Mealime alternatives (free) — Mealime closes 21 October 2026
Mealime shuts down on 21 October 2026 and deletes your data, with no export. Here are five meal planning apps to move to, what each one costs, and what each is actually good at.
by The Mealody Team ·
| App | Price | Free plan | Platforms | Where recipes come from | Best for |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Mealody | PriceFree today, no card | Free planYes — all of it | PlatformsWeb | Where recipes come fromBuilt in; you can't add your own | Best forFamilies who want the week decided, with portions per person |
| Plan to Eat | Price$5.95/month or $49/year | Free planNo — 14-day trial, no card | PlatformsWeb, iOS, Android | Where recipes come fromYours, clipped from any site | Best forPeople who already have recipes they love |
| Samsung Food | PriceFree tier; Food+ £6.99/month or £59.99/year | Free planYes, with a paid tier on top | PlatformsWeb, iOS, Android | Where recipes come fromCommunity recipes and your own | Best forPeople who want nutrition tracking and AI suggestions |
| Paprika | PriceOne-off: £4.99 iOS, £29.99 Mac, $29.99 Windows | Free planFree on Android up to 50 recipes; paid on iOS, Mac, Windows | PlatformsiOS, Android, Mac, Windows | Where recipes come fromYours, clipped from any site | Best forPeople who would rather buy once than subscribe |
| AnyList | PriceFree tier; Complete $9.99/year, $14.99 household | Free planYes, with a paid tier on top | PlatformsiOS, Android, Mac, web | Where recipes come fromYours, clipped from any site (Complete) | Best forShared shopping lists across a household |
What happens on 21 October 2026
Mealime's closing notice is short and clear: the app will be discontinued as of 21 October 2026. Between now and then, Pro recipes and features are open to everyone and Pro subscribers are not billed again.
The part worth acting on is this line: "All personal data will be deleted when the Mealime application is shut down." There is no export button. Anything you have saved — favourites, plans, the shopping list you keep reusing — goes with it. If you want to keep it, copy it out by hand before the date.
If you are not shopping in the US, Meals Hub is not really an option
Mealime is pointing users at Meals Hub, which is run by the same team and carries the recipes across. Meals Hub is not a separate download: it lives inside the Albertsons Companies grocery apps — Safeway, Vons, Jewel-Osco, ACME, Shaw's, Tom Thumb and the rest — and you find it by tapping "More" in one of them.
Albertsons Companies operates only in the United States, across 35 states and the District of Columbia. So for anyone in the UK, Ireland, or anywhere outside those states, the official move isn't a move at all. You need a different app.
The five worth looking at
Mealody
How Mealody works, in more detail. You set up your household once — who eats, how much, what they cannot eat — and it builds a plan of up to seven days with a shopping list and the prep order. Portions are worked out per person rather than per recipe, so a nine-year-old and an adult on the same meal get different amounts.
It is free today and does not ask for a card. It is a web app, so there is nothing to install. Nutrition data sourced from USDA FoodData Central, not estimated. The figures are shown on the meal, but there is nothing to count, log or weigh — no food diary, no targets to hit. English and Romanian.
The honest limitation: you cannot bring your own recipes. Mealody plans from its own catalogue. If your week is built around recipes you have collected for years, one of the four below will suit you better.
Plan to Eat
The closest thing to a straight swap if you like collecting recipes. You clip them from any site, drag them onto a calendar, and it builds the shopping list from what you planned. $5.95 a month or $49 a year, with a 14-day trial that doesn't ask for a card. There is no free tier.
Samsung Food
Free to use, with a paid Food+ tier at £6.99 a month or £59.99 a year and a 7-day trial. You get a big community recipe library, AI meal suggestions, and nutrition tracking — the only app here that tracks. If Mealime's recipe discovery is what you will miss, this is the nearest replacement.
Paprika
A one-off purchase instead of a subscription: £4.99 on iOS, £29.99 on Mac, $29.99 on Windows, bought separately per platform. It is a recipe manager first — it clips recipes from the web, scales them, and builds a list. No monthly fee ever, which for some people settles the argument on its own.
AnyList
Strongest on the shopping list itself. Lists sync instantly with whoever you share them with, which is the bit most couples actually want. The free tier covers lists and recipes; AnyList Complete adds web recipe import and the meal planning calendar, at $9.99 a year, or $14.99 for a household.
What to do before 21 October
- Open Mealime and write down the recipes you would genuinely miss. Screenshots are fine — there is no export.
- Pick the replacement that matches how you cook: bring-your-own-recipes (Plan to Eat, Paprika, AnyList), discovery and tracking (Samsung Food), or have-the-week-decided (Mealody).
- Move before the date, not after it. Once the app is switched off, the data is gone.
All figures above were checked on 18 September 2026 against each app's own site or store listing. Plan to Eat and AnyList bill in US dollars; Paprika prices its Windows version in dollars too, so what you pay depends on the exchange rate and your VAT. Prices change; if you spot one that has, tell us and we will fix it.
Frequently asked questions
- When exactly does Mealime shut down?
- Mealime will be discontinued on 21 October 2026. Until then, Pro recipes and features are available to everyone, and Pro subscribers are not charged any further subscription fees.
- Can I export my Mealime recipes and meal plans?
- Mealime does not offer a data export. Its closing notice states that all personal data will be deleted when the application is shut down. If there is anything in your account you want to keep, copy it out manually before 21 October 2026.
- What is Meals Hub, and can I use it?
- Meals Hub is where Mealime is moving its recipes. It lives inside the grocery apps of Albertsons Companies — Safeway, Vons, Jewel-Osco, ACME, Shaw's and the rest — and you reach it by tapping "More" in one of those apps. Albertsons Companies operates only in the United States, across 35 states and the District of Columbia, so if you shop anywhere else, Meals Hub is not a realistic replacement.
- Is there a genuinely free Mealime alternative?
- Mealody is free today and does not ask for a card. Samsung Food and AnyList both have a free tier with a paid tier on top, and Paprika's Android version is free up to 50 recipes. Plan to Eat is paid after its trial; Paprika on iOS, Mac and Windows is a one-off purchase rather than a subscription.
- Which alternative is closest to how Mealime worked?
- It depends which half of Mealime you mean. For being handed a plan and a list without choosing recipes, Mealody works the same way. For Mealime's recipe library and discovery, Samsung Food is the closer match. Plan to Eat, Paprika and AnyList work the other way round — you bring the recipes and they organise them.
- Do any of these count calories?
- Samsung Food includes nutrition tracking. Mealody shows the nutrition figures for a meal but has nothing to track with — no diary, no daily total to hit. It balances portions for each person instead. If tracking is what you want, Samsung Food is the closer fit.
- Does Mealody work on iPhone and Android?
- Mealody is a web app, so it runs in the browser on a phone, tablet or computer. There is no App Store or Google Play download.
- How far ahead can Mealody plan?
- Up to seven days at a time, for one household. When the week is done, you generate the next one.
- What language is Mealody in?
- English and Romanian.
- Where does Mealody get its nutrition figures?
- Nutrition data sourced from USDA FoodData Central, not estimated. Mealody is not affiliated with, endorsed by, or approved by the USDA.