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Use limited data to select content. List of Partners vendors. Cooking School Learning How to Cook Cooking Basics. The Best Meal-Planning Apps for Organizing Shopping, Nutrition, and Cooking You can count on healthy, delicious food, every time.

By Danielle is a James Beard Award-winning food writer and editor based in Portland, Oregon. Danielle Centoni. Danielle is a James Beard Award-winning food writer and editor based in Portland, Oregon. Learn about The Spruce Eats' Editorial Process.

Fact checked by As a fact-checker for The Balance and Investopedia Matthew Klammer has spent years providing individuals with a reliable source of important financial information. Fact checked by Matthew Klammer. The 8 Best Meal-Planning Apps of Best Overall: Paprika Best for Time-Crunched Cooks: Mealime Best for Weight Loss: PlateJoy Runner-Up, Best for Weight Loss: Eat This Much Best for Social Media Fans: Prepear Best for Meal Preppers: MealPrepPro Best for Using Up Leftovers: BigOven Best for Shopping on a Budget: MealBoard.

The Best Meal-Planning Apps for Organizing Shopping, Nutrition, and Cooking View All. The Best Meal-Planning Apps for Organizing Shopping, Nutrition, and Cooking. Compare Providers. What Is a Meal Planning App? How Much Does a Meal Planning App Cost?

What Are the Benefits of Using a Meal Planning App? Best Overall : Paprika. Cost: Free basic version Creates Grocery Lists: Yes Recipe Database: No Sign Up Now. Why We Chose It. Pros and Cons.

Pros Free version of app Customizes chosen recipes and easily scales them up and down Seamless cloud sync across devices Saves recipes from food and wine sites Creates grocery lists. Cons No built-in nutritional info No recipe database.

Best for Time-Crunched Cooks : Mealime. Cost: Free basic version Creates Grocery Lists: Yes Recipe Database: Yes Sign Up Now. Pros Free basic version Easy to use Curates recipes based on user inputs Generates shoppings lists for digital purchases.

Cons The upgraded version requires a monthly payment Doesn't allow manual addition of recipes. Best for Weight Loss : PlateJoy. Pros Nutritionist-designed and supported Free with some health-insurance providers Generates shoppings lists Seamless cloud sync across devices.

Cons More expensive than competitors. Runner-Up , Best for Weight Loss : Eat This Much. Cost: Free basic version Creates Grocery Lists: Yes, for paid version Recipe Database: Yes Sign Up Now. Pros Calorie-goal oriented Good nutritional info per recipe Easy to use Large database of restaurants and packaged foods Barcode scanner for nutritional info.

Cons Not ideal for families with varying nutritional needs No shopping lists or grocery deliveries in free version Shopping list cost estimates aren't always accurate. Some improvements I can think of are having slow cooker or instant pot recipes.

And after we bought the pro version I was expecting to be able to modify a meal plan whenever I wanted without having the grocery list reset- I would love it if this could be a feature.

More allergy free recipes would be nice- one of my friends has a son with multiple allergies and when she put all of those in to avoid it left her with very few options. Thank you for making our life so much easier.

I have been looking for an app that would recommend delicious meals and provide all of the instructions on how to make the meals as well as the list of ingredients I need to shop for each week.

This app really takes the guesswork out of what I need to do for the week. Clearly they have thought through the user experience. Some wanted me to create an account and sign up for a trial while the others were not recommending meals to me, they were just apps for me to add my own recipes and create my own schedule no thanks lol.

A few notable features that I found pretty awesome: it started with a quick intro to the app via welcome screens whereas O had to guess how other apps worked, it asked me if I had any food allergies or foods that I did not like and actually provided a list of options to choose from, unlike the other apps, it also had visual pictures of the meals - all I had to do was select each meal that I was interested in cooking.

I could remove things from the list, I could see it in a calendar view, and it generated a very easy grocery list. I also like the feature that you could send feedback to the chefs -that made it really personal. Great job on this app! The following data may be collected and linked to your identity:.

Privacy practices may vary, for example, based on the features you use or your age. Learn More. App Store Preview. Screenshots iPad iPhone. Description Welcome to Mealime — the game changer for busy individuals, couples, and families who desire healthy meals without the fuss.

Feb 14, Version 4. Ratings and Reviews. App Privacy. Information Seller Mealime Meal Plans Inc. Size Compatibility iPhone Requires iOS iPad Requires iPadOS From there, you enter your details to set a calorie range based on your health goals and activity level.

