LaLa Lunchbox vs Meal Planner
Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both apps, side by side — with what reviewers say about each.
LaLa Lunchbox
This app simplifies school lunch planning by involving children in the process. Kids select meals from a customizable food library, which then generates a grocery list for parents. It aims to reduce food waste, save time and money, and encourage healthier eating habits.
- Kid-friendly meal selection with virtual lunchboxes
- Customizable food library
- Automatic grocery list generation
- Dietary-specific food bundles
- Syncs across multiple devices
- Parental controls for food choices
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Featured in The New York Times, Parents, The Washington Post and Mashable! If packing school lunch is a chore, LaLa Lunchbox is the solution! LaLa Lunchbox is the best-selling meal planning app for families and the only one that involves kids in the process of choosing their foods. The app makes lunch planning and packing easier and helps families save time and money. Kids set up virtual lunchboxes and select meals for the week ahead by feeding a hungry monster from a completely customizable Food Library of healthy options. Kids' choices become a handy grocery list for parents. No more "what's for lunch" arguments in the morning or uneaten, wasted food at the end of the day. The app teaches children and their families about packing a better lunch, helps kids get out of a picky eating rut, and syncs with multiple devices. Add or remove foods at any time to control what is available for kids to choose. Our new dietary specific food bundles (nut free, gluten free, dairy free, vegetarian and kosher) are curated by a dietitian and designed to provide lunch packing inspiration for a variety of lifestyles and eating habits. ------------------------------- Use LaLa Lunchbox to ------------------------------- EMPOWER KIDS - They'll love picking their own lunch. SAVE MONEY - No more wasted, unwanted food. SAVE TIME - Make grocery shopping a breeze. ----------------------------- Key Features ----------------------------- 1. Monsters and lunchboxes can be customized by kids. 2. Extensive, completely customizable library of fruits, veggies, proteins and snacks. 3. Always updated, easy-to-use grocery shopping list. 4. One click sync between multiple iOS devices. 5. Complete parental control over available food choices and number of allowable items in lunchboxes. 6. Foods curated by dietitian available in dietary-specific bundles designed to fit a variety of lifestyles and be allergy friendly. 7. Easily save any meal to a library of favorites for quick access. 8. Easily share favorite meals with friends via Twitter, Facebook and email. 9. No third-party advertising ---------------------------- What Others Are Saying ---------------------------- "A slick, fun little app that helps parents and children plan meals together." - The New York Times "LaLa Lunchbox can be just what your picky eater needs to develop a healthy lifestyle." - Parents.com "With this handy app your kids get involved in their lunch and may even get excited about eating healthier." - The Washington Post "You'll love the lunch-packing organization that LaLa Lunchbox provides." - Parenting.com "With LaLa Lunchbox, you can take a deep breath and know that help is an app away." - Mashable "This super handy resource helps you come up with ideas and keep track of lunch-packing for your brood." - Cool Mom Tech --------------------------- LaLa Lunchbox was created by an MBA mom who was looking for a solution that would make planning lunches for her school-aged daughter easier. It teaches children about smart food choices and helps picky eaters broaden their horizons. Join us on Facebook: http://facebook.com/lalalunchbox Find more lunch inspiration on Instagram: http://instagram.com/lalalunchbox Follow us on Twitter: http://twitter.com/lalalunchbox Important Message For Parents: This app is free to use with a robust library of food items to choose from but dietary-specific food bundles and blogger food bundles require payment. You may restrict in-app purchases by disabling them on your device. By downloading this app you agree to LaLa Lunchbox's Privacy Policy and Terms of Service at http://lalalunchbox.com/privacy and http://lalalunchbox.com/terms-of-service/.
Meal Planner
Plan your weekly meals, manage your pantry inventory, and generate smart grocery lists. Import recipes from various sources, track expiring items, and reduce food waste with this intuitive kitchen organizer.
