Plan to Eat vs Well Stockd: plan from what you own

Plan to Eat plans the week from your saved recipes; Well Stockd plans it from what you already own. Plan to Eat has no free plan, though unlike most apps here it lets you take your recipes with you.

Weighing more than two apps? Read Plan to Eat alternatives and Plan to Eat vs Paprika (2026).

What you keep

A weekly planner: this week by hand on Free, and on Pro, weeks ahead with the shopping list built from the plan.
Your Plan to Eat recipes, imported from its export file, and as many of your own as you like on Free.
A shopping list sorted for the aisle, and a Walmart cart you review before it’s sent.
More than 5,700 recipes you did not have to collect yourself.

Month view of the meal planner, with the number of meals planned on each day of the current week — Plan weeks ahead from what you own Pro

Recipe grid with a badge on each recipe showing how many items are missing, and Can make now where nothing is — Your recipes, plus a catalog of more than 5,700 Free

Shopping list grouped by food type, with a price on each item and an estimated total at the top — A shopping list in aisle order, with price estimates Free

What it costs

Plan to Eat prices as of September 2026. Prices move, so check their current listing before deciding.
What matters	Plan to Eat	Well Stockd
Price	$5.95 a month or $49 a year direct. The yearly plan bought through the Apple App Store is $54.99.	Free inventory of up to 30 foods, recipe matching, shopping lists and step-by-step cook mode. Pro has no food limit and is $7.99 a month or $79 a year.
Free tier	None. Plan to Eat publishes a "Why isn’t there a free plan?" answer and runs entirely on subscriptions.	Inventory of up to 30 foods with estimated best-by dates and reminders, the full catalog, can-make matching, a shopping list you can send to a Walmart or Kroger cart after checking it, and step-by-step cook mode. Two custom recipe lists and unlimited personal recipes.
Trial	14 days, no credit card required.	7 days of full Pro, no card, starting when you confirm your email.

Side by side

Side-by-side as of September 2026. Competitor details change, so check their current listings before deciding.
What matters	Plan to Eat	Well Stockd
Status	Alive and actively published, with posts as recent as September 2026.	Inventory, recipes, shopping and cooking are available in one account.
Getting your data out	The best in this comparison. Recipes export to .CSV or .TXT from the website, and Plan to Eat says that export works whether or not your subscription is current. The shopping list exports to .csv. No documented export for meal plans.	Export everything you own at any time, on Free: your recipes with their photos, your kitchen, lists and plan, as one ZIP file of CSV and JSON. You can also delete your account in Settings.
What stops when you stop paying	The interface. Plan to Eat says that after a subscription expires you keep the recipe export options and nothing else.	The cooking loop is free forever, so an unpaid account still tracks inventory, expiry and the shopping list.
Recipe catalog	You bring your own. Plan to Eat is the book and planner you fill.	More than 5,700 recipes, matched live against what you actually have in.
Pantry and fridge inventory	Not listed.	Full fridge, freezer and pantry inventory with expiry dates, freshness-aware sorting and reminders before food is due. Free keeps up to 30 foods; Pro has no limit.

Sources

The pages we read for what this guide says about Plan to Eat. Each may have changed since the date shown.

Plan to Eat: home page (opens in a new tab), checked September 2026
Plan to Eat: help article on cost (opens in a new tab), checked September 2026
Plan to Eat: help article on exporting your recipe book (opens in a new tab), checked September 2026
Plan to Eat: help article on printing and exporting the shopping list (opens in a new tab), checked September 2026
Plan to Eat: blog post on Mealime closing (opens in a new tab), checked September 2026

This page was last updated November 6, 2026.

What you gain

An inventory. Your fridge, freezer and pantry, with quantities, in one place.
Best-by dates. The app shows estimates and sorts items needing attention near the top. Free on every account.
Can-make matching. Every recipe says whether you can cook it tonight with what you already have.
A shopping list that reflects what you already own. Use it at any store, or check the matches and send it to a Walmart or Kroger cart.
Pro household sync. One shared kitchen for members, rather than separate inventories.

The honest trade-off

What you may miss: Plan to Eat’s recipe clipper is better than ours, and its export is a real commitment to your data: it hands you a .CSV of everything you ever saved, subscription or not. That file is also how your recipes come with you, because Well Stockd imports it.

When you should stay with Plan to Eat

Stay with Plan to Eat if:

Your recipe collection is the asset and you have spent years clipping it. Plan to Eat keeps it and hands it back on demand.
You plan entirely from recipes you chose yourself and have no interest in an app knowing what is in the fridge.

How to move off Plan to Eat

Export first, from the website: My Account has an export that gives you a .CSV or .TXT of your whole recipe book. Plan to Eat says it works whether or not your subscription is current, so there is no rush on this step.
Export the shopping list too, as .csv, from the list screen.
Import the recipe file into Well Stockd. Open Recipes and choose New (on a phone, “New recipe or import”), open “More ways to import”, and choose the .CSV or .TXT under “Import from another recipe app”. Check each recipe, then save the batch. Well Stockd reads recipe files, not shopping lists, so keep the list .csv as your checklist.
Browse the catalog too. More than 5,700 recipes are already here, and your imported ones are checked against your kitchen the same way.
Stock the fridge, freezer and pantry. That is the half Plan to Eat does not do, and it is what turns the catalog into a shortlist.
Create a free account and confirm your email. Seven days of full Pro start right then, with no card.

Founding offer ended

The switch offer has closed. Free includes inventory, recipe matching, shopping lists and step-by-step cook mode; current Pro pricing is on the pricing page.

See plans

Common questions

How much does Plan to Eat cost?

As of September 2026, $5.95 a month or $49 a year direct, and $54.99 a year if you subscribe through the Apple App Store. There is a 14-day trial with no card, and no free plan.

Is there a free Plan to Eat alternative?

Well Stockd’s cooking loop is free forever: inventory with expiry dates, the catalog, can-make matching, the shopping list, the Walmart cart and cook mode. Free plans the current week by hand. Planning weeks ahead and household sync are Pro, at $7.99 a month or $79 a year.

Can I export my recipes out of Plan to Eat?

Yes. Plan to Eat exports your recipe book to .CSV or .TXT from the website, and says that works whether or not your subscription is current. Well Stockd imports either file: in Recipes, choose New, open “More ways to import” and pick the file. You check each recipe before it’s saved.