Overview

OurGroceries is a grocery-list app for households that want to coordinate shopping and keep recipes alongside their lists. It suits people who share a household account across phones or a browser; it is less suitable when household members need private lists or reliable barcode coverage outside the United States.

Its roots in the creators’ own family shopping needs show in the focus on shared lists and practical organization. The free plan includes all features and sharing, making the app usable without a subscription, though ads appear in a few screens.

Key features

Shared lists and store organization

Everyone signed in to the same account sees list changes instantly, which helps households keep one current shopping plan rather than reconciling separate lists. Items can carry quantities, notes, photos, categories, and barcodes; shoppers can group them by aisle or category and manually reorder them to match a store route. That flexibility is useful for a regular shopping routine, but barcode product coverage is U.S.-centric and may be less helpful elsewhere.

Recipes, voice, and delivery

Recipes can be stored with shopping lists, and users can add either selected ingredients or a complete recipe to a list. Items can also be added through Amazon Alexa, Siri, or Google Assistant on Android. An experimental MCP integration for Claude and ChatGPT is another option, but its experimental status makes it a less dependable foundation for a routine. Lists can be sent to Instacart for delivery in the United States and Canada, giving the app a path from planning to ordering in those markets.

Exports, privacy, and support

Users can export lists, recipes, the item master list, and categories as a ZIP with XLSX and JSON files. The export cannot be re-imported after external changes, so it is useful for taking data out but not for editing it elsewhere and syncing the revisions back. The privacy policy says personal information is not sold or shared, while also describing information shared with advertising partners for personalized advertising. It places servers and stored user information in the United States. Security measures include encryption, off-site backups, system-log review, and security software, with no guarantee of security. The creators say they personally read app-store reviews and respond to every email; support is available at support@ourgroceries.com.

Pricing

The Free plan costs 0.00 USD per free and includes all features and list sharing, with ads appearing in a few screens. It is the sensible starting point for households willing to tolerate those ads.

Both paid subscriptions remove ads for the account’s shared lists and begin with a 7-day free trial. The Remove Ads monthly subscription is 1.00 USD per month, billed monthly; the Remove Ads yearly subscription is 6.00 USD per year, billed yearly. The annual option costs less over a year for people who expect to keep using the app, while monthly billing avoids committing to a year. The Lifetime upgrade costs 20.00 USD per once as a one-time upgrade and removes ads for shared lists, suiting people who prefer a single payment over recurring billing.

These upgrades remove ads rather than add features: the free plan already includes all features and sharing. Private lists and price tracking are not current capabilities; the FAQ describes them as requested features planned for a future update.

Platforms

OurGroceries is available on Android, iOS, macOS, and the web. That range lets household members use a mix of mobile devices and computers while sharing the same account’s lists.

Who it's for

Choose OurGroceries if your household wants one instantly synchronized shopping list, recipe storage, and control over how items are organized, without paying to unlock core features. Look elsewhere if members need private lists, if barcode lookup is central to shopping outside the U.S., or if you need to make external edits to an export and re-import them.

Pros and cons

Pro: Shared lists update instantly for everyone signed in to the same account, making it practical for divided or changing household shopping.
Pro: Recipes, item details, voice entry, and aisle-based or manually ordered lists support more than a basic checklist.
Pro: All features and list sharing are included on the free plan; paid options only remove ads.
Con: Ads remain on the free plan, and the paid upgrades remove them only for shared lists.
Con: There are no private lists or price tracking at present, limiting households that need separate shopping plans or price comparison.
Con: Barcode product coverage is U.S.-centric, and exports cannot be re-imported after external changes.

Alternatives

Shopping List Apps is a useful starting point for comparing options across the category. Choose AnyList if you want a free core list and sharing plan with up to five imported web recipes, or its 9.99 USD per year individual plan. Bring! is another free option whose core functions include shared lists, recipes, and special offers. Choose KitchenOwl if free, open-source software with self-hosting support matters more than OurGroceries’ household account model. Groly may suit users who want a free, self-hosted Docker option with no open registration and admin-invited users. BuyBye fits users whose needs align with its free limits of five shopping lists, two people per list, a five-recipe box, and current-week meal planning. Listonic offers unlimited lists on its free plan. Out of Milk is another free option. Grocery Buddy includes all features on its free plan for Android and iOS users.

Verdict

OurGroceries is a strong fit for households that want instant shared shopping lists, recipes, and useful item organization without paying for core features. Its main advantage is the breadth of those features on the free plan; its clearest reasons to look elsewhere are the lack of private lists, U.S.-centric barcode coverage, and exports that cannot be round-tripped after editing.

	OurGroceries	Tote
Free plan	Yes	Yes
Free trial	Yes	No
Paid from	$0.50/mo	$1.08/mo
Open source	No	No
Platforms	Android, iOS, macOS, Web	Android, iOS
Free plan	Yes	Yes
Shared lists	Yes	Yes
Real-time syncing	Yes	Yes
Barcode scanning	Yes	—
Recipe import	Yes	—
Recurring items	—	Yes

OurGroceries vs Tote

OurGroceries

Tote