Fork Recipes vs Mealie
A side-by-side comparison of two self-hosted recipe managers options — licensing, setup difficulty, resource needs, and what each one replaces.
Not the right match-up?
Fork Recipes
Manage your food recipes with simplicity
VS
Mealie
Self-hosted recipe manager and meal planner
| Feature | Fork Recipes | Mealie |
|---|---|---|
| Category | Recipe Managers | Recipe Managers |
| License | BSD-3-Clause | AGPL-3.0 |
| Language | HTML | Python |
| Setup difficulty | Medium | Easy |
| Min. RAM | 512 MB | 512 MB |
| Deployment | docker | docker, bare-metal, source |
| GitHub stars | ★ 68 | ★ 12,932 |
| First released | 2025 | 2020 |
| Replaces | — | Paprika, Plan to Eat |
Why pick each one
Choose Fork Recipes if…
- Released under the BSD-3-Clause license
- First-class Docker support for quick deployment
- Written in HTML
- Lightweight — runs in 512 MB RAM
Frequently asked questions
Is Fork Recipes or Mealie better?
Mealie is the stronger all-round pick: it has both the larger community and the simpler easy setup. Consider Fork Recipes if its specific feature set fits your needs better.
Are Fork Recipes and Mealie free and open-source?
Yes. Fork Recipes is licensed under BSD-3-Clause and Mealie under AGPL-3.0. Both can be self-hosted at no software cost.
Can I run Fork Recipes and Mealie with Docker?
Fork Recipes: yes. Mealie: yes.