Plan to Eat alternatives: 5 free & open-source picks
Curated, verified, and actually free. No trials, no crippled tiers. Star counts and last-activity dates checked by hand, not scraped and forgotten.
A household recipe server with meal plans and grocery lists; you supply the server and patience.
licenseAGPL-3.0
runsyour server
installDocker Compose
dataRecipes, users, groups, meal plans, and shopping-list records live in SQLite by default or PostgreSQL when configured; recipe images and application assets live in the mounted data directory, and Mealie's backup/export archives keep portable copies of the database and media.
the catch vs Plan to EatMealie covers the core loop, but its calendar interaction, browser importer, mobile responsiveness, and maintenance burden are less polished than Plan to Eat's managed planner.
setupA non-expert needs Docker, persistent volumes, an update/backup routine, and usually a domain plus HTTPS; importing recipe sites also produces parsing failures that must be cleaned up manually.
facts verified 2026-08-10
Meal plans and groceries run through a tiny home ERP, because apparently the fridge needed one.
licenseMIT
runsyour server
installDocker container/Compose, or install the PHP application on a web server
dataProducts, stock, chores, recipes, meal plans, shopping lists, and history live in Grocy's SQLite database inside its data directory; configuration, uploaded pictures, and generated files are stored alongside it on the host volume.
the catch vs Plan to EatGrocy can calendar meals and generate groceries, but its inventory-first ERP interface makes the simple drag-recipe-to-calendar loop much slower and more complicated than Plan to Eat.
setupThe first obstacle is deploying and exposing a PHP/Docker web app; the larger practical hurdle is configuring locations, units, products, barcodes, and household routines before its ERP-like screens become useful.
facts verified 2026-08-10
Recipes, a calendar meal planner, and generated shopping lists, without the annual renewal.
licenseAGPL-3.0
runsyour machine or their cloud
installHosted signup at RecipeSage, or Docker Compose for self-hosting
dataThe hosted service stores recipes, images, labels, meal plans, shopping lists, households, and account data in RecipeSage's infrastructure; self-hosting keeps the relational application database and uploaded media in operator-controlled containers/volumes, with built-in export for portability.
the catch vs Plan to EatRecipeSage is close functionally, but Plan to Eat has the more refined drag-and-drop calendar, recipe clipper, mobile workflow, and long-established support.
setupThe public service has no setup blocker; self-hosting adds Docker, a database, mail, storage, HTTPS, and backups, while both versions have less refined native-mobile interaction than Paprika or AnyList.
facts verified 2026-08-10
Drag recipes onto a weekly plan and turn it into groceries; ads replace the annual invoice.
licenseproprietary, free
runstheir cloud
installInstall the mobile app or use the web app, then create a Samsung Food account
dataSaved and imported recipes, meal plans, grocery lists, household-sharing records, profile data, and recommendations live in Samsung Food's cloud; the internal storage format is not disclosed.
setup✓ installs clean
the catch vs Plan to EatSamsung Food removes the invoice but adds ads, recommendations, and vendor-cloud dependence, with less control and portability than Plan to Eat's focused personal recipe planner.
facts verified 2026-08-10
The full recipe-plan-shopping loop; free for personal self-hosting, but the license is not actually open source.
runsyour server
installDocker Compose with PostgreSQL; manual Django deployment is also documented
dataRecipes, users, meal plans, shopping lists, books, and permissions live in PostgreSQL in the standard Docker deployment; uploaded images and static/media files live in mounted volumes, and recipe data can be exported through Tandoor's export tools.
the catch vs Plan to EatTandoor does the recipe-plan-list loop, but self-hosting and its denser web UI are a large downgrade from Plan to Eat's simple hosted calendar and importer.
setupThe first obstacle is a multi-container Django/PostgreSQL deployment with secrets, volumes, HTTPS, email, and backups; its Commons-Clause-modified AGPL license is also not an OSI-approved open-source license.
facts verified 2026-08-10
last updated 2026-08-10 · no votes, no pay-to-list · just what's real
Copy Me ThatA direct fit until recipe 41; the free tier now stops at 40 recipes.
KitchenOwlPolished enough to tempt you; the project still labels itself Public Alpha.
| tool | license | running it | platforms | stars | active |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Mealie | AGPL-3.0 | docker to self-host | web, self-hosted | 12,900 | 2026-08 |
| Grocy | MIT | docker to self-host | web, windows, self-hosted | 9,358 | 2026-07 |
| RecipeSage | AGPL-3.0 | they host it | web, ios, android, browser-extension | — | — |
| Samsung Food | proprietary, free | they host it | web, ios, android, browser-extension | — | — |
| Tandoor Recipes | free (closed) | docker to self-host | web, self-hosted | — | — |
People still pay for Plan to Eat because household apps survive when every family member actually uses them and the data stays current across devices. The recurring cost buys multi-user conflicts, reminders, notifications, imports, barcode data, smart-home APIs, backups, and long-term maintenance, not just the visible interface. If none of that applies to you, any pick above saves $71.4 a year.
Is there a free alternative to Plan to Eat?
Yes: Mealie, Grocy, RecipeSage and 2 more. Every tool on this page is either open source or genuinely free to use long-term: no trials, no crippled tiers.
Should I just build my own Plan to Eat?
Our verdict is SÍ. The core loop is small enough for a capable coding agent to produce a useful local version in one sitting. For Plan to Eat, store recipes, drag them onto a calendar, and generate a shopping list. The hard boundary is browser clipping, mobile apps, sync, household sharing, and workflow polish, plus sync, integrations, and household adoption. If you'd rather build, the exact one-shot prompt is free at puedovibecodearlo.app/plan-to-eat.
