Mealime alternatives after the shutdown
Mealime was discontinued on October 21, 2026. What happens to your account, where its recipes went, and the meal planning apps that can replace it.
Mealime was discontinued on October 21, 2026. Its owner, Albertsons Companies, is moving users to Meals Hub, a recipe and meal-planning section inside its grocery store apps. If you shop at an Albertsons store, that is the official path. If you don't, or you want a planner that is not tied to one grocery chain, you need a new app, and the sooner you pick one the less of your routine you lose.
This page covers what the shutdown notice says, what Mealime did well, and the apps that can take over each part of it. We make one of them, so read the recommendations with that in mind. Everything below was checked on October 22, 2026.
What happens to your Mealime account
From Mealime's own closing notice:
- The app was discontinued on October 21, 2026, and paid subscriptions are being wound down. Pro subscribers were not charged again before the shutdown.
- All personal data will be deleted when the app is shut down.
- The notice gives no export option for your plans, preferences or favourites.
- Mealime's recipes continue on Meals Hub, which you reach in an Albertsons Companies store app under More, then Meals Hub. Preferences and settings have to be set up again there.
On October 22 the recipe pages on mealime.com/recipes were still online, while the app's login no longer loaded. If there are Mealime dishes you cook every week, save those recipe pages somewhere you control now, before the site changes too.
What Mealime did that you'll want to replace
Mealime was good at one job: handing you a week of dinners. You set your preferences, it built a plan from its own recipe catalogue, and it turned the plan into a grocery list grouped by category. Cook mode walked you through each recipe hands-free.
So a replacement needs three things: a meal plan, a grocery list built from it, and recipes to fill it. The apps below differ mostly on the third. Some give you their own recipes, and others plan from the recipes you save.
The alternatives
Meals Hub is Mealime's official successor. It carries all of Mealime's recipes plus thousands more, inside the Albertsons Companies store apps. It makes sense if you already shop there and are happy for your meal planner to live in your grocery store's app.
Plan to Eat is the closest standalone replacement for a planning habit. It costs $5.95 a month or $49 a year, with a 14-day trial and no free plan. Its recipe clipper saves from websites, Instagram, TikTok and Pinterest, and the plan becomes a grocery list sorted by store and aisle. It runs on iPhone, Android and the web. Unlike Mealime, it plans with the recipes you bring to it.
Samsung Food has a free tier and a paid tier, Samsung Food+, at $6.99 a month or $59.99 a year on the App Store. Like Mealime, it can suggest recipes as well as store yours, which makes it the nearest in spirit for people who liked being given a plan.
AnyList is the pick if the grocery list was the part of Mealime you used most. The shared list is free, and AnyList Complete ($9.99 a year, or $14.99 for a household) adds recipe import and a meal-planning calendar.
Sugo is ours. It plans the week from recipes you save from anywhere (links, TikTok, Instagram, YouTube, Facebook, photos of book pages) and from recipes you discover in the app. The week becomes one grocery list sorted by aisle, and its pantry ranks your recipes by what you can cook tonight, so a plan can start from what is already in the fridge. Cook mode reads steps aloud and takes voice commands. The free plan includes one meal plan and 25 link imports a month. To share the plan, list and pantry with your household (up to 20 people, who can all vote on dinner), you need Famiglia at $79.99 a year.
Sugo won't build your week from a fixed catalogue the way Mealime did. You plan from your own recipes and the app's suggestions, and the pantry shows which of them you can cook with what is already in the fridge.
Which one to choose
| If you... | Pick |
|---|---|
| Shop at an Albertsons Companies store and want Mealime's recipes | Meals Hub |
| Want a paid, no-ads planner that works with recipes from anywhere | Plan to Eat |
| Liked being handed suggestions and want a free tier | Samsung Food |
| Mostly used the grocery list | AnyList |
| Want to plan from your own recipes and what's in your fridge | Sugo |
Questions people ask
Is Mealime shutting down?
Yes. Mealime was discontinued on October 21, 2026. Its notice says personal data will be deleted at shutdown and its recipes continue on Meals Hub in Albertsons Companies store apps.
Can I export my Mealime data?
The closing notice does not describe an export option. Mealime's public recipe pages were still online on October 22, so the practical step is to save the specific recipes you want to keep from mealime.com/recipes into another app.
What is the best free alternative to Mealime?
Samsung Food and Sugo both have free plans with meal planning and a grocery list. Meals Hub is free inside the Albertsons Companies apps. Plan to Eat has a 14-day trial but no free plan.
For a broader look at planning that holds up through a real week, see how to make a meal plan that survives a real week, and for the recipe apps themselves, the five-app comparison.
