# PlateJoy — user reviews > 111 indexed App Store user reviews of PlateJoy by PlateJoy, Inc., rated 4.67/5 from 1,872 ratings. - Source: https://appshunter.io/ios/app/platejoy/id1105164430/reviews - App overview in markdown: https://appshunter.io/ios/app/platejoy/id1105164430.md - Rating breakdown: 5★ 1,555 · 4★ 174 · 3★ 46 · 2★ 31 · 1★ 66 ## What do users think of PlateJoy? Overall sentiment: neutral **Pros** - 🚀 Helpful features - 👍 Easy to use - 🍴 Helps reduce grocery costs - 🍽️ Delicious recipes - 🧠 Expanded cooking skills - 🕰️ Time-saving **Cons** - 🐛 App crashes and freezes - 💰 Expensive subscription - 📋 Limited recipe options - 🔒 Inflexible and rigid - 🛒 Inaccurate shopping lists - 🌍 Not suitable for international users **Commonly reported bugs** - Login screen issues - Instacart integration problems - Recipes disappearing after updates **Most requested features** - Add own recipes and photos - Improved calendar and scheduling - More dietary customization options - Nutritional tracking for off-app meals - Easier navigation and UI improvements ## Newest reviews (18 of 111) ### 4/5 — Very helpful *2023-06-08, version 1.9.5* This app allowed me to eat healthy meals easily and was very easy to follow the instructions ### 2/5 — Better options out there *2023-01-26* I thought I was being smart when I paid for the annual subscription, but I found out a few months in, the recipes within are extremely limited and many are even taken from elsewhere. How many times can you suggest I put a different protein on a store-bought salad kit? Other services that are similar let you filter and show many more and better options, this one seemingly recycles the same options over and over again and doesn’t let you expand any further unless you put in specific keywords. I found it extremely limiting and not worth it. There are other sites where I could simply collect recipes that are similar or even the same in some cases. Totally not worth the price. ### 2/5 — Inflexible and limited *2022-12-30, version 1.9.5* Ingredients list is limited Cannot add recipe unless Ingredients are in their database Limited measurements : for example, cannot put in no. of pounds of boneless skinless chicken thighs. Instead I must use actual number of raw chicken thighs. Great concept but horribly executed. ### 1/5 — User Unfriendly! *2022-07-20, version 1.9.4* I hate this app! It is terrible to navigate - difficult to figure out how to start a new menu. It brings up all the old recipes and doesn’t give options to just start a new week. It also keeps offering the same old recipes constantly. This is the worst meal plan app I have ever used! ### 3/5 — Pretty good but very rigid *2022-07-11, version 1.9.4* I didn’t like how rigid it was. Not everyone’s life or diet is constant. Maybe you want a new diet. Maybe today you want more calories after playing sports. Maybe you went out to eat and want to cut back on carbs for a few days. Or maybe this week you don’t have time to meal prep because you have a life or something. This app doesn’t really support any of that. Every option you choose is locked in for the rest of your life. It’s not easy to quickly change settings on the fly. I should be able to find a low carb dinner without committing to a low carb marriage. I also would have liked an easier ability to import and customize recipes from other sources. This app does have a lot of positives. I do like the visual interface and ease of picking and seeing meals. If you’re new to meal planning and don’t really know what you want, then this app is probably great for you. It chooses meals for you and basically skips you right to the grocery step, but it does it without much input from you. ### 1/5 — Can’t stop monthly charges. Barely usable. *2022-07-07, version 1.9.4* The interface is nice-looking but beyond the most basic functionality it’s unusable. There are no useful settings to adjust, no obvious way to get support/help, and the app crashes ( I have to re-download it) every single time I open it. Don’t get a subscription because you won’t be able to change or cancel it. I am going to have to block the payments from my bank. ### 3/5 — Used to be a 5, recipes have gotten more “basic” *2022-07-05, version 1.9.4* This was a 5 up to around a year ago, it was very creative and had great recipes on how to make your own dressings etc. Recent recipes I’ve selected have asked me to “microwave a red bell pepper” and “buy salad with chipotle dressing”….. where’s the recipe to make the dressing? Disappointing. ### 3/5 — App needs work *2022-06-29, version 1.9.4* 4 star service, 2 star app (averaging 3 stars) App is janky. FAQ page won’t