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MealBudget
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A meal planner that shows the grocery cost

Most meal planners give you recipes and leave the receipt as a surprise. MealBudget starts from what you want to spend, picks dinners that share ingredients, and shows the total for the week before you shop.

How it works

  1. Step 1

    Start with your number

    Tell it what you want to spend this week and who you are feeding.

  2. Step 2

    Pick the dinners, or let it pick

    Choose a few meals you like. It fills the rest with dinners that share what you already bought.

  3. Step 3

    Shop one priced list

    One list by aisle, in whole packages, with the total on top before you leave the house.

MealBudget meal picker: choose cuisines, dinner, and things to leave out, then build the list
Pick the meals you want. It fills the rest to reuse ingredients.
A saved week in MealBudget: $142 spent of a $400 budget, with the meals listed below
The week’s total against your budget, before you shop.

A real priced week

This is the planner’s own answer for two adults and two children with a $180 weekly budget, run on average US prices last revised 28 October 2026.

7 dinners, 40 items

About $125 of $180

  1. 1.Vegetable Fried Rice25 min
  2. 2.Koshari60 min
  3. 3.American Goulash40 min
  4. 4.Chickpea Curry with Rice42 min
  5. 5.Spicy Pork Noodles30 min
  6. 6.Peanut Noodles with Tofu35 min
  7. 7.Hoisin Chicken Noodle Stir-Fry30 min

Bought once, used more than once

  • Garlic: 7 dinners
  • Vegetable oil: 6 dinners
  • Fresh ginger root: 4 dinners
  • Green onions / scallions: 4 dinners
  • Soy sauce: 4 dinners
  • Toasted sesame oil: 4 dinners

See the full grocery list with package sizes and prices

Plan your own week

Your budget, your people, your dinners. The total is on the list before you shop.

Download on the App StoreGet it on Google Play

Questions people ask

Is there a meal planner that shows how much groceries will cost?
Yes. MealBudget prices every ingredient in the packages you buy, adds them up, and shows the total for the week before you shop. The example on this page comes to about $125.
Where do the prices come from?
They are estimated from average local retail prices, not read live from your store. A discount grocer will often come in lower and a city-centre store higher, so use the total as a planning number.
Can I set a weekly budget first?
Yes. You start with the amount, the people you feed and anything you will not eat. The app then picks dinners that fit it and that share ingredients, so less of each pack is left over.
Can I choose some of the meals myself?
Yes. Pick up to half the dinners and MealBudget fills the rest with meals that reuse the same ingredients.
Is it free?
The first week is free. The price is shown in the App Store or Google Play before you start.

Try a free week

Set your number, plan seven dinners and see what the shop will cost. The first week is free.

Download on the App StoreGet it on Google Play

Priced examples