I never thought I’d lose one of my favorite apps. I just thought it would be around forever or at least until I found a really good replacement. Well, that day has come… on December 10th, Ziplist will be gone.
I posted about how I use Ziplist- it has an awesome shopping list that sorts items by aisle. It stores my online recipes and with a click I can add the ingredients from that recipe straight to my shopping list. It also used to have a menu planner function, but unfortunately that was discontinued in July.
It was perfect for planning my cooking days and making my weekly shopping lists!
One of my favorite features that I never even mentioned was that I was able to sync my list with DH’s. I would add things to the list and he would go shopping on his way home from work with the most current list already saved in his phone. No need to email him.
So, you can all imagine how I feel right now. I feel lost. Like, how will I function without this app? I’ve become so dependent on it!
Replacements
I started doing some research on replacements… but nothing is perfect…
So, let ‘s go through my list of requirements and then I’ll explain why I chose/didn’t choose certain apps.
My Requirements
- Shared Lists– as I mentioned, DH does the shopping, so it’s important that he can see everything I add to the list. I prefer an app that we can share and I don’t have to actually email him the list
- Mobile Apps– a must. I don’t print out a shopping list anymore. Ever.
- Recipe Box– I want a good way to store the recipes I find online and cook often.
- Recipe to Shopping List– Since my recipes are stored in the app, I want to be able to click a button and add the ingredients I need to my shopping list without flipping back and forth between recipe and list.
- Menu Planner- I didn’t use this feature very often, but it came in super handy when we had a busy week or I wanted to plan meals for a 3-day yom tov.
- Automatically Sort Grocery List- If I add apples to my list I want it to show up under “produce” near the oranges. A mishkabobbled list would be a major step backwards. This is why I am specifically searching for grocery apps and not just list-making apps.
My Reviews
My Plans
Ziplist recommends you switch over to Epicurious. The online version was just like Ziplist, but the mobile app was horrible. So, needless to say I kept searching for sometyhing better.
For now I’m going to use Pepper Plate, even though it doesn’t have a way to share the shopping list. In order to share the shopping list I will just sign into my account on DH’s phone. I will however be on the lookout for an updated Epicurious app and the Copy Me That app.
What app do you use for your grocery lists? Were you also disappointed that Ziplist is going away?
Until next time,
Shaindy
Thank you so much for doing this! I’m going to try Pepper plate, too.
I’m glad you found it helpful!
The loss of Ziplist is devastating. I have tried epicurious and I really like it on the computer but I don’t like the fact that you can’t synch to the app so everything is very separate. I need something with an web clipper. Does Pepper Plate have that?
yes, PepperPlate has a web clipper. I don’t think it’s as good as Ziplist’s but, it worked when I tried it.
In the past few years I’ve used a few of these recipe / menu planners. First it was spring pad and they removed the menu planner so I moved over to ZipList. Now the same thing is happening again.
For me the biggest pain is having to import all of my recipes every couple of years. Many that I had in spring pad and ZipList were typed from various cook books and the rest are clipped from the web. Recreating my recipe library is a huge pest. I need the menu planning feature and want to be able to quickly put together my shopping list.
I looked at all of the free options and they just don’t give me what I need so i decided it was time to bite the bullet and try one of the subscriptions ones. I ended up LOVING Plan to Eat. It technically does not have an app in the App Store but you can save it as a web app on an iPhone and it acts just like any other app. I can quickly put together shopping lists on the go or on my computer and with my log in my husband can access the list to shop on his way home.
I’d rather not have to pay for this service but sometimes there is just no other option.
Mig
While I was researching apps, Plan to Eat kept coming up. I’m going to check it out, because it sounds interesting. In the meantime, I’m going to stick with what’s free 😉
spoonacular is another completely free option: https://www.spoonacular.com
they have a recipe saver extension, meal planner with shopping list and nutrition/price information (but you can’t share the shopping list other than email at the moment), and you can set your profile to vegetarian, Paleo, gluten free, etc. to use their recipe search engine to find new recipes. Their apps don’t include the meal planner/shopping list but I’ve heard that’s coming soon. Hope this helps someone 🙂
Thanks for the suggestion! I couldn’t find an android app, but I’ll look out for one!