load and requires a force restart. I can’t change my meal preference settings (it’s stuck at brown rice and whole wheat pasta and who likes those). Buttons are slow and sometimes unresponsive. Adjusting meal schedule is not easy on mobile (I adjust on computer). Etc etc etc like whoa Food is pretty good tho. ### 2/5 — Miss the old app and ownership *2022-04-30, version 1.9.3* Since the app was sold to new ownership, I have been disappointed by the menu options. The algorithms seem to show me the same or very similar meal options week after week. I used to get really good menu options which now I can’t even find if I purposefully search for them. Glad I printed off most of the old recipes and saved them so I can just make my own weekly menus. ### 1/5 — Used to be great!! Not so much anymore. *2022-04-05, version 1.9.3* For years this was my absolute favorite app/site for planning healthy meals. Sometime last year they made some “upgrades” or whatever they want to call it. They removed so many options/features that now I no longer use their service at all. They have been telling me for months that they have been listening to our feedback and will be rolling out an update soon but so far……nothing. In the meantime, I have basically stopped using their app/site and sadly looking for other options. ### 1/5 — I shouldn’t have to pay in order to eat healthier. *2022-04-02, version 1.9.3* Pretty self explanatory. ### 4/5 — Almost my favorite app *2022-04-01* I first used this app two years ago and back then somehow you had more options for recipes and dietary restrictions. I dont even understand how the app lost features since Ive came back to it. So thats my first concern. Secondly I think this app is really misunderstanding their best market. Instead of focusing entirely on martha stewart moms who already know how to cook and what to buy at the grocery store they should start catering to college kids and bachelors that dont know what they’re doing. Because this app is GREAT for us. I just moved and one of the recipes calls for black pepper. I dont have it bc i just moved and it wasnt in the shopping list. You can say that I probably should and youre right, but this is what I use the app for. You also should probably alwyas have cooking oil in your home but they remind you to buy that. maybe its just bc im a young bachelor with an allergy but I wish the app focused more on that (especially when it comes to cheaper meals) bc we have way more to gain from this app then a suburban mom thats been cooking every day for 10-15 years already. With all that being said the idea behind this is amazing and makes me life A LOT easier. ### 1/5 — So not picky enough for me!! *2022-03-04, version 1.9.3* At age 66 ACORDING to foods you chose I shouldn’t be alive. Fruite I chose -NONE CHERRY SWEET ON DESERT YES Or lemon pudding , sherbet ice cream. Lemonade is a yes. Vegies (no seeds) tomato sauce on pizza yes. French fries (air fried) white bread & pasta motz cheese, Parmesan cheese ,cheddar. Ramen noodles , plain spaghetti with or without butter. Ham/cheese sandwiches or grilled cheese.Waffles or pizza I live on. I see very little here & no Mac n cheese. ### 2/5 — App almost there *2022-02-12* Could you please fix the calendar layout where you drag and drop recipes? The iPad format is messed up after the latest updates. Could you please provide the ability to add a recipe AFTER a menu is created? Things change you know... if the functionality is there, it's not intuitive. Latest review after recent updates: The app needs some serious user acceptance testing to get it back to its former performance level. Old review: Love the app but would be great if developers could fix: - You cannot add your own recipe when editing a menu. You can only add your own recipe before create menu. It really stinks to have to recreate a menu to include your own recipe vs. editing the menu to add it. - The print function does not appear after you create printer friendly version. It used to work but not after app update. You can see and scroll but not print from iPad. ### 2/5 — I hate to leave but this doesn’t work for me anymore *2022-02-09, version 1.9.3* I’ve used PlateJoy for years, but after the revamp I’ve decided I have to find something else. None of the meal plans fit with the way I would like to eat. The “balanced path” adds fruit to every meal and I have no way to remove it. I can’t remove meals from “upcoming” like I could before if I didn’t like them. If you pick short cook times you get nothing but salads for lunch and dinner. I don’t know why changes were made to the way the app was run for years, but I’ve given