Plenty of recipe apps are free. The honest question is how they pay for it: ads, data, or a recipe cap.
'Free' is rarely simple. Some apps are free because you're the product (ads and data); some are free up to a recipe limit; a few are genuinely free because someone chose to make them that way.
Here are the best free options, with the trade-off spelled out for each, because the price you don't see is the one worth knowing about.
Yes, we ranked our own app first, so weigh that accordingly. Here's the honest version: Gratin is free with no ads, no account, and no recipe cap. It stays free by keeping your data on your device instead of monetising it. Optional hosted sync is $12/year or a one-time $39.
Genuinely free and open source, funded by donations. No ads. Web/PWA, account-based (or self-host it yourself).
Free and ad-free, with an excellent clipper, but the free tier caps you at 40 recipes and needs a cloud account.
A useful free tier for grocery lists; recipe import and meal planning need the paid Complete plan.
Free and packed with features, paid for with ads and cloud data collection. A lot of app if you accept the trade.
Free with ads and a 60-recipe cloud cap; broad import if you can look past the dated, ad-supported experience.
Usually one of three: ads and data collection, a recipe limit on the free tier, or a required account with your data in the cloud. Gratin avoids all three by keeping your data on your device.
No. It's free because it's local-first. There's no expensive cloud to run, so there's nothing to monetise. Optional hosted sync ($12/year or a one-time $39) covers the one part that does cost money.
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