General
Imbiblia8.0
A balance for most people. Ahead of Cocktails Guru (7.7).
Pour speed 20% · Finding 15% · Library 20% · Bar tools 15% · Pro features 5% · Price 15% · Upkeep 10%
Five cocktail apps with big recipe libraries · Updated 17 Oct 2026
Imbiblia leads the modeled pour test. Cocktails Guru has the most recipes.
We scored five cocktail recipe apps on seven measures, from the seconds of screen time a new drink takes to price and upkeep. Set the weights to rank them for the way you mix.
About this siteEvery number comes from public data and a published model, so you can check each score or change the weights yourself. How we score
Overall score out of 10
- 1ImbibliaLeads the modeled pour test8.0
- 2Cocktails GuruMost recipes, free tier7.7
- 3BarGeniusPolished, Apple devices only6.2
- 4Professional Bartender's Suite99¢ once, recipes from 20166.1
- 58,500+ Drink RecipesMost ratings, ad-supported3.8
General weights.
Adjust the weights
Four ways to weigh them
The winner depends on how you mix
Imbiblia leads General, Behind the bar and Equal weights; Cocktails Guru leads Home bar.
Behind the bar
Imbiblia8.6
Speed and pro features first. Ahead of Cocktails Guru (6.6).
Pour speed 30% · Finding 15% · Library 10% · Bar tools 15% · Pro features 20% · Price 5% · Upkeep 5%
Home bar
Cocktails Guru8.0
Library size and price first. Ahead of Imbiblia (7.8).
Pour speed 15% · Finding 15% · Library 25% · Bar tools 15% · Price 20% · Upkeep 10%
Equal weights
Imbiblia8.2
Every category counts the same. Ahead of Cocktails Guru (7.3).
Pour speed 14% · Finding 14% · Library 14% · Bar tools 14% · Pro features 14% · Price 14% · Upkeep 14%
Pour speed
The pour test
How long does a drink you've never made keep you on the screen, from your phone's home screen to the garnish? Pouring takes the same time in every app, so the test counts only the screen work, modeled from published typing, reading and decision times.
A new Mojito models at 16 seconds of screen work in Imbiblia and 29 to 35 seconds in the others
Modeled seconds from the phone's home screen to the garnish, pouring excluded
- Find the recipe
- Bring it all on screen
- First read
- Look-backs while building
Imbiblia15.9 s
BarGenius28.6 s
Cocktails Guru28.6 s
Professional Bartender's Suite28.6 s
8,500+ Drink Recipes35.0 s
Show the numbers
| App | Find the recipe | Bring it all on screen | First read | Look-backs while building | Total | Touches |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Imbiblia | 4.4 s | 0.0 s | 5.5 s | 6.0 s | 15.9 s | 5 |
| BarGenius | 4.4 s | 1.7 s | 14.9 s | 7.7 s | 28.6 s | 6 |
| Cocktails Guru | 4.4 s | 1.7 s | 14.9 s | 7.7 s | 28.6 s | 6 |
| Bartender's Suite | 4.4 s | 1.7 s | 14.9 s | 7.7 s | 28.6 s | 6 |
| 8,500+ Drinks | 6.0 s | 3.4 s | 16.2 s | 9.4 s | 35.0 s | 8 |
Reviews
The five apps
Ordered by the General ranking, with General-weight scores. Each review has the full pros and cons, specs, feature list and sources.
1st
8.0/10
Imbiblia
Leads the modeled pour test
Fastest in our modeled pour test, and the only app here with business accounts for bar teams.
- Recipes
- 5,879
- Price
- Free; Sipper $0.99/mo; Bartender $4.99/mo or $49.99/yr
- Platforms
- iPhone, iPad, Mac with Apple silicon, Android
2nd
7.7/10
Cocktails Guru
Most recipes, free tier
The biggest library, free on every platform, with an optional Premium plan.
- Recipes
- nearly 20,000
- Price
- Free; Premium $2.99/mo or $19.99/yr; sponsor placements
- Platforms
- iPhone, iPad, Mac with Apple silicon, Android, web
3rd
6.2/10
BarGenius
Polished, Apple devices only
Polished and social, but Apple devices only, and full access needs Pro.
- Recipes
- 10,000+
- Price
- Free download; Pro $3.99/mo, $19.99/yr or $39.99 lifetime
- Platforms
- iPhone, iPad, Mac with Apple silicon
4th
6.1/10
Professional Bartender's Suite
99¢ once, recipes from 2016
Ninety-nine cents once, but the recipes stopped in 2016.
- Recipes
- 9,240+
- Price
- $0.99, no in-app purchases
- Platforms
- iPhone, iPad, Mac with Apple silicon
5th
3.8/10
8,500+ Drink Recipes
Most ratings, ad-supported
The most ratings, but ads and locked content.
- Recipes
- 8,500+
- Price
- Free with ads; Diamond $7.99/mo or $49.99/yr removes ads and unlocks content
- Platforms
- iPhone, iPad, Mac with Apple silicon
Seven categories
Scorecard
Each category is scored out of 10. The overall column uses the weights set at the top of the page, and the rows follow the current ranking.
| App | Pour speed20% | Finding15% | Library20% | Bar tools15% | Pro features5% | Price15% | Upkeep10% | Overallweighted |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Imbiblia | 9.0 | 9.0 | 7.4 | 7.3 | 10.0 | 6.4 | 8.3 | 8.0 |
| Cocktails Guru | 6.3 | 9.5 | 8.8 | 6.2 | 3.3 | 8.2 | 9.1 | 7.7 |
| BarGenius | 5.5 | 8.5 | 7.2 | 3.5 | 5.0 | 4.8 | 8.7 | 6.2 |
| Bartender's Suite | 5.5 | 8.5 | 6.7 | 1.9 | 0.0 | 9.9 | 5.6 | 6.1 |
| 8,500+ Drinks | 3.4 | 5.1 | 6.2 | 1.2 | 0.0 | 2.3 | 5.6 | 3.8 |
Method
How the scores work
Each category mixes measured facts, a timing model and a few judged inputs. Screen times are estimates built from published human-performance constants, not stopwatch tests on devices. Every input, formula and weight is published.
Pour speed
60% modeled screen time from opening the recipe to the garnish (fastest app = 10, twice as slow = 5), 20% clear measures, 20% step-by-step help for a drink you don't know
Finding
50% modeled time to reach the recipe (fastest app = 10, twice as slow = 5), 50% search and browse quality
Library
60% recipe count on a log scale (100 = 0, 20,000 = 10), 40% curation
Bar tools
Share of 13 tools documented; partly counts half
Pro features
Share of 3 pro features documented; partly counts half
Price
50% first-year cost, averaged over the cheapest plan with every recipe and the plan that unlocks everything ($0 = 10, $60 = 0), 50% value without paying. Where a developer doesn't say which plan includes every recipe, the assumption is stated on the compare page
Upkeep
40% days since the last update (today = 10, three years = 0), 20% store rating pulled toward 4.0 by 50 placeholder ratings so small counts can't swing it, 20% platforms, 20% App Store privacy label