What is the best alternative to SideChef?

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score 9 · Answer 1

ChefTap

Top Con

Price

The Pro version originally cost $11.99, but has since been bumped up to $19.99. With the lack of support and little in the way of improvement, it doesn't make a lot of sense to be paying more for the service. See More

Top Pro

Good web clipper and import options

Recipes can be added via bookmarks, share functionality or by copying and pasting a url. It's also good about importing existing bookmarks, text files and URLs from Pinterest. See More

Top Con

Importing

Ability to "clip" only works sporadically... See More

Top Pro

Easy to use recipe search tool

Top Con

Lack of support

Has gone downhill... See More

Top Pro

Explains well how it should be used

The app has a good introductory tutorial that explains what's possible with the app and how it should be used. And there are also various explanations throughout the app that help along in using it. There's even a dedicated help section with videos. See More

Top Con

No grocery list or meal planner

Features are planned for future releases. See More

Top Pro

Has a free version

ChefTap has a free, ad-supported version that lacks manual entry and unlimited device syncing support. See More

Top Pro

Reasonable organizational methods

Recipes can be tagged. See More

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9 1

score 5 · Answer 2

Allrecipes' Dinner Spinner

Top Con

Recipes can't be imported from other sites

There is no webclipper or import functionality so it's impossible to save recipes from anywhere else but AllRecipes. See More

Top Pro

Some recipes have video instructions

A few recipes have an accompanying video that explains how to prepare and cook the meal. Tapping on directions below the video skips it to the part that explains the step. See More

Top Con

Recipes load slowly

Because each recipe contains so much information, it takes about 5 seconds for each one to load. In the meantime, an ad is displayed. See More

Top Pro

Nutritional information for each recipe is available

The app can display how many calories each serving has what percentage of daily recommended intake each nutrient has. See More

Top Pro

Advanced recipe search

The recipe database search allows specifying if certain ingredients should be present or not, if there are any dietary needs and how long should cooking the meal take. See More

Top Pro

Access to huge recipe database

With Allrecipes Pro, users can access all 44,000 recipes in the database. Without paying for the pro version, users are only allowed to access a few thousand. See More

Top Pro

Helpful information and tools for cooking

Each recipe has prep and cook time listed, so it's possible to take into account how long the process will take. All ingredients can be divided into required servings. See More

Top Pro

Simple shopping list

Items to the shopping list can be added from the recipe view by clicking on the ingredients or manually from the shopping list itself. Items are organized in categories such as produce or beverages and there's a reminder at the bottom for what meals are the ingredients for. Bought items can be ticked off by tapping on them or deleted from the list with a long-tap. See More

Top Pro

Users can review recipes

It's possible to rate and review recipes. See More

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5 1

score 5 · Answer 3

spoonacular

Top Pro

Recipe search engine to find new recipes

Search over 300,000 recipes from across the web to find recipes suitable for your diet, whether gluten free, vegetarian, vegan, Paleo, etc. See More

Top Pro

Make meal plans with recipes and products

With just a few clicks, you can make a meal plan using recipes or store bought products, such as Greek yogurt, protein bars, etc. The daily nutritional information is added up for you as you plan. See More

Top Pro

Get nutritional information for any recipe

Recipes you upload yourself, find via the search engine, or add to your recipe boxes using spoonacular's browser extensions will have the nutritional information calculated automatically See More

5 2

score 21 · Answer 4

Pepperplate

Top Con

Doesn't de-duplicate recipes

You can add the same recipe multiple times from the same url but the site won't merge them automatically. See More

Top Pro

Reasonable organizactional methods

Recipes can be organized into menus and categories. Menus allow grouping recipes and operating with them together. For example, a whole menu can be added to a shopping list or added to the planner without having to add each recipe separately. Categories are essentially tags. They can be added to recipes and used to search through them in recipe list. See More

Top Con

Poor mobile web clipping experience

To save a recipe from the web into Pepperplate requires copying the URL, navigating to Pepperplate.com (that has no mobile version), either logging in or clicking view recipes, then navigating to import recipes and pasting the URL in the form field. There's no way to "share" a URL to Pepperplate. See More

Top Pro

Has an online interface

Allows sharing recipes with others through a link on the website. See More

Top Pro

Grocery list

Recipes and menus can quickly be added to the grocery list from their appropriate views. Items in the grocery list can be sorted by aisle or recipe. See More

Top Pro

Good web clipper

While the experience using the clipper on a mobile device might need some work, the clipper itself is reasonably advanced. It directly supports over 30 recipe sites. It imports images, prep time, ingredients and instructions from those sites. See More

Top Pro

Can be used for meal planning

Recipes and menus can quickly be added to the planner from their appropriate views. Unfortunately, there's no way to add them from the planner itself. See More

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21 9

score 24 · Answer 5

BigOven

Top Pro

Household grocery list and menu planning sharing

Use a single grocery list and menu plan with multiple accounts. See More

Top Con

Limited organizational options

Recipes can be saved to "Try", "Favorites" and "Folder" (creating folders requires a subscription). Additionally there are categories for recipes added and made. See More

Top Pro

Can scan in handwritten and printed recipes

Can convert images to text. See More

Top Con

Charges for image scanning

BigOven lets users take pictures of handwritten or typed recipes and have them transcribed. The first 3 are free, and then it costs $20.00 per year for up to 25 additional scans. See More

Top Pro

Offers a big list of recipes to search through and an advanced search

Has over 350.000 recipes to search through and an advanced search that allows setting dietary restrictions, ingredients to be added or excluded and what categories to search through. See More