The app also offers the ability to customize your dietary preferences including allergies and dislikes. The meal planning feature includes the option to choose your preferred prep level and number of meals per week. You also have the option to add a partner to your plan with customized calorie needs.

The meal prep feature shows you what to prep and on which day based on your meal plan for the week. Pepperplate is a meal planning app and website that requires manual additions of your favorite recipes.

It functions like a virtual recipe box to consolidate your favorite recipes into categories that work for you. You start by importing recipes manually or by copying recipe URLs from supported websites.

You are then able to organize your recipes into customizable categories. However, grocery lists cannot differentiate between a sub-recipe a recipe within a recipe such as a seasoning blend and single ingredients, so you may need to do some extra work to add the sub-recipe ingredients to your grocery list.

Pepperplate is ideal for the experienced cook who has a solid recipe collection and knows their nutritional needs — especially if that person is trying to lose weight. Another drawback is that you have to enter recipes and menus via the web, not directly through the app. Prepear offers the convenience of a pre-set recipe database alongside manual or online input options.

Recipes display ingredients, but preparation instructions must be viewed on the original recipe website, not in the app which may make it cumbersome to use. Otherwise, the app is user-friendly and allows you to filter recipes based on taste preferences, allergies, cook time, and global cuisine options.

You can build your own meal plan or you can purchase a plan for one of the many food blogger plans sold on the website. In addition, each recipe has a full nutrition breakdown.

Customizable shopping lists are also available upon completion of your meal plan. The social media component of this app allows you to post photos of your culinary successes and failures to friends and family. The main drawback of Prepear is the monotony of meal choices within its recipe database — if you add more than one or two filters, you end up with very few menu options.

However, this downside is offset if you add your own recipes. Eat This Much is the perfect marriage between a calorie counter and a meal planner.

After you sign up, you enter personal data including your height, weight and health goals. The app then calculates a macronutrient range that you are free to adjust as you desire. You can also choose your preferred diet and list any food allergies.

It includes a database of recipes, basic foods and popular restaurant menu items, complete with full nutrition information. You can create a meal plan yourself or let the app generate one for you based on your previously entered meal preferences.

The option to generate a meal plan, even in the free version, makes this app our top choice for easy meal planning.

A unique feature of this app is its barcode scanner, which scans food items directly into your account. However, you have to purchase the premium option to generate a meal plan beyond just a single day.

Eat This Much is available for iOS and Android. Lose It! is really more of a calorie and macronutrient tracker than a meal planner, though the premium version includes meal planning features.

The timeline feature may be helpful for those who are motivated by seeing progress over time as you can check in on the timeline regularly. The free version allows you to input your own recipes to create meal plans.

You can also scan barcodes of foods to have them added to the database. However, if you want more meal planning features, you have to upgrade to premium. While this app excels at monitoring your eating behaviors and weight loss, its main focus is on tracking.

One of its major downsides is the lack of automatic, customizable grocery lists to pair with your meal plan. Start Simple with MyPlate is a free app from the United States Department of Agriculture USDA.

This app is aligned with the Dietary Guidelines for Americans and uses the visual MyPlate to provide guidance for foods to add to your daily diet.

To get started, download the app and either register or continue as a guest. The app gives you the option to take a short quiz about your current dietary habits.

From there, recommendations for what to eat are added to your daily plan. The app is simple to use and offers visuals, which may be appealing to those looking for basic guidance on improving their overall diet pattern.

However, the lack of recipes may make it challenging for some to follow. One of the biggest drawbacks of the app is the lack of a calendar-style meal plan and grocery shopping integration.

Choosing a meal planning app can be overwhelming since there are so many options. However, with free trials and versions available, you can test multiple apps to find what works best for you. Consider these features when making your decision:.

Yes, multiple meal planning apps offer free access. Some have unlimited free access whereas others offer a limited time free trial. Meal planning apps with free access have varying functionality with some offering more features than others.

Meal planning apps are beneficial for planning meals throughout the week which can help you save time in the kitchen. Meal planning apps can also offer the benefit of tracking nutrient intake which may be beneficial if you need to meet specific nutrient targets or are looking to lose weight.

Sticking to your diet and achieving your weight loss goal can be a difficult task, but it can be made much easier with a little technological help. There are numerous options for meal planning apps to support you in your weight loss journey — all of which have different features and options.

Choosing the one that best fits your personality and specific health goals is your best bet for success. When all is said and done, the best meal planning app — or weight loss strategy in general — is the one you can actually stick to.

Our experts continually monitor the health and wellness space, and we update our articles when new information becomes available.