CookBook vs Cook’n

A better fit for your routine

Why consider a Cook’n alternative?

Choose CookBook when your next step after saving a recipe is to adapt it, plan dinner and cook from it. Ask follow-up questions about a dish, keep the changes you like and record the result for next time.

Cook’n already covers social imports, scanning, planning and shopping. The reason to switch is the way you want to use your collection: conversational help, a translated interface and a personal cooking routine, or Cook’n’s desktop, publishing and community tools.

Both apps cover the everyday essentials: meal planning, multiple shopping lists, recurring grocery items, keeping recipes on screen, recipe reading aloud, serving scaling and measurement conversions. The differences are in how those tools work and which devices support them.

• You want to discuss substitutions and variations around a saved recipe.
• You want to use the app in French, German, Italian, Spanish, Polish or European Portuguese as well as English.
• You want recipes, shopping lists and a meal plan on mobile and in your browser.

From your collection to dinner

What makes CookBook different

CookBook brings your saved recipes into the same routine as your meal plan, shopping lists and cooking notes. Start with familiar meals, then use its recipe-aware help when ingredients or plans change.

Talk through the recipe you have saved

Ask CookBook lets you follow up on a suggestion. AI Chef develops ideas from ingredients or preferences when you have not chosen a recipe yet. Explore CookBook AI tools

Cook in your preferred language

Use one of seven app languages. Optional import translation and the Pro saved-recipe Translate tool help bring recipes into the language you cook in. Explore recipe translation

Keep what worked last time

Follow focused steps, use timers and supported narration, then record your cook, notes and rating. Your personal collection becomes more useful as you cook. Explore cooking mode

Begin with a small everyday collection

Try 20 saved recipes, 20 smart imports and 2 shopping lists free. Pro expands the collection and unlocks tools including Ask CookBook and nutrition calculation. Compare free and Pro

Compare the workflow

Imports: both collect social finds and written recipes

Recipe manager features, plans and platform support

Features	CookBook	Cook’n
Websites and social recipes	Strong Website and social links, sharing and Chrome extension	Strong Website capture and supported social imports
Printed and handwritten recipes	Strong Screenshot, photo and PDF recipe scanner	Strong Photo, screenshot and PDF scanning
Free import allowances	Limited 20 smart imports in total	Limited Two captures and five scans daily

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CookBook imports recipes from websites and social links, including Instagram and TikTok, through mobile sharing, pasted links and its Chrome extension. Its recipe scanner turns screenshots, photos and PDFs of printed or handwritten recipes into editable recipes.

Cook’n also advertises Instagram, TikTok, Facebook and Pinterest capture. Its scanning tools handle recipe photographs, screenshots and PDFs. Pinterest board importing and syncing give readers with a large pinned collection another route into the app.

An import or scan can preserve gaps and errors in the original. Check the serving count, ingredient list and method against the source before using a saved recipe. Cook’n’s capture and scanning allowances depend on membership; CookBook’s free smart-import allowance is 20 in total.

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Organisation: tags or a cookbook structure?

Recipe manager features, plans and platform support

Features	CookBook	Cook’n
Find a recipe	Strong Tags, favourites and ingredient search	Strong Cookbooks, categories and Smart Folders
Personal recipe record	Strong Notes, ratings and recorded cooking history	Strong Ratings, favourites and Made by Me

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CookBook uses tags, favourites, ratings and ingredient search to bring a mixed collection together. A recipe can be both Weeknight and Vegetarian. Add your changes and record cooking history so you can return to the version your household enjoyed.

Cook’n organises collections into cookbooks and chapters, with categories, ratings and Smart Folders. Search can include recipe names, ingredients and directions. That book-like structure is a useful fit if you want your digital collection to become a printed family cookbook.

Try the same everyday task in either app: find a dinner using spinach, then narrow the collection to meals you already like. Choose a structure you will keep using, rather than adding categories you will never revisit.

