Best recipe apps for families and couples
By the rule below, the best recipe app for a family or couple is AnyList (14 of 14 points), if the grocery list is what you really need, you share it with a partner, and recipes are a nice extra. Next are Samsung Food (14 of 14 points), if you want free meal planning with shared lists on Android and the web as well as iPhone; and Deglaze (14 of 14 points), if you want free household sharing, a web app and Android, and a connector for ChatGPT and Claude with a paid plan. 16 apps qualify.
The ranking
Samsung Food
You want free meal planning with shared lists on Android and the web as well as iPhone.
Price. Free for saving recipes, planning and shared lists. Samsung Food+ is $6.99 a month or $59.99 a year, with a 7-day trial. App Store
Eat This Much
You want a planner that picks your meals to hit exact calorie and macro targets, on iPhone, Android or the web.
Short of full marks: Grocery list (partly), Send the list to grocery delivery (partly).
Price. Free for planning one day at a time. Premium is $59.99 a year ($5 a month) or $14.99 month to month, with a 14-day trial. help.eatthismuch.com
CookNest
You want a free plan with sharing, Android and the web, or a printed cookbook of your recipes.
Short of full marks: Send the list to grocery delivery (not found).
Price. Free with 3 automatic imports a week and no card. The App Store lists PRO purchases from $3.99 to $29.99, with periods not shown. cooknest.app
Plan to Eat
You plan the whole week on a calendar from your own recipe box, and you want the web and Android too. It has no free plan.
Short of full marks: Free plan (no), Send the list to grocery delivery (partly).
Price. No free plan. $5.95 a month or $49 a year, with a 14-day trial and no card. The App Store lists a one-year membership at $54.99. plantoeat.com
Recipe Keeper
You want to pay once, you have family on Android or Windows, or you have a big backlog of paper recipes.
Short of full marks: Web app (not found), Send the list to grocery delivery (not found).
Price. Free download. Pro Upgrade is $19.99, once, on iPhone and iPad. The Mac version is $29.99. Each platform is a separate purchase. App Store
Umami
You want a low-priced manager that works on iPhone, Android and the web, and gives your recipes back in open formats.
Short of full marks: Free plan (no), Send the list to grocery delivery (not found).
Price. 30-day trial, then a subscription or lifetime purchase to add recipes. You can still view and export. The App Store lists $0.99 or $3.99 a month, $9.99 or $19.99 a year, $19.99 or $59.99 lifetime. App Store
Saucepan our app
You want to save from Instagram, TikTok and websites, fill a Pantry by scanning your receipt, and cook with timers that ring, on iPhone. It is new: it launches November 13, 2026.
Short of full marks: Android (coming), Web app (partly), Send the list to grocery delivery (no).
Price. Free to use, with no ads. Saucepan+ is $4.99 a month or $34.99 a year, with a 7-day free trial. Saucepan
BigOven
You want a long-running recipe and meal planning app with an Apple Watch app and a shared grocery list.
Short of full marks: Android (not found), Web app (not found), Send the list to grocery delivery (not found).
Price. Free download. The App Store lists BigOven Pro at $2.99, $19.99 and $24.99, with periods not shown, and credit packs. App Store
Crouton
You use a Mac or an Apple Watch in the kitchen, or you want SharePlay cooking, and you keep everything on iCloud.
Short of full marks: Android (no), Web app (no), Send the list to grocery delivery (not found).
Price. Free with limits. The App Store lists Crouton Plus at $24.99 and Crouton Discover at $1.99 a month or $14.99 a year. App Store
Pestle
You want a design-led recipe manager with an Apple Watch app and a Chrome extension, and you are fine paying for Pro.
Short of full marks: Android (no), Web app (not found), Send the list to grocery delivery (not found).
Price. Free for 15 recipes. Pestle Pro is $24.99 a year, with a 14-day trial. The App Store also lists a monthly plan and lifetime purchases. App Store
Foodie
You want a new iPhone app that also shares a household list. It is young and has too few ratings on the App Store to show a score.
Short of full marks: Android (no), Web app (not found), Send the list to grocery delivery (not found).
Price. Free: 3 AI imports and 5 chef messages every 7 days. Premium is $6.49 a month or $44.99 a year. foodie.chewable.fit
Mela
You want a quiet Apple-only library on iCloud with a one-time price and a Mac app. Its last App Store update was June 2025.
Short of full marks: Android (no), Web app (no), Send the list to grocery delivery (not found).
