Paprika’s prices and features as of October 2026, from paprikaapp.com and its US App Store listings, checked October 10, 2026. Dishpin’s from its own code.
We make Dishpin. Paprika is the app people most often ask us to compare it with. So here’s the comparison we’d want to read before switching either way, including the parts where Paprika is plainly better.
They are less alike than they look. Paprika is a complete kitchen organiser that has been refined for years: recipes, meal plans, groceries and a pantry, on every platform. Dishpin is built around one moment: you saw a recipe in a video, and you want to actually cook it, then remember that you did.
At a glance
| Paprika 3 | Dishpin | |
|---|---|---|
| Runs on | iPhone, iPad, Apple Watch, Mac, Windows, Android | iPhone only |
| Price | One-time, per platform: $4.99 iPhone, $29.99 Mac | Free with 5 imports every 30 days; Plus subscription for the rest |
| Sync | Free with a Paprika account | Free with your Dishpin account (required) |
| Import from websites | Built-in browser, Safari extension, bookmarklet | Share sheet or paste a link |
| Import from TikTok and Instagram | Not in Paprika 3 (in the Paprika 4 beta) | Yes, even when the recipe is only spoken in the video |
| Import from photos | Not in Paprika 3 (in the Paprika 4 beta) | Up to 3 photos per recipe |
| Duplicate detection | Not listed | Recognises a post or page you already saved |
| Cook mode | Screen stays on, current step highlighted, timers detected in directions | One step per screen with attached timers Plus |
| Scale servings | Yes | Yes, free |
| Unit conversion | Yes | US and metric Plus |
| Nutrition | Manual field (automatic analysis in the Paprika 4 beta) | Automatic estimate Plus |
| Meal planning | Daily, weekly, monthly, reusable menus | A week’s menu; first week free, then Plus |
| Grocery list | Aisle-sorted, merges duplicates, several lists | Shopping list from your menu |
| Pantry | Quantities and expiry dates | None |
| Meal journal | No | Photos, ratings, notes, stickers and pins, free |
| Export | Yes | Not yet |
Getting recipes in
This is where the two apps differ most.
Paprika is built for the web. Its in-app browser lets you find a recipe on a site and save it with one tap, and its Safari extension and bookmarklet do the same from outside the app. Websites are where Paprika shines, and has for years.
Dishpin is built for the share button. You share a TikTok or Instagram post (or a web page, or up to three photos) to Dishpin without leaving the app you’re in, and the recipe is ready while you keep scrolling. Recipes that are only spoken out loud in a video still come through with amounts and timers. More detail in how to save a recipe from TikTok.
If you share a post you already saved, Dishpin says Already in your Recipe box and doesn’t make a copy or use an import.
The honest trade-off: Paprika has no limit on how many recipes you save, ever, once you’ve paid. Dishpin’s free plan imports 5 recipes every 30 days (cooking a saved recipe earns an extra one, up to three a week), and unlimited imports need Plus Plus. If you save dozens of recipes a month from websites, Paprika’s one-time price is better value.
Worth knowing: Paprika 4, in open beta since September 28, 2026, adds scanning and social media import. Once it’s released, the import gap will narrow. Hindsight Labs says Paprika 4’s premium features will need a subscription after the beta, with prices not yet announced, so the “one-time price” row of this table may change too.
Cooking
Both apps keep your screen awake and help you follow along, in different styles.
Paprika shows the whole recipe, highlights the step you’re on, lets you tick off ingredients, and turns times in the directions into tappable timers.
Dishpin’s cooking mode Plus shows one step per screen in large type, so you can read it from across the counter. Timers are attached to the steps that need them, several can run at once, and if you leave to answer a text, Dishpin brings you back to the same step with your timers still running. A cook who has started a recipe can always finish it. Free cooks get the full ingredient checklist and written steps, and can scale servings.
Which is better? If you like to see the whole method at once, Paprika. If you cook from short videos, where the steps are fast and the timings matter, Dishpin’s one-step view was designed for exactly that.
Planning and shopping
This one goes to Paprika, clearly. Its meal planner does days, weeks and months with reusable menus and exports to your calendar. Its grocery list sorts by aisle, merges “1 onion” and “2 onions”, supports several lists, and exports to Reminders. Its pantry tracks what you have and when it expires.
Dishpin’s Menu plans a week of dinners (you cook them in any order), and builds a shopping list from them with an in-store mode. Your first week’s menu is free; planning more needs Plus Plus. There’s no pantry, and the menu is kept on your phone rather than synced.
Remembering what you cooked
This one goes to Dishpin. When you cook something, you can log it to your journal with a photo, a star rating and a note about what you’d change. Dishes you cook again earn enamel pins (Made again, House special, Signature dish), and meals earn stickers. Paprika doesn’t try to do this. Dishpin Plus cooks can also track what they eat in the journal Plus, with optional targets that are off by default.
Devices and your data
Paprika runs everywhere: iPhone, iPad, Watch, Mac, Windows and Android. Sync is free. You can export your recipes.
Dishpin runs on iPhone only. There’s no iPad version, no Mac or web app, and no Android app. Your recipe box is backed up to your account from the first save (an account is required), but there’s no export yet. If getting your data out matters to you today, that’s a real point for Paprika.
Price
Paprika: $4.99 on iPhone and $29.99 on Mac, paid once per platform, with free sync. For one iPhone, that’s the cheapest serious recipe app there is.
Dishpin: free to save 5 recipes every 30 days, with an ingredient checklist, steps, servings scaling and the journal all free. Plus is a subscription that unlocks unlimited imports, cooking mode, nutrition, unit conversion, meal planning beyond the first week and meal tracking. As of October 2026 Dishpin is in testing ahead of its App Store launch, so the final App Store price isn’t public yet.
Who should pick which
Pick Paprika if:
- you save mostly from websites,
- you use an iPad, Mac, Windows PC or Android device in the kitchen,
- you plan meals and shopping in detail and want a pantry,
- you prefer paying once.
Pick Dishpin if:
- most of your recipes start as TikToks and Instagram Reels,
- you want to cook from them step by step with timers,
- you like keeping a record of what you cooked and seeing it add up.
Use both if you’re a Paprika person who keeps losing TikTok recipes. Nothing stops you from importing videos in Dishpin and keeping Paprika for your web and cookbook collection. For the wider field, including Mela, Crouton and Recipe Keeper, see the best recipe keeper apps in 2026.
Sources, checked October 10, 2026: paprikaapp.com, Paprika 3 on the iPhone App Store, Paprika 3 on the Mac App Store, Paprika news (Paprika 4 beta), Paprika Mac help.