Thanks for the suggestion! I couldn’t find an android app, but I’ll look out for one!
Oh my goodness I am STILL LOOKING FOR A DECENT ZIPLIST REPLACEMENT! I have tried Epicurious- I agree awful app. I have tried “in the Kitchen by food.com and it’s not that great so I will look at Pepper Plate you recommended as I have not tried it. How many times can I switch all my recipes??? Ziplist I miss you, you were the BEST
I should probably write a follow-up post. We were not thrilled with PepperPlate and so we are still using Ziplist. The list syncs between our phones. The only downside is that I cannot access my list via the web. I will keep everyone updated if I find something better! I hope Ziplist comes back!
I’ve been using Pepperplate for the last 5 days and it is FAR better than the foodnetwork “in the Kitchen app” . If you haven’t tried it in a while you might want to check it out again in case there has been an ungrade because so far so good for me.
I should probably write a follow-up post. We were not thrilled with PepperPlate and so we are still using Ziplist. The list syncs between our phones. The only downside is that I cannot access my list via the web. I will keep everyone updated if I find something better! I hope Ziplist comes back!
I just got a new phone and to my horror discovered that ZipList is GONE. I’m having a terrible time finding a new Grocery List app. Thanks for the recommendations. I will try Pepper Plate.
Omg, that sounds aweful. I’m still on the lookout for a good app and I’m reaching the point where I might consider purchasing (gasp!) an app. For some reason I just can’t get used to PepperPlate…
I loved ziplist, and was super bummed when they took it down. Since its now 2016 – I am wondering if you still use Pepper Plate today, or has anything changed?
It’s been over a year sick ziplist is gone and I’m still using it on my phone. I still can’t find an app that’s as good as ziplist. Every now and then I try out BigOven, but can’t stand the process of add items to my list! I’m still hoping Ziplist comes back!
Btw, I stopped using PepperPlate. They haven’t made any updates to the app in recent years and although it has a lot of features, I just didn’t like it. BigOven has a great menu planning feature, that’s why I keep hoping the shopping list will get better. I’ve also tried yummly, but went back to ziplist.
Yeah, when I looked at Pepper Plate, it was overly simple in that I did want something with a database of recipes I could work with. I also need better recipe filtering than BigOven has, since I am dealing with multiple food restrictions in my family. Thanks for the reply!
Thanks for reading! I will definitely post if I ever find a Ziplist replacement!
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Zip List loss still hurts several years later, pepper plate was out of my price range. Food Planner was sufficient until they sold out and the sync between devices stopped working reliably. Recipe Keeper is the current acceptable option.
I agree- every now and then I still look for a good replacement. Now we’re using an app called Listonic for our shopping list. It sorts items by category and has great sharing/syncing capabilities- which we need because I have an android and my husband has an iPhone 🙂 I’ve given up on the recipe to shopping list feature for now…
Take a look at Recipe Keeper, I believe its cross platform. We have 8 android devices (I paid for 1 $5 app ) since I use the family email on all devices for the use of paid apps. Just paid a second $5 for the windows version and it has a backup feature. So for $10 bucks we have )time access to teh shopping list and meal planner and cook book for 8 android devices and 3 PC’s (use the same microsoft account to set them up so we can share any paid apps there too..
Thanks so much for the suggestion! From the looks of it, it seems similar to Ziplist, but it’s not free 🙁
It’s not free, but it’s worth the money, it’s a one time fee of $5 rather than a monthly subscription etc. I often opt for the free options but in this case it makes all the difference on weather or not I can function in the kitchen and feem my family of 6 in a timely manner. The real time shopping list is vital to me.
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I can’t believe it’s taken me this long to realize Ziplist is gone. Since I had to replace my phone I can no longer download it. After reading your review, I’m happy to say that I may have found a suitable replacement – List Ease. I’m using it for the iPhone so I’m not sure if it’s available for Android. But it’s free, the interface of adding items is similar to Ziplist and I can mail my grocery lists. I will need to keep playing around more and see other features and keep you updated!
It’s great that you finally found a replacement! We’re using Listonic and it’s also good, but only a shopping list. After all these years I can’t believe we’re all still missing Ziplist!!
Copy Me That has the apps now… looks great but you need to pay for the good stuff $12.50 a year or $25 for life
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