“Free” is one of the most overloaded words in the app store. Some food waste apps are fully free with no paid tier at all. Some are subscriptions you can try free for a while first. Some are freemium that show you the door after a week. Knowing which kind of “free” you’re looking at saves you the hassle of importing your fridge twice.
This article compares four food waste apps that show up most often when people search for a free option in 2026: Fango, Fridgely, Kitche and NoWaste. Two of them, Fridgely and Kitche, were fully free but are no longer in the App Store or on Google Play (checked September 2026); we keep them here because older guides still recommend them. The focus is on what each one actually costs — what’s free forever, what’s free to try, and what you pay once any trial ends.
- Fridgely — was free; the original app is no longer in either app store
- Kitche — was free; removed from the stores after Remy acquired it (February 2025)
- Fango — free to try for a month, no account; then subscription (price in app)
- NoWaste — freemium (6 lists, 500 items); Pro $6.99/year or $29.99 lifetime
The two types of “free”
There’s a useful distinction worth making early:
The feature that matters most in any of these apps is the reminder — see what a good expiry date tracker app does differently.
- Fully free — there is no paid tier and you have access to everything the app offers, forever. Fridgely and Kitche used to fall here, but both have left the app stores. Of the trackers we’ve checked, FoodShiner (iPhone and iPad only) is still fully free, with optional tips and no account.
- Free to try, then paid — the app is a subscription, but you get a trial first with every feature unlocked. Fango fits here: it’s free to try for a full month, no account needed, then a monthly or yearly subscription, with the price for your country shown in the app. NoWaste is a variation — a permanent but tight free tier (6 lists, 500 items), with a paid Pro upgrade.
Neither model is dishonest, but they’re not the same product. A free trial of a paid app is not the same as a free-forever app — and this article is upfront about which apps here are which.
What you actually get without paying
| What you get free | Fango | Fridgely | Kitche | NoWaste |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Item / list cap | Unlimited (1-month trial) | No longer available | No longer available | 6 lists / 500 items |
| AI receipt scanning | ✓ full (1-month trial) | — | had receipt scan | receipt scan (iOS) |
| Barcode scanning | — | — | — | ✓ |
| Expiry reminders | ✓ full | — | — | ✓ |
| Notification action buttons | ✓ Eaten / Wasted / +2d | — | — | — |
| Home-screen widget | ✓ | — | — | — |
| Recipes | — | — | — | ✓ limited |
| No account required | ✓ | — | — | check listing |
| Ads in free tier | None | — | — | None |
| Cost after any free period | Monthly or yearly subscription (price in app) | Removed from both stores | Removed from both stores | $6.99/yr or $29.99 lifetime |
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Fridgely — no longer available
Fridgely used to be a common answer to “I won’t pay a subscription”: a simple tracker with barcode scanning, expiry reminders and sharing with family members or roommates. The original app is no longer in the App Store or on Google Play, so it can’t be installed today, although its website is still online.
The app now listed as “Fridgely” on Google Play is a different, newer app from another developer. If you want a fully free tracker on iPhone, FoodShiner is free with optional tips and needs no account.
- Was a simple barcode-based tracker
- Supported inviting family or roommates
- No longer available on iOS or Android
- Same name now used by an unrelated Android app
Kitche — no longer available
Kitche was a free food waste app from the UK that built your kitchen inventory from scanned grocery receipts. It was removed from the stores after Remy acquired it (February 2025), so it can’t be downloaded today; its website is still online, but without working store links.
If you were a Kitche user, Remy itself is on iOS and Android and, in the US App Store, has no in-app purchases. If receipt scanning was the part you liked, Fango reads receipts from more than 60 countries.
- Was free to use
- Added food from scanned receipts
- No longer in the App Store or on Google Play
- Removed after Remy acquired it (February 2025)
Fango — free to try for a month, then a subscription
Let’s be upfront: Fango is not free forever. It’s a subscription with a generous starting point — a full month free to try, with every feature unlocked and no sign-up needed to begin. You only decide whether to pay once you’ve actually lived with it for a month.
During the trial there are no caps: unlimited items, unlimited AI receipt scans, and the whole feature set. You can scan your typical weekly shops, fill your fridge list, and see whether the time savings are worth a subscription before any money changes hands. That makes it easy to evaluate as a food waste app for single people as much as for a busy household.
What you get during the month: AI receipt scanning, full notification reminders with all three action buttons, the home-screen widget, statistics, every language, every currency, every country. After the month it’s a monthly or yearly subscription (price for your country shown in the app) to keep using it — there’s no permanent free tier, so if you don’t subscribe, the app stops being free.
The bigger win for some people is that Fango needs no account or sign-up — install it and start using it in under a minute, with no email handed over and no user database to leak.
