← Idea market
Food72,120 searches / mo

Meal prep portioning

Sunday cooking that lasts five days.

Opportunity score

7,335 / 10k

Worth a weekend. Demand is real, execution decides it.

Rank

#19

Gap

B

  • Demand

    83

    72,120 contestable searches a month across 25 related keywords.

  • Momentum

    35

    Last three months ran down 18.2% against the three before, seasonality smoothed out.

  • Competition gap

    58

    16 real products rank on page one for this, ad competition 0.25.

  • Crowd

    48

    8 head-to-head rankings from builders, counted at partial weight until 20.

  • Willingness to pay

    76

    Advertisers pay $5.15 a click for this search — real budget chases this problem.

What this score is based on

evidence checked 9/27/2026

  • Search demand verified against Google Ads data
  • 12 months of search history
  • 25 related keywords clustered
  • 8 firsthand pain signals from forum threads
  • 16 competitors analyzed from page-one results
  • 8 crowd rankings from builders

Search demand comes from Google Ads data via DataForSEO and refreshes daily. Competitors come from a live scan of page-one results. Crowd input comes from builders ranking ideas 1-2-3 on the market.

Keyword cluster

25 keywords · 72,120 searches a month combined

Demand counts the whole cluster: 72,120 searches a month across every relevant way people look for this problem. The intent label on each keyword tells you how close that searcher is to wanting software.

KeywordIntentSearchesCPCAd comp.
meal planning appwants a tool18,100$5.230.15
menu planning appwants a tool18,100$5.230.15
mealimeunclear3,600$3.560.15
free meal planning appwants a tool2,400$3.860.57
apps for meal planning freewants a tool2,400$3.860.57
free menu planning appwants a tool2,400$3.860.57
meal plan applicationwants an article2,400$5.890.42
shopping list and meal plannerwants a tool1,900$3.191.00
healthy week plan mealswants an article1,900$3.561.00
apps for healthy mealswants a tool1,600$5.630.34
free meal planwants an article1,300$5.120.58
best meal planning appwants a tool1,300$5.570.50
meal prep appwants a tool1,300$6.690.61
best menu planning appwants a tool1,300$5.570.50
best food planning appswants a tool1,300$5.570.50
top meal planning appswants a tool1,300$5.570.50
good meal planning appswants a tool1,300$5.570.50
great meal planning appswants a tool1,300$5.570.50
meal calendar plannerwants a tool1,300$0.861.00
meal planning app bestwants a tool1,300$5.570.50
meal plan generatorwants a tool1,000$4.120.54
paprika meal planning appwants a tool1,000$0.980.00
shopping list weekly meal plannerwants a tool880$2.451.00
mealime appwants a tool720$2.930.24
easy meal plannerwants a tool720$4.151.00

CPC is what an advertiser pays Google for one click on that phrase — a rough price tag on how valuable the visitor is. Ad comp. runs 0 to 1 and is how full the ad auction is: near 1 means advertisers are fighting over it (money is there, but ranking is hard), near 0 means almost nobody bids.

Who has the problem

Users struggle to combine saving custom or imported meals with grocery shopping functionality within a single app. They resort to various tools that fail to integrate their favorite recipes, new discoveries, and shopping lists seamlessly.

"Are meal planning apps worth it or just another thing to ..."from a thread we pulled below
Who experiences it
Someone attempting to get their eating habits together to avoid ordering takeout or winging meals.
When it happens
When trying to plan healthy week meals or a healthy week plan for daily eating routines.
How often
Weekly, when planning meals, searching for a 'meal planning app' (18,100/mo) or 'menu planning app' (18,100/mo).
What they do today
Using ChatGPT for meal planning, grocery lists, and organizing meals, or relying on apps like Paprika Recipe Manager and Mealime, which often don't satisfy specific needs or require expensive payments.

Read off 25 search phrases and 8 forum threads listed below, 9/30/2026.

Why now

Demand is cooling; build only if you have an angle the incumbents lack.

  • Searches are down 45% year over year

    24,291 a month twelve months ago → 13,240 now for "meal planning app".

  • Cooling 18% over the last quarter

    Last three months of searches against the three before them.

  • Peaks in February

    Demand swings 124% across the year, so ship roughly two months before February.

  • Advertisers pay $5.15 a click here

    Buying this intent instead of ranking for it would run roughly $111,425 a month — money is already chasing these searches.

  • 8 real products on page one

    Alongside 9 articles and reference pages, which is room a focused tool can take.

Search data

verified · dataforseo:us · refreshed 9/27/2026

Lead keyword
meal planning app
Cluster volume
72,120 / mo
across 25 related keywords; lead phrase is 18,100 / mo
CPC
$5.15
what an advertiser pays for one click here
Ad competition
0.25
0-1 scale: barely any advertisers bidding

Opportunity score 7,335 = 40% contestable search demand (72,120 a month across 25 keywords) + 25% how open the competition still is (16 products on page one) + 15% momentum (last three months vs the three before, capped so one bucketed month can't swing it) + 10% willingness to pay ($5.15 a click) + 10% crowd rankings (Elo 1536, 8 head-to-heads, weighted by how many votes exist). Anything we can't measure is dropped and the rest re-weighted, so a blank signal never counts as an average one. Search data refreshes daily from Google Ads via DataForSEO.

Monthly searches for "meal planning app"

8 votes · demand from dataforseo:us, updated 9/27/2026

24,291
Sep 25
16,194
Oct 25
16,194
Nov 25
16,194
Dec 25
29,653
Jan 26
19,805
Feb 26
19,805
Mar 26
16,194
Apr 26
16,194
May 26
13,240
Jun 26
16,194
Jul 26
13,240
Aug 26

Peak 29,653 · latest 13,240 · low 13,240 searches a month

Google reports monthly volume in fixed buckets (…27,100 · 33,100 · 40,500 · 49,500), so steady months land on the exact same number. Weekly data isn't published.

