Recipe app comparison

Spices vs Mela Recipe Manager

Mela is a polished Apple recipe manager that puts meal plans in Calendar and shopping in Reminders. Spices converts each recipe to the measures, oven and ingredient names you use. Both sync through iCloud with no account.

Compare features Switching from Mela

At a glance

Mela export: .melarecipes
Spices import: Add → Import
Categories: kept

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

Spices and Mela, feature by feature

Spices and Mela compared
	Spices	Mela
Devices	iPhone, iPad	iPhone, iPad, Mac
Pricing	Free up to 25 recipes; Pro monthly, yearly or once	Free download; one-time unlock per platform
Save from websites	Yes	Yes, plus RSS feeds
Instagram, TikTok, YouTube	Yes, from the caption or description	Yes, from the video description
Photos and cookbook pages	Screenshots and cookbook pages, read on the device	Yes, with text recognition
Unit conversion	US, UK, Australian and metric, based on where the recipe is from	US and metric
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	Yes
Meal planning	A week of dinners; shared with Pro	In Apple Calendar
Shopping list	Built from the week; shared with Pro	In Apple Reminders
Household sharing	Shared library, notes and week through iCloud (Pro)	Shared library with other iCloud users
Account	None, uses iCloud	No account
Cook mode	One step at a time, named timers, screen stays on	Full screen, timers, several recipes at once
Pantry	No	Not listed
Nutrition	No	A text field, not calculated
Sync	iCloud	iCloud

Mela 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?

Mela is the better fit if you use a Mac and already plan in Calendar and Reminders. Spices does more with recipes written in other countries.

Choose Spices if

You cook from US, UK and Australian recipes and want cups, gas marks and fan ovens converted for you.
You want ingredient names in the words your shop uses.
You scale to a pan size or to the pack of an ingredient you already have.
You want notes on a recipe that show who wrote them and when.

Choose Mela if

You manage your recipes on a Mac as well as iPhone and iPad.
You want meal plans in Apple Calendar and shopping in Apple Reminders.
You prefer a one-time purchase per device.

Switching from Mela

In Mela, export your recipes as a Mela recipes file.
Save the export, .melarecipes, 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 Mela library stays where it is. The free plan holds up to 25 recipes; Pro holds the rest. Help with imports

Sources

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

Other comparisons

Questions

Can I move my Mela recipes to Spices?

Yes. Export your recipes from Mela, save the .melarecipes file in Files, then open Add → Import from another recipe app in Spices. Your Mela library stays where it is.

Does Spices have a Mac app?

No. Spices is made for iPhone and iPad. If you manage your recipes on a Mac, Mela is the better fit.

Do both apps share recipes with family?

Yes, both through iCloud. In Spices the household also shares the week of dinners, the shopping list and notes on each recipe.

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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