Review · Updated 17 Oct 2026
BarGenius
Polished and social, but Apple devices only, and full access needs Pro.
6.2out of 10 with General weights · 3rd of 5
| Weights | Score | Rank |
|---|---|---|
| General | 6.2 | 3rd |
| Behind the bar | 5.8 | 3rd |
| Home bar | 6.3 | 4th |
| Equal weights | 6.2 | 3rd |
In short
BarGenius is a cocktail app for iPhone, iPad and Apple-silicon Macs that pairs a recipe library with social profiles and flashcard quizzes. An earlier store listing put its library at 10,000+ recipes. Full access needs Pro at $3.99 a month, $19.99 a year or $39.99 once.
Best for iPhone users learning specs, and bartenders building a following.
Pros and cons
Pros
- Actively built: 20 releases in 2026 so far, the latest on 14 October.
- Flashcard quizzes and technique lessons for memorizing specs.
- Social profiles: follow bartenders, post your own recipes and build a following.
- No ads and no data collected.
- Search by ingredient.
Cons
- Apple devices only. No Android app found.
- Full access needs Pro: $3.99/mo, $19.99/yr or $39.99 once.
- Its listing calls it "the largest collection of cocktails in the world"; its earlier listing gave 10,000+, about half of Cocktails Guru's.
- No unit conversion, batching or inventory tools documented.
- A 2025 reviewer says its AI image and recipe generation "needs some improvement".
Scores by category
Out of 10. The tick marks the best score among the five apps. What goes into each category
- This app
- Best of the five
The pour test
BarGenius models at 29 seconds for a new Mojito, against 16 for Imbiblia
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
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 |
In the model, finding the recipe takes 4.4 s, bringing all of it on screen 1.7 s, the first read 14.9 s and look-backs while building 7.7 s. It is modeled with Cocktails Guru's page layout, because nothing public separates them.
Touches to reach the recipe
From the phone's home screen, with predictive search after two letters
- Open
- Search
- Type
- Type
- Pick
- Scroll
Filled circles are touches beyond the ones every app needs.
Features
Features the developer names publicly, in a store listing, release notes, its website or a launch post. Anything not described there counts as not documented, even if users mention it.
Bar tools 4.5 of 13
- Not documentedUnit conversion
- Not documentedBatch scaling
- Not documentedDilution in batches
- PartlyWhat can I make
- Not documentedShopping list
- DocumentedYour own recipes
- Not documentedReusable house syrups
- Not documentedSubstitution ideas
- Not documentedFlavor profiles
- DocumentedPersonal or AI suggestions
- DocumentedFavorites & lists
- Not documentedABV & calories
- DocumentedLessons & quizzes
Pro features 1.5 of 3
- Not documentedTeam & business accounts
- PartlyPrivate house specs
- DocumentedPublic bartender profile
Specs
- Recipes
- 10,000+ (earlier store listing)
- Price
- Free download; Pro $3.99/mo, $19.99/yr or $39.99 lifetime
- Platforms
- iPhone, iPad, Mac with Apple silicon
- Updated
- 14 Oct 2026 (4.9.11)
- Rating
- 4.8 App Store (89)
- Privacy
- No data collected
Sources
Pages consulted between 15 and 16 October 2026.