Price. Free to download. Mela+ is a one-time unlock: $6.99 on iPhone and iPad, $14.99 on Mac, bought separately. App Store
Partly qualify, so not ranked: ReciMe (No household feature; help center says to log into the same account on all devices to share); Paprika (Paprika 3: devices share one Cloud Sync account; separate family logins sharing recipes/lists/plans only in Paprika 4 beta); Copy Me That (Family sharing works by logging into the same account. Recipes can be shared through the Community); NYT Cooking (You can share Recipe Box folders (release notes) and send the grocery list by email, text or Notes. No shared household account is described).
Feature by feature
- Yes
- Partly
- No
- Not found
- Coming
| App | Shared | Grocery list | Meal plan | Android | Web | Free plan | Delivery |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| AnyList | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Samsung Food | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Deglaze | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Eat This Much | Yes | Partly | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Partly |
| Cooklist | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Not found | Yes | Yes |
| Honeydew | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | No | Yes | Yes |
| CookNest | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Not found |
| Plan to Eat | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | No | Partly |
| Recipe Keeper | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Not found | Yes | Not found |
| Umami | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | No | Not found |
| Saucepan (ours) | Yes | Yes | Yes | Coming | Partly | Yes | No |
| BigOven | Yes | Yes | Yes | Not found | Not found | Yes | Not found |
| Crouton | Yes | Yes | Yes | No | No | Yes | Not found |
| Pestle | Yes | Yes | Yes | No | Not found | Yes | Not found |
| Foodie | Yes | Yes | Yes | No | Not found | Yes | Not found |
| Mela | Yes | Yes | Yes | No | No | Yes | Not found |
Tap a mark for the note and its source. Each app’s name opens a page with every row.
How we ranked
Sharing with a household is required. Then a shared list and plan, and what makes it work for everyone: Android and the web for people on other devices, a free plan so no one has to pay, and delivery.
- To qualify, an app must have “Shared with a household” (Yes, not Partly). Closed apps and general tools like Apple Notes and Notion are left out.
- Score: 2 points for Yes, 1 for Partly, 0 for No, Not found or Coming, over 7 features: Shared with a household, Grocery list, Meal plan, Android, Web app, Free plan and Send the list to grocery delivery. Most is 14.
- Apps with no App Store update since November 2025 go below the ones that are kept up.
- Ties go to the app with more US App Store ratings. Saucepan has none yet, so it goes below any app it ties with.
- “Not found” scores zero: we credit only what an app’s own pages show. That can undercount an app that does more than its pages say.
Saucepan is our app. It is scored from its own feature list by the same rule.
Questions
What is the best recipe app for a family or couple?
By the rule below, the best recipe app for a family or couple is AnyList (14 of 14 points), if the grocery list is what you really need, you share it with a partner, and recipes are a nice extra. Next are Samsung Food (14 of 14 points), if you want free meal planning with shared lists on Android and the web as well as iPhone; and Deglaze (14 of 14 points), if you want free household sharing, a web app and Android, and a connector for ChatGPT and Claude with a paid plan. 16 apps qualify.
How did you rank these apps?
To qualify, an app must have “Shared with a household” (Yes, not Partly). Closed apps and general tools like Apple Notes and Notion are left out. Score: 2 points for Yes, 1 for Partly, 0 for No, Not found or Coming, over 7 features: Shared with a household, Grocery list, Meal plan, Android, Web app, Free plan and Send the list to grocery delivery. Most is 14. Apps with no App Store update since November 2025 go below the ones that are kept up. Ties go to the app with more US App Store ratings. Saucepan has none yet, so it goes below any app it ties with. “Not found” scores zero: we credit only what an app’s own pages show. That can undercount an app that does more than its pages say.
Which of these have a free plan?
AnyList, Samsung Food, Deglaze, Eat This Much, Cooklist, Honeydew, CookNest, Recipe Keeper, Saucepan, BigOven, Crouton, Pestle, Foodie and Mela. Free plans have limits; each app’s line above says what it is.
Which of these work on Android?
AnyList, Samsung Food, Deglaze, Eat This Much, Cooklist, Honeydew, CookNest, Plan to Eat, Recipe Keeper and Umami, as their own pages say.
Is Saucepan on this list because you make it?
Saucepan is our app, so we score it by the same rule from its own feature list, and say so on the list. It ranks #11 of 16 here. It launches on November 13, 2026 and has no ratings yet.
When was this checked?
Feature marks were read from each app’s App Store listing, website and help pages on November 1, 2026, and prices, platforms and update dates on November 4, 2026. Apps change often.