Mealime alternative: where to plan your meals after October 21
Mealime is closing. Its site says the app will shut down on October 21, 2026, and that all personal data will be deleted when it does. That's a real loss: Mealime made weekly planning feel easy, with simple 30-minute recipes, a grocery list that sorted itself, and more than 200 ways to fit a plan to your diet, allergies and dislikes. More than 54,000 people rated it on the App Store, averaging 4.8 stars. If you're looking for a new home for your weekly plan, here's how Cado compares, where Mealime's own replacement is the better fit, and how to keep the recipes you love.
Cado vs Mealime
| Cado | Mealime | |
|---|---|---|
| Status | Available on iPhone and Android | Shuts down October 21, 2026. Personal data is deleted at shutdown |
| Price | Free to download. Cado Pro (subscription) unlocks unlimited recipe imports, AI edits and health scores | Free, with Pro at $2.99/month. Pro is being wound down and subscribers won't be charged again |
| Where recipes come from | Save recipes from TikTok, Instagram, YouTube, Pinterest or any recipe site, and get recipe suggestions from Cado | Mealime's own library of simple, mostly 30-minute recipes. Mealime says they'll stay available in Albertsons' Meals Hub |
| Fitting your diet | Ask Cado to change any recipe (more protein, dairy-free, no oyster sauce) and it rewrites it and tells you what changed | 200+ personalization options: plan type (vegetarian, keto, paleo, gluten-free and more), allergies, dislikes and servings |
| Weekly plan | Tell Cado what the week needs and it picks recipes that fit and puts them on your plan. You can also plan from your own saved recipes | A personalized weekly plan built from Mealime's recipes in a few minutes |
| Grocery list | One list from the week's recipes, sorted by aisle. Send it to Instacart from the app | Auto-generated list sorted into categories, with delivery through supported grocery retailers |
| Nutrition | Calories and macros per serving, a Cado Score from A to E for every recipe, and daily totals as you plan | Nutrition information on each recipe, with Apple Health integration |
| While you cook | Voice: say "Hey Cado" to hear the next step, set a timer or check an amount, hands-free | Hands-free mode to move through steps without touching your phone |
Pick Cado if…
- You save recipes from TikTok, Instagram, YouTube or food blogs and want them in the same place as your meal plan
- You'd rather change a recipe to fit you (more protein, dairy-free, swap an ingredient) than search for a different one
- You want calories, macros and a simple health score on every recipe, and daily totals while you plan
- You want one aisle-sorted grocery list you can send straight to Instacart
- You want to cook hands-free and ask questions out loud mid-recipe
Pick Mealime if…
- You want Mealime's exact recipe library. Mealime says all of its recipes will stay available in Meals Hub, its official replacement inside Albertsons Companies' grocery apps
- You want everything free. Mealime says Meals Hub is 100% free, including recipes that used to be Mealime Pro, while Cado's unlimited imports and AI edits need a subscription
- You already shop at an Albertsons Companies store and use its app
- You liked picking from a ready-made menu with lots of diet and allergy filters, rather than starting from recipes you collect yourself
How to switch to Cado
- Before October 21, make a list of the Mealime meals you actually cook. Mealime doesn't offer a bulk export, and your account data is deleted at shutdown.
- Copy the link to each favorite. Mealime's recipes have public pages at mealime.com/recipes, so you can paste the links into a note, one per line.
- Download Cado and paste each link into its recipe import, the same way you'd save a recipe from any site. If a link won't come through, save a similar version from another recipe site, TikTok or Instagram instead.
- Ask Cado to adjust anything that doesn't fit, for example "make this dairy-free" or "more protein". Cado rewrites the recipe and shows what changed.
- Ask Cado for a few dinners to round out the week, add them to your plan, and let it build the grocery list. Send it to Instacart or take it to the store.
Questions
Is Mealime shutting down?
Yes. Mealime says the app will be discontinued on October 21, 2026. All personal data will be deleted at shutdown, and Mealime's recipes will move to Meals Hub inside Albertsons Companies' grocery apps.
Is Mealime free?
Mealime has been free to download, with an optional Pro plan listed at $2.99 a month on the App Store. As part of the shutdown, Mealime is winding down paid subscriptions and says Pro subscribers won't be charged again. Meals Hub, its replacement, is free.
Can I export my recipes from Mealime?
Not in bulk. Mealime doesn't offer a recipe export, so the practical route is to save the link to each recipe you want to keep and import those links into your new app before October 21.
What apps are like Mealime?
Meals Hub is Mealime's official successor and keeps its recipes. Published lists of Mealime alternatives, such as Pann's, also include Plan to Eat, Paprika and Samsung Food. Cado is a good fit if you want weekly plans and an aisle-sorted grocery list built around recipes you save from anywhere, with each one adjustable to your diet.
How do I delete my Mealime account?
Mealime says all personal data will be deleted when the app shuts down. If you want it gone sooner, Mealime says you can exercise your privacy rights, including deleting your data, under its privacy policy until then.
Does Cado work with Instacart?
Yes. Cado turns the week's recipes into one grocery list sorted by aisle, and you can send it to Instacart from the app.
Meal planning, finally solved
Plans, grocery lists and a cooking assistant you can talk to.
Download CadoSources (checked 2026-10-14): Mealime homepage (shutdown banner, features) · Mealime: closing notice · Mealime on the App Store · Plan to Eat: Mealime is moving (no bulk export) · Pann: Mealime alternatives 2026 · Cado on the App Store · getcado.com