Compare · Samsung Food alternative
Hedgehog Chef vs. Samsung Food: an honest comparison.
Samsung Food, formerly Whisk, is a free app for finding recipes, planning meals and shopping, with a public catalog of more than 240,000 recipes and control of Samsung's smart kitchen appliances. If what you want is a home for your own recipes, without ads, here's how the two compare — including where Samsung Food is the better choice.
Compared using Samsung Food's own help center, newsroom and App Store and Google Play listings. Last checked October 13, 2026.
Hedgehog Chef is the better fit if you want…
- No ads on any plan, and no tracking.
- Your own recipes at the center, with the full ingredients and steps in the app.
- An AI planner on the free plan that plans the week from your recipes, pantry and prices.
- Step-by-step cook mode with voice commands and read-aloud, free.
- A pantry that reminds you before food expires, and “What can I make?” on the free plan.
Samsung Food is the better fit if…
- You want to discover new recipes: its public catalog has more than 240,000, with nutrition scores.
- You own Samsung appliances: guided steps can set a connected oven's mode, temperature and time.
- You order groceries online: it lists 23 integrated retailers, in the US, UK, Germany and Australia.
- You like recipe communities, reviews and creator profiles.
- It's backed by Samsung and available in 104 countries.
Why Samsung Food users switch
What Hedgehog Chef does better than Samsung Food
No ads, no tracking
Samsung Food's free tier shows ads (ad-free is part of Food+), and its App Store privacy label lists data used to track you. Hedgehog Chef has no ads on any plan, no trackers, and doesn't sell your data.
Your recipes, all of them, inside the app
For most Samsung Food recipes not written in the app, its help center says the instructions “live on the creator site”, which opens inside the app. Hedgehog Chef saves the whole recipe — ingredients, steps, times, a photo — with the source credited and linked, so it's there to scale, cook and plan with.
More of it is free
On Samsung Food's free tier, recipe scans from photos stop at 3, saved meal plans at 3, and tailored AI meal plans, Smart Cook Mode and “Use It Up” need Food+. Hedgehog Chef's Free plan includes the AI planner (10 questions a day), 10 AI imports a day, cook mode and “What can I make?”.
A list that learns your store
Samsung Food's list sorts by aisle or by recipe, but you can't move an item to another aisle. In Hedgehog Chef, move it once and it's remembered. Amounts are merged, what's in the pantry is skipped, and checking something off shows up on every phone at once.
Side by side
Hedgehog Chef vs. Samsung Food, feature by feature
Every Samsung Food cell comes from Samsung Food's own website, help pages or app-store listing, checked on October 13, 2026.
Getting it and paying for it
| Feature | Hedgehog Chef | Samsung Food |
|---|---|---|
| Where it runs | Hedgehog ChefIn any modern browser, installable on iPhone, Android, Mac, Windows and Chromebook as an app | Samsung FoodiPhone and Android apps, a web app, Samsung Family Hub fridges and SmartThings |
| Price | Hedgehog ChefFree plan with unlimited recipes. Hedgehog Chef Plus ($5.99/month or $49.99/year, on sale soon): one subscription for the whole household, on every device | Samsung FoodFree with ads. Samsung Food+: $6.99/month or $59.99/year, 7-day trial; no household plan found |
| Ads | Hedgehog ChefYes: No ads on any plan, and no trackers | Samsung FoodPartly: Ads on the free tier; ad-free with Food+ |
| Track record | Hedgehog ChefNew: launched in 2026 | Samsung FoodBuilt on Whisk; launched as Samsung Food in 2023; rated 4.8 on the App Store |
Planning with AI
| Feature | Hedgehog Chef | Samsung Food |
|---|---|---|
| Plan meals with AI | Hedgehog ChefYes: Ask for “a week of high-protein dinners under $150”; the planner proposes a plan and a list from your recipes for you to approve | Samsung FoodPartly: Tailored 7-day meal plans with Food+, from your preferences, goals and Samsung Health data |
| Change a recipe with AI | Hedgehog ChefYes: Ask the planner for a faster or vegetarian take on a recipe, as a new recipe | Samsung FoodPartly: “Personalize” with Food+ |
| Grocery prices | Hedgehog ChefYes: Prices on your list and plan: live prices at Kroger-family stores, community prices from Open Prices, labeled estimates otherwise | Samsung FoodYes: Prices matched to integrated stores |
| Works with Claude | Hedgehog ChefYes: A Claude connector: save, search, plan and shop by talking to Claude | Samsung FoodNot mentioned in Samsung Food's help center or store pages |
Getting recipes in
| Feature | Hedgehog Chef | Samsung Food |
|---|---|---|
| From recipe websites | Hedgehog ChefYes: Paste a link, or use the bookmarklet, Android share sheet or iOS Shortcut; AI reads pages without recipe markup | Samsung FoodYes: Any site by link (not every site works), a Chrome extension and the share sheet |
| Full recipe saved in the app | Hedgehog ChefYes: Ingredients, steps, times and a photo, with the source linked | Samsung FoodPartly: Most saved recipes' instructions open on the creator's site |
| From a photo | Hedgehog ChefYes: Yes, up to 10 AI imports a day on Free | Samsung FoodPartly: 3 scans on the free tier; unlimited with Food+ |
| From videos and social posts | Hedgehog ChefYes: YouTube, TikTok, Instagram and Pinterest links (the recipe in the description or caption, or the page it links to) | Samsung FoodPartly: Share extension from apps like Pinterest and Facebook |
