Tamarin
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Mealime alternative

Mealime has shut down. Here’s how Tamarin compares.

Mealime was discontinued on 21 October 2026, and its users were moved to Meals Hub inside the Albertsons Companies grocery apps. Source. If you used it for weekly plans and a grocery list, here’s what Tamarin does, side by side.

Mealime is best at

Very fast, personalised weekly meal plans (8 diets, 12 allergies, 124 ingredients you could exclude) built from quick in-house recipes, turned into a grocery list sorted by department with delivery.

Before it closed: 4.8★ from 54K ratings on the US App Store; 1M+ downloads on Google Play.

Tamarin is best at

Cooking hands-free: it reads each step aloud and answers your voice, then plans the week, builds a shopping list anyone can open from a link, and reminds you before pantry food expires.

Free (with ads) · PRO $6.99 a month. New accounts get PRO free for 5 cooks or 60 days.

Feature by feature

“Not listed” means we couldn’t find it in Mealime’s store listings or help pages, not that it’s missing.

Tamarin compared with Mealime, feature by feature
FeatureTamarinMealime (until it closed)
Reads the steps aloud Yes

PRO

 Not listed

Not mentioned in its listings or help centre

Source
Hands-free voice commands Yes

PRO · “read step”, “next step”, “go back”, “show ingredients”

 No

“Hands-free” meant waving a hand over the screen

Source
Step-by-step cook mode Yes

Step-by-step view free; guided “Let’s Cook” mode is PRO

 Yes

One instruction at a time, in large text

Source
Built-in recipe catalogue Yes

800 recipes, priced and with nutrition

 Yes

Quick in-house recipes; the size wasn’t stated

Source
Import a recipe from any website Yes

PRO

 Yes

Import a recipe from the web

Source
Meal planner Yes

PRO

 Partly

Weekly meal plans; no calendar view

Source
Shopping list you can share Yes

PRO · share a link; others check items off without an account

 No

Workaround: share one account or print to PDF

Source
Pantry with expiry reminders Yes

PRO · a reminder before anything expires

 Not listed

Not mentioned

Source
Nutrition per recipe Yes

Calories and macros on every recipe; full breakdown is PRO

 Yes

Pro only

Source
Cost per recipe or serving Yes

Free · estimated ingredient cost on every recipe

 No

Its help centre said it couldn’t estimate grocery costs

Source
PlatformsiPhone and AndroidWas on iPhone, Android and the web
PriceFree (with ads) · PRO $6.99 a month. New accounts get PRO free for 5 cooks or 60 days.Was free, with Pro at $2.99 a month; Pro became free for everyone after the shutdown noticeSource

Where Mealime was stronger

  • Mealime built each plan around your diet, allergies and dislikes: 8 diets, 12 allergies and 124 ingredients you could exclude.
  • Its grocery list sent orders to Kroger, Walmart, Instacart and Amazon Fresh.

Where Tamarin is different

  • Tamarin is still available, on iPhone and Android.
  • Tamarin reads each step aloud and answers voice commands. Mealime’s “hands-free” mode meant waving a hand over the screen.
  • Tamarin’s shopping list can be shared with a link. Mealime’s workaround was sharing one account or printing the list.
  • Tamarin shows each recipe’s estimated ingredient cost; Mealime’s help centre said it couldn’t estimate grocery costs.

How Tamarin’s recipes are built

Steps you can follow at a glance

Every recipe is rewritten into short steps in cooking order, one action each. The prep the ingredient list asks for, like chopping, rinsing or softening, comes first as your mise en place. Code checks every number in a step against the original recipe, so the quantities, times and temperatures are the recipe’s own.

The ingredients, in the step that uses themPRO

In guided cooking, each step names its ingredients and shows them beside the step with the amount that step needs. Swap an ingredient for an alternative and the swap follows you through every step.

RemindersPRO

Plan a meal and Tamarin reminds you when it’s time to cook it. Keep a pantry and it reminds you before something expires.

Cost and nutrition, worked out ingredient by ingredient

Each recipe’s estimated cost and nutrition are added up from its ingredient lines, and when some lines couldn’t be counted, the recipe says how many it was based on. An ingredient whose nutrition had to be estimated is marked, and says how. The cost is free on every recipe; the full nutrition breakdown is PRO.

Which should you choose?

Stay with Meals Hub if you shop at an Albertsons-owned store and want to stay where Mealime moved your plans. Choose Tamarin if you want to cook without touching your phone, with each step read aloud and your voice answered, and keep your meal plan, shopping list and pantry in the same app.

Questions

Did Mealime read recipes aloud?
Reading steps aloud: not listed in Mealime's store listings or help pages. Voice commands: no. “Hands-free” meant waving a hand over the screen. Tamarin reads each step aloud and answers commands such as “next step”, “go back” and “show ingredients”, with PRO.
How much did Mealime cost?
Was free, with Pro at $2.99 a month; Pro became free for everyone after the shutdown notice. Tamarin is free with ads; PRO is $6.99 a month, and new accounts get PRO free for 5 cooks or 60 days.
Did Mealime have a meal planner and a shared shopping list?
Meal planner: partly. Weekly meal plans; no calendar view. Shopping list: no. Workaround: share one account or print to PDF. Tamarin has both with PRO, and its list opens from a link for anyone, with no account needed.
Which has more recipes, Tamarin or Mealime?
Mealime: yes. Quick in-house recipes; the size wasn’t stated. Tamarin has 800 recipes, each with an estimated ingredient cost and nutrition, and it imports recipes from any website with PRO.

Sources

Checked on Nov 7, 2026.

Product names are trademarks of their owners. Tamarin isn’t affiliated with or endorsed by Mealime. Apps change: if anything here is out of date, write to [email protected] and we’ll correct it.