PatioFinder is built for the moment you step outside and want fresh air with your meal, not another list to scroll. It works in cities and smaller towns alike: patios come from live Google Places data when available, with a keyless Apple Maps search as backup, and a small bundled sample list so the app is never empty, even offline. PRIVACY BY DESIGN There are no accounts, no sign-in, no ads, and no analytics. Your location is used only while the app is open, only to find nearby patios, and is never stored or shared beyond those searches. No third-party SDKs are bundled with the app. Built simply, with a warm terracotta look, full support for light and dark mode, and no clutter. Just point and walk.

Screenshots

Anova Culinary4 screens
PatioFinder3 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is in-app purchases: PatioFinder at none against Anova Culinary's 2. PatioFinder also leads on update cadence (daily vs monthly). Anova Culinary's advantage is chart position (#38 vs unranked) and iOS requirement (15.1 vs 17.0). On price, 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. PatioFinder asks for nothing beyond the download.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

Anova Culinary ships an update monthly, PatioFinder daily. The most recent releases landed on October 21, 2026 and October 14, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard4 real differences · 7 level
Anova Culinary versus PatioFinder: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterAnova CulinaryPatioFinder
PriceFreeFree
Rating4.4 (26K ratings) — better—
Positive reviews31.7% of reviews—
Number of ratings26K — better—
Update frequencyMonthlyDaily — better
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesYesNo — better
MonetizationFree with in-app purchases—
Best chart rank#38 — better—
DevicesiPhone, iPod — betteriPhone
Requires iOS15.1 — better17.0
Further details — not scored
Size80 MB1 MB
Age rating12+4+
DeveloperAnova CulinaryJustin Nikolaus

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

PatioFinder

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
None

PatioFinder

No in-app purchases

Questions

Is Anova Culinary free?
Anova Culinary is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Is PatioFinder free?
PatioFinder is free to download, with no in-app purchases.
Do Anova Culinary or PatioFinder have ads?
Neither Anova Culinary nor PatioFinder shows ads.
Which is updated more often, Anova Culinary or PatioFinder?
Anova Culinary ships an update monthly, and PatioFinder daily. Most recently, Anova Culinary was updated on October 21, 2026 and PatioFinder on October 14, 2026.

Other comparisons