# Alternatives to Mealime

Meal plans with grocery lists.

Mealime ranks #8 of 8 in Recipe managers, with an Alt Score of 60. It is proprietary, freemium from $2.99 USD/month and available on iOS, Android and Web. 8 of 10 checklist rows are verified against a public source.

Source: https://altcatalog.com/alternatives/mealime/
Category: Recipe managers

## Overview

- **Who it's for**: Busy individuals and families who want to eat healthier home-cooked meals without spending a lot of time planning or deciding what to cook.
- **What you get**: A weekly meal plan built from customizable recipes, filtered by dietary preferences, allergies, dislikes, and serving size (200+ personalization options). An auto-generated, category-sorted grocery list based on the selected meals. Simple recipes designed to cook in about 30 minutes, with a hands-free mode for following steps while cooking.
- **How it works**: Users set their food preferences and pick meals for the week from suggested recipes, Mealime compiles the ingredients into an organized shopping list, and users shop and then cook using the in-app step-by-step recipe instructions.

## Profile

- **License**: Proprietary (verified 2026-07-10)
- **Pricing model**: Freemium (verified 2026-07-10)
- **Starts at**: $2.99 USD/month (verified 2026-07-10)
- **Platforms**: iOS, Android, Web
- **Status**: active (verified 2026-07-10)

## Ranked alternatives

| # | App | Alt Score | Licence | Platforms |
|---|-----|-----------|---------|-----------|
| 1 | [Paprika](https://altcatalog.com/alternatives/paprika.md) | 82 | Proprietary | Windows, macOS, iOS, Android |
| 2 | [Tandoor](https://altcatalog.com/alternatives/tandoor.md) | 82 | AGPL-3.0 with Commons Clause | Linux, Web |
| 3 | [Crouton](https://altcatalog.com/alternatives/crouton.md) | 78 | ? | iOS, macOS |
| 4 | [Mealie](https://altcatalog.com/alternatives/mealie.md) | 73 | AGPL-3.0 | Web |
| 5 | [Mela](https://altcatalog.com/alternatives/mela.md) | 73 | Proprietary | iOS, macOS |
| 6 | [Samsung Food](https://altcatalog.com/alternatives/samsung-food.md) | 73 | Proprietary | iOS, Android, Web, macOS |
| 7 | [KitchenOwl](https://altcatalog.com/alternatives/kitchenowl.md) | 68 | AGPL-3.0 | Windows, macOS, Linux, iOS |

Alt Score = Verified coverage (90%) + Visibility (10%). See https://altcatalog.com/how-alt-score-works/

## Feature comparison

Legend: Yes / No / Partial / ? (not verified).

| Recipe managers checklist | Mealime | Paprika | Tandoor | Crouton | Mealie | Mela |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Pricing model | Freemium | One-time | OSS + paid hosting | Freemium | Free | One-time |
| Starts at | $2.99 USD/month | $4.99 | €1.99/mo | $1.99 | Free | $6.99 |
| License | Proprietary | Proprietary | AGPL-3.0 with Commons Clause | ? | AGPL-3.0 | Proprietary |
| Platforms | iOS, Android, Web | Windows, macOS, iOS, Android | Linux, Web | iOS, macOS | Web | iOS, macOS |
| Web clipper / URL import | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Meal planning | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Grocery lists | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Scaling & unit conversion | Yes | Yes | Partial | Yes | Yes | No |
| Self-hostable | No | No | Yes | No | Yes | No |
| Cross-device sync | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | ? | Yes |
| Offline access | ? | Yes | Partial | ? | ? | ? |
| One-time purchase option | No | Yes | No | Partial | No | Yes |
| OCR from photos | ? | No | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Sharing | Partial | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes |

## Sources

Sources for Mealime. Each alternative is sourced on its own page.

- **License**: Proprietary — <https://www.mealime.com/terms-of-service> (verified 2026-07-10)
  - Quote: “Rights regarding content on this Application - All rights reserved The Owner holds and reserves all intellectual property rights for any such content.”
- **Starts at**: $2.99 USD/month — <https://itunes.apple.com/lookup?id=1079999103> (verified 2026-07-10)
  - Quote: “Opt for Mealime Meal Planner Pro at $2.99 USD/month for added benefits. Subscription renews automatically unless cancelled 24 hours before the end of the subscription period.”
- **Platforms**: iOS, Android, Web — <https://support.mealime.com/article/90-how-to-print-a-recipe> (verified 2026-07-10)
  - Quote: “printing is not currently possible using a mobile device (iOS or Android). However, all users (regardless of where you signed up) can log-in to the web app using any internet browser.”
- **Status**: active — <https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.mealime&hl=en> (verified 2026-07-10)
  - Note: App Store release notes dated 2026-06-13 corroborate.
  - Quote: “Updated on Jun 12, 2026”
- **Pricing model**: Freemium — <https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.mealime&hl=en> (verified 2026-07-10)
  - Quote: “Mealime is free to download and use. Should you choose to upgrade to Mealime Meal Planner Pro, we offer an auto-renewing subscription option at a price of $2.99 USD / month.”
- **Web clipper / URL import**: Yes — <https://support.mealime.com/article/112-importing-a-recipe-from-the-web> (verified 2026-07-10)
  - Quote: “Using the Mealime mobile app (for your phone or tablet), you can easily import most recipes on the web.”
- **Meal planning**: Yes — <https://support.mealime.com/article/151-getting-started-guide> (verified 2026-07-10)
  - Note: Start Your Next Meal Plan" to get started."
  - Quote: “Tap ”
- **Grocery lists**: Yes — <https://support.mealime.com/article/75-how-the-grocery-list-works> (verified 2026-07-10)
  - Quote: “This article will help you to understand how to best use the grocery list.”
- **Scaling & unit conversion**: Yes — <https://support.mealime.com/article/98-can-i-scale-servings-greater-than-4> (verified 2026-07-10)
  - Note: US/Metric unit switching also supported (article 77).
  - Quote: “Now meals can be scaled to up to 6 servings by adjusting your eating preferences.”
- **Self-hostable**: No — <https://www.mealime.com/terms-of-service> (verified 2026-07-10)
  - Note: Centrally-hosted account-based service; no self-hosting.
  - Quote: “This Application is provided by: Mealime Meal Plans Inc”
- **Cross-device sync**: Yes — <https://support.mealime.com/article/102-multi-user-accounts> (verified 2026-07-10)
  - Note: Stated via multi-user account sharing.
  - Quote: “many couples and families use Mealime together by downloading the app and signing in to the same account on each of their respective devices. With this method the app will always be up to date for eac”
- **One-time purchase option**: No — <https://itunes.apple.com/lookup?id=1079999103> (verified 2026-07-10)
  - Note: Auto-renewing subscription only; no lifetime/one-time option.
  - Quote: “Opt for Mealime Meal Planner Pro at $2.99 USD/month for added benefits. Subscription renews automatically unless cancelled 24 hours before the end of the subscription period.”
- **Sharing**: Partial — <https://support.mealime.com/article/101-how-to-share-recipes-grocery-list-meal-plans-mealime> (verified 2026-07-10)
  - Note: Recipe sharing via OS share sheet, but no grocery-list or meal-plan sharing.
  - Quote: “To share a recipe, please open the recipe (from the Meal Plan, Favorites, or builder preview screens) and tap the more button and then share icon located in the action sheet.”

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Ranked by verified data, never by who paid. https://altcatalog.com/trust/