Alcotheque vs Vivino: Two Apps, Two Different Goals

You scan a bottle with Vivino, see a rating, maybe buy another one online. Then later, you wonder: what do I actually own at home? Where did I put that bottle? Was that a gift or did I buy it myself?

That moment is where Vivino stops and Alcotheque begins.

These two apps are not really competitors. They answer different questions. Understanding which question you are asking will save you a lot of confusion.

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What Vivino Is Built For

Vivino launched in 2010 and has grown into the world's largest wine community, with over 70 million users and 16 million wines referenced. Its core purpose has always been discovery: you scan a label, you get ratings from millions of users, you decide whether to buy. It is the IMDb of wine, combined with a marketplace where you can purchase directly from vetted merchants.

The community angle is strong. Vivino users rate wines, write tasting notes, follow each other, and build taste profiles that generate personalized recommendations. If you are standing in a wine shop and need to decide between two bottles in 30 seconds, Vivino is excellent at that job.

It also recently integrated Apple's Visual Intelligence on iPhone, so you can identify a wine just by pointing your camera at it, without even opening the app.

What Vivino does not do well: manage what you already own. The cellar feature exists, but it is built as a secondary tool around a product focused on discovery and purchasing. And spirits — whisky, rum, gin, cognac — simply do not exist in Vivino's world.

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What Alcotheque Is Built For

Alcotheque starts where Vivino ends. Once the bottle is home, Alcotheque takes over.

The core workflow is simple: scan the label with AI, let it extract the name, type, vintage, and details automatically, then assign the bottle to a storage location. Your cave, your armoire, your holiday home — every location is tracked separately. Your collection is always up to date, always accessible, and entirely private.

Beyond the basics, Alcotheque tracks the full life of a bottle. When you add it, when you open it, when you offer it as a gift, when you receive one. The history is automatic. The gift tracking feature — logging which bottles you received, from whom, and for what occasion — is something no competitor offers.

And crucially: Alcotheque covers both wine and spirits in one place. One app for your Burgundy and your Islay single malt.

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The Comparison That Actually Matters

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On Privacy: A Real Difference

Vivino is a social platform. Your profile, your ratings, and your taste history are part of how the product works. According to Apple's App Store privacy labels, Vivino collects identifiers and usage data that may be shared with third parties for tracking purposes.

Alcotheque works differently. There is no public profile. No community feed. No social layer. Your collection is yours and stays yours. It never becomes a data point in someone else's recommendation engine.

For collectors who want a personal inventory that remains personal, this matters.

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On Pricing: Also Worth Noting

Vivino's free version includes ads and has progressively restricted features over the years — a pattern users on the App Store have noticed and mentioned repeatedly. The premium plan runs around €4.99 per month.

Alcotheque starts free with 15 bottles and charges a flat rate under €1 per month for the premium plan. No ads, no feature restrictions, no price that grows with your collection.

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Who Should Use Vivino

If you want to discover new wines, get community ratings before buying, or access a marketplace of vetted merchants, Vivino is unmatched at that. Its database of 16 million wines and 70 million user opinions is a genuinely useful tool when you are exploring or shopping.

It is also excellent for casual wine drinkers who want a quick answer in a restaurant or shop without managing a full inventory.

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Who Should Use Alcotheque

If you already have bottles at home and want to know exactly what you own, where it is, and how your collection evolves over time, Alcotheque is built for that.

If your collection includes spirits — any spirits — Alcotheque is the only option. No other iOS app manages whisky, rum, gin, and wine together in a single clean interface.

If you regularly give or receive bottles as gifts and want to track that history, Alcotheque's gift tracking feature is the only dedicated tool for that on the market.

And if you want your collection to stay private, with no social profile and no data sharing, Alcotheque is the clear choice.

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Can You Use Both?

Yes, and many collectors do. Vivino for discovering and buying. Alcotheque for tracking and managing what you own. The two apps solve different problems and do not overlap in a way that creates friction.

If you are building a spirits collection or looking for a pure inventory tool without the social layer, start with Alcotheque. The free plan is there to try without commitment.

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FAQ

Does Vivino track spirits like whisky or rum?

No. Vivino is exclusively focused on wine discovery and purchase. If you collect spirits, Alcotheque is the only iOS app that covers both wine and spirits in one unified inventory.

Can I manage my cellar with Vivino?

Vivino has a basic cellar feature, but it is built around discovery and ratings, not inventory management. Alcotheque is purpose-built for tracking what you own, where it is stored, and how your collection evolves over time.

Is Alcotheque free?

Yes. Alcotheque offers a free plan for up to 15 bottles. The premium plan unlocks unlimited bottles, storage locations, and AI scans for less than €1 per month.

Does Vivino share my data with third parties?

According to Apple's App Store privacy labels, Vivino collects and shares data including identifiers and usage data with third parties. Alcotheque keeps your collection private with no public profile and no social layer.

Which app is better for a gift bottle tracker?

Alcotheque. It has a dedicated gift tracking feature to log bottles received and offered, including who gave them and when. Vivino has no equivalent feature.

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The Bottom Line

Vivino is a discovery engine. It is brilliant at helping you find, rate, and buy wine. If that is what you need, it does the job better than anyone.

Alcotheque is an inventory tool. It is built for the moment after the purchase — when the bottle is home, when the collection grows, when you want to know exactly what you own and where it is. Wine and spirits, together, privately, on your iPhone.

Two different tools. Two different questions. The right one depends on what you are trying to solve.