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AI help: conversation, discovery and recipe directions

Recipe manager features, plans and platform support

Features	CookBook	Cook’n
Help with an existing recipe	Strong Ask CookBook conversation with Pro	Strong Premium Elf Magic rewriting on desktop
Inspiration for dinner	Strong AI Chef ideas and Dish Detector suggestions	Strong Premium personalised recipe recommendations

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Ask CookBook is a Pro conversation about a saved recipe, an image or a cooking question. Ask about a substitution, follow up on the answer and review changes before saving. AI Chef starts new ideas, while Dish Detector suggests a version of a photographed dish rather than recovering its exact hidden ingredients.

Cook’n has AI features too. Premium includes a recipe recommender based on taste preferences and the Elf Magic Recipe Helper in Cook’n 16 for Windows and Mac, which can rewrite directions. These are useful tools for discovering dinner and improving an existing method; check feature availability separately on mobile.

Choose the task you need help with. Recommending something from a collection, rewriting instructions and holding an ongoing conversation are different uses of AI. Review generated ingredients, quantities and cooking steps whichever app you choose.

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Meal planning: use the recipes you already enjoy

Recipe manager features, plans and platform support

Features	CookBook	Cook’n
Plan saved recipes	Strong Daily, weekly and monthly meal planning	Strong Weekly and monthly planner
Prepare the shopping list	Strong Choose recipes or planner dates	Strong Add ingredients from the meal plan

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CookBook schedules recipes by day and meal, with daily, weekly and monthly meal planning views. Move a dinner, copy a date range and generate the shopping list for the meals you actually intend to cook.

Cook’n has weekly and monthly planning and can add planned ingredients to a shopping list. Premium also offers supplied five-day meal plans, which are different from arranging your own saved recipes on a calendar.

If you cook a double batch for two nights, plan the later meal deliberately and buy the ingredients once. A meal calendar is not an automatic record of how much cooked food remains in your freezer.

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Shopping lists: review what you actually need

Recipe manager features, plans and platform support

Features	CookBook	Cook’n
Recipe grocery lists	Strong Editable quantities; merge or split items	Strong Recipe ingredients grouped by aisle
Multiple shopping lists	Strong Separate lists for shops or occasions; 2 lists on Free	Strong Separate lists for different shops
Recurring groceries	Strong Reusable Regular Items / favourites list	Strong Shopping favourites

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CookBook creates multiple editable shopping lists from recipes or selected planner dates, so you can keep separate lists for different shops or occasions. Merge or split items, change quantities and keep recurring purchases in Regular Items, your reusable favourites list. Check the cupboards before you finish the list.

Cook’n groups groceries by aisle, supports separate lists for different shops and provides favourites for recurring items. These are useful choices if your weekly shop covers more than one store.

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Cooking: focused steps or connected kitchen devices?

Recipe manager features, plans and platform support

Features	CookBook	Cook’n
Readable cooking view	Strong Focused steps and adjustable text	Strong Recipe zoom
Keep the recipe screen awake	Strong Keep the screen awake on supported devices; enabled in settings	Strong Screen-awake recipe viewing
Read recipes aloud	Strong Cooking mode with text to speech on supported devices	Strong Alexa recipe reading
Recipe scaling	Strong Scale ingredient quantities by servings	Strong Scale ingredient quantities by servings
Measurement conversion	Strong Original, US, metric, imperial and Australian	Strong Metric conversion documented on desktop

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CookBook offers focused steps, adjustable text, timers and ingredient progress. Cooking mode includes text-to-speech narration, and CookBook can keep the screen awake while you view a recipe. Narration and screen-awake support depend on your device and settings. After cooking, record your notes and rating to preserve the changes that worked.

Cook’n documents screen-awake recipe viewing, serving adjustment and hands-free Alexa access. Its Apple Watch app offers another way to view recipes. If you already use those devices in the kitchen, this is a practical reason to keep Cook’n on your shortlist.

CookBook scales ingredient quantities when you change the servings and converts measurements within the app. It supports original units and US, metric, imperial or Australian measurements. Cook’n’s desktop support guide also documents metric conversion. Scaling ingredient amounts does not automatically change cooking time, and weight-to-volume estimates depend on the ingredient.

