Recipe app comparison

Spices vs Crouton, the recipe app

Crouton and Spices are both Apple-only recipe keepers that sync through iCloud, scan cookbook pages and walk you through cooking. Crouton also runs on Mac and Apple Watch. Spices converts each saved recipe to your measures, your oven and the ingredient names you shop by.

Compare features Switching from Crouton

At a glance

Crouton export: .zip of .crumb files
Spices import: Add → Import
Categories: kept

You can switch back to the recipe as written at any time.

Spices and Crouton, feature by feature

Spices and Crouton compared
	Spices	Crouton
Devices	iPhone, iPad	iPhone, iPad, Mac, Apple Watch
Pricing	Free up to 25 recipes; Pro monthly, yearly or once	Free; Crouton Plus purchase; optional Discover subscription
Save from websites	Yes	Yes, plus PDF and RSS
Instagram, TikTok, YouTube	Yes, from the caption or description	Not listed
Photos and cookbook pages	Screenshots and cookbook pages, read on the device	Yes, cookbook scanning
Unit conversion	US, UK, Australian and metric, based on where the recipe is from	Metric and imperial
Oven: °F, °C, fan, gas mark	Yes, for your fan or conventional oven	Not listed
Ingredient names by country	US, UK or Dutch names	Not listed
Scaling	Servings, pan size, or an ingredient you have	Servings, multiplier or a chosen ingredient
Meal planning	A week of dinners; shared with Pro	Weekly plans, make-ahead reminders
Shopping list	Built from the week; shared with Pro	Yes, with Apple Reminders
Household sharing	Shared library, notes and week through iCloud (Pro)	iCloud and Family Sharing
Account	None, uses iCloud	No separate account
Cook mode	One step at a time, named timers, screen stays on	Hands-free steps, several timers, Bluetooth scale
Pantry	No	Not listed
Nutrition	No	Not listed
Sync	iCloud	iCloud

Crouton features checked on 10 November 2026 by Thien Nguyen, who makes Spices, against its official website, help pages and App Store listing. “Not listed” means we couldn’t find it there, not that the app lacks it. Prices change, so check the developer’s site.

Which one fits you?

Both are Apple-only and sync through iCloud, so it comes down to the extras: Apple Watch, Mac and a kitchen scale for Crouton, conversion and a shared week of dinners for Spices.

Choose Spices if

You save recipes from other countries and want gas marks, fan ovens and Australian tablespoons handled for you.
You want ingredient names as your shop labels them: double cream rather than heavy cream.
You want the household to see the same week of dinners and each other’s notes on a recipe.
You scale to the pan you own, with the steps scaling too.

Choose Crouton if

You cook from your Apple Watch, or want a Mac app.
You weigh with a compatible Bluetooth kitchen scale.
Your shopping list lives in Apple Reminders.

Switching from Crouton

In Crouton, select the recipes you want and export them as Crouton files.
Save the export, a .zip of .crumb files, in the Files app.
In Spices, open Add → Import from another recipe app and pick the file.

Spices brings your categories across and shows any recipes that need a check. Your Crouton library stays where it is. The free plan holds up to 25 recipes; Pro holds the rest. Help with imports

Sources

Crouton is a product of its developer. Spices is not affiliated with it.

Other comparisons

Questions

Can I move my Crouton recipes to Spices?

Yes. Export your recipes from Crouton, save the .zip of .crumb files in Files, then open Add → Import from another recipe app in Spices. Your Crouton library stays where it is.

Do Crouton and Spices both use iCloud?

Yes. Both sync through iCloud and neither asks you to create an account.

Does Spices have an Apple Watch app?

No. Spices runs on iPhone and iPad. Crouton is the better fit if you want recipes and timers on your wrist.

Let your recipes convert themselves

Spices shows every saved recipe in the units, oven setting and ingredient names you use, and you can switch back to the original at any time. In testing for iPhone and iPad.

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