JustTheRecipe Alternative: An Honest Comparison
JustTheRecipe and Gratly are trying to solve the same thing: recipe pages bury the recipe. We measured 23 of them and the median made you scroll past about 1,321 words before the ingredients.
Both tools cut that away. They go about it differently, and each is genuinely better at some things. Here is the comparison written straight, including where we lose.
At a glance
| JustTheRecipe | Gratly | |
|---|---|---|
| How you save | Paste a URL, or share from an app | One click in your browser |
| Works without an account | Yes | No, one free account |
| Free saved recipes | 20 with an account | 20 |
| Serving scaling | Premium | Free |
| Printing | Premium | Free |
| Cook mode with timers | Not a listed feature | Free |
| Video import | Premium | Paid |
| Meal planner | Not a listed feature | Paid |
| Shopping lists | Not a listed feature | Paid |
| Household sharing | Not a listed feature | Paid, up to 6 |
| Mobile app | iOS and Android | Not yet |
Where JustTheRecipe wins
It has shipped mobile apps. iOS and Android, both live. Gratly does not have one yet, and if you mostly cook from a phone that is a real difference, not a detail. Gratly's saved recipes open in a mobile browser in the meantime, which works but is not the same.
You can use it without an account. Paste a link, read the recipe, walk away. Gratly asks for one free account before you save anything. If you want zero commitment for a one-off recipe, that is friction Gratly has and JustTheRecipe does not.
Sharing into it is flexible. Because it takes a pasted URL or a share-sheet hand-off, it catches things from apps a browser extension never sees.
Where Gratly wins
Scaling and printing are free. JustTheRecipe puts adjusting serving sizes and printing behind Premium. In Gratly both are free, along with unit conversion between cups and grams. If you regularly cook for a different number of people than the recipe assumes, that is the difference between a free tool and a subscription.
One click instead of a paste. Gratly is a browser extension, so saving is a button on the page you are already reading. No copying the URL, no switching to another tab or app. See what to look for in a Chrome extension to save recipes.
Cook mode. A screen that stays awake, steps you tap through, and timers you start from a step. That is the part that matters once you are actually cooking with wet hands.
It goes past the recipe. Meal planning, shopping lists sorted by aisle, and household sharing for up to 6 people. Those are paid, but they exist. JustTheRecipe is focused on extraction and keeping; Gratly carries on into planning the week and shopping for it.
The honest summary
If you want the recipe on your phone right now with no account and no install, JustTheRecipe is the better answer, and its mobile apps are a real advantage Gratly cannot currently match.
If you cook from a laptop, want one-click saving, and want scaling and printing without paying, Gratly is the better fit. And if you want the week planned and the shopping list built from it, that is a job JustTheRecipe does not do.
Both cap free saving at 20 recipes, so neither lets you build a whole cookbook for nothing.
FAQ
Is Gratly free? Saving and cleaning recipes from any website is free, up to 20 active recipes, with cook mode, timers, scaling, unit conversion and printing. No card. The full split is in what is free and what is Plus.
Does Gratly have an app? Not yet. It is a Chrome and Edge extension plus a web app, and saved recipes open in any mobile browser. JustTheRecipe has iOS and Android apps today.
Can I use Gratly without an account? No. Gratly uses one free account so recipes sync across devices rather than living in one browser. See saving recipes without creating another account.
Which is better for videos? Both charge for it. JustTheRecipe transcribes video recipes on Premium; Gratly imports from TikTok, Instagram and YouTube on Plus. See saving recipes from TikTok, Instagram and YouTube.
Do I have to choose? No. They are free enough to try both on the same recipe and see which extraction you prefer. Coverage differs by site.
Try the free side first
Add Gratly to Chrome for free and save a recipe you would otherwise have lost. Related: the best free recipe organizer apps and how to save a recipe from any website.
Also weighing a phone-first option? See Recipe Bro vs Gratly.
Prefer something open source you can self-host? See RecipeSage vs Gratly.