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Nutrition: compare the tools on the device you use

Recipe manager features, plans and platform support

Features	CookBook	Cook’n
Recipe calculations	Strong Pro ingredient-based estimates	Strong Desktop nutritional analysis
Using nutrition while planning	Strong Saved values, portions and daily totals	Strong Desktop recipe and menu analysis

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CookBook Pro estimates recipe nutrition from ingredients and servings. You can also enter your own values. Saved nutrition feeds daily planner totals, and Pro lets you set personal calorie and macro targets.

Cook’n provides nutritional analysis for recipes and menus through its desktop software; its iOS listing explicitly describes nutrition as a desktop feature. The desktop guide explains matching recipe ingredients to nutrition data. Check the platform you will use if you want to work with nutrition on a phone.

In CookBook, recalculate after ingredient changes and check the consumed portions used in planner totals. In either app, correct ingredient matches and serving sizes matter more than a neatly formatted total.

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Devices and offline access: CookBook on mobile and any computer

Recipe manager features, plans and platform support

Features	CookBook	Cook’n
Phone and browser	Strong iOS, Android and full web app	Strong iOS, Android and members’ web app
Computer workflow	Strong Full web app; no desktop installation needed	Strong Native Windows and Mac software; member browser access
Recipes without internet	Strong Previously synced mobile recipes	Strong Offline recipe access advertised

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CookBook runs on iOS, Android and the web under one account. On Windows, Mac, Chromebook or another computer, open the full CookBook web app in your browser to edit recipes, plan meals and manage shopping lists. No desktop installation is needed.

Cook’n offers native Windows and Mac software as well as mobile apps. Its membership plans also include browser access, though the current membership description does not establish the same browser editing and planning tools. Choose CookBook for its full web workflow across computers, or Cook’n if you specifically want a native desktop application.

CookBook mobile opens previously synced recipes and cached shopping lists offline. Editing recipes, changing the planner, importing and AI need a connection; the web app also needs internet access. Cook’n advertises offline recipe availability. That does not establish identical offline editing, scanning or syncing on every platform.

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Pricing: compare the membership you would actually use

Recipe manager features, plans and platform support

Features	CookBook	Cook’n
Free starting point	Limited 20 recipes, 20 smart imports and 2 lists	Limited Free use with daily import allowances
Monthly published amounts	Pro: US$6.99	Basic US$4.95; Standard US$9.95; Premium US$14.95
Yearly published amounts	Pro: US$39.99	Basic US$49.50; Standard US$99.50; Premium US$149.50

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CookBook starts with 20 saved recipes, 20 smart imports and 2 shopping lists free. Its indicative Pro prices are US$6.99 monthly or US$39.99 yearly, with a 14-day trial on the yearly plan. Check the current in-app price for your country and store.

DVO’s website lists Cook’n Basic at US$4.95 monthly or US$49.50 yearly, Standard at US$9.95 monthly or US$99.50 yearly, and Premium at US$14.95 monthly or US$149.50 yearly, checked on 28 September 2026.

Basic includes cloud backup, sync and web access. Standard adds unlimited captures, scans and technical support. Premium adds the AI recommender, Cook’n 16 desktop Elf Magic helper, cookbook credits and an ad-free app experience. Ads from recipe websites inside the embedded browser can remain. Compare the tier that contains your required tools, rather than the entry price alone.

Cook’n also has free use: DVO lists two captures and five scans per day for non-subscribers. Basic still limits capture to two daily; confirm its scanning allowance because the membership page describes that tier inconsistently. Paid memberships renew automatically. Existing desktop purchases, upgrades and store subscriptions can involve different terms, so check the account and platform through which you buy.

Desktop upgrades are included for annual members; monthly members qualify after five consecutive months.

DVO also advertises a limited-time five-seat annual family offer: Basic US$89.95, Standard US$139.95 and Premium US$189.95. Additional members must never have purchased a Cook’n membership before. Check eligibility and whether the offer is available when you subscribe.

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Sharing and printed books: two different priorities

Recipe manager features, plans and platform support

Features	CookBook	Cook’n
Share individual recipes	Strong Email, recipe files and mobile QR codes	Strong Friends, email and other sharing routes
Designed printed cookbooks	Limited Full-page and recipe-card PDF layouts	Strong Covers, chapters, index and print options
Household account model	Shared login for one collection	Advertised five-seat offer; separate accounts

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CookBook shares individual recipes by email, recipe files and mobile QR codes. Print or save recipes as PDFs in full-page or recipe-card layouts. A household can use one account to share the same collection and settings. That is a shared login, not separate family roles or independent permissions.

