Meal planner apps with no subscription in 2026
By Robin Lange, maker of Subtotal ·
Of the meal planner apps I checked, three are bought once: Paprika (US$4.99 on iPhone, bought once per platform), MealBoard (free for 30 recipes, then US$12.99 once) and Subtotal (US$4.99 once; the scanner is free for three shopping trips). Samsung Food and Eat This Much are free to use, with a subscription for extra features. AnyList, Plan to Eat, TapCook and eMeals need a subscription to plan. Prices are US prices as of October 2026, from each app’s own website or App Store listing; the App Store in your country shows them in your currency.
Why it comes up now
Mealime’s app closes on 21 October 2026. Its recipes are moving to Meals Hub in the Albertsons Companies grocery apps, and Mealime says all personal data will be deleted when the app shuts down, so saved plans and lists don’t come along. Since 21 December 2024 yummly.com has forwarded to KitchenAid’s recipe pages, and PlateJoy ended on 1 July 2025.
If you’re looking for a planner you won’t have to leave, two things help, and they’re separate. Buying once means there’s nothing to renew. Keeping your plans on your own device means they’re there whatever happens to a company’s servers. Paprika and Subtotal do both; MealBoard offers cloud sync with its upgrade.
Bought once
| App | Platforms | Price | What it does |
|---|---|---|---|
| Paprika | iPhone, iPad, Android, Mac, Windows | One purchase per platform; US$4.99 on iPhone | Recipe manager with a meal planner, pantry and grocery lists |
| MealBoard | iPhone, iPad | Free up to 30 recipes; US$12.99 once for unlimited recipes and cloud sync | Recipes, meal plans, pantry, and a list that estimates its total |
| Subtotal | iPhone (iOS 17+) | Meal planning US$4.99 once; scanner free for 3 shopping trips | Plans the week’s meals to a budget and keeps a running total in the store |
Paprika
Paprika keeps your recipes, imported from the web or typed in, alongside a meal planner, a pantry and grocery lists that combine ingredients and sort by aisle. Your data is stored on the device, with a free cloud sync account to keep your devices in step. Each platform is a separate purchase, so a phone and a Mac means buying it twice.
MealBoard
MealBoard organises recipes, builds grocery lists from your meal plan, keeps a pantry and can suggest meal plans. Its list can track prices and estimate what the shop will cost. The free version holds 30 recipes; a one-time US$12.99 upgrade adds unlimited recipes and cloud sync.
Subtotal
You tell Subtotal who’s eating, what to avoid and what you’d like to spend, and it plans the week’s meals to that budget. The list says how much of each thing to buy and on which days, and it plans ingredients across the week to use up the packs you buy. In the store you scan shelf tickets with the camera for a running total, and those prices are the ones it plans with next week. There’s no account, and your plans, lists and prices stay on your iPhone. Planning is US$4.99 once, for as many weeks as you like, and the scanner is free for your first three shopping trips.
It plans the meals itself, so there’s no recipe collection to import or keep up. It’s on iPhone (iOS 17 or later) from October 2026.
Free to start
- Samsung Food saves recipes from any website, plans your week and builds shared shopping lists, for free. Samsung Food+ adds personalised plans and pantry features for US$6.99 a month or US$59.99 a year.
- Eat This Much plans one day at a time on a free account. Premium plans a whole week with a grocery list, from US$5 a month billed yearly.
- Feedi (New Zealand) is free to download and plan your first week. It hasn’t published what it costs after that, so it may turn out to be a subscription.
Subscription to plan
- AnyList: the shared shopping list and recipe box are free; the meal planning calendar, prices with a running total, and use on a Mac or PC come with AnyList Complete, US$9.99 a year (US$14.99 for a household).
- Plan to Eat: a 14-day free trial, then US$5.95 a month or US$49 a year on the website.
- TapCook (US): US$9.99 a month, or US$29.99 a year with a 7-day free trial.
- eMeals: dinner plans are US$29.99 for three months or US$59.99 a year, according to its App Store listing.
How to choose
- You have recipes you love and use more than one device: Paprika, bought on each platform you use.
- You’re on iPhone or iPad and want a recipe box with a costed list: MealBoard.
- You’d like the week planned to a budget, with nothing to renew: Subtotal. Budget meal planner apps in 2026 compares every planner that prices the week.
- You’d rather not pay at all: Samsung Food covers planning and a shared list for free, and Eat This Much plans a day at a time.
If you’re coming from Mealime, there’s a step-by-step guide to saving your Mealime recipes before the 21st.
Sources
All checked on 7 October 2026.
- Mealime, Mealime is moving to Meals Hub.
- PlateJoy, support site notice.
- Internet Archive, yummly.com capture history, showing the redirect from 21 December 2024.
- Paprika, paprikaapp.com and App Store listing.
- MealBoard, App Store listing, including its in-app purchase list.
- Subtotal, getsubtotal.app and its privacy policy.
- AnyList, AnyList Complete.
- Samsung Food, app.samsungfood.com and App Store listing.
- Eat This Much, pricing.
- Feedi, feedi.co.nz.
- Plan to Eat, plantoeat.com.
- TapCook, tapcook.co and App Store listing.
- eMeals, App Store listing, in-app purchase list.