Grocery List Helpers

Do your grocery shopping more efficiently.

Overview

Going to the grocery store and maintaining a list of what you need can be a pain on a gargantuan scale. But don't worry, there are apps to make it easier and more efficient with barcode scanning and cross-platform syncing. The Grocery List Helpers AppGuide will cut through the aisles and provide you with the best grocery list helpers.

Essential Apps

$1.99
Grocery Gadget Shopping List - shop groceries, scan, sync share with family, track prices, save or use as checklist.

by Flixoft, Inc

Grocery Gadget is the ultimate app for sharing grocery duty. You can enter your lists in the app or online and share the list with others. Get this: if you grab the bread and cross it off on your list, when the list syncs it will cross it off all the shared lists also. This works even on non-iOS smartphones. WHOA! Prevent grocery errors and use your iPhone to take photos of items and scan barcodes for your list. Grocery Gadget will even keep track of how you mark things off your list and reorder the items for easier shopping later. Grocery Gadget is perfect for households with multiple roommates, serious shoppers, and families where bringing home the bacon is a priority. It really is the most well-rounded shopping list app, with features that make it easy for you to shop however you want to. Many apps will let you assign items to a store or list, but Grocery Gadget lets you assign an item to as many stores that carry the item. You can also look at items from other lists. THere is also a free version that is fully functional, and a cheaper "basic" version with fewer features. Scroll down to find links to these versions.

Notable Apps

Free
AnyList – Grocery Shopping List & Recipes

by Purple Cover, Inc.

There are a ton of recipe apps that also have shopping list functionality. AnyList Grocery List is a shopping list app that has a very decent recipe function. Recipes can be found from many great sites, and then you can dump the ingredients into your list. But the really awesome part of this app is its integration with Siri. AnyList can be associated with a list in Reminders. So, you could simply tell Siri, "Add circus peanuts to the shopping list." The next time you open AnyList, those Siri-added items will be added to your list, with or without a prompt. For Siri-enabled devices, this app offers a new way to do shopping lists.
Free
Smart Shopping List A LA CARTE

by Decimal Software, LLC

This well-featured app has everything needed to manage a shared shopping list with two extra awesome features. First, it has a budget feature to keep your spending under control. Then they added a great feature that just makes sense. You can manage food expiration dates right from your shopping list. You can add the budget manager, as well as removing ads or adding colors schemes through in-app purchases. There is also a full, paid version, linked below.
Free
aisle411 - Shopping Companion

by aisle411 Inc.

Aisle411 could also be called the shopping list for men who just want to get their stuff and get out as quick as possible. If the app supports the store you're in, it will give you a map of the aisles as well as a route to grab your things. For free, it's worth trying out.

Decent Apps

$0.99
Groceries Grocery List

by Ontomni LLC

For basic shopping needs that only require one list, there is Groceries Grocery List. However, this app gives you a lot of control over that one list. Too much control, perhaps, for the casual shopper. The steeper learning curve of this app will be frustrating to some, but worth checking out if its extra control of data is what you're hungry for.
Free
Pushpins Grocery Coupons & Lists

by Pushpins, Inc.

Out of the many, many shopping list apps with basic features, Pushpins Grocery Coupons and Lists has a good balance of features for a free app. You get coupons that stay out of the way, some passbook integration and the ability to scan items into your list. Recipes can be added as well. It's also not that bad-looking of an app. It is worth looking at if you are trying to get something useful for free.
Free
Grocery iQ

by Coupons.com

An old standby of shopping list apps, Grocery IQ is popular and used by many. However, this and other similar apps have become victims of feature-creep, and have been filled with advertisements and coupons. The latest version has gotten very sluggish from the increased coupon focus, but if you really love coupons it's free and universal, so why not give it a shot?

Other Supermarket Tools

$0.99
Clear

by Realmac Software

Many shopping list apps are simply glorified checklist apps. If this basic list-keeping functionality is all you really need, then Clear should work great to keep track of your groceries. You can have multiple lists, checked-off items can be saved for later, and the touch controls are just right for one-handed operation while maneuvering a broken shopping cart.
$1.99
CompareMe Shopping Utility

by codedifferent

The grocery store is no place for stopping in the middle of the aisle to do math. When comparing price stickers doesn't make any logical sense, CompareMe Shopping Utility can compare any mix of amounts, package sizes, and prices. A four-pack of eight ounce bottles for $4.99 or one 32-ounce bottle for $3.00? It is quick and easy to compare even different measurement units and see exactly what discount you're getting.
$9.99
Numbers

by Apple

Maybe the features of the traditional shopping apps don't match what you're really looking for. Perhaps you would feel more comfortable rolling your own shopping list system in a spreadsheet for ultimate control. If you already have Numbers you can eliminate the need for an extra app by using your own mix of checkboxes, columns, pages, colors, and formulas.