Apps that track what's in your fridge and remind you before food expires — compared on the features that matter, with sources for every claim. Fridgea is ours; we've noted where others do better.
Fridgea is our app. We've tried to keep this fair: every claim about other apps links to their App Store listing or website as checked on October 1, 2026. Spotted something out of date? Email support@fridgea.online.
Updated October 1, 2026
Free on iPhone & iPad · No account needed
| Feature | FridgeaOurs | KitchenPal | NoWaste | FoodShiner | Fango | FridgeBuddy | Smantry | Pantry Check |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Expiry reminders | One digest notification per day, 1–7 days ahead; free | Alerts before the expiry date1 | Up to two expiry reminders per item6 | Expiration reminders8 | Reminders days before the expiry date10 | Customizable notifications before food expires12 | Best-by and expiration date notifications16 | Automatic expiration reminders19 |
| Home Screen widgets | Expiring Soon + Shopping List, interactive; free | Not listed | Not listed | Home Screen widgets for lists9 | Home Screen widget with items about to expire10 | Home Screen widgets12 | "Expiring soon" Home Screen widgets16 | Not listed |
| Lock Screen widgets & Live Activity | Lock Screen widgets; cooking timers as a Live Activity | Not listed | Not listed | A shopping Live Activity; Lock Screen widgets not listed8 | Not listed | Not listed | Three Lock Screen widgets; Live Activity not listed17 | Update inventory from the lock screen (notifications)20 |
| Barcode scanning | Open Food Facts lookup; Pro, free tries | Barcode scanner; free plan has a scan limit1 | Barcode scanning; larger product database on Pro6 | Camera and Bluetooth barcode scanners8 | Deliberately receipt-based instead of barcodes11 | Barcode scanning12 | Barcode scanner16 | Scanner with a crowd-sourced product database19 |
| Receipt scanning | Photo → reviewed item list; Pro, free tries | Scan Receipt from the Kitchen page2 | Photo of a receipt to add food6 | Not listed | AI receipt reading: paper, photo or PDF10 | Receipt import from a photo or PDF (recent versions)12 | Not listed | Not listed |
| Voice input | Several items in one go; Pro, free tries | Add items by voice1 | Through its AI Assistant (speak or write)6 | Siri Shortcuts actions; no in-app voice entry listed8 | Not listed | Through Siri: add items and check what's expiring12 | Not listed | Not listed |
| Import from Apple Notes | Share sheet; Pro | Not listed | Not listed | Not listed | Not listed | Not listed | Not listed | Not listed |
| Shopping lists | Grouped by category; 3 free, unlimited on Pro | Shared lists with quantities1 | Multiple shopping lists6 | Shared shopping lists, also on Apple Watch9 | Multiple lists with a budget per list10 | From inventory to shopping list12 | Editable shopping list16 | Lists from usage and inventory, with prices and totals19 |
| Move bought items into inventory | "Move to fridge" with dates | "Finish Shopping" moves bought items to the Kitchen3 | Not listed | Not listed | Ticking an item off doesn't add it to tracking11 | Not listed | Not listed | Checking out a list updates the inventory21 |
| AI recipes from your ingredients | Usually 3–5 ideas per request; Pro, free tries | Recipes matched to your inventory; not described as AI1 | Generates recipes based on stock6 | Turns inventory into meal ideas; AI not stated8 | Not listed | Meal ideas from what you've logged; AI not stated12 | Not listed | FAQ: recipes are not currently supported22 |
| Recipe library / your own recipes | Free | Recipe search by ingredient1 | Own and favourite recipes, recipe books6 | Recipe storage; import from Paprika or Mela8 | Not listed | Not listed | Not listed | FAQ: recipes are not currently supported22 |
| Cooking mode with timers | Multiple timers, Live Activity, Dynamic Island; free | Not listed | Not listed | Step timers and a full-screen cooking mode8 | Not listed | Not listed | Not listed | No recipe support (per FAQ)22 |
| Household sharing | iCloud invite; Pro; invitees don't need a subscription | Share and sync with your family1 | Shared locations with member invites6 | iCloud sharing with family or roommates8 | Up to four phones as one household10 | One iCloud invite shares storage and lists13 | The whole household shares one stock16 | Real-time sync and family sharing19 |
| Works without an account | iCloud | Not listed | Not listed | No account; data on device or in iCloud8 | No account; data stays on the phone by default10 | No user account is required14 | Anonymous start; syncing devices needs registration18 | Registration recommended; needed for sharing and backup23 |
| Platforms | iPhone, iPad (iOS 18.6+); no Android/web | iPhone, iPad, Android and web4 | iPhone, iPad, Android and a web app7 | iPhone, iPad, Mac, Apple Watch; no Android9 | iPhone and Android11 | iPhone and iPad only (iOS 18+)15 | iOS, Android and a web app18 | iPhone, iPad; Android version in progress24 |
| Languages | 11 | 81 | English (as shown on the listing)6 | 78 | 810 | 812 | 2 on the US listing16 | English (as shown on the listing)19 |
| Free plan | 30 items, 3 lists | Free with item and barcode-scan limits5 | Free with limits (6 lists); Pro raises the caps6 | Every feature free8 | One-month free trial; a small free tier per release notes10 | Free download; free-tier limits not listed13 | Free for up to 100 items16 | Free for up to 200 items19 |
| Pricing model | Free + Pro subscription; lifetime Pro offered to some users | Free + Premium: monthly, yearly or lifetime4 | Free + Pro: $6.99/year or $29.99 lifetime (US)6 | Free with optional tips; no subscriptions8 | Subscription: $2.99 a month or $22.99 a year (US)10 | Pro subscriptions or a lifetime purchase12 | Premium subscriptions or lifetime purchase16 | Free up to 200 items; paid storage plans for more25 |
Fridgea keeps one list of everything in your fridge, freezer and pantry, sorted by what expires first. You add food by snapping a receipt, scanning a barcode, speaking or importing a list from Apple Notes, and get one digest notification before things expire.
