Crouton is the better app overall, scoring 9.0 to 8.8. Crouton wins on 3 of the 5 scores, AnyList on 2.
iPhone and Mac cooks who want a clean, focused recipe box
Households that shop together and want one shared, always-current list
Score by score
The details
| Feature | Crouton | AnyList |
|---|---|---|
| Category | Food & Cooking | Food & Cooking |
| Category rank | #1 of 7 | #2 of 7 |
| Developer | Crouton LLC | Purple Cover |
| Pricing | Free + paid plans | Free + paid plans |
| Usable for free | Yes | Yes |
| iPhone & iPad | ✓ | ✓ |
| Android | — | ✓ |
| Mac | ✓ | ✓ |
| Web | — | ✓ |
Common questions
Is Crouton better than AnyList?
Crouton is the better app overall, scoring 9.0 to 8.8. Crouton wins on 3 of the 5 scores, AnyList on 2.
Which is cheaper, Crouton or AnyList?
Crouton: Free core app; Crouton Discover listed at $1.99 a month or $14.99 a year. AnyList: Free; AnyList Complete is $9.99 a year, or $14.99 a year for a household. On value for money, AnyList scores higher.
Do Crouton and AnyList work on the same devices?
Only AnyList runs on Android, Web.
Which is more private, Crouton or AnyList?
Crouton scores higher on privacy (8.8/10). App Store label: contact info and identifiers may be linked to you; purchases and usage data are collected but not linked. No tracking. Recipes sync through your own iCloud.
Strengths and weaknesses
Crouton
- Step mode shows ingredient amounts right in each step
- Imports from sites, PDFs and cookbook photos
- iCloud sync with no extra account
- No Android or Windows version
- Substitutions need the Discover subscription
Crouton is the recipe app that feels most at home on an iPhone. It pulls recipes from websites, PDFs and even a photo of a cookbook page, then turns them into a calm step-by-step view where tapping an ingredient shows its amount. Timers start from the steps, meal plans fill in from your own dinners, and everything syncs through iCloud. It's Apple-only, and the newest AI tricks sit behind a cheap Discover subscription.
Full Crouton review
AnyList
- Shared lists update live while someone shops
- Categories can match your own store layout
- Complete costs less than $10 a year
- Meal planner and web import need Complete
- Recipe features are simpler than a dedicated recipe app
AnyList is the grocery list couples stop arguing about. Share a list and you watch items get checked off as your partner shops, and the list sorts itself into categories you can rearrange to match your store. Add recipes from websites, drop them on a meal plan, and send every ingredient to the list in one tap. The free version covers shared lists; Complete adds the web and Mac apps, meal planning and photos for a small yearly fee.
Full AnyList review
