The best Act Four alternative for better coffee.
Act Four teaches an espresso workflow. Filtru is the whole brewing companion, still shipping updates: espresso tools, fourteen scale brands, live graphs, and a bag scanner.
Available for iPhone and iPad. Free to download.
Act Four, on the App Store
First, some honesty.
Act Four's video-guided espresso lessons are a pleasant way to learn the pro workflow.
It's espresso-only, hasn't been updated since August 2024, advertises no journal, no scale brands, no graphs, and its smart-home integration is a separate £19.99 purchase. Filtru covers espresso and fourteen more methods, and it's still very much alive.
Filtru vs Act Four,
feature by feature.
Based on each app’s public App Store listing and documentation, as of July 2026.
| Feature | Act Four |
 Filtru
★ Recommended
|
|---|---|---|
| Brew methods covered | Partial. Espresso only | Yes. 15 methods, espresso included |
| Guided step-by-step brew timers | Yes. Video-guided steps | Yes. Guided timers for 15 methods |
| Community & shared recipes | No. Not advertised | Yes. Community recipes on every brew method |
| Bluetooth scale support | No. None named; £19.99 SwitchBot add-on | Yes. 14 brands with live weight + flow rate |
| Live brew graphs (weight + flow) | No. Not advertised | Yes. Weight + flow-rate brew print per cup |
| Coffee journal | No. Not advertised | Yes. Tasting notes with customisable bag styles |
| AI bag scanning | No. Not advertised | Yes. AbolBuna, on-device, 50,000+ bags |
| Languages | Partial. English only | Yes. 14 languages |
| Price | Partial. Sub + £19.99 SwitchBot IAP | Yes. Free · optional PRO from $3.49/mo |
| Actively maintained | No. Last updated August 2024 | Yes. Updated continuously since 2016 |
| Track record | Partial. 2 GB ratings · est. 2023 | Yes. 4.8★ from 11,914 ratings · est. 2016 |
“With this app you get a real sense of passion. The methods are clear to understand.”— App Store review of Filtru
Why people switch from Act Four to Filtru.
Learn it, then live with it.
Act Four teaches the workflow; Filtru is the app you keep using after you've learned it. Espresso dial-in with TDS, a journal of every shot, and fourteen more methods for the rest of your shelf.
Two years without an update.
Act Four last shipped in August 2024. Filtru ships every year, and its 4.8 stars come from 11,914 ratings rather than two.
Real scale support, included.
Filtru pairs with fourteen Bluetooth scale brands out of the box. No £19.99 add-on required.
What you get when you switch.
The full espresso toolkit
Dial-in, shot recording, extraction calculator, TDS, plus guided espresso recipes for when you'd rather just make coffee. See the espresso tools →
Guided brewing for fifteen methods
AeroPress, V60, Chemex, French press, espresso, siphon, and more. Each has a baseline recipe and a guided timer that keeps pace with you. See every brew method →
Accessibility is a feature, not a checkbox
Filtru works properly with VoiceOver, including live spoken readouts of your scale's measurements while you brew, as often or as rarely as you like. And you can switch the whole app to fonts like OpenDyslexic, Lexend, or Atkinson Hyperlegible.
The answer is YES
Switching from Act Four? These all have the same answer:
-
Can I learn espresso step by step in Filtru? Yes
Yes. Filtru includes a guided espresso method plus dial-in tools, shot recording, an extraction calculator, and TDS support.
-
Can I keep a journal of my shots in Filtru? Yes
Yes. Filtru records every brew with its recipe, graph, and tasting notes.
-
Can I connect a Bluetooth coffee scale in Filtru? Yes
Yes. Filtru supports fourteen scale brands with live weight and flow-rate feedback, included.
-
Does Filtru work with VoiceOver? Yes
Yes. Filtru is fully usable with VoiceOver, including live spoken readouts of Bluetooth scale measurements, and offers dyslexia-friendly fonts like OpenDyslexic, Lexend, and Atkinson Hyperlegible.
-
Is Filtru free to try? Yes
Yes. Filtru is a free download for iPhone and iPad, with guided brewing included; PRO is an optional upgrade.
Filtru is free to download and works with the gear you already own. No subscription needed to start brewing.
Compare Filtru with more coffee apps.
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Act Four is a trademark of its respective owner; Filtru isn’t affiliated with or endorsed by it. Feature and pricing information comes from public listings and documentation as of July 2026. Spotted something out of date? Tell me and I’ll fix it.