- Import recipes from websites, photos, or text
- Automatically map ingredients to pantry items
- Plan weekly meals and generate grocery lists
- Update pantry inventory after shopping
- Track pantry, fridge, and freezer items
- Get alerts for expiring items
- Scan barcodes or take photos to log items
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Plan meals, organize your pantry, and save time. Stop losing your favorite recipes or buying the same items twice. With Meal Master Plan, plan weekly meals, manage your pantry, and import recipes from anywhere — all in one app. Import recipes from anywhere Scan a photo from a cookbook, paste a link from a food blog, or type from memory — your recipes are saved instantly. Ingredients are automatically matched with your pantry items, so you always know what’s available when it’s time to cook. Smart grocery and pantry management Track what you already have, what’s expiring soon, and what you need to restock. Generate smart grocery lists in seconds, and after shopping, update your inventory automatically with your purchases. Avoid duplicates, reduce waste, and shop more efficiently. Key features: • Import recipes from websites, photos, or text • Automatically map ingredients to pantry items • Plan weekly meals and generate grocery lists • Update your inventory after shopping • Track pantry, fridge, freezer, and household products • Get alerts before items expire • Scan barcodes or take photos to log items instantly • Fast, simple, and intuitive interface Try free for 1 month Get full access to all features with a 1-month free trial — plenty of time to fully test the app and organize your kitchen with confidence. Cancel anytime, hassle-free. If you forget, you can request a refund directly from the app. Take control of your kitchen, reduce food waste, and simplify your daily life. Download Meal Master Plan today. Terms of Use: https://www.apple.com/legal/internet-services/itunes/dev/stdeula/
Screenshots
Verdict
The clearest difference is update cadence: Meal Planner at every 5 days against LaLa Lunchbox's every 3 months. Meal Planner also leads on rating (4.6 vs 4.3). LaLa Lunchbox's advantage is review sentiment (71% vs 57%) and iOS requirement (11.3 vs 16.0). On price, ratings volume, ads and in-app purchases 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. LaLa Lunchbox sells 10 one-off in-app purchases and Meal Planner sells 10 in-app purchases, starting at $0.99 per 7 days. Whichever you choose, the download price is not the number that matters.
Meal Planner holds the better App Store score, 4.6 against 4.3. Both are backed by a comparable volume of ratings — 28 and 20 respectively. Written reviews complicate that: 71% of LaLa Lunchbox's written reviews are positive against 57% of Meal Planner's, so the app with the better star average is not the one people write more warmly about.
LaLa Lunchbox ships an update every 3 months, Meal Planner every 5 days. The most recent releases landed on November 1, 2026 and November 7, 2026 respectively.
| Parameter | LaLa Lunchbox | Meal Planner |
|---|---|---|
| Price | Free | Free |
| Rating | 4.3 (28 ratings) | 4.6 (20 ratings) — better |
| Positive reviews | 71.4% of reviews — better | 57.1% of reviews |
| Number of ratings | 28 — better | 20 |
| Update frequency | Every 3 months | Every 5 days — better |
| Ads | No | No |
| In-app purchases | Yes | Yes |
| Monetization | Free with in-app purchases | Free with in-app purchases |
| Devices | iPhone, iPod — better | iPhone |
| Requires iOS | 11.3 — better | 16.0 |
| Further details — not scored | ||
| Size | 45 MB | 170 MB |
| Age rating | 4+ | 17+ |
| Developer | LaLa Lunchbox, LLC | Francois Thibault |
Customer experience
LaLa Lunchbox
Meal Planner
Bugs and requests
LaLa Lunchbox
Reported bugs
17 issues- App closes when name is picked
- App won't open/crashes on home screen
- Buttons don't work (DONE button)
- Crashing and not working for months
- Photos for added foods disappear
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- Monster covers last 2 categories on iPhone 4s
- Cannot delete or edit lunchboxes
- Items deleted keep reappearing
- Grocery list check-off not working
- App not saving meals after iOS8 update
- Custom items cannot be edited
- Cannot change category after choosing a pic
- Saved in wrong category automatically
- Cannot add photo to item later
- Displaying only 10 characters in lunchbox
- Only shows pic, not label, after selection
- App not syncing between devices
Requested features
20 requests- Add a drink section
- Increase item limit per lunchbox
- Allow editing of custom items
- Add more food items/categories
- Customize food categories
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- Combine fruit and vegetable sections
- Add a notes section
- Add a sandwich builder
- Allow adding photos from the internet
- Email/print completed lunchboxes
- Swipe to switch between kids/days
- Add more animations/awards
- Allow permanent deletion of added items
- Sync food databases across apps
- Add a carbohydrates section
- Optimize for specific devices (e.g., iPhone X)
- Allow adding items to multiple categories
- Add a snack box option for half-days
- View all lunchbox items at once
- Label food items clearly in lunchbox view
Meal Planner
Not enough reviews yet to summarise bugs or requests.
In-app purchases
LaLa Lunchbox
- Aviva Wittenberg$1.99
- Gina Kirk$1.99
- Sylina Lunches$1.99
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- Gluten Free$2.99
- Vegetarian$2.99
- Dairy Free$2.99
- Nut Free$2.99
- Kosher by Ronnie Fein$2.99
- Top 8 Free Allergy Friendly$4.99
- Egg Ideas & Recipes$4.99
Meal Planner
- Premium Weekly$0.997 Days
- Weekly Access Pass$1.997 Days
- Monthly Access Pass1 Month trial$3.991 Month
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- Premium Semi-annual$7.996 Months
- Premium Yearly7 Days trial$9.991 Year
- 6-months Pass7 Days trial$9.996 Months
- Premium Yearly1 Month trial$17.991 Year
- Annual Access Pass1 Month trial$19.991 Year
- Lifetime access$29.99
- Lifetime access$39.99









