CategoriesThe 5 Best Weight Loss Programs for 2026

6 Top Apps for Meal Planning, Tracking, and Healthy Recipes

Several apps have technically “free” tiers that are nearly unusable for daily tracking. MyFitnessPal free now excludes barcode scanning, which was its best feature. Cronometer’s free tier is genuinely complete for text-and-barcode logging. Not because the apps were bad — some were genuinely well-designed.

Start Simple with MyPlate

In addition to sharing favorite recipes with friends and family members, you can connect with cooks who share similar interests. You can also search for favorite recipes by ingredient or dish type or create your own customized recipe box by adding the ingredients you want to use. The app has an extensive database of recipes from popular food blogs and websites, including Food Network, Epicurious, Good Housekeeping, Taste of Home, and more. This caught my eye because it was the first meal prep app I saw to feature recipes for Low FODMAP diets. There are smart design features, too, like the ability to split screen while you cook, so you can see the recipe up to three ingredients and steps side by side.

best free app for meal planning

Reported a decrease in anxiety about meals.

This app helps outsource household tasks you might not have time for, like cleaning, furniture assembly or even help moving. By connecting with local “Taskers,” you can make sure things get done around the house without taking on everything yourself, saving time and reducing stress. We’ve rounded up some of the best apps that can help your family stay on top of everything, and make managing your family feel more, well, manageable.

GO – Meal & Fitness Tracker

Additionally, you cannot add your own recipes, set calorie preferences, view nutrition information, or save previously used meal plans unless you upgrade to the pro version. This app ranks top for meal prepping and provides easy-to-make recipes that can last a few days. Simply sign up and enter a bunch of intel, like your preferred prep level, how many meals you want to make a week, allergies, likes and dislikes, the works. Then, the app creates ideas for lunch and dinner, which include original recipes and nutritional info. MealPrepPro will also spit out all the groceries you’ll need too, so you’ll know exactly what to grab next time you hit those aisles. There are a bunch of meal planning apps out there—some good, some bad, and others that are downright atrocious, but don’t cost a thing.

“We started eMeals to help families take the stress out of planning and shopping.”

  • They’re all designed to make meal planning as straightforward as possible.
  • The app also allows you to organize food by type (vegetables, meats, and cheeses), which makes it easier to find all the items needed for cooking.
  • When you’re looking for something specific, type the meal in the search bar and browse over 350,000 recipes made by home cooks.
  • You can then look for recipes that match all those requirements.
  • Nutritional needs change quite a bit during pregnancy, which can be overwhelming when you’re expecting.
  • This gives you the freedom to modify and experiment with any recipes you discover, or add notes when needed.

Additionally, the app offers a 14-day free trial after which you must pay a subscription fee of $2.99 per month or $32.99 per year. To start, you choose from one of multiple meal plans including High Protein, Flexible, Pantry Staples, Mediterranean, Low-Carb, Keto, Vegan, Vegetarian, or Pescatarian. Also in the paid version, full nutrition information for each recipe is available and is calculated by Yummly using the USDA nutrient database. Meal planning functionality such as a calendar to organize recipes is also available when you upgrade. The paid version of the app allows you to filter recipes based on video availability in the recipe.

best free app for meal planning

Cheap Sheet Pan Meal Prep Recipes for an Easy Sunday Prep

This app is designed to help users complete the 30-day challenge or change their food habits with ease. No more frustrating Google searches for unknown foods and ingredients while at the grocery store. GO plots each entry on an easy-to-read timeline in daily, weekly, or monthly formats. This zoomed-out view helps you see the big picture with a single glance.

What’s for dinner? Mealime!

As with similar planning apps, you can search by keyword and cuisine—even dietary restrictions. Their meal plan options and grocery store links have helped to… In 2008, Lisa’s pen-and-paper process was transformed into a website, and the first iteration of Plan to Eat was born. Clint quit his full-time job to work exclusively on Plan to Eat and since then, the program has helped thousands of meal planners simplify their planning process. Some of the best meal-planning apps to use in 2025 are Mealime meal plans, Paprika, Eat This Much, Prepear, Plan to Eat, BigOven, and more.

Here are the best meal planning apps for families that made the cut:

By clicking on the product links in this article, we may receive a commission fee at no cost to you, the reader. Sponsorships and affiliate commissions help support our research so we can help you find the best products. Conner is a feature writer and contributor to iPhone Life, as well as an author, poet, and content creator. Compiled from “Best of” lists published by the world’s most trusted sources, and with our own recommended brands peppered in – this Top10 list aims to help consumers make smarter decisions. Most of the ones I suggested are free, so I implore you to check them all out if your data plan allows. In addition, you can quickly and easily search for additives and ingredients you are unaware of on labels to determine whether they are compliant.

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As you add meals to your schedule, you can add ingredients to your shopping list. Paprika allows you to save recipes from anywhere on the internet, and then helps you transform those recipes into a meal plan and organized shopping list. Also unimeal scam called a “recipe manager,” it even sorts grocery items into categories based on the aisle of the supermarket you’ll find them in.

Your AI Trainer, Diet Coach, & Meal Planner

Get matched with a routine that fits your goals, schedule, and equipment. The app uses the scientific principle of progressive overload, adapting the difficulty of workouts as you progress, to ensure that you consistently burn fat and build muscle over time. Try KidneyPal free with 3 daily scans to see if AI-powered tracking fits your routine before committing to a premium subscription. If you frequently cook from online recipes or cookbooks, the ability to import and analyze recipes for kidney safety saves significant time and guesswork. None of these provide the AI-powered scanning and real-time kidney safety analysis that represents the current state of the art in kidney diet tracking.

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