AboutWine vs Vivino
The best Vivino alternative for people who just want a good bottle
Vivino built the world’s biggest wine database, and for finding a star rating on a single label it’s still useful. But over the years it turned into a marketplace, and a lot of long-time users feel the app now optimizes for selling wine rather than helping them choose it. If that’s you, here’s an honest look at how AboutWine does things differently.
Last updated June 2026
Where Vivino shines
- An enormous catalog — tens of millions of labels with community ratings.
- A huge user base, so most mainstream wines have plenty of reviews.
- A built-in marketplace if you want to buy through the app.
Where it leaves a gap
- Ratings are a crowd average, not a match to your personal taste.
- The headline number is a score with little explanation of why.
- Much of the experience pushes you toward the marketplace and ads.
- It reads one label at a time — not a whole wine list or shelf.
Vivino vs AboutWine, at a glance
| Feature | Vivino | AboutWine |
|---|---|---|
| Recommendation basis | Average rating from millions of users | A model of your personal palate |
| Explains its picks | A score, little reasoning | The reason it fits, in plain English |
| Scan a whole wine list | Limited / slow | Core feature — list, shelf or label |
| Ads & marketplace | Central to the app | None — ever |
| Best for | Looking up one bottle’s rating | Deciding what to buy in the moment |
| Price model | Free + premium + commerce | Free core + optional premium |
Why people choose AboutWine
It learns your taste, not the crowd’s
A 4.1★ average tells you what strangers thought. AboutWine builds a model of what you like and ranks bottles for you specifically — so the “best” bottle is the best one for your palate, budget, and meal.
It works on the whole shelf
The hardest moment isn’t one bottle — it’s thirty. AboutWine scans an entire restaurant list or shop shelf at once and surfaces the few worth your money.
No marketplace pulling the strings
Nobody can pay to rank higher, because there’s nothing to sell. Recommendations answer one question: what should you drink? That’s the line a lot of Vivino users wish hadn’t been crossed.
If you want a giant ratings database and an in-app shop, Vivino still does that. If you want a sommelier that learns your taste, explains its picks, scans whole lists, and never tries to sell you anything — that’s what AboutWine is built for.
Frequently asked questions
Is there a free Vivino alternative?
Yes. AboutWine’s core AI sommelier — scanning wine lists, shelves and labels and getting recommendations for your taste — will be free at launch, with no ads.
What does AboutWine do that Vivino doesn’t?
AboutWine scans an entire wine list or shelf at once, builds a model of your personal palate instead of showing a crowd average, and explains the reasoning behind each pick — with no marketplace or ads.
Can I still see prices and value?
Yes. AboutWine benchmarks each recommendation against market prices so you know when a bottle is genuinely good value, without routing you into a marketplace.