YumpotFree meal planningapps: what you get and where they stop
Updated October 30, 2026
What a free planner usually gives you
A free planner does three jobs well. It keeps your recipes in one place, fills the days with dinner ideas and writes a shopping list from the menu.
- Samsung Food is free on iPhone, iPad and the web. Recipe saving, meal planning and shopping lists are in the free version.
- Eat This Much has a Free Forever plan. It builds daily meal plans and lets you track what you eat.
- Mealime was a free app that planned a week of meals and sorted the shopping list by category. It is closing, so do not start a new habit there.
Check that the free version writes the shopping list before you rely on it. A planner that only saves recipes leaves the planning to you.
Free planners work best when your weeks look alike. If you cook the same five or six dinners, a free app with a saved recipe list may cover most of what you need. If you want a new menu every week, check whether the free version builds one, or only shows you recipes to pick from.
Where the free plans stop
The paid part is usually a set of extras. These are the ones in the apps compared on the best meal planning apps guide.
- Mealime Pro added nutrition details, calorie filters, recipe notes and access to your two latest plans, while the app was running.
- Samsung Food+ adds AI-made weekly plans and unlimited saved plans. It costs $6.99 a month or $59.99 a year in the US App Store.
- Eat This Much Premium costs $5 a month when you pay for a year up front, according to its pricing page. The free plan stays on daily plans.
- Plan to Eat has no free plan. It offers a 14-day trial, then $5.95 a month or $49 a year on its website.
A trial only lasts a few days or weeks. Before it ends, decide whether you want to keep paying, because the store starts the charge on its own.
Pricing changes often, so the numbers in this guide are a snapshot. A yearly price is only a good deal if you keep using the app, so look at the store before you commit.
How to pick one
Ask four questions before you install anything.
- Does it write the shopping list, or only save recipes?
- Does it build the menu for you, or do you pick every dinner?
- Does it handle your allergies and the foods you never eat?
- Does it run on the phone you own? Check the platforms first, since some apps are iPhone only.
If the first two answers are yes, the rest is detail. Pick that app and use it for two weeks before you judge it.
Here is a quick test. Write down the three things you would miss most if the app disappeared tomorrow. If the free version covers those three, you have no reason to pay yet. If it does not, the missing feature is the one worth paying for.
Where Yumpot fits
Yumpot plans five dinners for the days you cook. You answer ten short questions first: who you cook for, which days, how long dinner may take and what you do not eat. Then it writes one shopping list and walks you through each recipe step by step.
It is not free after the trial. You get 3 days free, then a subscription of $5.99 a month or $39.99 a year in the US App Store. The app is made for iPhone and has no account. It is in the App Store now.
It is a good fit if you cook at home on an iPhone, want a plan that respects your allergies and like being walked through each step. If you want to keep recipes from other websites, check that feature before you subscribe.
A simple way to test any planner
Pick a week of dinners you already cook. Write them on paper, then build the same week in the app. Note how long it takes and what you forgot to put on the list.
A first test works best with quick dinners. Pick five that take 20 to 25 minutes and share a few fresh items.
When you have a short list of candidates, read the comparison in best meal planning apps. It lists prices as of October 2026.
Keep a short note while you test. Each time you fix something by hand, such as adding an item the app missed or moving a dinner, write it down. The notes show you what the free version handles badly, and they tell you whether a paid tier would fix it.
Questions
Which free meal planner is best?
That depends on what you need. Samsung Food has a free version with recipes, planning and shopping lists. Eat This Much has a free plan that builds daily plans and lets you track food. Check the store page first, because free tiers change.
Do meal planning apps have a free trial?
Some do. Plan to Eat offers a 14-day trial with no card needed on its website. Read the current terms in the store before you sign up for any trial.
Can I keep the menu in an app and the list on paper?
Yes. You can keep the menu in an app and write the shopping list by hand, or do it the other way round. Use whichever part of the job you like doing.
More guides
Let Yumpot plan the week
Yumpot picks dinners around what you eat and who you cook for, writes one shopping list for the week and walks you through every recipe step by step.