OpenEats vs Tamari
A side-by-side comparison of two self-hosted recipe managers options — licensing, setup difficulty, resource needs, and what each one replaces.
| Feature | OpenEats | Tamari |
|---|---|---|
| Deploy effort | Under-an-hour setup | Under-an-hour setup |
| Health score | 62 · Good | 73 · Good |
| Category | Recipe Managers | Recipe Managers |
| License | MIT | MIT |
| Language | Dockerfile | Python |
| Setup difficulty | Medium | Easy |
| Min. RAM | 512 MB | 256 MB |
| Deployment | docker, source | docker, source |
| GitHub stars | ★ 695 | ★ 139 |
| First released | 2017 | 2021 |
| Replaces | Paprika, Yummly | Paprika, Mealie |
What are OpenEats and Tamari?
OpenEats
OpenEats is a self-hosted recipe management site that lets you store, search, and organize recipes. It supports importing recipes, scaling ingredients, and building a personal cookbook.
- Recipe storage and search
- Ingredient scaling
- Recipe import
- Multi-user accounts
Tamari
Tamari is a fully-featured recipe manager web application built with Python and Flask. It stores recipes with ingredients, instructions, nutrition, and photos, and includes meal planning, shopping lists, and an API.
- Detailed recipe records with photos
- Search-as-you-type
- Meal plans and shopping lists
- REST API
OpenEats vs Tamari: key differences
OpenEats is written in Dockerfile, while Tamari is built with Python. Tamari is the lighter option, starting around 256 MB of RAM against 512 MB for OpenEats. OpenEats is the more established project (first released 2017), while Tamari arrived in 2021. OpenEats has the considerably larger community, at 695 GitHub stars versus 139.
Why pick each one
Choose OpenEats if…
- Straightforward to deploy
- Docker-friendly
Watch out for
- Development has slowed
- Dated interface
Choose Tamari if…
- Released under the MIT license
- Easy to set up — beginner-friendly
- First-class Docker support for quick deployment
- Written in Python
Frequently asked questions
Is OpenEats or Tamari better?
Neither is universally better. OpenEats has the larger community, while Tamari is simpler to set up (easy difficulty). Choose based on the comparison table above and your own setup.
Are OpenEats and Tamari free and open-source?
Yes. OpenEats is licensed under MIT and Tamari under MIT. Both can be self-hosted at no software cost.
Can I run OpenEats and Tamari with Docker?
OpenEats: yes. Tamari: yes.
Which is lighter on resources, OpenEats or Tamari?
Tamari has the smaller minimum footprint at 256 MB of RAM, compared to about 512 MB for OpenEats. Real-world usage depends on library size, user count, and enabled features.