it a chance and just don’t want to use this anymore. ### 3/5 — Pls fix Instacart integration *2022-01-31, version 1.9.2* I love you all for simplifying dinner for me. Thank you for planning all of my meals and my groceries. I was SOOOOO excited about the Instacart connection but woof it’s simply not working. It send all the categories over but doesn’t seem to understand quantity. So if platejoy calls for 16oz of spaghetti, Instacart will read that as 16 bags of pasta (note: a bag of pasta is 16oz so you end up with 256oz of pasta unless you fix it). Haaaaaalp!!!!! ### 1/5 — Update is horrible! *2022-01-19, version 1.9.2* I’ve been using PlateJoy for over a year to control my diabetes. The app was recommended by my registered dietitian because the option to use the Diabetes Prevention Program to control carb and fat intake. Now the update has eliminated the various diet preferences and is offering recipes that don’t help out with my diabetes. ### 1/5 — September update is AWFUL *2022-01-17, version 1.9.2* Used to be a favorite 5 star app that changed my life and the September 2021 update has made it unusable. Seriously awful experience. Change it back! ## Most critical reviews (10 lowest-rated) ### 1/5 — App doesn’t work *2024-12-01, version 1.9.5* Just downloaded it and ready to sign up. App freezes. No point paying any money for that. ### 1/5 — Expensive AND Feature-Lacking *2024-07-15* Absolutely shocked how bad this app is after reading a multiple lists that named it #1 - they must just have the biggest influencer budget, probably based on their excessive subscription cost for the limited features. I subscribed and asked for a meal plan for a week, which included a grocery list that seemed to call for about 3x as much quantity of ingredients as I could eat in a week. Thankfully now that I am home and planning to cook I cut down on those portions, because once I’ve made these meals I am definitely unsubscribing. There is incredibly little flexibility around the features. You cannot shift days easily from what they set in stone for you. There are no nutritional tracking options for meals you plan off-app. Half of the things on the app that you naturally want to click for more details or options are just pictures. The recipes themselves… aside from the huge portions for what was requested, they also seemingly dont have options for quick meals, which I found only AFTER shopping and seeing that the average dinner time was over an hour despite selecting under 20 minutes in my onboarding. Save your money and go elsewhere unless you just need an expensive recipe book. ### 1/5 — Was a fan... *2024-01-26, version 1.9.5* I was a FAN of this app. It changed my life at first. Had it for a few years, but it changed. You can't see all recipes available, when you look at your past meals, only 5 shows. Right now, I want to see all the recipes that the app can give you, the filter are DINNER + ALL RECIPES and only 12 recipes are showing. Not a lot of choice of recipes anymore. The custom recipes you can't add a picture, your own ingredients, you can't delete a recipe... for this price, it is really ridiculous. I found another app that solved all my problems with this app, for a ridiculously lower price. ### 1/5 — Waste of money *2023-09-09, version 1.9.5* There are free apps that do this better. Minimal anything. ### 1/5 — Buggy app *2023-09-09, version 1.9.5* Downloaded to try it out. Immediately hung when trying to browse recipes and look at nutritional info. No way to exit other than to kill the app. ### 1/5 — Waste of money. *2023-01-09, version 1.9.5* Not worth the cost. Poor customer service. ### 1/5 — Imperial only *2023-01-08, version 1.9.5* This app isn’t really suitable for international users. All measurements are in imperial, with no option to view in metric. I guess that’s ok for the US, Liberia and Burma. ### 1/5 — No Instacart Connection *2023-01-02, version 1.9.5* I was really excited to try this app. We’re trying to cook more and already big Instacart users. This seemed like the perfect solution. No Instacart connection. When I I asked…they said we’re still working on it. Then why make it a big selling point. False advertising. ### 1/5 — Waste of money, generic recipes, boring outcome *2022-10-07, version 1.9.4* 1- You can get the exact meal plan set up on the Albertsons Grocery Store app for FREE and with option to easily add it to your cart for drive-up or delivery. Plus more varied and less limited boring recipes. 