AnyList is one of the best shared grocery-list apps there is, and it's cheap. If a whole household lives in one synced shopping list, it's excellent.
The friction is the model. The best features sit behind the Complete subscription, and everything runs through an AnyList account in AnyList's cloud. Gratin comes at it from the recipe side: a proper recipe book, with grocery lists that sort themselves by aisle, all local-first and free.
Gratin vs AnyList, side by side
Based on how each product generally works today. Product names belong to their owners. Visit AnyList ↗
The prices are close: AnyList Complete is about $10 to $15 a year, Gratin's hosted sync is $12 a year or a one-time $39. What you're buying differs. AnyList's fee rents you features inside their cloud; Gratin's only covers hosting for data that already lives on your device, and if you're technical you can self-host it yourself instead.
See how Gratin is priced, and why →What AnyList gets right, and where it grates
Where AnyList shines
- Best-in-class shared, real-time grocery lists
- Great household / family sharing
- Cheap, with solid recipe import and meal planning
Where it can frustrate
- The best features sit behind the Complete subscription
- An account is the core of the product; data lives in their cloud
- Grocery-first, recipe management is simpler than dedicated apps
Why people move to Gratin
Recipes first, groceries included
Gratin is a full recipe manager with aisle-sorted grocery lists built in. Send a recipe or a whole dinner menu to your list in a tap.
Free, with no subscription gate
AnyList's best bits are behind Complete. Gratin's features aren't fenced off by a plan. The app is simply free.
On your device, no account required
AnyList is account-centric by design. Gratin keeps your data on your device and needs no sign-up; sync is optional and end-to-end encrypted.
The verdict
AnyList wins on collaborative shopping lists. Gratin wins if you want a free, private, recipe-first app that also handles the groceries, without a subscription or an account to manage.
Frequently asked questions
Does Gratin do grocery lists like AnyList?
Yes. Gratin builds grocery lists from your recipes and menus and sorts them by aisle, so shopping is quick. It's not a standalone list app, but for cooking it covers the same ground.
Can my household share lists in Gratin?
You can sync your data across your own devices today via the encrypted relay. Multi-person real-time sharing is simpler in AnyList right now, so if that's central to you, weigh it up.
Is there a subscription?
No subscription for the app. Hosted sync is an optional $12/year or a one-time $39, and if you're technical you can self-host the relay yourself.