Winelingo
The short answer
Choose Vivino if you want a crowd rating and reviews for the bottle in front of you, or want to buy wine in the app. It is far bigger: Vivino states over 70 million users and 16 million wines.
Choose Winelingo if you want to learn: why a wine tastes the way it does, how to read a label or a wine list, and what you like. It has lessons, games and practice tests, and it does not sell wine.
Side by side
| Winelingo | Vivino | |
|---|---|---|
| Best for | Learning wine from scratch, a few minutes a day, and understanding the bottle in front of you | A crowd rating for the bottle in front of you, and buying wine in the same app |
| Works on | iPhone, Web (the course and the tests, in any browser) | iPhone, Android, Web |
| Free | Every lesson in the iPhone app (with 5 hearts that refill), 5 label scans a month, the first two course units on the web, and all the practice tests | Label scans, ratings and reviews, a journal and a cellar |
| Paid | Premium $3.99 a month, or $29.99 a year in the iPhone app (unlimited hearts and scans, the whole course on the web); or the course for life for $39.99 once on winelingo.app | Vivino Premium, sold in the app from $4.99 (the US App Store lists several price points) |
| Lessons or a course | ✓ 178 lessons in 27 units | — |
| Quizzes and games | ✓ Plus practice tests for WSET and sommelier exams | — |
| Scans wine labels | ✓ 5 a month free | ✓ |
| Scans restaurant wine lists | ✓ Premium | ✓ Premium |
| Tasting journal | ✓ | ✓ |
| Food pairing | ✓ | ✓ Shown per wine |
| Crowd ratings and reviews | — An average once 3 people have rated a wine; no public reviews | ✓ |
| Cellar tracking | — | ✓ |
| Sells wine in the app | — | ✓ Through partner merchants |
| iPhone app last updated | November 2026 | November 2026 |
Facts checked 10 November 2026. Sources: Winelingo: [1] [2] [3] · Vivino: [1] [2] [3] [4] [5]. Prices are US prices as listed on that date. A dash for another app means its listing does not describe that feature; it does not prove the feature is missing.
Where Vivino is the better choice
- You want to know what thousands of other drinkers thought of a bottle
- You want to order wine from the app
- You have an Android phone and want a native app
- You want a cellar list as well as a journal
- You scan rare or unusual bottles: Vivino's database is far larger
Where Winelingo is the better choice
- You want to learn wine step by step, a few minutes a day
- You want the scan to explain the wine in plain words, not give a score
- You want an app with no shop and no ads
- You are preparing for a first wine course or exam
- You train restaurant staff
What each app does with a scan
Both apps scan a label. Vivino shows a community rating, reviews, tasting notes, food pairings and where to buy the wine, and its listing describes a taste profile built from your ratings with a "Match for You" score. Winelingo shows a taste profile (body, tannin, acidity, sweetness), explains why the wine tastes that way from its grapes and region, suggests food, and offers a short lesson linked to the bottle.
Both also scan restaurant wine lists, in their paid tiers. Vivino lists its wine-list scanner as a Premium benefit: it shows the star rating for every wine on the list, and the App Store listing says it helps you spot the best bottles for your taste. Winelingo's list scan, also in Premium, points to the bottles that match the palate you have built from your own ratings.
Learning
This is the real difference. Vivino's App Store listing describes no lessons, courses or quizzes; it describes an app that helps you "discover, choose, and buy the right wine". Winelingo is a course: 178 lessons in 27 units, games, and free practice tests.
Price
Both are free to download. Vivino Premium is sold in the app; the US App Store lists Premium purchases from $4.99. Winelingo Premium is $3.99 a month, or the course alone is $39.99 once. See Winelingo's prices.
Can you use both?
Yes, and it is a sensible pairing: Vivino at the shop shelf for a quick second opinion, Winelingo for learning what the labels mean so that you need the second opinion less.