2- They don’t meal prep staples, like stocks, or sauces, or quick pickling (which if you want flavor in your meal prepping you’re gonna need those items) I wasted my $$$ 🤷‍♀️ ### 1/5 — Where are the recipe choices? *2022-08-17, version 1.9.4* I was interested in this app to help me choose different recipes each week and add variety to my family’s meals. The variety is extremely low, I cannot browse through lots of different recipes and it seems like I only have about 15 options to choose for dinner week after week with no ability to “load more” if none are good enough. I searched for “spaghetti squash” and only a single recipe came up. I find it hard to believe there is only one spaghetti squash recipe in the entire database, but honestly it might be the case because I can’t seem to get to more recipes ever. Very disappointed, especially after paying for a very expensive subscription. ## Most praised reviews (10 highest-rated) ### 5/5 — So helpful *2025-01-28, version 1.9.5* All the features are organized well and so helpful. Keeps me on track throughout the week and UX is great ### 5/5 — Helps reduce grocery costs *2024-07-21, version 1.9.5* This app has inflation proofed my grocery shopping. It helps me keep track of what I have so I only purchase what I need. I’ve learned to cook with so many different ingredients and we have tried new foods while keeping our costs low. ### 5/5 — Easy *2021-10-05, version 1.9.0* The menu is great and easy to follow instructions. My family loves it and it’s very healthy. The shopping list makes my life much simpler. No more guessing what to make and ending up making the same thing over and over. ### 5/5 — Greatest Meal Planning App Ever *2021-09-22, version 1.9.0* Seriously life changing. Best app ever. Sooo easy to use, yet so so many customizations of you want them. And the recipes are awesome. I’ve found so many of my favorite easy meals through this app. Can’t rec enough. Absolutely worth the price. ### 5/5 — Connection to InstaCart is a + *2021-09-01, version 1.9.0* LOVE the fact that there is a pantry check prior to shopping. The connection to IC makes this so worth it ### 5/5 — Great app, decent recipes *2021-08-13, version 1.8.5* I got this app so that I could take meal planning off of my to-do list, and it’s really excellent for that purpose. I appreciate that I can choose multiple dietary restrictions instead of just one thing. The recipes aren’t very adventurous, but that’s ok. I am able to easily adjust spices and seasonings as needed in the recipes. My only complaint is that the password input is incompatible with apple’s saved passwords. This is really a very minor inconvenience, but it would be nice if it worked like all my other apps. ### 5/5 — Love PlateJoy *2021-07-26, version 1.8.5* I am enjoying my journey to a healthier lifestyle. With the PlateJoy tools it has been one of the most enjoyable experiences. The recipes are tailored for my health needs and they are so delicious too. I am able to adjust the difficulty or complexity of the recipes to my cooking skills also. I gain satisfaction from creating beautiful food and PlateJoy recipes are that great!! Also the weekly coaching and videos are so inspirational. They have helped me to keep building on my goals. ### 5/5 — I *should* be getting paid *2021-06-21, version 1.8.5* I’m such a huge fan of this app and service. I work in the service industry and tell clients on a daily basis how great it is. I’ve lost 30lbs with the help of PlateJoy, I’ve learned how to eat a healthy vegan diet and cook interesting meals. In regards to meal delivery services, PlateJoy avoids pounds of plastic waste a week. I couldn’t be happier with it. Okay that’s a white lie… I do wish they’d be a little more forthright with cook times, they’re frequently off by upward of a half hour on dinners/batch meals. I truly do not care though, it’s fine. ### 5/5 — Best meal planner app by far!! *2021-06-02, version 1.8.5* I've been searching for meal planner apps for a while. If you want simple, sleek, and user-friendly, pick this one. It actually takes your dietary needs into account, too. My partner and I are flexitarian (mostly veggie with occasional meat) and I was happily surprised to see they have that option! Usually in apps like this you're either omnivore, vegetarian or vegan. It's been a joy to use! Thank you guys!! ### 5/5 — Newly Vegan and no longer confused *2021-05-18, version 1.8.5* Recently becoming vegan and not being familiar around a kitchen, I needed help. This app has made my journey a breeze. I couldn't be more satisfied! --- *Data collected daily from the US App Store and indexed by [AppsHunter](https://appshunter.io/). User reviews are verbatim App Store reviews. Ratings, prices and chart positions refresh continuously; this snapshot is from 2026-06-10.*