Free plans, actual limits
Last checked August 23, 2026
Our pick · Shio
The best free recipe apps in 2026 for recipes you will keep.
Shio is our free pick when the hard part is importing the recipe: website and photo imports are unlimited, and new accounts get 10 starter social saves followed by 5 each week. Only social recipes you choose to keep count against that allowance.
Websites stay unlimited
Save recipe pages without using Shio’s weekly social allowance.
Photos stay unlimited
Cookbook pages, handwritten cards, and recipe screenshots do not use the social allowance.
Try difficult social saves
Start with 10 social saves, then receive 5 each week. Only recipes you keep count.
Use the saved recipe
Collections, scaling, units, groceries, planning, timers, and cooking tools remain attached to it.
Read the smaller print
Free is easy to advertise. The limit usually appears around recipe six.
One app limits total recipes. Another limits weekly imports. A third keeps the recipe box free but puts scanning, guided cooking, or nutrition behind the subscription. The download button does not tell you which version you are getting.
Choose based on the work you do most. Shio spends its free allowance on social imports while keeping website and photo imports unlimited. Other apps put more of their free value into discovery, communities, or an in-app feed. That is useful, but it solves a different Tuesday-night problem.
What free should still do
Save it, find it, plan it, buy it.
The recipe should not become decorative the moment it enters the app. These current Shio screens show the path from import to an ordinary weeknight dinner.
Bring the recipe in
Share a post, paste a website, or upload the page you photographed.
Put it on the week
Schedule the recipes you saved instead of building a second list somewhere else.
Take it shopping
Add recipe ingredients to one list and check them off at the store.
Our favorite recipes
Try one tonight.
How to compare free plans
Count the recipe you keep, then count what you can do with it.
A generous import limit is not much help if meal planning, groceries, or basic cooking tools disappear afterward.
- 01
List your sources
Social posts, websites, cookbook photos, and handwritten cards trigger different limits in different apps.
- 02
Check the import cap
Look for weekly imports, total recipe limits, scan limits, and whether failed attempts count.
- 03
Check the useful basics
Collections, grocery lists, meal planning, scaling, and cooking mode matter after the recipe is saved.
- 04
Price the upgrade
If you outgrow free, compare the plan you would actually buy, not the largest discount on the page.
Free-plan comparison
Free for which part of cooking?
The apps below all have real free versions. They are generous in different places.
When you need
Typical importer
Shio
Website recipes
Typical importer
May count every saved page toward one weekly or total cap.
Shio
Website imports are currently unlimited on the free plan.
Cookbooks and screenshots
Typical importer
Scanning may require a trial, subscription, or share of the same import allowance.
Shio
Photo imports are currently unlimited and separate from social saves.
Instagram and TikTok
Typical importer
A weekly import allowance may cover the post but not difficult recovery paths.
Shio
10 starter social saves, then 5 each week, with carousel, public-link, audio, and video recovery when needed.
An import fails
Typical importer
The attempt may still reduce the allowance.
Shio
Failed imports and recipes you preview without keeping do not count as saved social imports.
Our pickShio
Difficult free imports
Best when your recipes come from social posts, websites, screenshots, cookbooks, handwriting, or another language.
Samsung Food
Free planning and discovery
The broadest free ecosystem here for community recipes, web access, meal planning, shared lists, and grocery tools.
Deglaze
Free discovery and organizing
Best when you want to follow creators, discover recipes inside the app, and use a strong free organizer before paying for unlimited imports.
Why Shio wins this use case
The free allowance is aimed at the expensive part.
Structured websites and clear photos are inexpensive to recover, so Shio does not put them inside the weekly social limit. The allowance is reserved for posts that may require carousels, creator links, audio, or full video.
Starter allowance
New accounts currently receive 10 social saves before the recurring weekly allowance begins.
Every week
Five new social saves are currently added each week on the free plan.
Only kept recipes count
You can review an import before saving it. Failed imports and recipes you do not keep do not reduce the allowance.
Unlimited free sources
Website and photo imports, including cookbook pages and handwritten cards, are currently unlimited.
Use the free plan on a real recipe
Start with the post you were going to screenshot.
Share it with Shio on iPhone or Android. Review the structured recipe before you decide whether it belongs in your cookbook.
How we compared
Official sources, checked recently.
Features and prices change. “Not documented” means we could not verify it in the company’s current public materials.
- Shio App Store listing ↗
Current Shio free allowances, listed US price, source support, and recipe features.
- Samsung Food free apps ↗
Official availability across mobile, web, browser extension, voice assistants, and supported Samsung appliances.
- Deglaze official site ↗
Official descriptions of its free recipe organizer, discovery tools, social importing, and optional Pro features.
Frequently asked questions
Straight answers.
What is the best free recipe app in 2026?
Shio is our pick for difficult recipe importing because website and photo imports are unlimited and the free plan includes recurring social saves. Compare the limit that applies to the sources you use, then check whether planning, groceries, and cooking tools still work after the recipe is saved.
Is Shio really free?
Yes. New accounts currently receive 10 starter social saves and then 5 each week. Website and photo imports are unlimited, and only social recipes you keep count toward the allowance.
What happens when I use all five weekly social saves?
You can wait for the next weekly allowance or upgrade to Shio Pro for additional social importing. Your existing saved recipes remain in your cookbook.
Do failed Shio imports count?
No. A failed import does not reduce the current social-save allowance. Opening an imported recipe without choosing to keep it does not count either.
What should I compare between free recipe apps?
Check social-import limits, total recipe limits, photo scanning, website imports, meal planning, grocery lists, and what happens when an import fails. The best free plan is the one that stays useful for the sources you save every week.