| From other recipe apps | Hedgehog ChefYes: Paprika (photos included), Mela, Crouton, Recipe Keeper, MasterCook, Plan to Eat, Copy Me That and more | Samsung FoodNot mentioned in Samsung Food's help center or store pages |
Cooking
| Feature | Hedgehog Chef | Samsung Food |
|---|---|---|
| Step-by-step cook mode | Hedgehog ChefYes: Full screen, one step at a time, with that step's ingredients and big type | Samsung FoodPartly: Smart Cook Mode with Food+, with smart-appliance control |
| Hands-free | Hedgehog ChefYes: Voice commands (“next”, “start timer”) and read-aloud in cook mode | Samsung FoodNot mentioned in Samsung Food's help center or store pages |
| Scaling and unit conversion | Hedgehog ChefYes: Scale by servings with real fractions; US ↔ metric | Samsung FoodYes: Change servings; imperial ↔ metric |
| Nutrition | Hedgehog ChefYes: Calculated from the ingredients with USDA data on every plan, with daily goals and day totals on the plan | Samsung FoodYes: Macros, micronutrients and a Health Score |
| Smart appliances | Hedgehog ChefNo: No | Samsung FoodYes: Samsung appliances through SmartThings |
Planning, shopping and pantry
| Feature | Hedgehog Chef | Samsung Food |
|---|---|---|
| Meal planner | Hedgehog ChefYes: Week board with drag and drop, month view, reusable menus, leftovers, a calendar feed and a kitchen display | Samsung FoodYes: Weekly plan with Queue and For You tabs; 3 saved plans free, unlimited with Food+ |
| Grocery list | Hedgehog ChefYes: Sorted by aisle, amounts merged, pantry items skipped; your aisle corrections are remembered | Samsung FoodPartly: By aisle or by recipe; aisles can't be changed; up to 100 items a list |
| Online grocery orders | Hedgehog ChefPartly: Send the list to your own Kroger cart for pickup or delivery | Samsung FoodYes: 23 integrated retailers, depending on your ZIP code or country |
| Pantry | Hedgehog ChefYes: Fridge, freezer, pantry and spices; expiry dates; “What can I make?” ranked by what you have | Samsung FoodPartly: Food List with locations and use-by dates; “Use It Up” with Food+ |
| Expiry reminders | Hedgehog ChefYes: A nudge before food goes off | Samsung FoodPartly: No expiry notifications, per its help center |
| Export everything | Hedgehog ChefYes: Paprika's own format, web pages, Markdown or JSON, with photos — free on every plan, plus weekly backups | Samsung FoodNot mentioned in Samsung Food's help center or store pages |
Your household
| Feature | Hedgehog Chef | Samsung Food |
|---|---|---|
| Everyone with their own login | Hedgehog ChefYes: Yes: up to 2 people on Free, 8 on Hedgehog Chef Plus, each with their own login | Samsung FoodYes: Share recipes, lists and the meal plan with other Samsung Food accounts |
| Shared meal plan | Hedgehog ChefYes: One plan for the whole kitchen, from any device | Samsung FoodPartly: Set up from the phone apps; joining a shared plan replaces your own |
Sources, checked on October 13, 2026:
- What's in Samsung Food+
- Managing Food+ subscriptions
- Saving recipes
- Recipe page 101
- Meal planner
- Shopping list FAQ
- Food List
- Sharing
- Samsung Food launch
- Samsung Food on the App Store
Samsung Food is a trademark of Samsung Electronics. Hedgehog Chef isn't affiliated with or endorsed by Samsung Electronics. Spotted something out of date or wrong? Tell us at hello@hedgehogchef.com and we'll fix it.
Questions
Samsung Food vs. Hedgehog Chef: common questions
Is Samsung Food free?
Samsung Food has a free tier with ads. Samsung Food+ costs $6.99 a month or $59.99 a year (prices may vary by location) and adds tailored AI meal plans, Smart Cook Mode, unlimited photo scans and no ads.
Does Samsung Food have ads?
Yes, on the free tier; ad-free is one of the Food+ benefits. Hedgehog Chef has no ads on any plan.
Is Samsung Food the same as Whisk?
Yes. Samsung Food is built on Whisk, which Samsung Next acquired in 2019, and launched under the Samsung Food name in 2023.
Can I move my recipes from Samsung Food?
We couldn't find a recipe export in Samsung Food's help center. Most saved recipes link to the site they came from, so paste those links into Hedgehog Chef; for recipes you wrote yourself, paste the text or import a screenshot.
Is Hedgehog Chef free?
Yes. The Free plan has unlimited recipes, binders, meal plans, shopping lists and the pantry for up to 2 people, with daily allowances for the AI features, and no ads. Hedgehog Chef Plus ($5.99/month or $49.99/year, on sale soon) raises the AI allowances, adds live grocery prices and fits up to 8 people.
Try Hedgehog Chef with the recipes you cook most.
Paste the links of your favorite recipes and plan a week. You get the whole recipe, saved for good, without ads.
More comparisons
Weighing up other apps too?
- Hedgehog Chef vs. Paprika Paprika for fully offline native apps; Hedgehog Chef for AI planning, the web and a shared household.
- Hedgehog Chef vs. AnyList AnyList for the cheapest shared list and store delivery; Hedgehog Chef for AI planning, a pantry and a free meal planner.
- Hedgehog Chef vs. Plan to Eat Plan to Eat for offline phone use and bulk import; Hedgehog Chef for a free plan, AI planning, a pantry and a login each.
- Hedgehog Chef vs. Mealime Meals Hub to keep Mealime's recipes; Hedgehog Chef to plan around your own recipes, with your household.
- Hedgehog Chef vs. Mela Mela for a one-time price and Apple-only privacy; Hedgehog Chef for Android and the web, AI planning and a smarter list.
- All comparisons Every app we've compared, and who each one suits best.
Dinner, looked after.
Start with the recipes you already love. Hedgehog Chef is free to use — bring your household, your favorite sites and your Paprika library.