12 Apps to Simplify Your Grocery List Creation

Grocery shopping is a necessity, but it’s one of those things some people dread. Whether it’s remembering what’s out of stock in your pantry, what day of the week your usual grocery run is, or where you’ve kept your grocery list, it’s all too easy to forget what to buy when you have to juggle work, family, friends, and other responsibilities in every given week. The good news is technology has now gotten to the point where much of this doesn’t have to be a hassle anymore.

One of the bedrocks of getting your grocery shopping under control is getting a handle on your grocery list. When you know what you have to buy — from what brands and at what time of the week — things seem a lot more manageable. Thankfully, numerous apps exist today to streamline your grocery lists, so you’ll never have a disorganized shopping trip again when you have to make that grocery run.

Anylist makes the days of feeling overwhelmed by an unmanageable grocery list a thing of the past. Available on both iOS and Android, this free productivity app empowers you to have full control over your grocery lists. It starts with list creation. Let’s say you need some beef, lettuce, and cheese as high-priority items. Anylist automatically groups these items, as you add them, into the appropriate categories of Meat, Produce, and Dairy. Not only does this give you a high-level understanding of what you need when walking down the grocery store aisles, but it also breaks up your list into more manageable pieces. Of course, when you’ve picked up each item in the store, tap on the corresponding item on your phone to cross it off — you’re done!

You can even organize lists according to the store you’re going to. Heading to Trader Joe’s? Great. That’s a new list. Going to Aldi instead? No prob. That can be another list, just as easily. If you’re part of a bigger household — maybe you have kids, roommates, or just a large extended family — you’ll be happy to know you can share your Anylist grocery list, too. When you make any changes to your shopping list — you need more bread or milk, for example — everyone who has access to it will see the changes in real time. Share your list with as many people as you want!

With this grocery list, you’ll never be out of milk (or anything else) again. Out of Milk is a free grocery-shopping list app you can download on iOS and Android. This grocery list app gives you numerous ways to stay on top of what you’re running out of at home and what to buy when you go to the grocery store the next time.

Not only can you build grocery lists to remind you what you need to buy, but you’re able to get really granular by keeping track of relevant, related pieces of information about the items on your list, such as their prices, any coupons you may have, quantities you need, and any notes you’ve attached. Simultaneously, you can also build a pantry list to know exactly what foods you’re running out of in your kitchen before you’re completely out. Collaboration is a helpful feature on this app as well, allowing you to share your grocery lists with friends and family, so everyone’s on the same page.

More than 4.5 million people are already using Mealime, a free app that gives you flexibility when grocery shopping. The way grocery lists work in this app is somewhat unique: You first have to create your meal plan by choosing from Mealime’s selection of recipes (based on your preferences). Once you’ve chosen your recipe and your meal plan is complete, Mealime gets to work and automatically generates a grocery list for you, based on the ingredients you need to create that recipe.

Here’s where this app gives you a good amount of flexibility. You either can go to the store and pick up the ingredients you need, with your Mealime grocery list as your guide, or Mealime lets you share your grocery list with online grocery stores like Kroger, Instacart, Amazon Fresh, and Walmart, so you can get them delivered straight to your door instead. Mealime is available on iOS and Android.

Billed as the “smart shopping list app,” Listonic harnesses the latest voice technology and AI to help you create your grocery list as efficiently as possible. Listonic’s AI smart suggestions appear when adding items to your grocery list, saving you time. If you’d rather use a more hands-free approach when adding items to your list, Listonic has you covered there, too. Simply use its voice-input feature to build your lists from scratch. For the sake of good order, this app will also automatically organize your grocery items into categories, giving you a broader, high-level view as you shop for them in the store.

Users appreciate Listonic’s synchronicity and potential for collaboration, with husband-and-wife teams enjoying the way it lets them build shopping lists, share them with their spouses, and then pick up the grocery items on the way home, right after work. Listonic is available for free on the web, iOS, and Android.

A platform and app that empowers shoppers to get the best deals while also helping them create well-organized grocery lists, Flipp has been around the grocery-productivity landscape for some years. Creating and using lists on Flipp is just a few easy taps away: You’ll tap on “Lists,” then “Add Item,” and choose foods from Flipp’s generative list for some of the more usual household items. Alternatively, you can also directly search for and type in specific items you’re looking for. Once they’re in your list, items get automatically grouped.

Now here’s what sets apart Flipp from some of the other grocery list apps. The app lets you find deals in your neighborhood stores and online based on the items you’ve added to your list. Just tap on the arrow to the right of each item to open a new interface that shows weekly deals. When you’ve found one that interests you, tap on it for additional details. Flipp is available on iOS and Android devices.

Gone are the days of forgetting your list at home. With the OurGroceries app, your list will always be with you when you shop, as long as you bring your phone. Interactivity is the name of the game here, as shared grocery lists let friends and family members add last-minute items in real-time when someone from your household is already shopping in the store. This free app makes sure that you’ll never forget another item again.

