Tool profile
Tandoor: cost, fit and limits
Tandoor is a recipe manager and meal planner built by Benedikt Sienz, named as service provider in its imprint, that offers a hosted service with monthly tiers and a self-hosted edition for households that want planning, shopping lists and AI-assisted recipe import.
What to know first
Tandoor sells four hosted tiers, from a free plan limited to 1 member and 10 recipes to Premium AI at EUR 4.99 a month with 100 AI credits. Self-hosting is listed at no cost. The vendor describes AI as credits spent on recipe import, and its FAQ says use depends on the task and model. The imprint names a German service provider and the homepage claims GDPR compliance.
Tandoor at a glance
| Maker | Benedikt Sienz (named as service provider in the imprint), Germany |
|---|---|
| Free plan | Yes |
| Entry price | EUR 0 (Free); Basic EUR 1.99 per month |
| API access | No |
| Category | Best AI Meal Planning Apps in 2026, rank 1 of 11 |
| Website | tandoor.dev/ |
Who Tandoor is best for
Self-hosting households
The page lists Docker, Unraid, Synology and Kubernetes installs at no cost, so a family with a home server can run planning, lists and recipes without a subscription.
Small families on a budget
Standard gives 3 members and unlimited recipes at a discounted EUR 3.49 a month, and Premium AI covers 10 members, so one subscription can serve a shared kitchen.
People who import many recipes from websites
Paid tiers include AI credits for import, and the URL importer is listed separately, which suits someone moving a large pile of bookmarked pages into one library.
Tandoor plans and pricing
| Plan | Price | What it includes |
|---|---|---|
| Free | EUR 0 per month | 1 member, 10 recipes, no recipe file upload. Enough to try the editor and planner before paying. |
| Basic | EUR 1.99 per month | 1 member, 1,000 recipes, 5 initial AI credits, no file upload and email support. Basic is billed monthly and has no recipe file upload. |
| Standard | EUR 3.49 per month (discounted from EUR 4.49) | 3 members, unlimited recipes, 5 initial AI credits and 1 GB of upload storage. The page states the discount is permanent. |
| Premium AI | EUR 4.99 per month (discounted from EUR 6.49) | 10 members, unlimited recipes, 100 AI credits per month and 3 GB of upload storage. |
Checked November 2026.
What Tandoor does
- Weekly meal planning
- Plans can be filled manually or automatically, and the shopping list is generated from the plan. The meal plan can also be exported to a calendar, which helps households that coordinate in a shared calendar.
- AI-assisted recipe import
- Paid tiers include AI credits for importing recipes. The FAQ says a credit buys several imports with a small model and may need more than one with a larger model, so spend depends on the model chosen.
- Recipe editor and URL importer
- Recipes can be written in the editor or pulled from a web address. The page lists ingredient-based search, so a cook can find dishes that use what is already in the cupboard.
- Nutrition and price calculation
- Recipes carry calculated nutrition and price figures. The page does not state where the price data comes from, so treat the figures as estimates until you check them against your own receipts.
- Self-hosted edition
- The software can be installed with Docker, Unraid, Synology or Kubernetes at no cost. The operator then owns upgrades, backups and security, which the hosted tiers handle instead.
How Tandoor handles your data
The imprint names Benedikt Sienz as service provider and the homepage carries a 'GDPR Compliant - Made in Germany' line, which is a claim and not a named certification. The pages we opened do not say where the hosted service runs, how long data is kept after cancellation, or whether recipes and prompts are used to train an AI model. The AI FAQ discusses credit use only. Choosing the self-hosted edition moves storage to your own server and removes the vendor from the picture, but then you choose the AI settings yourself.
Where Tandoor falls short in practice
- The free tier is a sample. One member, 10 recipes and no file upload means the Free plan cannot hold a household's collection. Anyone with more than a handful of favorites lands on Basic or higher almost at once.
- AI covers import, not planning. The vendor describes AI credits for recipe import. The pages do not say the AI writes a week of meals from goals, so a buyer who wants generated plans should look at the other apps in this category.
- File upload is gated. Free and Basic have no recipe file upload, and Standard gives 1 GB. A cook who scans photos or PDFs of printed recipes may need Premium AI to store them.
Works with
Alternatives to Tandoor
Tandoor: common questions
How many AI credits does Tandoor include?
Basic and Standard each list 5 initial AI credits, while Premium AI lists 100 credits per month. The FAQ says one credit can cover several imports with a smaller model, and a larger model may need more than one credit per import. Whether unused credits carry over was not stated on the pages we read.
Is Tandoor free to self-host?
The pricing page lists self-hosting at no cost and names Docker, Unraid, Synology and Kubernetes as install routes. You pay with your own time for updates, backups and security. The pages we opened do not say whether AI credits exist in the self-hosted edition.
Can several family members share one Tandoor account?
Yes on paid tiers. Standard allows 3 members and Premium AI allows 10, while Free and Basic allow 1. The pages do not explain how members split meal plans or shopping lists, so test the shared view in the hosted trial before moving the whole household.
Does Tandoor build a weekly plan automatically?
The feature list names weekly meal planning that can be manual or automatic, with a shopping list generated from it. The page does not say the automatic mode uses AI, and the AI credits are tied to import. Try the planner with your saved recipes to see what it picks.
Where is Tandoor's hosted service located?
The homepage says GDPR compliant and made in Germany, and the imprint names a service provider in Germany. The pages we opened give no hosting region for the hosted plans, so ask the vendor in writing if residency matters to you.