Comparison

RECIPEE ARCADE vs Meals

Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both apps, side by side — with what reviewers say about each.

Head to head
About

RECIPEE ARCADE

Extracts recipes from videos and links, organizing them into clean ingredient lists and steps. Offers vegetarian/vegan options, meal planning, and a shopping list generator. Gamified cooking experience with XP and leaderboards.

Highlights
  • Extract recipes from videos and links
  • AI ingredient and step identification
  • Vegetarian and vegan recipe conversion
  • Cook mode with large steps
  • Meal planning and shopping list generation
  • Gamified cooking with XP and leaderboards
  • Pantry management and recipe suggestions
Features
Read full description

Recipee pulls any recipe out of TikTok, Instagram, YouTube, Facebook or a food blog – as a clean ingredient list with steps, without pop-ups and without the life story on top. And because cooking is more fun when it counts, every dish you cook earns XP. All in a retro arcade look. ▶ RECIPES FROM ANYWHERE • Share or paste a link: videos, reels, posts, blogs, Reddit and PDFs • A photo of a cookbook page or a handwritten note? Works too, just like pasted text • The AI picks out ingredients, amounts, steps, times and nutrition • If the source leaves out an amount, Recipee estimates it and marks it as estimated • Recipes in other languages are translated automatically ▶ VEGETARIAN OR VEGAN WITH ONE TAP Recipes with meat, fish or eggs also come as a vegetarian and a vegan variant: matching substitutes with their own amounts, adapted steps and the difference in nutrition. Set your diet and Recipee shows you the right version straight away. ▶ STRESS-FREE COOKING • Cook mode with large steps, and the screen stays on • Timers right inside the steps, with a reminder even when the app is closed • Scale servings with one tap • Save recipes as PDF or print them ▶ PLAN AND SHOP • "Next up": your queue for this week's dishes • The meal planner rolls a weekly plan for you • Shopping list from one or several recipes, scaled to your servings, with export to Bring! • Pantry: take a photo of your fridge, Recipee recognises the ingredients and finds matching recipes. Whatever needs using up comes first • Filter by kitchen equipment (air fryer, oven …), budget, allergies and ingredients you don't like ▶ LEVEL UP IN THE KITCHEN • XP for every dish you cook, bonus for cooking streaks • Rate dishes, upload a photo, unlock badges • Seasons, leaderboards and monthly champions • Your arcade initials and emoji as your profile ▶ COOK TOGETHER • Bubbles: private groups for family, flatmates or friends, with their own leaderboard • Co-cooks get a share of the XP • Feed: follow other cooks and see what they make • Report content and block users at any time ▶ YOUR STYLE, YOUR DATA • Four themes, AI cover images in several styles, 10 languages • No email needed: a recovery key is all it takes • Delete your account right in the settings • Also works in the browser and as a Telegram bot, everything stays in sync Recipee is free. Questions or ideas? Write to contact@recipee.eu.

About

Meals

Organize family meals on a shared calendar, collect recipes from various sources, and generate smart shopping lists. Features include on-device translation and hands-free cooking mode for a seamless meal planning experience.

Highlights
  • Shared family meal calendar
  • Recipe collection from web and camera
  • Automatic shopping list generation
  • On-device language translation
  • Hands-free cooking mode
  • Offline access
Features
Read full description

Plan meals with your household on a beautiful calendar. Collect recipes from anywhere—scan with your camera, paste a link, import from Paprika, or type one in. Build smart shopping lists and share everything instantly with family through iCloud. Plan together Plan what you're cooking days ahead, track eating out, and repeat regular favorites. Everyone stays in sync, offline or online. Your recipes, any language Collect recipes from YouTube, Instagram, TikTok, Pinterest, blogs, and cookbooks. When a recipe arrives in another language, MealPlan translates it on your device so anyone can read it in theirs. Smarter shopping Build your list from planned meals and pantry staples. MealPlan groups ingredients and tracks portions—then send to Bring! or copy anywhere. Cook hands-free Step through recipes using voice commands in Cooking Mode. Perfect when your hands are messy in the kitchen. Share your household Invite family to a shared household via iCloud. Everyone adds recipes, plans meals, and shops from the same list—synced instantly. Works everywhere iPhone, iPad, and Mac. Check your meal from the menu bar. Add to your calendar app. Use Spotlight or Siri. Home screen widgets. Print recipes. Offline-first so you can plan anytime. Your privacy matters All your recipes and plans stay on your devices and iCloud. Nothing goes to third parties. No ads, no trackers, no surprise accounts. Features • Calendar meal planner • Recipe scanner & link import • On-device translation • Nutrition tracking (calories & macros) • Hands-free Cooking Mode • iCloud household sharing • Home screen widgets • Spotlight & Siri integration • Print recipes & plans • Offline-first design

Screenshots

RECIPEE ARCADE4 screens
Meals4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is review sentiment: RECIPEE ARCADE at 100% against Meals's 0%. RECIPEE ARCADE also leads on in-app purchases (none vs 1) and update cadence (every 2 days vs weekly). On price, ads 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

CostPrice · In-app purchases · Ads · Monetization

Both are free to download. Meals sells 1 one-off in-app purchase. RECIPEE ARCADE asks for nothing beyond the download.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

RECIPEE ARCADE ships an update every 2 days, Meals weekly. The most recent releases landed on October 31, 2026 and November 6, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard5 real differences · 5 level
RECIPEE ARCADE versus Meals: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterRECIPEE ARCADEMeals
PriceFreeFree
Rating—5.0 (1 ratings) — better
Positive reviews100.0% of reviews — better0.0% of reviews
Number of ratings—1 — better
Update frequencyEvery 2 days — betterWeekly
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesNo — betterYes
MonetizationFree — betterFree with in-app purchases
DevicesiPhone, iPad, iPodiPhone, iPad, Mac, Apple Watch — better
Requires iOS15.0 — better26.0
Further details — not scored
Size5 MB100 MB
Age rating4+4+
DeveloperLjubomir KieferHolger Krupp

Customer experience

RECIPEE ARCADE

Written reviews1 reviews
Positive100.0%
Neutral0.0%
Negative0.0%

Meals

All ratings1 ratings
Positive100.0%
Neutral0.0%
Negative0.0%
Written reviews1 reviews
Positive0.0%
Neutral0.0%
Negative100.0%

In-app purchases

None

RECIPEE ARCADE

No in-app purchases

1 purchases

Meals

One-time1
  • Unlimited Planning$8.99

Questions

Is RECIPEE ARCADE free?
RECIPEE ARCADE is free to download, with no in-app purchases.
Is Meals free?
Meals is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Do RECIPEE ARCADE or Meals have ads?
Neither RECIPEE ARCADE nor Meals shows ads.
Which is updated more often, RECIPEE ARCADE or Meals?
RECIPEE ARCADE ships an update every 2 days, and Meals weekly. Most recently, RECIPEE ARCADE was updated on October 31, 2026 and Meals on November 6, 2026.

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