Best apps · Shopping
The 6 best shared grocery list apps in 2026.
A shared grocery list sounds simple until two people buy the milk. The good apps sync in a second, sort the list the way the store is laid out, and make adding things effortless. Some stop at the list; others connect it to recipes, a meal plan and the pantry. Here are six worth installing.
By Hedgehog Chef · · 6-minute read
The short answer
If your list comes from the meals you plan, Hedgehog Chef builds it from the week's recipes, sorts it by aisle, skips what's in the pantry and syncs it to everyone instantly. For a list on its own, AnyList is the most polished and cheapest paid option, OurGroceries works on the most devices with every feature free (with ads), Bring! is best in German-speaking Europe, Listonic has the best free AI list builder, and Out of Milk pairs the list with a pantry list.
- 1. Hedgehog Chef: best for a list that comes from the week's meals
- 2. AnyList: best for the most polished list for the money
- 3. OurGroceries: best for every feature free, on every device
- 4. Bring!: best for shoppers in German-speaking Europe
- 5. Listonic: best for a generous free list with an AI list builder
- 6. Out of Milk: best for a free list plus a pantry list
At a glance
| App | Best for | Price | Without paying |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1. Hedgehog Chef | Best for: a list that comes from the week's meals | Price: Hedgehog Chef Plus ($5.99/month or $49.99/year, on sale soon), for the whole household | Without paying: A 14-day free trial with everything, no card needed; no free plan after it |
| 2. AnyList | Best for: the most polished list for the money | Price: AnyList Complete: $9.99/year for one person or $14.99/year for a household | Without paying: Shared lists and recipes, with 5 web recipe imports; meal planning needs Complete |
| 3. OurGroceries | Best for: every feature free, on every device | Price: Removing ads for the household: about $1/month, $6/year or $20 once | Without paying: Every feature, with ads |
| 4. Bring! | Best for: shoppers in German-speaking Europe | Price: Bring! Premium: $1.99/month or $8.99/year in the App Store | Without paying: Lists, sharing, recipes and offers, with ads |
| 5. Listonic | Best for: a generous free list with an AI list builder | Price: Premium removes ads and adds themes; App Store prices vary by plan | Without paying: Lists, real-time sharing and the AI list builder, with ads |
| 6. Out of Milk | Best for: a free list plus a pantry list | Price: Free; the App Store also sells a Premium whose contents aren't described | Without paying: Shopping, pantry and to-do lists with sharing, with ads |
How we chose
We make Hedgehog Chef, so it's first on this list: that's our bias, stated up front, and its cons are as honest as everyone else's. The other apps are in the order we'd suggest them for this job. Everything we say about them comes from their own websites, help pages and app-store listings, checked on October 13, 2026 and linked at the end, and each entry says who should pick it instead of ours. We left out store ratings, which change daily.
What we looked at:
- Real-time sync: does a checked item disappear from everyone's phone at once?
- Sorting by aisle or category, in your store's order
- How items get on the list: typing, voice, barcode, recipes, a meal plan
- Ads and tracking, and what removing them costs
- Devices: phones, watches, the web, voice assistants
The apps
Our app
1. Hedgehog Chef
Best for a list that comes from the week's meals
Hedgehog Chef's list is one tap from the meal plan: every planned recipe's ingredients, scaled to the servings you planned, merged (2 cups of milk + 1 cup = 3 cups), sorted by aisle and minus what's already in the pantry. Your aisle corrections are remembered, and everyone at home sees each change instantly.
You can also add items by hand, by barcode, or by voice with Siri through Shortcuts. Hedgehog Chef has no free plan: every kitchen starts with a 14-day free trial with everything included and no card, then Hedgehog Chef Plus ($5.99/month or $49.99/year, on sale soon) covers the whole household.
Pros
- The list sorts itself by aisle, merges amounts and skips what's already in the pantry
- A shared shopping list that updates on every phone instantly
- Up to 8 people, each with their own login, on one subscription
- A pantry with fridge, freezer and cupboard, expiry dates, barcode scanning and “What can I make?”
