Anova, a company that sells smart sous vide cookers, is getting backlash from customers after announcing that it will soon charge a subscription fee for the device’s companion app.
Sous video cooking, per Ars Technica sister site Bon appétit, “is the process of sealing food in an airtight container—usually a vacuum sealed bag—and then cooking that food in temperature-controlled water.” Sous vide translates from French to “under vacuum,” and this cooking method ensures that the water stays at the desired temperature for the ideal cook.
Anova was founded in 2013 and sells sous vide immersion circulators. Its current third-generation Precision Cooker 3.0 has an MSRP of $200. Anova also sells a $149 model and a $400 version that targets professionals. It debuted the free Anova Culinary App in 2014.
In a blog post on Thursday, Anova CEO and cofounder Stephen Svajian announced that starting on August 21, people who sign up to use the Anova Culinary App with the cooking devices will have to pay $2 per month, or $10 per year. The app does various things depending on the paired cooker, but it typically offers sous vide cooking guides, cooking notifications, and the ability to view, save, bookmark, and share recipes.
The subscription fee will only apply to people who make an account after August 21. Those who downloaded the app and made an account before August 21 won’t have to pay. But everyone will have to make an account; some people have been using the app without one until now.
“You helped us build Anova, and our intent is that you will be grandfathered in forever,” Svajian wrote.
According to Svajian, the subscription fees are necessary so Anova can “continue delivering the exceptional service and innovative recipes” and “maintain and enhance the app, ensuring it remains a valuable resource.”
As Digital Trends pointed out, the announcement follows an Anova statement saying it will no longer let users remotely control their kitchen gadgets via Bluetooth starting on September 28, 2025. This means that remote control via the app will only be possible for models offering and using Wi-Fi connectivity. Owners of affected devices will no longer be able to access their device via the Anova app, get notifications, or use status monitoring. Users will still be able to manually set the time, temperature, and timer via the device itself.
Customers are heated
Changing or removing features of a tech gadget people have already purchased is a risky move that can anger customers who have paid for a device they expected to work a certain way indefinitely.
As of this writing, there are 104 comments under Anova’s blog post, with many posters saying they will not purchase or recommend another Anova device because of the changes. Many echo a commenter named Nathan Johnson, who wrote, “You’ve just lost a LONGTIME and very faithful customer.”
Another commenter going by Tony Nguyen wrote, “Charging a subscription fee for feature that was free before is anti-consumer. I will never buy another Anova product again and will share with everyone I know how terrible and greedy this company is. You’ve lost me and all my family and friends as customer…”
