Is Mealime really shutting down?
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Yes. Mealime's own App Store release notes say: “Mealime is shutting down on October 21st, 2026. As a farewell thank-you, Pro is now free for everyone. If you're a current Pro subscriber, your subscription will not renew.” Mealime was acquired by Albertsons Companies in 2021, and its users are being pointed to Meals Hub inside Albertsons' grocery apps — Safeway, Vons, Jewel-Osco and Albertsons — which needs an account in one of those store apps.
Can I export my recipes and meal plans out of Mealime first?
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No. Mealime has no export feature, and the shutdown notice does not add one — no way is offered to get recipes, meal plans or grocery lists out. The only route is to copy or screenshot what you want to keep before October 21, 2026, then paste it into whichever app you move to. PantryRx, for one, lets you write or paste in your own recipes.
Which of these is the closest replacement for Mealime?
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PantryRx. It covers the same ground — a weekly plan, an aisle-sorted shopping list, diet profiles and allergy filtering, a step-by-step cooking mode and a grocery delivery hand-off — and it adds pantry-first planning, breakfast and lunch alongside dinner, and an Apple Watch app. All 974 recipes are free, with no tier and no paywall. There is a full side-by-side at allthingsn.com/mealime-alternative/.
Are these apps really free, with no subscription?
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Yes. Every app on this list is free to install, with no recurring fee and no paid tier gating the core features. PantryRx additionally has no ads, no in-app purchases and no account at all — your plans, pantry and preferences stay on the device.
Do they work without an account or an internet connection?
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Largely, yes — that is the point of the list. These apps keep their data on your iPhone rather than on somebody's server, so they keep working on a plane, in a basement supermarket, and after the company behind them changes its mind. Each app's own page states its account, offline and subscription facts in a fact block.
What should I do before October 21, 2026?
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Screenshot the recipes you actually cook, copy your top ten into a plain-text note so they can be pasted later, photograph your usual grocery list, and write down your diet profile and allergy settings so you can re-enter them exactly. Mealime offers no export, so anything you do not copy out by hand goes when the app goes.
