Expiry Journal vs ExpiryMeter
Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both apps, side by side — with what reviewers say about each.
Expiry Journal
Manage and track expiry dates for various items like food, drinks, and coupons. Set up multiple alerts to prevent wastage and share lists with friends and family for collaborative management.
- Local database for item tracking
- Customizable expiry alerts
- Shareable lists for collaboration
- Categorization of items
- Reduce item wastage
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2 Databases serve different functions: Local Database - Keep track of your items' (e.g. food, drink, coupon) expiry date by categories. Setup 3 alert at designated time before the item expires. Get rid of wastage due to unaware expired items. Share Database - Share list of items, sync expiry information and co-manage the items with friends and families.
ExpiryMeter
This app helps you manage food expiry dates and create prioritized grocery shopping lists. It uses a color-coded system to quickly show what needs to be eaten soon and allows for easy list sharing.
- Track food expiry and best-before dates
- Color-coded expiry status
- Prioritized grocery shopping lists
- Add notes and icons to items
- Notifications for food expiring soon
- Share shopping lists
- Duplicate past purchases
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ExpiryMeter is a free app for iPhone and iPad, available in Spanish and English, very simple and intuitive, and packing two functions: • EXPIRYMETER: To keep under control the Expiration or the Best-Before dates of the food you have at home. • GROCERY SHOPPING LIST: To keep updated your running Grocery Shopping List, prioritized and always at hand. These two functions match two simple gestures proposed by United Nations’ Food and Agriculture Organization to help reduce food waste. Every year more than a billion tons of food are thrown away, wasting a third of the food produced for human consumption. Halving food waste by 2030 is one of the 17 Sustainable Development Goals set by the UN. EXPIRYMETER This first function allows you to manage the list of food stored at home. It sorts food by their Expiry or Best-Before dates and shows the number of days left until that date. In addition, a color code allows to see, in a quick glance, if the food Expiry or Best-Before date has already been exceeded, or how far it is. Its operation is very simple: — Add food to the list: Tap + and write its name, the Expiry date or the Best-Before date and the quantity purchased. Choose a food icon and add a note if you wish. — Food details: It shows every detail of each food, and the background color points out if it has already expired (red). Or if it will expire in the next 7 days (orange), between 8 and 15 days (brown), between 16 and 30 days (green) or after more than 30 days (blue). — Edit the data of a food: Tap on the tab of the food to be modified. — Remove food from the list: Tap 'Edit' or swipe the food card to the left, and press 'Delete’. — Sort the Shopping List by 'Date', by 'Food type' or by 'Name': Tap on the 'Menu' and choose one of the options. — Add a food to the Grocery Shopping List, from the ExpiryMeter: Swipe the food card to the right, touch ‘To buy', and that food will be automatically added to the Shopping List. — Duplicate a food that you already have in the ExpiryMeter: If you have repurchased any of the foods that you already have in the ExpiryMeter, swipe the card of that food to the right and tap 'Duplicate'. — Activate Notifications: Tap on the 'Menu' icon and choose whether you want to activate or deactivate notifications. With 'Notifications on', at 8:00 in the morning a 'Food to eat soon' alert will appear in the event that there are less than 4 days left before the Expiry or Best-Before date of any food. — Share the list: Tap on the 'Menu' icon and select 'To share'. GROCERY SHOPPING LIST To keep your grocery shopping list always updated, prioritized and at hand. Keeping the list updated is simple and intuitive: — Add to Shopping List: Tap + and write the name of the product to buy, and add a note if you wish. And choose an icon for the food type to sort the shopping list by 'Food type'. — Do I have to buy it right away?: Tap on one of the three buttons, depending on the purchase priority: High priority (dark blue), medium (blue), low (light blue). — Edit the details of any product: Just tap on the product. — Remove food from the list: Tap 'Edit' or swipe with your finger the food card to the left, and press 'Delete’. — Mark on the list the products already 'purchased': You can mark on the list the products as you are buying them. Swipe the product card to the right, and a blue validation icon will appear with a question mark; touch it and the 'Already purchased' mark will appear in the blue circle of that product. Or tap on the product card and press 'Yes' in the 'Already purchased?' section. — Remove the products marked as 'Already purchased': Tap on the 'Menu' and choose the option 'Remove the purchased'. — Sort the Shopping List by 'Purchase Priority' or by 'Food type': Tap on the 'Menu' icon and choose one or the other option. Initially, the list is sorted by 'Purchase Priority'. — Share the Grocery Shopping List: Tap on the 'Menu' and select 'To share' option.
Screenshots
Verdict
The clearest difference is review sentiment: Expiry Journal at 80% against ExpiryMeter's 40%. Expiry Journal also leads on iOS requirement (14.1 vs 16.0). ExpiryMeter's advantage is ads (none vs shown) and monetization model (free vs ad-supported). On price, update cadence, in-app purchases and device support there is nothing between them.
Scored on Price · Rating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings · Update frequency · Ads · In-app purchases · Monetization · Best chart rank · Devices · Requires iOS
Both are free to download. Neither carries in-app purchases, so what you see is what you pay.
Expiry Journal ships an update every 5 months, ExpiryMeter every 8 months. Both last shipped on November 3, 2026.
| Parameter | Expiry Journal | ExpiryMeter |
|---|---|---|
| Price | Free | Free |
| Rating | 4.7 (47 ratings) — better | — |
| Positive reviews | 80.0% of reviews — better | 40.0% of reviews |
| Number of ratings | 47 — better | — |
| Update frequency | Every 5 months — better | Every 8 months |
| Ads | Yes | No — better |
| In-app purchases | No | No |
| Monetization | Ad-supported | Free — better |
| Devices | iPhone, iPad, iPod — better | iPhone, iPad |
| Requires iOS | 14.1 — better | 16.0 |
| Further details — not scored | ||
| Size | 37 MB | 14 MB |
| Age rating | 4+ | 4+ |
| Developer | Fung Yiu Fu | Francisco Lara Ruiz |
Customer experience
Expiry Journal
ExpiryMeter
In-app purchases
Expiry Journal
No in-app purchases
ExpiryMeter
No in-app purchases
Questions
Is Expiry Journal free?
Is ExpiryMeter free?
Do Expiry Journal or ExpiryMeter have ads?
Which is updated more often, Expiry Journal or ExpiryMeter?
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