There is no single best recipe app. The right one depends on where your recipes come from, whether you want to pay once or by subscription, and which devices you cook with. Here are eight good ones and who each suits.
Written by the team that makes Foodie, so we are not neutral. Prices and ratings are from the US App Store and each developer's site, checked October 2026.
Best for: Families who save recipes from social media
AI turns links, photos or pasted text into clean recipes. An AI chef answers questions while you cook. Meal plans, a grocery list sorted by store section, unit conversion and cook mode are free, and the whole household shares one collection with separate accounts.
Best for: Importing from every social network, on any device
The biggest app in this list. Strong importing and a free grocery list and meal planner. Unit conversion, cook mode and nutrition need ReciMe Plus.
Best for: Paying once and saving recipes from websites
The long-time favourite. No subscription, a built-in browser for recipe sites, meal planner, pantry and grocery list with aisles.
Best for: Households on Apple devices that also want the web
Social import, a recipe scanner, shared households with a 14-day meal plan and a shopping list.
Best for: Apple fans who want a one-time purchase and cookbook scanning
Clean design, cookbook scanning, AI photo import, step-by-step mode with timers, and shopping lists in Apple Reminders.
Best for: Cooking from a Mac and an iPhone
A tidy recipe library with a book scanner, cook mode with timers, a calendar meal plan and Reminders-based groceries. No AI.
Best for: Windows and Android users who want to pay once
Imports from hundreds of sites, scans cookbook pages with OCR, plans meals by week or month and shares collections with family.
Best for: AI meal planning for a household
Social import, an AI meal planner, an aisle-sorted grocery list, household sharing and nutrition. The closest match to Foodie's feature set.
Mealime is not on the list: it shuts down on October 21, 2026. What Mealime users can do.
Import your first recipes from social media or the web and see if it fits how you cook.
Download Foodie free on the App Store