Cook’n offers email and other recipe sharing, Friends and community posts, including its I Made This feature. Its publishing tools can create designed PDF cookbooks with covers, chapters, contents and indexes, or arrange professional printing. Those are meaningful strengths for a family book or gift.

DVO also advertises a limited-time five-seat family membership offer with separate personal accounts. Additional members must never have purchased a Cook’n membership before. Check current availability and eligibility; separate accounts do not establish collaborative editing of one shared recipe library.

Choose the output you need. Sharing an editable recipe, keeping a household collection and producing a designed book are different tasks. A print-ready PDF is useful to read, but it does not guarantee a structured transfer of every recipe field to another app.

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Choose the language you cook in

Recipe manager features, plans and platform support

Features	CookBook	Cook’n
App interface languages	Strong 7 app languages	Limited English listed on iOS

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CookBook has English, French, German, Italian, Spanish, Polish and European Portuguese interfaces. The app’s language is separate from the website’s language and from the words inside a saved recipe.

Cook’n’s Australian iOS listing identifies English as its interface language. This is a platform-specific listing, not proof that every desktop or Android language option is identical. Check your device if another interface language is essential.

CookBook’s optional import translation is off until enabled and supports its six non-English app languages. With Pro, the saved-recipe Translate tool also supports translation into English. Review the result before saving; translation and measurement conversion are separate actions.

Your decision

Who should choose which app?

Choose CookBook when your priority is saving, adapting, planning and cooking from your own collection. Choose Cook’n when native desktop software, designed family cookbooks or its connected-device and community tools shape the way you cook.

Choose CookBook if…

You want conversational help around a saved recipe, a translated app interface, nutrition alongside mobile and web planning, and a personal record of what you cooked. Start with a few favourites in the free allowance. Try CookBook with your recipes

Choose Cook’n if…

You value native Windows or Mac software, book-style collection management, designed printed cookbooks, Alexa or Apple Watch access. Both social importing and scanning are already part of Cook’n; check the membership tier for your workflow.

Keep the recipes you love

Switching from Cook’n to CookBook

Recipe manager features, plans and platform support

Features	CookBook	Cook’n
Recipe backup	Strong Text, PDF or CB export	Strong Cook’n .dvo recipe or cookbook export
Move Cook’n files to CookBook	Prepared CSV or confirm team compatibility	No documented direct .dvo import to CookBook

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Start with a handful of favourites before moving a large collection. Cook’n documents exporting recipes or cookbooks in its .dvo format. Preserve that file as a Cook’n backup, but do not assume it imports directly into CookBook.

CookBook’s published supported-import guide does not list Cook’n .dvo files. Ask the team about compatibility before relying on an assisted transfer; team-handled bulk imports require Pro. The documented self-service route is readable recipe data arranged in CookBook’s CSV template, within 250 recipes per file.

CookBook also exports recipes as text, PDF or CB files, with full-page and recipe-card PDF layouts. Exported images can be links to hosted files, so preserve image copies before deleting a CookBook account. Keep your Cook’n originals until you have checked the new collection.

1. Preserve the original collection

   Export a Cook’n .dvo recipe or cookbook file and retain your existing backups, images and original source links. Keep a readable copy of important personal recipes too.

2. Start with a small recipe sample

   Import original website links into CookBook and reapply your personal changes. For other recipes, prepare readable ingredients and directions in CookBook’s CSV template, with no more than 250 recipes per file.

3. Confirm any assisted transfer first

   Cook’n .dvo is not listed as a supported CookBook bulk-import format. Ask the CookBook team what it can accept before subscribing for a transfer; assisted imports require Pro.

4. Check recipes and rebuild the routine

   Compare quantities, servings, instructions, notes, images and sources with the originals. Recreate tags and meal plans as needed, then cook one familiar dinner before moving the rest.

Your next step

Try your next dinner in CookBook

Save a recipe you know well, adjust it to your tastes and add it to a meal plan. Cook it, record what worked and decide whether this is the collection you want to return to tomorrow.