Additional features are nifty, such as using Alexa to edit your grocery lists, adding pictures, barcodes, personal notes, specific quantities to your lists, and creating recipes whose ingredients are automatically added to your lists. Your shopping lists are also programmed to categorize certain food items into specific groups, making in-store shopping more efficient. OurGroceries is a mainstay in the grocery-productivity world because it’s been around since 2009 and is available on iOS, Android, Echo, web browsers, and Apple Watch.

Made by Swiss developer Bring! Labs AG, Bring! is the grocery list and shopping app that lets you customize it to your sensibilities so that grocery trips are truly in your control. Not only can you share your lists with your family or roommates, but you also get to enjoy real-time, in-app messaging. This allows you to coordinate with everyone you’ve shared your list with, so you ensure you buy everything you want and need.

Take advantage of Bring!’s feature to create as many shopping lists as you need and order them according to specific grocery stores. Go a step further in organization and set up categories in your list based on how your favorite grocery store organizes its various departments. This way, you’ll have corresponding dairy, meat, bakery, and other departments on your phone that mimic the store’s real-life arrangement. Bring! is available for download on the App Store and Google Play. Use this free app with your smartphone, tablet, voice assistant, and smartwatch, or create your lists through its website.

Though it bills itself as a way to keep your family unit running smoothly, the Cozi Family Organizer comes with a suite of productivity solutions, one of which is its powerful grocery list feature. As seen in the Wall Street Journal and Martha Stewart Living, this free productivity app wants to help families organize their lives more efficiently. One way to ensure this is to help families streamline their weekly grocery shopping.

With the Cozi Family Organizer, your entire household can get rid of all scrap paper and random notes piling up in the kitchen or other places at home. Think of this app as the single source of truth for everything related to grocery shopping: No matter who’s at the store, they’ll see which family member added a specific item, so nothing is ever forgotten. Cozi’s recipe function also streamlines meal prep: Sync what you need for any recipe with your in-app grocery list, so you and your whole family are always on the same page for breakfast, lunch, and dinner.

Other features include a calendar and to-do list options, so you can plan your whole day, week, and month — not just your grocery shopping. Cozi is available on iOS and Android. With an almost perfect, 4.8-star rating on the App Store and 4.7-start rating on Google Play, this app is one to check out.

Todoist has been primarily known as a productivity app since 2007. Since grocery shopping requires a lot of order and streamlining as well, it’s no surprise that Todoist has evolved to help people with grocery lists. Check out Todoist’s handy grocery list template, which seamlessly syncs with your main Todoist account. You’ll never again shop without Todoist open on your phone.

The template starts with several common grocery categories, like Fruits and Vegetables, Bread, Cereal, Rice, Dairy, Spices, Drinks, and miscellaneous household items (think detergent, dish soap, etc.). The beauty of this template is you can customize it to your individual needs. Category missing? Add a brand-new section to your grocery template for your favorite store or new food category. If you want, add people to your grocery list, so they can help you shop. When you’re done, check off each item on your list. Todoist is a free app, but there are also paid tiers. You can download Todoist for free from the App Store and Google Play.

With a name like Buy Me a Pie!, this grocery list app is equal parts streamlining and punning. Buy Me a Pie! is a straightforward, easy-to-use app that takes the hassle out of going on your weekly grocery trips. Create multiple shopping lists for various purposes (like different stores or events) and color-code your grocery items for extra visibility and organization. This free app groups your items automatically and offers smart suggestions when you’re building and curating your lists. Share lists with anyone who helps you shop and coordinate list updates with them in real time.

Users appreciate the app’s ability to sync across many of their devices, from iPad to iPhone without losing a beat. They also give it high marks for making sharing easy: Simply text your lists to your family members, and they’ll have access. Buy Me a Pie! is available for download on iOS and Android.

List Ease is a comprehensive grocery list and meal-planning app. It aims to make life easier for busy families, time-strapped professionals, and everyone else who wants a more surefire approach to getting all the groceries they need when at the store. List Ease is feature-loaded with strong editing and customization options.

Not only do you create lists and check off items as you shop, but you also can add specific quantities, prices, categories, and any personal notes you have for each item (for instance, buy whole wheat bread instead of white bread). List Ease lets you stay on top of your current pantry items, too, so you know when you’re out of something and need to add it to your next shopping list. With an item history for better organization, barcode scanning for efficient updates, and exact total cost calculations for each list so you don’t go over budget, List Ease has you covered from numerous angles.

Download this free app on Google Play and the App Store. It’s available on various devices and for offline use, so you can access your grocery lists from anywhere.

You can think of Big Oven as your one-stop shop for everything related to meal planning and grocery shopping. Keep yourself and your household well-organized by creating grocery lists and sharing them with any household member for a more coordinated approach to grocery shopping. Choose to organize your grocery list based on a specific department or recipe. Take your mobile list to the store and cross off items as you shop — it beats keeping everything in your head.

Besides grocery list creation and management, Big Oven excels in recipe curation. Reviewers laud this free app for its selection and variety of built-in recipes, spanning diverse cuisines from meat-based dishes to soups to more vegetarian fare. Other users like its device flexibility, with some using desktops for the app’s meal planning and recipe platforms and then using smartphones to bring their grocery lists for their in-store shopping excursions. Get Big Oven from the App Store or Google Play. You can also sign in and use it on their website.