The CookBook App vs Paprika

Free built in OCR support to take images of paper recipes and turn them into digital recipes

CookBook can import recipes and has a long list of supported websites. The import feature isn't wonderful though, and even when using the supported sites there is no guarantee that the full recipe is imported.

Automatically stores your recipe information within the cloud to enable access from the mobile applications and website

Syncs seamlessly between devices and platforms (iOS, Android and web!)

Usually respond within a matter of a day and keen to fix bugs and improve the app

Convert ingredients from the original measure type to your preferred US, Imperial and Metric measures.

They have made the app really personable by being able to add descriptions and upload an image to each step for your recipe.

Unlike a lot of other apps you only pay for the app once, there is no recurring subscription.

Built in Cooking mode that reads your recipe to you while you cook. It also lets you mark ingredients and steps as completed so you know where you are in the recipe.

The app links to their website where you can log in to see, edit and import recipes. Personally I found importing through this site works better than using the app.

Will recalculate the amount of each ingredient needed based on the number of servings you choose.

Partners, roommates and so on can share an account and access the same recipes, shopping list and other functions of the app. The only exception is the "extra items" on shopping lists, which are items that are not a part of a recipe, like bread or milk.

Create recipe timers automatically from detected instructions or enter a timer manually to alert you when you are needed in the kitchen

Create a meal plan, print the planner or generate an interactive shopping list for your recipes. The grocery list also notes what recipe the ingredient is used in.

The user interface of the app is great and easy to use.

Recipes can be searched for by ingredients, the recipe name or other keywords. You can also filter recipes by ingredients (either included or excluded), time, favourite status and tags, and sort by name or last updated. This is handy if you have a lot of recipes.

Has a surprise me feature which randomly selects a recipe for you. Note that this will show you any recipe, you can't sort it do only show dinners for example.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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

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

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.

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.

Paprika readily accepts importing from the older application and syncing from Mac to iPad is amazing. 200+ recipes in seconds!

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.