Comparison

The best recipe scaling apps for iPhone, and what each one actually scales

Published October 10, 2026 Last checked October 10, 2026

Which app scales a recipe best on iPhone?

For straight ingredient scaling, Pestle and Crouton are the most flexible: both let you type an exact target instead of dragging a slider, and Crouton can scale from one ingredient you have. If you only want a calculator and no recipe library, the free Recipe Scaler app does the math for you. Sous Chef works differently. It treats “feed 6 instead of 2” as an edit to the whole recipe, so the pan size, batch count, or timing in the steps can change along with the quantities.

That difference matters more than any number on a slider. Every app below can multiply 2 cups by 1.5. Where they split is what happens to the parts of a recipe that aren’t quantities: “use an 8-inch pan,” “cook in two batches,” “bake 25 minutes.” Multiplying the ingredient list leaves those lines exactly as they were, and they’re often the lines that ruin a scaled recipe. We cover the cooking side of that in how to scale a recipe and does cooking time change when you double a recipe. This page is about which tool does what.

Three kinds of scaling

Before the table, it helps to know there are three different features hiding under the word “scaling”:

1. Multiply. Pick a serving count or a factor, and every quantity gets multiplied. Units stay as written, so you may end up with “4.5 tsp” or “0.33 cup.”
2. Multiply and tidy the units. Same math, but the app rewrites awkward results into a unit you’d actually measure. For example, Pestle converts 3 tsp to 1 tbsp once a quantity crosses a threshold.
3. Edit the recipe. Quantities change, and so do the steps that depended on them: the pan, the number of batches, the time you should start checking. This is what a cook does in their head after the multiplying is done. Only an app that can rewrite steps can do it.

How eight scaling apps compare

Every claim below comes from the app’s own US App Store listing (including its release notes) or the company’s site, checked on October 10, 2026. Where a listing doesn’t say something, the table says “not stated” rather than guessing.

App by app

Pestle: the most precise scaling controls

Pestle’s listing describes a scaling system with more thought behind it than most: tap the servings label to scale to an exact number, see the relative scale when a recipe doesn’t state servings, and lock a scale so it sticks. The 4.0 release notes add scaling for several quantities inside a single ingredient line, which handles lines like “1 cup plus 2 tablespoons.” It also converts small units upward, so a tripled teaspoon becomes a tablespoon instead of “3 tsp.” The free plan includes scaling and unit conversion but keeps only 15 recipes, per Pestle’s pricing page.

Crouton: scale from the ingredient you actually have

Crouton is the one to pick if you often start from what’s in the fridge. Its release notes describe scaling “by multiplier, serving count, or a selected ingredient.” That means you can tell it you have 600 g of chicken instead of 900 g and let the rest of the recipe follow. You can do this from step-by-step mode while you cook. Crouton’s newest release also adds ingredient substitutions that apply “to ingredient quantities and cooking instructions without changing your saved recipe,” but that requires the Discover subscription, and it’s a substitution feature, not scaling.

Paprika and Recipe Keeper: reliable serving-size math

Both do the classic version well: pick a serving count, and every ingredient recalculates. Paprika handles recipes that list two measurements, like “1 cup (200g),” per its release notes. Both convert between US and metric. Neither listing says the steps change, so a doubled recipe will still tell you to use the original pan. That’s fine if you know to check it. Their meal planning and grocery lists are the real reason to buy them; see the best recipe organizer apps for iPhone.

Mela and AnyList: scaling is there, but not the headline

Mela’s release notes confirm ingredient scaling and US/metric conversion, but its listing doesn’t describe how either works, so try it on one of your own recipes before relying on it. AnyList’s features page puts recipe scaling in the paid AnyList Complete tier. The free plan doesn’t scale at all.

Recipe Scaler: a free calculator with nothing else

If you don’t want a recipe library, Recipe Scaler is the simplest option: type the original quantities in one column and what you have of any single ingredient in the other, and it recalculates the rest proportionally. It doesn’t store recipes, convert units, or know what a pan is. For one-off arithmetic, that’s enough.

