Plan to Eat vs NYT Cooking
Which is better in 2026? Five scores, side by side.
Plan to Eat is the better app overall, scoring 8.4 to 8.2. Plan to Eat wins on 2 of the 5 scores, NYT Cooking on 3.
Weekly planners who cook from their own recipe collection
Cooks who want reliable recipes and don't mind paying for them
Score by score
The details
| Feature | Plan to Eat | NYT Cooking |
|---|---|---|
| Category | Food & Cooking | Food & Cooking |
| Category rank | #4 of 7 | #7 of 7 |
| Developer | Plan to Eat, LLC | The New York Times Company |
| Pricing | Subscription | Free + paid plans |
| Usable for free | No | Yes |
| iPhone & iPad | ✓ | ✓ |
| Android | ✓ | ✓ |
| Web | ✓ | ✓ |
Common questions
Is Plan to Eat better than NYT Cooking?
Plan to Eat is the better app overall, scoring 8.4 to 8.2. Plan to Eat wins on 2 of the 5 scores, NYT Cooking on 3.
Which is cheaper, Plan to Eat or NYT Cooking?
Plan to Eat: 14-day free trial, no card needed; then $5.95 a month or $49 a year. NYT Cooking: Free to browse; unlimited recipes need a Cooking or All Access subscription. On value for money, Plan to Eat scores higher.
Do Plan to Eat and NYT Cooking work on the same devices?
Yes, both run on iPhone & iPad, Android, Web.
Which is more private, Plan to Eat or NYT Cooking?
Plan to Eat scores higher on privacy (8.4/10). App Store label: contact info, your recipes, identifiers, usage and diagnostics may be linked to you. No tracking. Plan to Eat runs on subscriptions, not ads.
Strengths and weaknesses
Plan to Eat
- Shopping list builds itself from your plan
- Handles leftovers and frozen meals
- Ad-free, with a 14-day trial and no card
- No free tier after the trial
- Busier interface than simpler recipe apps
Plan to Eat is built for people who actually plan the week. Clip recipes from any site or snap a photo, drag them onto a calendar, plan leftovers and frozen meals, and the shopping list fills in from the plan, organized by store and category. Version 4 gave the app a cleaner look, and recent updates added cooking timers and nutrition breakdowns. There's no free tier, but the trial is long and needs no card.
Full Plan to Eat review
NYT Cooking
- Every recipe is tested before it's published
- Reader notes add real-world tips
- Clean, appetizing design
- Full access needs a subscription
- Heavy tracking for an app you pay for
NYT Cooking is the recipe source you trust when dinner matters. More than 20,000 recipes, each tested by the Times, come with ratings and reader notes full of practical tips, plus short videos from cooks like Samin Nosrat and Ina Garten. The Recipe Box and grocery list keep plans together. You need a subscription for full access, and the app tracks you more than any other pick here.
Full NYT Cooking review
