Best AI for meal planning
What is the best AI for meal planning?
For most people, ChatGPT is the best free AI for meal planning: give it your budget, household and diet and it returns a week of meals plus a shopping list. Claude is a close second for tidy, well-organised plans, and Gemini suits Google users who want to save lists to Google Docs or Keep.
Our shortlist
1. ChatGPT – best overall
Its free plan handles a 7-day plan, shopping list and swaps in one chat, and its memory feature can remember your dietary needs between chats.
Free plan: Free plan: everyday text chats with fair-use limits, plus limited uploads, image creation, voice and deep research. Full ChatGPT profile →
2. Claude – best for organised plans
Free plan with web search and memory; tends to produce clear tables and sticks closely to constraints like budgets and allergies.
Free plan: Free plan on web, desktop and mobile, with web search, memory and file creation; usage limits reset every five hours. Full Claude profile →
3. Gemini – best for google users
Free with a Google account; paid Google AI plans add Gemini inside Gmail (and Docs on Google AI Pro), handy if your lists live there.
Free plan: Free with a Google account, including Deep Research, Gemini Live and image generation, with lower usage limits. Full Gemini profile →
Try it now: step-by-step guides
Each guide has a copy-and-paste prompt you can use with any of the tools above.
Plan a week of meals on a budget
Rough guide only: 1–2 hours a week
🍳 Cooking & foodMeal prep a week of work lunches
Rough guide only: 1–2 hours a week
🍳 Cooking & foodTurn leftovers into a proper meal
Rough guide only: 20–30 minutes per meal
💪 Health & fitnessMake a simple healthy eating plan
Rough guide only: 30 minutes to set up
🍳 Cooking & foodScale a recipe up or down
Rough guide only: 10–15 minutes each time
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Things to watch out for
- Prices and nutrition figures are estimates.
- Chat assistants don't track your cupboard between weeks unless you tell them.
- Don't paste passwords, bank details or other people's private information into any AI tool.
How we chose
These are editorial picks by Amara Lewis, based on what each tool's free and paid plans include, how easy it is for a beginner, and how well it suits this task. We have not run formal benchmark tests for this page, and no company paid to be listed. Read how we review.
Frequently asked questions
Is there a free AI meal planner?
Yes – ChatGPT, Claude and Gemini all have free plans that can plan a week of meals with a shopping list. Dedicated meal-planning apps exist too, but a general assistant is enough to start.
Can AI meal plans handle allergies?
They can follow instructions, but they make mistakes. Always check ingredient labels yourself.
Are AI price estimates accurate?
No – treat costs as rough estimates and check your supermarket's prices.
Not sure where to start?
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