Top Pro

Allows ad-free use

With optional membership, lets you get rid of all ads and add unlimited recipes; great free trial model. See More

Top Pro

Everything syncs with web and other devices

Top Pro

Great organizational options

Great use of Folders -- can set them up for occasions, people you cook for, and more. Also the separate "Favorite" and "Try" list let you keep track of things that you'd like to try apart from those that are truly your favorite. See More

Top Pro

Good grocery list creator

Top Pro

Offers a free trial

Top Pro

Breaks down ingredients into nutritional info

Users can see the nutritional information of any meal based on the contents of the ingredients. See More

Top Pro

Good menu planner

Top Pro

Reasonable site-clipping

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24 12

score 22 · Answer 6

Copy Me That

Top Pro

Recipes can be organized via tags

Each recipe can be categorized by tags in order to find the appropriate meal. See More

Top Con

iPad Interface unbecoming to some users

Top Pro

Great web clipper

Copy Me That is a Great app for grabbing recipes from the web. After they are downloaded, they are automatically formatted for simplicity. See More

Top Con

Recipe detection limited to english

This app automatically reformats recipes for easy reading based on the contents of the text. If the text isn't in English, Copy Me That won't detect the recipe. See More

Top Pro

Supports multiple users on different devices

A meal can be added by one user, and then the recipe can be viewed by another. This way, coordinating meals between multiple people can be very simple - especially for shopping purposes. See More

Top Pro

Community ratings for recipes

The community rates shared recipes on a scale of 1-5. See More

Top Pro

Functions as an add-on

The Copy Me That add-on can grab recipes from a browser and sync them with the iOS app. See More

Top Pro

Drag and drop meal planner

Users can drag and drop meals from one day to another day using this app's built in calendar. See More

Top Pro

Easy shopping list generator

This app will dissect the ingredients required and break them down into an organized shopping list. See More

Top Pro

Allows adjustments and notes

Any attribute of a recipe can be changed, and notes can be added as reminder for the future. See More

Top Pro

Multiple platforms

IOS (iPhone & iPad), Android, and browser support. See More

Top Pro

Intelligent item system

Intelligent item system allows you to edit items on your shopping list, combines items from multiple recipes, and organizes items by store location. Forget an item? Hit the “Add Item” button, type in oranges, item is immediately added to your list under the “Produce” section. See More

Top Pro

Active community

Copy Me That has a community built around food. The community is for sharing and receiving recipes, and even providing feedback. See More

Top Pro

Excellent browser algorithm

The excellent browser algorithm can grab recipes from even the worst ad-garbled web pages, with no errors. See More

Top Pro

Cookbook creator and Direct publish feature

You can design, create, and even publish and order your own cookbook from within the app. See More

Specs

Price:FREE

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22 17

score 77 · Answer 7

Paprika

Top Con

No OCR support

No way to scan in or take a photo of a written or printed recipe. See More

Top Pro

Has tools for planning out meals weeks in advance

Paprika has a simple to use meal planner that allows adding recipes along with notes to a calendar. This information can later be used to automatically create a grocery list. Meal plans last forever. Want to know what you served for Christmas 3 years ago? It's there. See More

Top Con

Has to be bought separately for each device

Each device requires a separate purchase of the app. (IOS is now a universal app, Windows is a separate purchase) See More

Top Pro

Can import recipes from a wide variety of online sources

Covers most of the major websites, including Food & Wine, Food Network and The Girl Who Ate Everything and even a good amount of "unsupported" websites will work. See More

Top Con

Not worth what you pay for

Paprika is an extortionist recipe organizer that charges for apps separately, doesn't let you bookmark from your browser, and doesn't let you search by ingredient. Useless. See More

Top Pro

Simple, clean interface

A lot of time has been spent on making the interface feel as intuitive as possible. Navigation is easy, it's possible to highlight items with taps to track what steps have been taken or tap to cross-out ingredients that have been added as well as adjust the recipe easily without overwriting the original and make notes of changes and preferences. See More

Top Con

Update for Paprika 3 requires payment

The update to Paprika 3 requires a $5 payment even when you've bought the app a long time ago. See More

Top Pro

Syncs across devices

Paprika can be used across any of the supported devices - iOS, Android, OSX, web. If a recipe is imported in one device it will show up on all other devices as well. See More

Top Con

Doesn't allow adding pictures for each cooking steps

Only a title picture is allowed See More

Top Pro

Can generate a grocery list

Depending on meal plans, Paprika can create a grocery list with all required ingredients. In the grocery list it's possible to view ingredients grouped based on recipes or all together. It can even keep a list of items already available and skip those when creating a grocery list. See More

Top Con

Lacks own recipe database

Paprika can only import recipes from third-party sources. There's no built-in recipe database to browse or search through. See More

Top Pro

Has tools that help in the cooking process

Paprika includes timers, converters and a tool for scaling ingredients. It makes the process of cooking easier to manage. See More

Top Pro

Manually importing recipes doesn't require typing

To manually transfer a recipe from a website, highlight a part of the recipe and then click the appropriate button - name, ingredient, direction, etc. See More

Top Pro

Notes section allows you to add your own personal comments

Top Pro

Customizable categories and sub-categories

It comes stocked with a handful of basic categories, but you can add your own, including sub-categories and order them any way you want. See More

Top Pro

Can switch back and forth between recipes

Using the Pin tool allows you to quickly switch between recipes in progress without losing your place. Crossed-out ingredients stay crossed out, the step you're on remains highlighted. See More

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77 61