The best food waste apps for 2026, sorted by what you need

PantryAI is our app. We've included it where it fits and said where others do more.

The best food waste reduction apps do one of four jobs: they help you use up food you already own, sell you surplus food at a discount, let neighbours share what they won't eat, or help you plan and store food better. No single app does all four. Pick by job, then check it works where you live. We checked every app below on 09/10/2026.

UK homes wasted 6.0 million tonnes of food and drink in 2022, and 73% of it was edible. Source: WRAP, 2025.

A US family of four loses about $2,913 a year to wasted food. That's $728 a person, or $56 a week. Source: EPA, 2025.

The apps at a glance

App	Best for	Where it works	Price model
PantryAI	Turning photos of your food into recipes	UK, US and more	Free tier; Basic and Deluxe paid plans
NoWaste	Tracking stock and expiry dates	UK, US	Free; Pro $6.99 a year or $29.99 lifetime
Remy	Meals from what's in your kitchen	UK	Free
Too Good To Go	Cheap surplus food from local shops and cafés	UK, US	Free app; pay per bag
Flashfood	Discounted surplus groceries	US and Canada only	Free
Olio	Free food from neighbours	UK (other countries not checked)	Free; optional subscription
Mealime	Meal plans and grocery lists	UK, US	Free; Pro £2.99 a month on the UK App Store
USDA FoodKeeper	Storage guidance	US government app, in the UK store	Free

Use up the food you already have

Most household waste is food you bought and forgot. These three apps work on that problem. For habits that go beyond apps, see our guide on how to reduce food waste at home.

PantryAI

PantryAI turns photos of your fridge, freezer or cupboards into a pantry list, then suggests recipes for what's in it. You can add up to 5 photos per scan. The AI returns each item's name, brand, quantity and category, and you review and edit before anything is added. Barcode scanning is free and doesn't use up your scans.

Use-by dates are estimated by food category and you can edit them. The Expiring soon filter shows anything with 3 days or fewer left, so you can ask for recipes that use it first. Recipes come as Creative or Simple (Simple means under 30 minutes and beginner-friendly), and you get 3 per search. When you cook one, tap I Cooked This and the app updates your pantry and logs the money and CO2e you saved. Here's how we calculate those numbers.

The free tier covers 10 photo scans, 10 recipe searches and 3 AI images a month, with ads. Basic and Deluxe raise those limits and remove ads (see pricing). You don't need an account to start.

Where others do more: PantryAI doesn't build shopping lists or meal plans, and it doesn't send expiry notifications. If you want those, look at NoWaste or Mealime below.

Suits: people who'd rather photograph a shelf than type a list. Price: free tier, then paid plans; prices vary by store and country. Learn more: pantry app, AI recipe generator. Checked 09/10/2026.

App Store | Google Play

NoWaste

NoWaste's listing says it tracks the stock in your fridge, freezer and pantry, with expiry reminders. If your main problem is forgetting what's about to go off, a reminder-led tracker fits. It's the one to pick if you want alerts, which PantryAI doesn't send.

Suits: people who like a manual inventory with reminders. Price: free; Pro is $6.99 a year or $29.99 for a lifetime licence. Works in: UK and US. Checked 09/10/2026.

Site | App Store | Google Play

Remy

Remy turns what's in your kitchen into meals. It took over Kitche, an earlier food waste app, in February 2025, so you may see both names in older roundups. Kitche is now Remy, so we've listed only Remy.

Suits: UK cooks who want meal ideas from the food they have. Price: free. Works in: UK. Checked 09/10/2026.

Site | App Store | Google Play

Buy surplus food for less

These apps help shops and cafés sell food that would otherwise be binned. They cut waste before it reaches your kitchen.

Too Good To Go

Too Good To Go sells discounted unsold food from local shops, cafés and restaurants. The app is free and you pay per bag. What's in a bag varies by seller, so it suits flexible eaters better than people planning a specific meal.

Suits: anyone near participating shops who likes a bargain. Price: free app; pay per bag. Works in: UK and US. Checked 09/10/2026.

Site | App Store | Google Play

Flashfood

Flashfood sells discounted surplus groceries from partner stores. It's only available in the US and Canada, so UK readers can skip it.

Suits: shoppers in the US and Canada. Price: free. Works in: US and Canada only. Checked 09/10/2026.

Site | App Store | Google Play

Share food with neighbours

Olio

Olio is for free surplus food and household items shared locally. You list what you won't eat, or collect what a neighbour is giving away. We confirmed it for the UK; we haven't checked other countries.

Suits: people who'd rather give food away than bin it. Price: free, with an optional subscription. Works in: UK. Checked 09/10/2026.

Site | App Store | Google Play

Plan and store better

Mealime

Mealime makes meal plans with an automatic grocery list, and its listing claims it helps reduce food waste. It plans ahead rather than rescuing what's already in your fridge, so it pairs well with an app from the first section.

Suits: people who want a plan and a shopping list. Price: free; Pro is £2.99 a month on the UK App Store. Works in: UK and US. Checked 09/10/2026.

Site | App Store | Google Play

USDA FoodKeeper

FoodKeeper is a US government app that gives storage guidance so food is used at its best. It's in the UK store too, but its advice follows US guidance. UK readers should check the Food Standards Agency rules on chilling and freezing. One caveat: the iOS listing shows a 2023 copyright and we couldn't find a more recent update, while the Android app was updated in October 2025.

Suits: anyone who wants storage times by food. Price: free. Works in: US government app, available in the UK store. Checked 09/10/2026.

Site | App Store | Google Play

How we chose these apps

Every app had to meet four tests. It was live in the App Store or Google Play on 09/10/2026. It has a clear food waste use. Its availability is stated, so you know where it works. And nobody paid for a place: there are no paid placements and no affiliate links.

We left out Karma because its listing says Sweden and we couldn't confirm a UK service. Details come from each app's own listing. Prices and features change, so we re-check this page every quarter.

Food waste app questions

What's the best free food waste app?

It depends on the job. Remy, Flashfood and USDA FoodKeeper are free, and Too Good To Go and Olio have free apps (Too Good To Go charges per bag, Olio has an optional subscription). NoWaste, Mealime and PantryAI each have a free tier with paid upgrades. For using up food you already own, try PantryAI's free tier or Remy first.

Which food waste apps work in the UK?

PantryAI, NoWaste, Remy, Too Good To Go, Olio and Mealime all work in the UK. FoodKeeper is in the UK store but follows US guidance. Flashfood only works in the US and Canada.

Do food waste apps save money?

They can. Wasted food costs real money: WRAP puts the edible food UK households wasted in 2022 at £17 billion, and the EPA estimates $2,913 a year for a US family of four. We haven't found a source for how much any single app saves you, so we won't quote one. PantryAI logs the money and CO2e you save each time you cook, and shows its method.

Sources

• WRAP, Household food and drink waste in the UK 2022, published 02/07/2025
• EPA, Estimating the cost of food waste to American consumers, 2025
• FSA, How to chill freeze and defrost food safely
• App details from each store listing linked above, checked 09/10/2026