This chart tracks the single lead phrase. The demand score uses the whole cluster of 25 related phrases (72,120 searches a month), listed below.

Revenue potential

estimate, not a promise

Priced and converted as a prosumer subscription — the funnel below changes with that model, because a freemium consumer app and a B2B tool convert nothing alike.

MRR by month 12

$687 – $4,239

115–706 paying users · +12–77 new a month at 5% churn

Year-one run rate

$8,249 – $50,866

the month-12 number annualised — you earn less than this during the ramp

Price

$6/mo

same price as the business model below

24-month projection

log scale

Month 24 · hover to scrub

Slow build $822Good execution $5,497Breakout $83,406

The two solid lines are the range above: a slow build and good execution on a slice of this demand. The dashed line is the breakout — you become the default answer for this problem, take roughly a quarter of the intent, convert far better because people arrive already sold, and churn halves. That's the outcome worth chasing, and it's about $83,406 a month by month 24 (34,618 paying users). Most ideas land on the bottom line; the point of the chart is that the ceiling isn't the estimate.

How we got there

  • 72,120 cluster searches a month, 1.6x for app stores and word of mouth.
  • You reach 0.9-5.5% of that, scaled by ad competition 0.25.
  • 10% of visitors sign up, 12% of those pay. Trial-led: people arrive already shopping, so trial-to-paid runs high.
  • That wins 12-77 new subscribers a month. Stack 12 months of that against 5% monthly churn and you're holding 115-706 paying users by month 12.
  • Price $6/mo, taken from the business model below.

Who already builds this

8 real products · 9 articles, explainers and store pages · 6 read in depth · scanned daily on Google for "meal planning app"

8 real products own this search. Everything else on page one is a roundup, review post or explainer, listed separately below.

  • #2Mealime

    Ranks #2 on Google for "meal planning app".

    Strengths Offers personalized meal planning with over 200 options, simplified grocery shopping with organized lists, and easy-to-follow recipes that can be cooked in about 30 minutes, even for those new to cooking.

    Weaknesses The service is explicitly stated to shut down on October 21, 2026, indicating a limited lifespan for users.

    ~102,215 organic visits a month (estimate)

    mealime.com · from live Google results · verified Aug 18

    source page
  • #6Plantoeat

    Ranks #6 on Google for "meal planning app".

    Pricing Only $5.95/mo or $49/year; 14-day free trial

    Strengths Automates grocery list creation from meal plans, helps users save money on food, and reduces time spent planning and shopping.

    Weaknesses The provided text does not mention any specific weaknesses, limitations, or missing features.

    ~153,937 organic visits a month (estimate)

    plantoeat.com · from live Google results · verified Aug 18

    source page
  • #8Spoonuniversity

    Ranks #8 on Google for "meal planning app".

    ~806,543 organic visits a month (estimate)

    spoonuniversity.com · from live Google results · verified Aug 18

    source page
  • #10Menuplan

    Ranks #10 on Google for "menu planning app".

    ~238 organic visits a month (estimate)

    menuplan.app · from live Google results · verified Aug 18

  • #11Samsungfood

    Ranks #11 on Google for "meal planning app".

    ~3,601,397 organic visits a month (estimate)

    samsungfood.com · from live Google results · verified Aug 18

  • #14Thetimefairy

    Ranks #14 on Google for "meal planning app".

    ~1,456 organic visits a month (estimate)

    thetimefairy.co.uk · from live Google results · verified Aug 18

  • #17Mealboard

    Ranks #17 on Google for "meal planning app".

    ~936 organic visits a month (estimate)

    mealboard.com · from live Google results · verified Aug 18

  • #19Mealpreppro

    Ranks #19 on Google for "meal planning app".

    ~3,945 organic visits a month (estimate)

    mealpreppro.com · from live Google results · verified Aug 18

Also ranking, but not products (9)

Roundups, review posts, explainers and store pages. They compete for the search, not for the job — they don't count against the competition gap.

Likely business model

willingness to pay 58/100

Prosumer subscription

People are actively shopping for a tool here, so charge from day one.

How rivals make money 6 competitors read: 4 on subscriptions, 0 one-time, 0 free. Plans seen: FREE download of the app, can upgrade for $5.99/month to get more features · Free for basic daily plans; Premium approximately $5–$15 per month (billed monthly or annually); Pro $49 per month (for dietitians, trainers, health coaches) · Only $5.95/mo or $49/year; 14-day free trial

Price to test · from real competitor pricing

$4–$8/mo

Median of 3 competitor pricing pages we could read ($6/mo), widened either side.

What to charge for

Trial then subscribe. This crowd is already comparing paid tools, so ask for the card early rather than running a wide free tier.

Willingness-to-pay evidence

  • 6 competitors read: 4 on subscriptions, 0 one-time, 0 free. Plans seen: FREE download of the app, can upgrade for $5.99/month to get more features · Free for basic daily plans; Premium approximately $5–$15 per month (billed monthly or annually); Pro $49 per month (for dietitians, trainers, health coaches) · Only $5.95/mo or $49/year; 14-day free trial
  • Advertisers pay $5.15 a click for this intent — real money already chases it.
  • Competitors charge a median of $6/mo, from 3 pricing pages read.
  • 68% of the 25-keyword cluster is commercial-intent wording (best, app, pricing, alternative).
  • Ad competition 0.25 — few advertisers fighting for it.

Firsthand pain signals

8 discussions · source links, check them yourself

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