- Grocery prices on the plan and the list: live prices at Kroger-family stores, otherwise labeled estimates
- No ads and no trackers, on any plan
Cons
- No free plan: after the 14-day free trial it's Hedgehog Chef Plus ($5.99/month or $49.99/year, on sale soon)
- No Apple Watch or Wear OS app and no Alexa skill (Siri works through Shortcuts you set up once)
- No App Store or Google Play app yet: it installs from the browser instead
- New: launched in 2026, so it doesn't have years of track record yet
- Platforms
- Any web browser, installable as an app on iPhone, Android, Mac, Windows and Chromebook
- Price
- Hedgehog Chef Plus ($5.99/month or $49.99/year, on sale soon), for the whole household
- Without paying
- A 14-day free trial with everything, no card needed; no free plan after it
2. AnyList
Best for the most polished list for the money
AnyList's list is fast, tidy and shared instantly with everyone you invite, with Siri and Alexa for adding items and native apps on iPhone, Android, Mac and Apple Watch. From the phone apps, US users can send it to Instacart, Walmart, Kroger and others. A household's AnyList Complete is $14.99 a year, which adds recipes, a meal planner, prices and the web app.
Pros
- Fast, polished, instant sharing
- Siri, Alexa and Apple Watch
- Sends lists to several US grocery services
- $14.99 a year for the household
Cons
- The web app needs Complete
- Its help center reports Alexa often adding to Alexa's own list since March 2026
- No pantry found
- Platforms
- iPhone, iPad, Apple Watch, Android and Mac apps; the web app needs Complete
- Price
- AnyList Complete: $9.99/year for one person or $14.99/year for a household
- Without paying
- Shared lists and recipes, with 5 web recipe imports; meal planning needs Complete
3. OurGroceries
Best for every feature free, on every device
OurGroceries puts every feature in its free, ad-supported app: real-time shared lists, categories in your store's order, a simple recipe list, barcode scanning and adding items from a photo. It runs on iPhone, Android, Apple Watch, Wear OS, the web and Alexa, and removing ads for the whole household costs about $6 a year or $20 once. It exports everything to a spreadsheet.
Pros
- Every feature free
- The widest device support here
- Cheap ad removal for the household
- Full export (XLSX and JSON)
Cons
- Ads, with tracking identifiers on iOS
- Recipes are a basic list; no web import or meal-plan calendar found
- No item prices yet
- Its FAQ says Siri adding is unreliable and Google Home support ended
- Platforms
- iPhone, Android, Apple Watch, Wear OS, the web and Alexa
- Price
- Removing ads for the household: about $1/month, $6/year or $20 once
- Without paying
- Every feature, with ads
4. Bring!
Best for shoppers in German-speaking Europe
Bring! has a friendly tile-style list, real-time sharing, categories you can reorder to match your store, and recipe ideas whose ingredients go on the list in a tap. Its local brochures, offers and loyalty-card wallet are strongest in Germany, Austria and Switzerland.
Its help center says Google Assistant no longer works with it, and Alexa needs the skill opened first.
Pros
- Pleasant tile-style list with store ordering
- Apple Watch, Wear OS and web
- Local offers and a loyalty-card wallet
- Recipe ideas to the list in a tap
Cons
- Ads and retailer content are central
- Alexa degraded and Google Assistant gone
- No meal planner, pantry or barcode scanning found
- No family Premium plan
- Platforms
- iPhone, Android, Apple Watch, Wear OS and a basic web app
- Price
- Bring! Premium: $1.99/month or $8.99/year in the App Store
- Without paying
- Lists, sharing, recipes and offers, with ads
5. Listonic
Best for a generous free list with an AI list builder
Listonic's free tier is unusually complete: real-time sharing, sorting by aisle or category, offline editing that syncs later, item prices with a total, and an AI assistant that builds a list from a meal or occasion you describe. It runs on phones, the web, Windows and Mac.