Sous Chef: scaling as an edit, not a multiply

Sous Chef doesn’t have a servings slider. You ask: “feed 6 instead of 2,” or “halve this, I only have one egg.” The model returns a typed patch that the server validates before anything changes. Because steps are patchable just like ingredients, one request can change “2 chicken thighs” to “6 chicken thighs” and also change “cook in a 10-inch skillet” to “cook in two batches.” Changed lines are marked Edited, there’s an edits log, and the original recipe is never overwritten, so you can undo back to it. Invalid edits are rejected rather than silently applied.

The honest tradeoff: an AI-generated edit can be wrong in ways a multiplier can’t. A multiplier is always exactly right about arithmetic and never helps with the pan. Sous Chef can help with the pan, but you should still read the edited lines before you cook. It also has no meal planner or grocery list, and it’s iPhone-only.

What a multiplier misses

Take a weeknight braise written for 2: 2 chicken thighs, 1 cup of stock, “brown the chicken in a 10-inch skillet, then simmer covered for 30 minutes.” Scale it to 6 in any multiplier app and you get 6 thighs and 3 cups of stock, which is correct. The step still says one 10-inch skillet.

Six thighs won’t brown in one 10-inch skillet. They’ll steam. Three cups of stock in a skillet sized for one may not fit under the lid. The simmer time probably won’t triple either, because each thigh is still the same size. A cook fixes this without thinking: brown in batches, move to a wide pot, and check for doneness around the original time (chicken is safe at 165°F, per USDA FSIS). A multiplier app leaves all of that to you.

In most apps, “scaling” means the ingredient list. The method is still your job.

Which one should you use?

• You want precise control and a recipe library: Pestle, or Crouton if you often scale from the one ingredient you have on hand.
• You already plan meals and shop from a list: Paprika or Recipe Keeper. Scaling is solid and the rest of the app is the reason to buy.
• You just need the arithmetic, once: Recipe Scaler, or ask a chatbot. Our real test of ChatGPT scaling a recipe found the math mostly right with one contradiction worth catching.
• You want the steps to change with the servings: Sous Chef. Among these apps it’s the only one whose scaling is described as rewriting the method along with the quantities, and you can see and undo every change.
• You’re mostly cooking smaller: see the best recipe apps for cooking for one or two, which deals with half eggs, half cans, and leftovers.

Common questions

What is the best free recipe scaling app for iPhone?

For a free calculator with no library, Recipe Scaler has no in-app purchases listed on its App Store page as of Oct 2026. For a free recipe app that scales, Pestle includes scaling and metric/imperial conversion in its free plan, with a 15-recipe limit. AnyList’s free plan does not include scaling.

Can a recipe app scale by the amount of one ingredient I have?

Yes. Crouton scales “by multiplier, serving count, or a selected ingredient,” per its App Store release notes, and Recipe Scaler is built around entering how much you have of any one ingredient. Most other apps scale by serving count only.

Do recipe scaling apps change the pan size or cooking time?

Most don’t. Pestle, Crouton, Paprika, Recipe Keeper, Mela, and AnyList describe scaling ingredient quantities, and none of their listings say the steps or pan change. Sous Chef treats scaling as an edit that can rewrite dependent steps, like pan size or batching. Check any scaled recipe’s equipment and timing yourself either way.

Do these apps turn 3 teaspoons into 1 tablespoon?

Pestle does: its release notes say units convert automatically above a threshold, for example 3 tsp to 1 tbsp. The other listings don’t describe this, so expect some apps to show results like “4.5 tsp” that you’ll need to convert yourself.

Is doubling a recipe in an app the same as doubling it correctly?

Not always. The ingredient math is usually right. Equipment, batch size, and cooking time often aren’t. A doubled recipe in a deeper pan bakes differently, so start checking near the original time and use a doneness test rather than doubling the clock.

Does Sous Chef have a servings slider?

No. You ask for the change in plain language, and Sous Chef returns a validated edit that can update quantities and the steps that depend on them. Changed lines are marked Edited and you can undo back to the original. It’s free to download and try; heavier AI use may need a subscription later.