Best 8 Sourdough Starter Apps in 2026: Rise to Every Occasion

Introduction

If you need a sourdough starter app that actually keeps your starter alive, Sourdough Tracker is our pick. Timed reminders and one-tap feeding mean you never wonder when you last fed it. Below, we cover seven other good options for tracking feedings, hydration, and bake schedules on iOS and Android.

Quick comparison table

Here’s how they stack up.

1. Sourdough Tracker

Best for: bakers who want a dead-simple feeding log that nags them just enough to avoid starter guilt.

This iOS app is built around one idea: make feeding your starter so easy you can’t forget. You set up your starter with a custom name and icon, then tap “Fed!” when you finish a feeding. A countdown timer, push reminders, and a clean dashboard show time since last feed and overall starter activity. No account needed. You open the app and see what matters right away. An optional journal lets you log flour types and hydration adjustments for your recipe notes.

What makes it the best sourdough starter app:

• No-login design. The dashboard opens straight to your starter’s status and countdown.
• Customizable push reminders that ping you when it’s time to feed, so you never gamble with neglect.
• One-tap “Fed!” button resets the timer and logs the feed instantly.
• Optional journal for tracking flour blends and hydration tweaks over time.

Standout feature: the starter health visual turns red when you’ve pushed it too long. It feels less like a chore alert and more like a friendly nudge from someone who wants your bread to rise.

Get Sourdough Tracker

2. Loaflo: Sourdough Starter

Best for: data-hungry bakers who want AI-driven insights on hydration and loaf analysis.

No account needed. You log feedings, hydration percentage, and rise; Loaflo turns that into trends. The crumb analysis tool stands out: snap a photo of a sliced loaf and the AI scores your crumb, giving you specific tweaks for next time. That connection between starter behaviour and final bread makes it more than a tracker. Standout feature: AI feedback that links your starter’s performance directly to the loaf you baked.

3. Sourdough Companion

Best for: offline-first bakers who geek out on baker’s percentages and custom recipes.

This Android app works completely offline, with no ads or cloud sync, so your data never leaves your phone. It includes interactive guides for building a new starter and a bake scheduler that back-calculates steps from your target serving time. The recipe builder is the highlight: change your flour weight or hydration and every ingredient recalculates using baker’s math. Standout feature: recipe builder that auto-adjusts all ingredient amounts when you tweak percentages.

4. Rise

Best for: schedule-obsessed bakers planning complex sourdough timelines around room temperature.

iOS-only. You enter your ambient temperature and starter strength, and Rise generates a full bake timeline from autolyse to pull-from-the-oven, with smart notifications for stretch-and-folds, shaping, and baking. The temperature calculator automatically compensates hydration and timing when your kitchen runs hot or cold, so your schedule doesn’t collapse. Standout feature: temperature-aware timeline that keeps fermentation on track even when the weather swings.

5. Sourdough Baker AI: Bake Great

Best for: Android users who want objective feedback on their finished loaves via photo analysis.

Snap a picture of your baked bread, and the AI scores crust, crumb, and oven spring, offering concrete suggestions you can act on next bake. It also stores recipes and includes an ingredient converter to scale batches. No more wondering why your ear didn’t form: the app tells you. Standout feature: visual diagnostic that acts like an impartial judge, pinpointing exactly where to improve.

6. Starter - Sourdough Tracker

Best for: total beginners on Android who want a lightweight widget and a simple feeding log.

Tap to record a feed, see your streak, and that’s it. No extra features crammed in to confuse you. The home screen widget shows hours since last feed without opening the app, so your starter stays top of mind with zero friction. It’s the app for people who just need a feeding nudge, not a baking encyclopedia. Standout feature: beginner-first design that resists feature bloat, doing one job quickly.

7. Yeasta: Sourdough Tracker

Best for: iOS users fleeing bloated recipe blogs and wanting clean measurement tracking.

Yeasta strips away stories, pop-ups, and fluff. You log grams, hydration ratios, discard amounts, and timestamps, and the interface stays out of your way. It’s a digital notebook for people who already know how to bake and just need a crisp record of every feed. Standout feature: clutter-free UI that feels like a dedicated note-taker, never a recipe blog.

8. Autoproofer

Best for: bakers who want recipes adapted to their exact starter’s behaviour and kitchen environment.

Autoproofer calculates proofing steps and ingredient quantities based on how your starter performs in real time. You get cross-device notifications on phone and tablet, so you won’t miss a crucial fold even if you step away. Standout feature: environment-aware recipe tailoring that treats your starter like the unique culture it is, not a generic one-size-fits-all formula.

How we picked these apps

We tested each app’s core claim, whether that’s feeding reminders, recipe tools, or photo analysis. We logged daily feeds for a 100% hydration starter, scheduled a weekend bake, and diagnosed a sluggish rise to see which apps gave practical help without getting in the way.

We prioritized apps that don’t demand an account before you can use them and keep basic features free. We also made sure to include iOS-only, Android-only, and offline-first tools, so you can find something that fits your kitchen setup and comfort level.

Sourdough Tracker earned the top spot because its simple reminders and at-a-glance health visuals fit into a daily routine without feeling like another chore.

Frequently asked questions

Do I need an app if I just feed my starter once a week?

Even weekly feeders forget. Reminders and health tracking help rescue neglected starters before they go off, and a quick log shows you exactly when you last fed, with no guesswork.

Can these apps replace a kitchen scale?

No. They complement a scale, not replace it. Precise hydration ratios depend on weight, so use the app’s tracking alongside your scale to log grams accurately.

Are any of these apps completely free?

Yes. Sourdough Companion (Android) and Starter (Android) are free with no ads. Sourdough Tracker has a free version that covers daily feeding without a subscription. Other apps offer free trials or limited free tiers, with paid upgrades for advanced features.

Which sourdough starter app works best for multiple starters?

Sourdough Tracker lets you add multiple starters with separate icons and feeding timers, which is handy if you maintain different flour blends. Most other apps handle only one starter or require a separate profile.

The verdict

Sourdough Tracker is our top recommendation for anyone who wants a reliable, unfussy app that keeps their starter alive with minimal effort. The feeding reminders and starter health visuals feel helpful, never naggy, striking the right balance between simplicity and genuine usefulness for daily routines. If you want one app that does the job without clutter, this is it. Get Sourdough Tracker, the only app we link to in this guide.