About Our Groceries
I’ve been using Our Groceries for about six months now, and it’s the first app that actually got my partner to stop texting me “pick up milk” while I’m already in the checkout line. As someone who juggles shopping for a household of three, I needed something dead simple that everyone would actually use. This app isn’t flashy, but it solves the core problem of list management without any fuss.
Features & Highlights
The shared list feature is the star. I created a “Main Grocery” list, invited my partner and roommate via email, and that was it. Now, when my partner uses the last of the coffee, they can add it from their phone before they even leave the kitchen. I’ll see it pop up on my list instantly. I also love the aisle grouping. You manually assign items to aisles like “Produce” or “Canned Goods,” so when I’m at my regular store, my list is organized in the order I walk through it. It saves me from backtracking for that one forgotten item.
Another feature I use weekly is the recipe importer. I found a soup recipe online, tapped “Add Recipe” in the app, and typed in the ingredients. Now, “Hearty Lentil Soup” is saved. When I plan to make it, I just select the recipe and tap “Add to List.” All the ingredients populate my shopping list in their correct aisles. It’s a game-changer for meal prep. The voice input is surprisingly accurate for quick adds, like when I’m driving and remember we need batteries.
User Experience
The real test was during a big holiday shop. My mom was hosting and texted a massive list of ingredients to our family group chat. Instead of 15 separate messages, I just pasted the whole thing into Our Groceries, organized it by aisle, and shared it. My dad and I split the list at the store; as he grabbed the celery from produce and checked it off, it disappeared from my screen in the dairy section. We finished in half the usual time without a single “did you get the butter?” call. That moment sold me on the app’s sync reliability. The interface is utilitarian—it won’t win design awards—but its simplicity means my less-techy family members had no trouble figuring it out.
Pricing
The app is free to download and use with core features like list sharing, syncing, and aisle organization. They offer a premium subscription called “Our Groceries Plus” for $4.99 every six months. This removes ads (which are just small banners, not intrusive videos) and unlocks a few extras like the ability to add photos to items or customize list colors. For me, the free version does 95% of what I need. I paid for Plus just to support the developers after a few months because I use it so much, but it’s absolutely not necessary for the core experience.
Updates & Support
Updates come every month or two, usually minor bug fixes or small improvements. The app is mature, so don’t expect radical new features every update. I had one sync issue early on where my list duplicated. I emailed support and got a helpful, non-automated reply from a developer within 24 hours who walked me through a fix. The fact that a real person responded so quickly for a free app was impressive.
Security & Privacy
You can get it from the official Google Play Store or Apple App Store. According to their privacy policy, your list data is stored on their servers to enable syncing and sharing, but they state they don’t sell it to third parties. The data is encrypted in transit. Since the lists contain mundane grocery items, I’m not overly concerned, but it’s good to know they have a clear policy. The ads in the free version are standard display ads from networks like Google AdMob.
