Plum vs Samsung Food (formerly Whisk): which fits the Apple ecosystem?
Short answer: Samsung Food is a powerful, free, cross-platform meal planner with best-in-class personalization — but it shows ads in the free tier, ties into Samsung’s appliance and data ecosystem, and isn’t Apple-native. Plum is ad-free, keeps your data in your iCloud, syncs grocery lists to Apple Reminders and Apple Watch, and is a one-time purchase. If you’re on iPhone and want a private, ad-free experience, Plum is the better fit.
At a glance
| Plum | Samsung Food | |
|---|---|---|
| Price | Free; one-time $9.99 upgrade | Free; Food+ ~$6.99/mo or ~$59.99/yr |
| Ads | None | Yes (free tier) |
| Data model | Stays in your iCloud | Big-platform data play; policy allows data sharing in mergers/acquisitions |
| Import from TikTok / Instagram / YouTube video | Yes | Partial (web/social links) |
| Scan cookbooks & handwritten recipes | Yes | Vision AI for ingredient photos |
| AI assistant | Yes | Yes (strong meal-plan personalization) |
| Meal planning | Yes | Yes (category leader) |
| Grocery lists | Yes, Apple Reminders & Watch | Yes (some reported bugs) |
| Platforms | iPhone, iPad, Mac, Apple Watch | iOS, Android, Web |
Prices vary by region and change over time — check current figures before relying on them.
Where Samsung Food wins
Samsung Food has a huge recipe-discovery database (hundreds of thousands of recipes), genuinely excellent AI meal-plan personalization, and a full web app alongside iOS and Android — the most cross-platform option here. If you want the deepest meal-planning engine and a browser version, it’s strong.
Where Plum wins
Samsung Food is free, but you pay in other ways: ads in the free tier, a privacy policy that permits sharing personal data (including in a merger or acquisition), and reliance on Samsung’s cloud and appliance ecosystem. Plum takes the opposite stance — no ads, no data resale, your recipes in your iCloud — and it’s built for Apple: grocery lists sync to Reminders and Apple Watch, and hands-free cook mode keeps the screen awake. Plum also imports directly from TikTok/Instagram/YouTube video and scans cookbooks, which Samsung Food handles less directly.
Which should you choose?
- Choose Samsung Food if you want the deepest meal-planning personalization, a web app, or Android support, and ads/data sharing don’t bother you.
- Choose Plum if you’re on Apple devices and want an ad-free, private, one-time-purchase app with social-video import and Apple Watch grocery lists.
FAQ
Is Samsung Food really free? The core app is free but ad-supported, with a Food+ subscription (~$6.99/mo or ~$59.99/yr) for advanced features and ad removal. Plum has no ads and a one-time upgrade instead of a subscription.
Does Plum sell my data? No. Plum keeps your recipes in your iCloud and is built around a no-ads, no-data-resale model.
Which is better for iPhone users? Plum is Apple-native — Reminders/Apple Watch grocery sync, hands-free cook mode, iCloud. Samsung Food is cross-platform but not Apple-first.