Love the idea of Mealime. Tired of the paywall?
If you've hit Mealime's free-plan limit, or you want a planner that starts from your grocery budget and what's already in your kitchen — meet Plento Pasto. Plan as many weeks as you want, free, from a library of 10,000+ family-friendly recipes.
Why families switch from Mealime
Mealime is a solid recipe-first planner. But the reasons people go looking for an alternative are the exact things Plento Pasto was built to do.
10,000+ recipes, not ~1,200
Mealime keeps a small, curated library. Plento Pasto plans from 10,000+ family-friendly recipes across cuisines, so your weeks don't blur together.
Unlimited planning, free
As of mid-2026 Mealime's free plan caps you at a few meal plans a month. Plento Pasto lets you plan every week for free — budget, savings tracker, and kitchen scan included.
Variety, and it learns your family
Thumbs-up and thumbs-down from each family member nudge future plans toward what everyone actually eats — with built-in variety so you're not on a five-recipe loop.
Plans around what you already own
Tell it what's in your kitchen (or snap a photo) and it plans around it — using up what you have before it adds to your list, so you buy less and waste less.
Set a budget, get a week
Give it your weekly grocery number and cooking days; it builds a week of dinners that fits and tracks what you save versus takeout. Budget-first, not recipe-first.
Section-sorted lists, waste subtracted
Every plan becomes a shopping list organized by grocery store section, with pantry items subtracted. Plus members get an interactive checklist to tap off as you shop. (Direct delivery handoff is on our roadmap.)
Plento Pasto vs Mealime, honestly
The short version: Mealime is a recipe app with meal planning. Plento Pasto is a budget planner that starts from your kitchen. Here's how they line up.
| Plento Pasto | Mealime | |
|---|---|---|
| Free weekly planning | Unlimited | Limited (a few plans/month) |
| Recipe library | 10,000+ | ~1,200 |
| Plans to a grocery budget you set | Yes | No |
| Plans around your pantry / cuts waste | Yes | No |
| Tracks what you save | Yes | No |
| Per-family-member ratings & preferences | Yes | Limited |
| Allergy & dietary handling | Yes (hard constraints + validator) | Yes (filters) |
| Shopping list by store section | Yes | Yes |
| Detailed calorie / macro tracking | Not the focus | Yes (Pro) |
| Paid tier | Plus, $5/mo | Pro (around $6/mo) |
| Platforms | iOS, Android & web | iOS + Android |
| Ads | Never | No |
Comparison reflects publicly available information as of mid-2026; features and pricing change — check mealime.com for Mealime's current details. Plento Pasto cost figures are national-average estimates and vary by store and region.
When Mealime might still be your pick: if your main goal is tight calorie and macro tracking, Mealime Pro (or Eat This Much) is more focused on that. Plento Pasto is built around budget and family, not counting macros. We'd rather tell you that up front than pretend we're the answer to everything.
Switching from Mealime
Is Plento Pasto a good Mealime alternative?
Yes, especially if you're on a budget or hit Mealime's free-plan limits. Plento Pasto plans unlimited weeks for free, works to a grocery budget you set, plans around what's already in your kitchen to cut waste, and draws from 10,000+ family-friendly recipes. It's built for the everyday family rather than macro-tracking or a small curated library.
Is Plento Pasto free like Mealime?
More free, actually. As of mid-2026 Mealime's free plan is limited to a few meal plans a month, with Pro required for more. Plento Pasto lets you plan as many weeks as you want for free, with your budget, savings tracker, kitchen scan, and full recipe search included. Plus ($5/month) adds foodie extras like cravings, swaps, and a checklist organized by store section.
Does Plento Pasto plan meals around my budget and pantry, unlike Mealime?
Yes. Mealime is recipe-first: you pick recipes and it builds a list. Plento Pasto is budget-first and pantry-first: you set a weekly grocery number and tell it what's already in your kitchen, and it plans a week that fits and uses what you have before adding new items, which cuts both your bill and your food waste.
Will it work for picky eaters and allergies?
Yes. Allergies are treated as hard constraints and every recipe runs an allergen-safety check, and thumbs-up and thumbs-down from each family member steer future plans toward what your household actually eats.
How do I switch from Mealime to Plento Pasto?
Download Plento Pasto free on the iOS App Store or Google Play, set your household, budget, and cooking days, and generate your first week. There's no import needed because Plento Pasto builds plans for you rather than storing a recipe collection you maintain.
Give your Mealime budget a rest.
Plan this week free — around your kitchen and your number. Less time hunting deals, more time at the table.