Pros
- AI list builder included free
- Offline editing that syncs later
- Price totals for budgeting
- Phone, web, Windows, Mac and Apple Watch
Cons
- Ads, and a broad tracking label on iOS
- No recipe box or meal planner found
- Premium pricing varies across App Store plans
- Platforms
- iPhone, Android, Apple Watch, the web, Windows and Mac
- Price
- Premium removes ads and adds themes; App Store prices vary by plan
- Without paying
- Lists, real-time sharing and the AI list builder, with ads
6. Out of Milk
Best for a free list plus a pantry list
Out of Milk keeps three lists, shopping, pantry and to-do, and moves items between the pantry and the shopping list. It has a barcode scanner, running price totals, custom store categories and free real-time sharing, on iPhone, Android and the web.
It's owned by InMarket, an advertising company, and its App Store label lists broad tracking.
Pros
- Pantry and shopping lists that talk to each other
- Barcode scanning and price totals
- Free sharing, plus a web version
Cons
- Ad-tech owner and broad tracking on iOS
- No recipes or meal planning
- Premium's contents aren't described
- Platforms
- iPhone, Android and the web
- Price
- Free; the App Store also sells a Premium whose contents aren't described
- Without paying
- Shopping, pantry and to-do lists with sharing, with ads
How to choose
If your list mostly comes from what you're cooking this week, pick an app that builds it from the plan; retyping recipes into a list app is where most of the time goes. That's what Hedgehog Chef is for.
If you shop by habit and just need the list everyone can see, choose by devices and ads: AnyList for polish at $14.99 a year, OurGroceries for the most devices with cheap ad removal, Listonic for the strongest free tier, Bring! in German-speaking Europe.
Whatever you choose, the deciding test is a real shop: two phones, one list, and someone checking things off in the store.
Questions
What is the best grocery list app for couples and families?
One where everyone has their own login and checked items vanish from every phone at once. Hedgehog Chef, AnyList, OurGroceries, Bring! and Listonic all sync in real time; Hedgehog Chef also builds the list from your meal plan.
Is there a free shared grocery list app without ads?
The free list apps here, OurGroceries, Bring!, Listonic and Out of Milk, show ads; OurGroceries removes them for the whole household for about $6 a year. Hedgehog Chef has no ads on any plan, but it isn't free after its trial.
Which grocery list app sorts by aisle?
Hedgehog Chef sorts by aisle automatically and remembers your corrections. OurGroceries, Bring!, Listonic and Out of Milk let you order categories to match your store.
Can I add to my grocery list with Alexa or Siri?
AnyList and OurGroceries support Alexa and Siri, though both vendors report Alexa problems in 2026. Bring! needs its Alexa skill opened first. Hedgehog Chef works with Siri through Apple Shortcuts.
Sources, checked on October 13, 2026:
- AnyList Complete
- AnyList on the web
- AnyList online shopping (help)
- AnyList on the App Store
- OurGroceries FAQ
- OurGroceries user guide
- OurGroceries on the App Store
- Bring! features
- Bring! and voice assistants (help)
- Bring! on the App Store
- Listonic
- Listonic features
- Listonic on the App Store
- Out of Milk features
- Out of Milk on Google Play
- Out of Milk on the App Store
AnyList, OurGroceries, Bring!, Listonic, Out of Milk are trademarks of their owners (AnyList: Purple Cover, Inc.; OurGroceries: OurGroceries, Inc.; Bring!: Bring! Labs AG; Listonic: Listonic sp. z o.o.; Out of Milk: InMarket Media, LLC). Hedgehog Chef isn't affiliated with or endorsed by any of them. Prices are in US dollars as listed on the day we checked, and change; app-store prices can differ from website prices.
Spotted something out of date or wrong? Tell us at hello@hedgehogchef.com and we'll fix it.