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Mealpenny
A week of dinners that fits your grocery budget.

Seven dinners.
One list.
Under budget.

Tell Mealpenny what you want to spend, who's eating and your ZIP. It plans seven dinners and writes one grocery list, priced for your US region.

Free. Takes about 30 seconds.

$94.32
$5.68 under
7 dinners for 4 people · $100 budget · range $80–109
MON
2
Crispy tofu and broccoli stir-fry35 min
$1.56 a serving
TUE
3
Weeknight beef and broccoli30 min
$4.47 a serving
WED
4
Smothered pork chops with rice45 min
$3.16 a serving
Real planner output: Nov 2 – 8 · 4 people · Columbus, OH

Three steps to dinner sorted.

  1. Set the budget

    Your weekly number, who's eating, your ZIP.

  2. Get seven dinners

    Priced per serving. Swap any night you don't like.

  3. Shop one list

    Grouped by aisle. Leftover packages carry into next week.

Plan my week
Built around what you spend

Your budget is the limit, not a suggestion.

Pick a weekly amount from $30. Mealpenny plans under it, prices the whole packages you’ll actually buy, and shows an honest range rather than one hopeful number.

If a week can’t fit, Make it fit swaps in cheaper dinners, or tells you the lowest budget that works.

The week aboveEstimate fits; could run up to $109
$80–109
Estimated $94.32 for 7 dinners for 4 people. The band is the ±15% range; the dashed line is the budget.
One list, sorted by aisle

Shared ingredients, counted once.

Two dinners that use half an onion buy one onion. Quantities scale with your household, and the list total is the same number as the week.

Check things off in the aisle. Pantry basics like oil and salt are listed apart and left out of the total.

It learns your house

Every dinner says why it’s there.

Tell it what your household loves, in six quick questions or your own words. After you cook a dinner, answer one question. “Not for us” means it won’t come back.

THU
5
Creamy chicken, broccoli and rice skillet
Why this pick: You love chicken · Mild · $2.34 a serving · 40 min
From the same sample week, for a household that loves Mexican food and chicken and keeps things mild.
How prices are estimated

Public prices, honestly rounded.

Prices start from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics Average Price Data¹, adjusted for your Census region from the first three digits of your ZIP². Items BLS doesn’t track use a documented estimate. Every week is priced in whole packages, and shown as a range because your store, brands, sales and tax will differ.

  1. BLS Average Price Data, August 2026.
  2. Northeast, Midwest, South or West. Without a ZIP, U.S. averages.

Questions and answers

Is it free?
Yes. Planning, recipes, the grocery list and saved weeks are free during early access. A paid tier, Mealpenny Plus, may come later; nothing you use today will be taken away.
How are prices estimated?
From U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics average prices for your Census region, plus documented estimates for items BLS doesn't track. We price the whole packages you buy, and show a range because your store will differ.
Do I need an account?
No. Plan your week without one; create a free account when you want to save weeks.
Do I need the app?
No. Everything works in your browser, on a phone or a laptop. There's also an iPhone app: sign in with the same account and your weeks are there.
What do you store?
Your email, your answers (budget, household, ZIP, foods to skip, taste) and your weeks. No ads. Pseudonymous usage stats (Mixpanel), which you can turn off in Settings. Download or delete everything from Settings.
Does it handle allergies?
You can skip foods like peanuts, dairy or shellfish, and those recipes are left out. Brands vary, so always read labels.