BigOven has been around for decades and has more than a million public recipes. If you like browsing them, or typing in three leftover ingredients to see what comes up, it does that well.
But the free version is full of ads and upgrade prompts, needs an account from the start, and puts your own recipes inside a busy social site. Gratin is just your recipes, with no ads.
Gratin vs BigOven at a glance
Figures come from each app’s public pricing and help pages. Trademarks belong to their owners. BigOven website ↗
BigOven Pro is $24.99/year, mostly to remove ads. Gratin has no ads, and you only pay if you want Hosted sync ($12/year or $39 once), which is less than half as much.
See Gratin’s pricing and the 5-year Pay-once guarantee →What BigOven does well, and what gets in the way
What BigOven does well
- A public collection of over a million community recipes
- Search by your leftover ingredients to pick tonight’s dinner
- A long-running community with recipe reviews and photos
What gets in the way
- The free version has lots of banner ads and upgrade pop-ups
- Needs an account, and your recipes are kept on BigOven’s servers
- Busy layout that can feel cluttered and dated
Why people switch from BigOven to Gratin
No ads, and no subscription to remove them
BigOven charges $24.99/year, mostly to turn off the ads. Gratin has no ads, including in the free app.
Your recipes stay on your device
Gratin saves your recipes on your Mac, Windows PC, iPhone or Android phone, so they open fast and work offline.
No sign-up to start cooking
Open Gratin and start saving recipes. You only need an account if you later want Hosted sync.
Ask Claude or ChatGPT about leftovers
With Hosted sync, you can ask Claude or ChatGPT what to cook tonight from what’s in your fridge and the recipes you trust.
Bottom line
Stay with BigOven if you want a big recipe community. Switch to Gratin if you want a fast, ad-free cookbook of your own.
Questions about BigOven and Gratin
Does Gratin come with recipes, like BigOven?
No. Gratin holds the recipes you save from websites, import from Paprika or Cooklang, or type in yourself.
Is Gratin really free with no ads?
Yes. If you don’t sync, you cost us nothing to host. Hosted sync is optional: $12/year or $39 once, or nothing on your own sync server.
Does Gratin work when the kitchen Wi-Fi drops?
Yes. Everything is saved on your device.