- No account, no email, no cloud by default
- Full month free to try, no card needed
- AI receipt scanning, notifications, widget, statistics — all unlocked
- Unlimited items and scans during the trial
- Household sharing: the same view for up to four people, one subscription
- Not free forever — a subscription after the 1-month trial (price in app)
- No barcode scanner
- No sync between your own devices — data stays on your phone by default
Install and start using it in under a minute. No email, no account, no forced cloud. The one-month free trial unlocks everything — full reminders, the home-screen widget and the AI receipt scanner. After the month it’s a monthly or yearly subscription, with the price for your country shown in the app.
Download on the App Store Get it on Google PlayFree for a month · No sign-up · iOS and Android
NoWaste — freemium with a tight free tier
NoWaste’s free tier exists, but it’s tight. You’re limited to six lists and 500 items, which sounds like enough until you realise it covers the whole inventory (fridge, freezer, pantry, etc. — each is one list).
NoWaste Pro is $6.99 a year or $29.99 lifetime in the US App Store, which is unusually affordable. If you’re going to use the app properly, paying for Pro is reasonable.
Your lists sync across devices, and there is a web app. Receipt scanning is listed on iOS; the Google Play listing mentions barcode scanning.
- Pro is unusually cheap ($6.99/yr or $29.99 lifetime)
- Barcode scanning; receipt and photo input on iOS
- iOS, Android and web
- Free tier limited to 6 lists and 500 items
- Data synced through the cloud
- Receipt scanning mentioned for iOS only
Which free option fits you?
The “real” cost of a free food waste app
None of these apps charge you to install. But there are quieter costs worth being honest about:
- Account creation. Many trackers ask you to register before you can sync or share. You’re trading an email and a password for the app.
- Data in the cloud. Syncing apps such as NoWaste keep your fridge inventory on their servers. For most people that’s fine; if you’d rather it didn’t, Fango keeps your list on your phone by default.
- Apps that disappear. Fridgely and Kitche were both free, and both have left the app stores. A free app with no business model behind it can vanish along with your list.
If those costs are zero for you and you’re on iPhone, FoodShiner is the cleanest “fully free” pick still available. If they’re non-zero, Fango’s one-month free trial — every feature, no account, no sign-up — is worth trying first, as long as you’re happy to pay for a subscription if you keep it.
Summary
“Best free food waste app” depends on what you value. For fully free on iPhone, FoodShiner (Fridgely and Kitche, the old free picks, are no longer available). For AI receipt scanning and no sign-up — free to try for a month, then a subscription — Fango. For a lasting free tier and cheap Pro, NoWaste. Any of these is worth installing — the right one for you is whichever you still have on your phone three weeks later.
Related reading: full food waste tracker comparison, best Android food waste app, food waste app overview, food waste apps without registration.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is the best free food waste app in 2026?
It depends on what “free” means to you. Fridgely and Kitche used to be the fully free picks, but both are no longer in the app stores; on iPhone, FoodShiner is still free with optional tips. Fango is free to try for a full month with every feature unlocked — including AI receipt scanning — and no account or sign-up needed; after the trial it’s a monthly or yearly subscription, with the price for your country shown in the app. NoWaste limits its free tier to 6 lists and 500 items, with NoWaste Pro at $6.99/year or $29.99 lifetime.
Is Fango free?
Fango is free to try for one month, with every feature unlocked — unlimited items, AI receipt scanning, full notification reminders and the home-screen widget — and no account or sign-up needed. It isn’t free forever: after the one-month trial it’s a monthly or yearly subscription, with the price for your country shown in the app. So you get the whole app at no cost for a month, then decide whether it’s worth keeping.
Are any food waste apps fully free with no subscription?
Fewer than there used to be. Fridgely and Kitche were both fully free, but neither is in the App Store or on Google Play any more. FoodShiner is a fully free iPhone and iPad tracker: the only in-app purchases are optional tips, and it needs no account.
Are there hidden costs in free food tracker apps?
Watch for three patterns. First, very low item caps that push you toward a subscription within days (NoWaste caps its free tier at 6 lists and 500 items). Second, an account requirement and cloud storage — not strictly a cost, but you’re handing over data. Third, ads in some smaller free apps. Of the apps still available here, neither shows ads. Fango needs no account but is a paid subscription after its one-month free trial — so factor in the subscription once the month ends (the price for your country is shown in the app).
Which free food waste app doesn’t require an account?
Fango works fully without an account, email or cloud sign-up. The one-month free trial — every feature unlocked, no email, no sign-up — starts immediately on install. FoodShiner (iPhone only) also needs no account. Fridgely and Kitche are no longer available.
Related reading: Best Food Waste App in the USA.
