9 Best Free Meal-Planning Apps (2026)
The mental load of "what's for dinner" is real. Every app here has a genuinely free version that plans meals and hands you a grocery list — so the deciding and the list-making happen for you.
Hand-checked · no affiliate links1. Mealime Free core · freemium
The cleanest "just tell me what to cook" app. Pick your preferences and it builds a week of quick recipes plus an auto-sorted grocery list. The free tier is generous; Pro adds more customization.
2. Samsung Food Free
Formerly Whisk. Save a recipe from any website, drop it into a weekly planner, and it merges everything into one grocery list. Free and cross-platform (not just Samsung phones).
3. AnyList Free core · freemium
A household favorite for shared grocery lists that sync instantly between partners. The free tier covers lists, recipes and basic meal planning; Complete adds meal-plan calendars and more.
4. Eat This Much Free core · freemium
An automatic meal-plan generator: set a calorie or macro goal and it fills your day with meals, then a grocery list. The free tier generates single-day plans; premium unlocks the full week and pantry.
5. Kitchen Stories Free · ad-supported
Beautiful, reliable free recipes with step-by-step photos and a built-in shopping list. Less a rigid planner, more a "find something good and shop for it in two taps."
6. BigOven Free core · freemium
Over a million recipes, a grocery list, and a genuinely useful "Use Up Leftovers" search — type in three ingredients you have and it finds dinner. Free tier covers the essentials.
7. Cronometer Free core · freemium
The pick if you want nutrition detail with your planning — precise tracking of calories and micronutrients. The free tier is deep; ideal alongside a specific health goal.
8. Yummly Free
Recommends recipes based on your tastes and diet, with a one-tap shopping list. Good for breaking out of a dinner rut without committing to a whole planning system.
9. Bring! Free
The best free shared grocery list — visual, fast, and made for households where more than one person shops. Pair it with any planner above for the shopping half of the job.
The kitchen math, handled
Recipe in cups but your scale is in grams? Our free Cups ↔ Grams Converter is ingredient-accurate — a cup of flour and a cup of honey aren't the same weight, and it knows that.