Grocy vs Vanilla Cookbook
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?
Grocy
ERP for your home groceries and pantry
VS
Vanilla Cookbook
Recipe manager designed with complexity under the hood, keeping the
| Feature | Grocy | Vanilla Cookbook |
|---|---|---|
| Category | Recipe Managers | Recipe Managers |
| License | MIT | GPL-3.0 |
| Language | JavaScript | JavaScript |
| Setup difficulty | Medium | Medium |
| Min. RAM | 256 MB | 512 MB |
| Deployment | docker, bare-metal, source | docker |
| GitHub stars | ★ 9,363 | ★ 153 |
| First released | 2017 | 2026 |
| Replaces | Pantry Check, AnyList | — |
Why pick each one
Choose Vanilla Cookbook if…
- Released under the GPL-3.0 license
- First-class Docker support for quick deployment
- Written in JavaScript
- Lightweight — runs in 512 MB RAM
Frequently asked questions
Is Grocy or Vanilla Cookbook better?
Neither is universally better. Grocy has the larger community; both share a medium setup difficulty, so the decision comes down to features and licensing.
Are Grocy and Vanilla Cookbook free and open-source?
Yes. Grocy is licensed under MIT and Vanilla Cookbook under GPL-3.0. Both can be self-hosted at no software cost.
Can I run Grocy and Vanilla Cookbook with Docker?
Grocy: yes. Vanilla Cookbook: yes.