Meal planners · Updated
Mealime alternatives (the app closes Oct 21, 2026)
Mealime is scheduled to close on October 21, 2026. Until then, Mealime Pro is free for everyone, and existing Pro subscriptions will not renew, according to MealPot’s write-up of the developer’s release notes and shutdown announcement.[1]
MealPot also reports that Mealime’s official free continuation is Meals Hub (from Albertsons Companies), which carries over the recipe catalogue, and that you don’t need to shop at an Albertsons store to use it.[1] If you’d rather move to an independent planner, here are the options in our directory.
Quick picks by situation
- You want a free planner with optional AI weekly plansSamsung Food
- You want to own your recipes and plan from themPaprika, Plan to Eat
- You want AI to just pick dinnerNourishify, ByteRecipes, Ollie
- You want meals inside your family organizerCozi, Ohai, Sense
These picks match each tool’s listed features to the situation. They are not hands-on test results yet.
Side-by-side comparison
Meal planners and recipe apps
| Tool | AI features | Pricing as shown | Free plan | Source |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Samsung Food | AI-personalized weekly meal plans; Vision AI food list | Free; Food+ $6.99/mo or $59.99/yr | Yes | [2] |
| Plan to Eat | No AI marketed (recipe import/planner) | $5.95/mo or $49/yr (per affiliate help page) | Not listed | [3] |
| Paprika | No AI | One-time: $4.99 iOS; $29.99 Windows | Not listed | [4] |
| Ollie | Text-based assistant; AI meal plans + grocery orders (Amazon/Instacart/Walmart) | Assistant: Free 50 msgs/mo, Everyday $25/mo, Always-On $100/mo. Ollie for Meals app: $9.99/mo or $79.99/yr | Yes | [5] |
| ByteRecipes | 'Miso AI' meal help; weekly plans; grocery lists | Not captured yet | Not listed | [6] |
| Nourishify | AI decides what to cook | $9.99/mo | Not listed | [7] |
| eMeals | Not verified yet | Not captured yet | Not listed | [8] |
| Real Plans | Diet-restriction meal plans (AI not verified) | Not captured yet | Not listed | [9] |
Family organizers that also do meals
| Tool | AI features | Pricing as shown | Free plan | Source |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Cozi | Max: AI event import, recipe creation, meal planning | Free; Gold $39/yr; Max $79/yr (compare-plans page) | Yes | [10] |
| Ohai | Assistant 'O' scans newsletters, team schedules, PDFs, photos; 2-way calendar sync; Instacart lists | Free version; Premium from $9.99/mo | Yes | [11] |
| Sense | Forward school emails/photos/PDFs/WhatsApp → events, lists, chores, meals | Free (10 AI actions/mo); Premium $6.99/mo or $59.99/yr on web | Yes | [12] |
| Family Works Waitlist | School-email AI extraction; AI meal plans; browser kiosk mode | TBD (waitlist) | Not listed | [13] |
Before Mealime closes: save what you need
- Copy the recipes you actually cook. MealPot points to a backup tool and to Meals Hub for the full catalogue.[1]
- Check your subscription. MealPot notes that uninstalling the app does not cancel a Google Play subscription, and that becoming free is not the same as getting a refund.[1]
- Grocery delivery: several planners hand off lists to delivery. Ollie lists Amazon, Instacart and Walmart grocery orders, and Ohai lists Instacart lists.
Dad’s take Coming soon
I’m testing these with my own family’s real school emails and weekly meals. Until I’ve done that, I won’t pick a winner. Subscribe below and I’ll send the verdict when it’s ready.
Sources
- MealPot: Is Mealime free now? Pro pricing and the 2026 shutdown (updated Sep 12, 2026)
- Samsung Food: pricing/feature source (support.samsungfood.com)
- Plan to Eat: pricing/feature source (learn.plantoeat.com)
- Paprika: pricing/feature source (paprikaapp.com)
- Ollie: pricing/feature source (ollie.ai)
- ByteRecipes: pricing/feature source (byterecipes.com)
- Nourishify: pricing/feature source (nourishify.io)
- eMeals: pricing/feature source (affiliate-toolkit.com)
- Real Plans: pricing/feature source (best-affiliate-programs.net)
- Cozi: pricing/feature source (cozi.com)
- Ohai: pricing/feature source (usecarly.com)
- Sense: pricing/feature source (getsense.ai)
- Family Works: pricing/feature source (family.works)
Pricing and features as shown on these pages, checked Oct 17, 2026. Vendor pages that rank their own product are labeled as competing vendors.