Comparison

Medea Vodka vs Backbar

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

Head to head
About

Medea Vodka

This app allows you to personalize a unique LED message on a premium vodka bottle. It's designed to be a memorable gift for any occasion, offering a smooth, award-winning spirit with a technologically advanced presentation.

Highlights
  • Personalized LED message display
  • Award-winning ultra-premium vodka
  • Share LED display with nearby users
  • Perfect for gifting
  • Single-batch distilled grain spirit
Features
Read full description

CELEBRATE WITH MEDEA The award-winning story of Medea Vodka begins in 1777, in Schiedam, Holland, in one of the oldest distilleries in the world. Medea Vodka is an ultra-premium grain spirit made from pure artesian water and distilled in single batches. Medea Vodka is deliciously smooth, sipped by itself or complemented by your favorite mix. After tasting this deliciously smooth vodka, you will understand why Medea is the recipient of multiple awards. Medea’s patented LED technology allows the user to program the bottle with a personalized message. The first response the Medea bottle evokes is "Wow!". As the world’s first personally programmable bottle, it is the perfect gift for any occasion. Give a gift of Medea Vodka and watch someone’s face light up! The Medea app allows you to share your LED display with other people nearby. This feature requires you to grant the Medea app location services. Note: Continued use of GPS running in the background can dramatically decrease battery life.

About

Backbar

This application streamlines bar and restaurant management by simplifying inventory counting, vendor purchasing, and menu costing. It helps reduce costs and improve efficiency for beverage programs. Features include real-time syncing across devices, barcode scanning, and integration with over 1,300 beverage suppliers.

Highlights
  • Real-time inventory syncing
  • Barcode scanning for products
  • Streamlined vendor purchasing
  • Menu costing and pricing optimization
  • Digital invoice management
  • Staff education on beverages
Features
Read full description

Backbar helps restaurants and bars increase profitability, decrease COGS, and run a more efficient beverage program. Backbar, the only free bar inventory app, saves hours on counting inventory and simplifies bar management. Backbar not only solves inventory management, but also streamlines vendor purchasing and tracking, menu costing, and financial tracking. Here are some of the many features of Backbar: - Quickly count inventory across many locations, devices and users, syncing in real-time - Count inventory in multiple locations and on multiple devices simultaneously - Scan barcodes to instantly find and count products - Streamline purchasing by sending orders to all your distributors with a single tap - Track past orders and invoices for all your distributors - Connect to your point-of-sale (POS) system for real-time inventory depletions - Save digital invoices easily by taking a photo - Connect to over 1,300 beverage suppliers for automated product updates and cost changes - Educate staff with tasting notes and drink information - Cost out cocktail recipes and optimize menu pricing - Quickly add a new item from our global database of over 300,000 wines, beers, spirits and other beverages Download the app today and make beverage management easier with Backbar

Screenshots

Medea Vodka4 screens
Backbar4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is ads: Medea Vodka at none against Backbar's shown. Medea Vodka also leads on iOS requirement (12.0 vs 15.1). Backbar's advantage is review sentiment (60% vs 47%) and monetization model (free with in-app purchases vs paid). On price, rating, ratings volume 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. Neither carries in-app purchases, so what you see is what you pay.

ReceptionRating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings

On the App Store both sit at effectively the same score — 3.5 for Medea Vodka against 3.6 for Backbar. Both are backed by a comparable volume of ratings — 55 and 33 respectively. Written reviews are what separate them: 47% of Medea Vodka's written reviews are positive against 60% of Backbar's.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

Medea Vodka ships an update every 2 weeks, Backbar every 3 weeks. The most recent releases landed on October 10, 2026 and October 8, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard4 real differences · 6 level
Medea Vodka versus Backbar: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterMedea VodkaBackbar
PriceFreeFree
Rating3.5 (55 ratings)3.6 (33 ratings) — better
Positive reviews47.2% of reviews60.0% of reviews — better
Number of ratings55 — better33
Update frequencyEvery 2 weeks — betterEvery 3 weeks
AdsNo — betterYes
In-app purchasesNoNo
MonetizationPaidFree with in-app purchases — better
DevicesiPhone, iPad, iPodiPhone, iPad, iPod
Requires iOS12.0 — better15.1
Further details — not scored
Size45 MB32 MB
Age rating17+17+
DeveloperMedea Vodka Inc.Backbar

Customer experience

Medea Vodka

All ratings55 ratings
Positive61.8%
Neutral1.8%
Negative36.4%
Written reviews89 reviews
Positive47.2%
Neutral4.5%
Negative48.3%

Backbar

All ratings33 ratings
Positive60.6%
Neutral6.1%
Negative33.3%
Written reviews20 reviews
Positive60.0%
Neutral5.0%
Negative35.0%

Bugs and requests

Medea Vodka

Reported bugs

16 issues
  • Cannot connect to bottle
  • App crashes or freezes
  • Login/account creation loop (account exists/doesn't exist)
  • Save function not coded correctly
  • Messages intended for deletion still appear
Show 11 more
  • Cannot reset bottle to pair with new phone
  • Update broke old bottles
  • Cannot connect via Bluetooth or manual setup
  • Connection issues after new update
  • App requires location services always on
  • Cannot program bottle if location services are set to 'Never'
  • Notification arrow stays on and drains battery
  • Certificate invalid error
  • Cannot reconnect to bottles after initial connection
  • Back and close buttons not visible
  • Message disappears after bottle shuts off

Requested features

10 requests
  • Allow battery replacement or charging
  • Remove 'Medea Ready' text
  • Improve user-friendliness
  • Make app more affordable
  • Add delete message functionality
Show 5 more
  • Allow playing all programmed messages in a row
  • Offer more color options for bottles
  • Provide an opt-out for location services
  • Fix Bluetooth notification pop-ups
  • Allow users to unregister bottles from their account

Backbar

Not enough reviews yet to summarise bugs or requests.

In-app purchases

None

Medea Vodka

No in-app purchases

None

Backbar

No in-app purchases

Questions

Is Medea Vodka free?
Medea Vodka is free to download, with no in-app purchases.
Is Backbar free?
Backbar is free to download, with no in-app purchases.
Which has better reviews, Medea Vodka or Backbar?
Backbar is rated higher. Medea Vodka averages 3.5 out of 5 from 55 ratings, while Backbar averages 3.6 from 33 ratings.
Do Medea Vodka or Backbar have ads?
Backbar shows ads; Medea Vodka does not.
Which is updated more often, Medea Vodka or Backbar?
Medea Vodka ships an update every 2 weeks, and Backbar every 3 weeks. Most recently, Medea Vodka was updated on October 10, 2026 and Backbar on October 8, 2026.

Other comparisons