Best for: iPhone households that want receipts, widgets and recipes in one app.
Good to know: iPhone and iPad only — there's no Android or web version.
Pricing: Free plan; Pro subscription
KitchenPal combines a pantry, fridge and freezer inventory with expiry alerts, barcode and voice entry, shared grocery lists, ingredient-based recipe search and a meal planner, and syncs across iPhone, Android and the web.
Best for: Families who plan meals and use a mix of iPhone and Android.
Good to know: The free plan limits how many items and barcode scans you can add.
Pricing: Free; Premium $3.99 a month, $14.99 a year or $29.99 lifetime (US)
App Store rating 4.5 (646 ratings), as listed on the US App Store on October 1, 2026.1
NoWaste is a food inventory app for tracking what's in your freezer, fridge and pantry. You can add food by scanning barcodes, receipts or photos, and it also covers shopping lists, recipes and meal plans.
Best for: Households that also use Android or want a web app.
Good to know: The App Store listing shows English as its only language.
Pricing: Free; Pro $6.99 a year or $29.99 lifetime (US)
App Store rating 4.2 (751 ratings), as listed on the US App Store on October 1, 2026.6
FoodShiner is a pantry, fridge and freezer tracker with apps for iPhone, iPad, Mac and Apple Watch. It has barcode scanning, expiration reminders, shared shopping lists, recipes and a meal planner, and keeps data on the device or in iCloud without an account.
Best for: Apple Watch and Mac users who want a completely free app.
Good to know: It needs iOS 26.1 or later, so older iPhones can't install it.
Pricing: Free; optional tips
App Store rating 4.6 (154 ratings), as listed on the US App Store on October 1, 2026.8
Fango is an expiry tracker built around AI receipt scanning: a photographed or shared receipt fills your fridge, freezer and pantry with estimated shelf lives, followed by reminders, a shopping list that learns from your receipts and savings stats.
Best for: Receipt-first tracking on iPhone and Android, with a grocery budget.
Good to know: It doesn't read barcodes, and it's a subscription after a one-month trial.
Pricing: One-month trial, then $2.99 a month or $22.99 a year (US)
App Store rating 5.0 (2 ratings), as listed on the US App Store on October 1, 2026.10
FridgeBuddy tracks food and expiration dates across your fridge, freezer and pantry. Items are added by barcode scan or receipt import, households share inventory and lists through iCloud, and there are Home Screen widgets and Siri actions.
Best for: Apple-only households that want a shared iCloud inventory with no account.
Good to know: Apple-only, and it needs iOS 18 or later.
Pricing: Free download; Pro subscriptions or $69.99 lifetime (US)
App Store rating 4.6 (208 ratings), as listed on the US App Store on October 1, 2026.12
Smantry is a pantry and grocery stock tracker. It records best-before dates across storage locations, adds items by barcode scan and lets a whole household share one stock, with Home Screen and Lock Screen widgets.
Best for: Households sharing one pantry across iPhone, Android and the web.
Good to know: The free plan stops at 100 items; going past that needs Premium.
Pricing: Free up to 100 items; Premium from $2.99 a month or lifetime (US)
App Store rating 4.8 (4 ratings), as listed on the US App Store on October 1, 2026.16
Pantry Check is a household grocery-inventory app built around a barcode scanner with a crowd-sourced product database, expiration reminders and shopping lists that know your inventory, with prices and running totals.
Best for: Barcode-first tracking with prices and shopping-list totals.
Good to know: No recipes, and its last App Store update was in June 2025.
Pricing: Free up to 200 items; paid storage plans for more
App Store rating 4.5 (1,566 ratings), as listed on the US App Store on October 1, 2026.26
We compared each app's App Store listing and website in October 2026, focusing on what matters for keeping track of food at home: adding items, expiry reminders, shopping lists, recipes and sharing. We didn't include apps that are no longer updated. Fridgea is our app — we've listed where others do better.
It depends on what you need. For receipts, widgets and recipes in one iPhone app we think Fridgea is the strongest fit — but we make it, so check the table. KitchenPal and NoWaste list the most features overall and also run on Android, and FoodShiner is completely free.
FoodShiner is free with optional tips. Fridgea, NoWaste, Pantry Check, KitchenPal and Smantry have free plans with limits on items or lists.
Fridgea, NoWaste, KitchenPal, Fango and FridgeBuddy list receipt scanning or receipt import.
NoWaste, KitchenPal, Fango and Smantry are on Android as well as iPhone. Fridgea, FoodShiner, FridgeBuddy and Pantry Check are Apple-only today.
Fridgea, FoodShiner, Fango and FridgeBuddy say they work without an account, keeping your data on your device or in iCloud.
Free to download. Your first reminder is a minute away.
Free on iPhone & iPad · No account needed
All product names are trademarks of their owners. Fridgea is not affiliated with the other apps listed.
