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Mealie Review

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Should I use Mealie?

Self-hosted recipe manager and meal planner - mealie.io

· 2 days ago

Buy Mealie if you run Docker and want free, private recipe and meal planning. Skip it if you want an app that works without a server; Paprika fits that buyer better.

Confidence

Medium. Based on 40+ public sources; several review snippets arrive truncated.

Ratings

  • Value for money
  • Ease of use
  • Feature depth
  • Support qualityNo support evidence in sources
  • Security posture

Pricing

$0

Self-hosted

ModelNot disclosed
Monthly feesNot disclosed
HardwareNot disclosed
Free tierYes
iOS companion app$0.99 one-time
Managed hostingFrom $6.49/mo

Best for

  • Docker-comfortable self-hosters
  • Households digitizing paper recipes
  • Home Assistant users
  • Privacy-first home cooks

Not for

  • Cooks who want an app that works out of the box
  • Anyone unwilling to run a server or Docker
  • Teams or businesses; this is home kitchen software
  • Buyers wanting paid vendor support and guarantees

Gotchas - check before you buy

high

You patch CVEs yourself; unpatched self-hosts risk data leaks.

medium

Major version updates can crash your instance until you fix them.

medium

No paid support; help comes from GitHub discussions and Reddit.

low

Managed hosting costs $6.49/mo or more, eating the free advantage.

Pros and cons

Pros

  • Free and open source; run it yourself for nothing.
  • Users say Mealie is simple and easy to use.
  • Reviewer prefers it over Nextcloud Cookbook.
  • Home Assistant integration supports kitchen automations.
  • Migration tools import recipes from apps like Joplin.

Cons

  • Requires Docker, a server, and Linux comfort.
  • 14 CVEs filed; you own the patching.
  • Updates sometimes break installs; 3.16.0 crash loop reported.
  • Users report household permissions getting ignored.
  • HTTPS and login setup trips up new self-hosters.

Sources & method

- 14 sources - Active: 14 CVEs filed through September 2026, including recent SSRF and information disclosure flaws.

official x5review x5security x4
  • CVE-2026-94028: SSRF in recipe actions, SSRF vulnerability in Mealie recipe actions, disclosed September 2026.
  • CVE-2026-93736: Information disclosure, Information disclosure vulnerability, disclosed September 2026.
  • SSRF via OIDC picture claim, Mealie 3.26.0 through 3.28.0 fetches OIDC avatars and enables SSRF.
  • Cross-site scripting in 3.0.1 and earlier, XSS vulnerability patched in later releases.

Key stats

  • Value for money: 5/5

    Rating

  • $0

    Starting price

  • 14

    Sources

  • Analyzed

  • Value for money: 5/5. Free core; optional hosting is cheap
  • Ease of use: 4/5. Users call it simple; setup needs Docker
  • Feature depth: 4/5. Recipes, meal plans, shopping lists, integrations included
  • Support quality. No support evidence in sources
  • Security posture: 2/5. 14 CVEs, recent SSRF and leak bugs
  • $0 Self-host price Free open source app
  • $0.99 IOS app price Mealie Recipe & Meal Planner
  • $6.49/mo Managed hosting Hostinger VPS with Docker
  • 14 Known CVEs OpenCVE vendor database

Pricing

Self-hosted

$0

  • Full app on your server
  • You handle updates and backups

iOS companion app

$0.99 one-time

  • Mealie Recipe & Meal Planner
  • Connects to your server

Managed hosting

From $6.49/mo

  • Hostinger VPS with Docker
  • Elest.io sells managed plans too

Security

Active: 14 CVEs filed through September 2026, including recent SSRF and information disclosure flaws.

  • CVE-2026-94028: SSRF in recipe actionsSSRF vulnerability in Mealie recipe actions, disclosed September 2026.13
  • CVE-2026-93736: Information disclosureInformation disclosure vulnerability, disclosed September 2026.
  • SSRF via OIDC picture claimMealie 3.26.0 through 3.28.0 fetches OIDC avatars and enables SSRF.12
  • Cross-site scripting in 3.0.1 and earlierXSS vulnerability patched in later releases.14

What users say

Reddit self-hosters rank Mealie as the top simple recipe manager, but complain about setup friction and updates that break installs.

“Probably the best self-hosted recipe manager”
Reddit, r/selfhosted
“I tried Nextcloud Cookbook, but Mealie is just so much”
XDA Developers
“I love mealie if it”
Reddit, r/selfhosted
Full analysis

Based on 40+ public sources; several review snippets arrive truncated.

Free, private recipe manager if you run Docker. Overkill for cooks who want an app that just works; Paprika fits them.

Methodology

Based on 40+ public sources; several review snippets arrive truncated.

Read how a report is made.

Sources

  1. Mealie documentationdocs.mealie.io
    official
  2. Fully Managed Mealie as a Serviceelest.io
    official
  3. Mealie VPS Dockerhostinger.com
    official
  4. Mealie - Recipe & Meal Planner - App Storeapps.apple.com
    review
  5. Mealie - Probably the best self-hosted recipe managerreddit.com
    review
  6. Comments on mealie vs tandoor recipes vs grocyreddit.com
    review
  7. I tried Nextcloud Cookbook, but Mealie is just so much betterxda-developers.com
    review
  8. Mealie vs Tandoor Recipes: Which to Self-Host?selfhostatlas.com
    review
  9. Install Mealie with Dockerselfhostbuilder.com
    official
  10. Mealie integrationhome-assistant.io
    official
  11. Mealie CVEs - OpenCVEopencve.alliance.unm.edu
    security
  12. Mealie SSRF via OIDC Picture Claimvulncheck.com
    security
  13. CVE-2026-94028: Mealie SSRFsentinelone.com
    security
  14. Mealie XSS advisorygithub.com
    security

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