Paprika alternatives in 2026
Last updated October 19, 2026
Paprika has been the recipe manager people recommend for over a decade: a one-time purchase, a built-in browser that saves recipes from websites, meal plans and grocery lists sorted by aisle. People look elsewhere for what it doesn’t do, like saving a recipe from Instagram or TikTok, reading a photo of a cookbook page or a handwritten card, or a newer design. Here are seven alternatives, what they cost and who each one suits.
We make Scappi, one of the seven, so we’ve said where it falls short as well. Everything about the other apps comes from their own websites and App Store listings in October 2026, at US prices. Prices differ between countries and change, so check the listing before you buy.
At a glance
| App | Runs on | Price (US) | Instagram and TikTok | Photos and handwriting |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Paprika 3 | iPhone, iPad, Mac, Android, Windows | $4.99 once on iPhone and iPad; each platform sold separately | Not in its listing | Not in its listing |
| Mela | iPhone, iPad, Mac | Free to try; $6.99 once to unlock on iPhone and iPad, Mac separately | Reads the video’s description | Scans pages with text recognition |
| Crouton | iPhone, iPad, Mac, Apple Watch | Free; Crouton Plus $24.99 once | Not in its listing | Scans cookbook pages |
| Recipe Keeper | iPhone, iPad, Android, Windows, Mac | Free; Pro $19.99 once on iPhone and iPad, other platforms separately | Yes | Yes, handwriting included |
| ReciMe | iPhone, iPad, Android | Free with limits; ReciMe Plus subscription after a 7-day trial | Yes, its main focus | Photos of recipes |
| CookBook | iPhone, iPad, Mac, Android, web | Free for 20 recipes; Pro $6.99 a month or $39.99 a year | Yes | Yes, handwriting included |
| Samsung Food | iPhone, iPad, Android, web | Free; Food+ $6.99 a month or $59.99 a year | Not in its listing | Yes, handwriting included |
| Scappi | iPhone and iPad; Android on its way | Free; Pro $5.99 a month or $39.99 a year after a 2-week trial | From the post’s link or a screenshot | Yes, handwriting included |
The alternatives
Mela: for Apple households who liked Paprika’s simplicity
Mela is a calm, modern recipe manager for iPhone, iPad and Mac that syncs through iCloud. Its in-app browser spots a recipe on the page you are reading, it scans cookbook pages with text recognition, and it can take a recipe from the description of a YouTube, TikTok or Instagram video. Meal plans live in your Calendar and the grocery list in Reminders. Like Paprika, it is a one-time purchase, bought separately for the Mac.
Crouton: for Apple users who want the nicest cooking view
Crouton runs on iPhone, iPad, Mac and even Apple Watch. It imports from copied links and scans ingredients and steps straight from a recipe book, and it can plan meals from the recipes you have saved. The app is free, and Crouton Plus is a one-time purchase.
Recipe Keeper: the closest like-for-like replacement
Recipe Keeper covers almost everything Paprika does on almost every platform, Windows included, and adds saving from Instagram and TikTok and scanning recipes from photos and PDFs, handwritten ones among them. It is free to start, with a one-time Pro upgrade on each platform you use.
ReciMe: for recipes that mostly come from social media
ReciMe is built around saving recipes from Instagram, TikTok, Facebook, YouTube and Pinterest, with meal planning, grocery lists and nutrition on top. It runs on iPhone, iPad and Android. Unlimited social imports need the ReciMe Plus subscription.
CookBook: an all-rounder with a web app
CookBook imports from Instagram, TikTok, Facebook, YouTube, Pinterest and websites, and its scanner reads handwritten cards, cookbook pages and screenshots. It runs on iPhone, iPad, Mac, Android and the web. The free plan keeps 20 recipes; Pro is a subscription.
Samsung Food: the free option with meal planning
Samsung Food, which used to be Whisk, saves recipes from any website and turns photos of cookbooks and handwritten recipes into digital ones. It is free on iPhone, iPad, Android and the web, and Food+ adds personalized meal plans.
Scappi: one clear recipe from anything
Scappi is the app we make. A link, a screenshot, a photo of a cookbook page and a handwritten card all become the same clear recipe: every ingredient with its amount, the steps, and timers in the step that needs them, without the life story or the ads. Each recipe arrives in your language, in English, Swedish, German, French, Italian, Spanish, Portuguese or Estonian, and in your kitchen’s measures, cups or grams. A step diagram shows what can happen at the same time, and a combined view cooks two recipes at once. Everything you have saved works offline.
Where Scappi falls short
- It runs on iPhone and iPad only for now. Android is on its way; there is no Mac or Windows app.
- It has a shopping list that adds up every recipe you’re cooking, but no meal planner.
- Scappi reads every recipe with AI, so the free plan adds 15 recipes to start, then 3 in any 30 days. Cooking and every recipe you’ve saved stay free and unlimited. Scappi Pro raises imports to 100 in any 30 days.
- It can’t read Paprika’s export file yet.
How to choose
- You want Paprika, but on more devices or with social imports: Recipe Keeper.
- You only use Apple devices and want a one-time purchase: Mela or Crouton.
- Most of your recipes come from Instagram and TikTok: ReciMe or CookBook.
- You want it free, with meal planning: Samsung Food.
- Your recipes come from everywhere, in more than one language, and you want them clear to cook from: Scappi.
Frequently asked questions
Why do people look for a Paprika alternative?
Paprika saves recipes from websites very well, but its listing mentions no way to save a recipe from Instagram or TikTok, or to read a photo of a cookbook page or a handwritten card. Each platform is also a separate purchase, so a cook with an iPhone and a Windows laptop buys it twice.
Is there a free alternative to Paprika?
Samsung Food is free to use, with an optional subscription. Scappi, Crouton, Recipe Keeper, Mela, ReciMe and CookBook are free to download with limits, and unlock the rest with a one-time purchase or a subscription.
Can I move my recipes from Paprika to Scappi?
Not from Paprika’s export file, yet. Share each recipe’s original link to Scappi, or take a screenshot of the recipe in Paprika, and Scappi turns it into a recipe of its own. If the original page is gone, the screenshot is the way.
Does Scappi work without an iPhone?
The app doesn’t, yet. From any browser you can try Scappi on any recipe: paste a link and get the recipe by email.
More guides
- How to save recipes from Instagram and TikTok
- How to digitize handwritten recipe cards
- How to double, halve or scale a recipe
