The short version
- Choose Crouton if you want one-time Plus pricing, iCloud sharing, Apple Watch and Vision Pro support, or connected-scale and thermometer integrations.
- Choose Brasa if saved cooking videos and social posts are regular recipe sources, you want new recipes from sources you choose, you want a cook mode you can talk to that answers out loud, or you prefer no-account end-to-end encrypted sync.
Side by side
| Brasa | Crouton | |
|---|---|---|
| Price | Free tier · Plus $3.99/mo or $24.99/yr · Founder Lifetime $59.99 (launch window only) | Free tier · Plus $24.99 one-time (Early Bird unlock seen at $17.99) · Discover $1.99/mo or $14.99/yr |
| Capture from websites | Unlimited, every tier | Yes |
| Capture from photos / print / text | Yes — screenshots, printed & handwritten pages, multiple images | Yes — AI/OCR book scans, photos, plain text, and images |
| Capture from social / a saved cooking video | Yes — social links plus saved-video analysis, on-device first with cloud fallback | AI import is available; saved-video analysis isn't advertised |
| Follow recipe sites / creators | Your Sources feed, built in and shaped by who you follow | Recipe feeds plus an optional Discover subscription ($1.99/mo or $14.99/yr) |
| Cook mode | Automatically mapped per-step ingredients & amounts, “meanwhile” hints, hands-free voice commands with spoken replies from an on-device neural voice*, Lock Screen / Dynamic Island timers | Step mode with ingredient quantities on tap, hands-free navigation, and timers |
| Nutrition | Estimated automatically per serving (Plus) | Not advertised as an automatic feature |
| Sync | Own end-to-end encrypted sync — no account, the server stores only ciphertext | iCloud (tied to your Apple account) |
| Planning | Weekly planner, Calendar mirror, aisle-sorted combined list, Reminders handoff, Tonight's Meal widget | Meal planning and shopping lists |
| Platforms | iPhone, iPad, Mac | iPhone, iPad, Mac, Apple Watch, Vision Pro |
Competitor details reviewed August 2026 from Crouton's official site and US App Store listing. Prices and features can change.
* Brasa's voice runs on iPhone and iPad only. Spoken replies need an A14 chip or newer — iPhone 12 or later, iPad Air (4th gen) or later, iPad mini (6th gen) or later, iPad (10th gen) or later, or any M-series iPad Pro. Voice commands work on all supported iPhones and iPads. English at launch; one-time ~330 MB voice download.
The real differences
Where the recipe comes from
Both apps import recipe websites, photos, text, and cookbook pages. Brasa's clearest capture advantage is the saved cooking video itself: it can combine the social post, caption, screenshots, narration, and on-screen text into one recipe. Video analysis starts on-device and uses a compressed cloud-AI fallback only when the local result needs help.
How much the app helps while you cook
Crouton's step mode can reveal ingredient quantities on tap, supports hands-free navigation, and runs multiple timers. Brasa automatically places each step's ingredients and amounts in view, flags parallel "meanwhile" work with live countdowns, and keeps timers on the Lock Screen and Dynamic Island — and its cook mode is fully voice-driven. Say “next”, “how much butter”, or “set a timer for ten minutes” with your hands in the dough, and Brasa answers out loud in a natural neural voice that runs entirely on your device — no audio ever leaves it.* Its combined shopping list also attributes every item to the planned recipes that need it.
Your own source feed vs Discover
Crouton supports recipe feeds and offers a separate Discover subscription. Brasa's Your Sources is built around the recipe sites and creators you choose to follow — including sources found through TikTok, Instagram, Pinterest, and YouTube — with the original always one tap away.
What "private" means
iCloud sync is private in the everyday sense. Brasa's sync is private in the cryptographic sense: end-to-end encrypted, no account, keys that never leave your devices, servers that hold only ciphertext. If a recipe library feels personal to you — and a decade of family cooking is personal — that difference is real.
Pricing philosophy — where Crouton wins
Honest disclosure: Crouton's $24.99 one-time Plus is cheaper over the long run than a Brasa Plus subscription, because AI capture has real recurring costs that one-time prices can't cover. If you never need social or screenshot capture, Crouton's pricing may serve you better. Brasa's answer for one-time buyers is the Founder Lifetime at $59.99 — available for the launch window only — and a free tier where cooking, timers, and clean web imports never expire.
See which one earns the counter
Brasa is on the App Store. Founder lifetime $59.99 is available for the launch window only.
Free to download · iPhone, iPad & Mac