Forage vs CookShelf
Updated onCompare Forage and CookShelf side-by-side. See how they stack up on features, pricing, and target market.
Forage
Forage converts cookbook indexes into a searchable library — add books by barcode, upload index pages, and search recipes across your collection.
Starts at $14.99 / per user / yearly
vs
CookShelf
CookShelf is a mobile app that lets you scan, index, and search your physical cookbook collection to find recipes by ingredient or name and shows the book and page number.
Starts at $4.99 / per user / monthly
Which should you choose?
Forage
You want a low-cost, very focused tool that makes the indexes of your own physical cookbooks searchable and you’re willing to photograph index pages yourself on iOS/Mac.
CookShelf
You want a richer, multi-platform ecosystem with a large pre-indexed cookbook catalog, Eat Your Books web integration, and are comfortable paying a higher recurring subscription for more features.
Typical cost comparison
Scenario: Single home cook in the US indexing a personal cookbook collection using each product’s best-priced annual plan.
Forage
$14.99 per year
CookShelf
$39.99 per year
Forage saves you $25 per year in this scenario.
Key differences
| Category | Forage | CookShelf | Why? |
|---|---|---|---|
| Coverage & Catalog | Forage only indexes the books you personally add and photograph, whereas CookShelf lets you search your books plus a centrally maintained catalog of over ten thousand indexed cookbooks and thousands of online recipes. | ||
| Data-Entry Workflow | With Forage you must manually upload index-page photos for each cookbook, while CookShelf usually just needs a barcode scan or catalog search because its team pre-indexes most books and can take indexing requests. | ||
| Feature Depth | Forage focuses on making cookbook indexes searchable with basic bookmarking, whereas CookShelf layers on ingredient previews, recipe tracking states, community ratings/reviews, gifting, and Eat Your Books membership benefits. | ||
| Platforms & Ecosystem | Forage runs on iPhone and Mac only, but CookShelf is available on iOS and Android and is tightly integrated with the Eat Your Books website so your library syncs across web and mobile. | ||
| Pricing | Forage is materially cheaper at around $14.99/year and includes a free tier for up to 3 cookbooks, while CookShelf costs about $39.99/year or $4.99/month after a 5-book free tier. |
Feature comparison
| Feature | Forage | CookShelf | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Barcode scanning to add cookbooks | Both apps let you add books to your library by scanning their barcodes, with manual search or entry as a fallback. | ||
| Bookmarking / favorites and basic recipe tracking | Forage lets you bookmark favorite recipes, while CookShelf adds richer states (want to try, cooked, favorites) to track what you’ve made and plan to make. | ||
| Free tier limits | Forage’s free tier supports up to 3 cookbooks; CookShelf lets you add up to 5 cookbooks free before requiring a subscription for unlimited books. | ||
| Search across entire personal cookbook collection by ingredient/title/keyword | Both support searching across all books you’ve added by recipe name, ingredient, or other keywords to show which book to open and where. | ||
| Android app availability | Forage is available on iOS (and Mac via Apple silicon) only, whereas CookShelf offers native apps on both iOS and Android. | ||
| Community ratings and reviews of recipes/books | CookShelf (via Eat Your Books) supports community ratings and reviews for indexed books and recipes, whereas Forage does not advertise any community review features. | ||
| Integration with Eat Your Books web membership and syncing | CookShelf is part of the Eat Your Books ecosystem, and Premium membership includes access to both services with a synced library; Forage has no comparable web integration mentioned. | ||
| Search thousands of online recipes in addition to your own books | CookShelf lets you search thousands of online recipes alongside your cookbooks, while Forage appears limited to the indexes of your own physical books. | ||
| View ingredients list before opening physical cookbook | CookShelf explicitly shows ingredients lists and page numbers without displaying full methods; Forage marketing emphasizes searchable indexes but does not clearly promise full ingredient lists. | ||
| Manual photo upload of index pages (user-generated indexing) | Forage relies on you snapping clear photos of each index page so it can make that index searchable, while CookShelf instead uses a central pre-built index with no advertised user photo-upload workflow. |
Review Consensus
Forage
"Forage is still a niche app with virtually no public ratings, so perceptions of its strengths—simple, cookbook-only indexing and low price—are driven more by its concept than by user reviews. "
Based on 0 reviews
- ● Too few user ratings are available to form a reliable consensus as of early 2026; listings generally report no App Store rating yet.
- ● Conceptually appealing for users who want a simple, ad-free way to make any cookbook’s index searchable regardless of whether it’s in a third-party catalog.
- ● Works entirely off your own book collection and photos, which some privacy-conscious users may prefer over cloud-sourced recipe catalogs.
- ● Lack of public reviews makes it hard to gauge real-world reliability and usability.
- ● Manual photographing of index pages for every cookbook can be time-consuming for large collections.
- ● iOS- and Mac-only availability limits households with Android devices.
Data as of 2/8/2026
CookShelf
"CookShelf enjoys a strong reputation on iOS (around 4.7/5 from ~29 ratings) and a more mixed but still useful reception on Android (about 3.4/5), with most reviewers valuing its deep catalog and Eat Your Books integration despite the subscription cost. "
Based on 29 reviews
- ● iOS users praise how CookShelf finally lets them use more of their cookbook collection by quickly surfacing relevant recipes and page numbers.
- ● Tight integration with Eat Your Books and a very large indexed catalog make it especially valuable for serious cookbook collectors.
- ● The ability to preview ingredients lists and track what you’ve cooked or want to try is frequently highlighted as convenient.
- ● Some reviews mention friction from duplicate or messy entries in the underlying cookbook database.
- ● Subscription pricing is a recurring theme for criticism compared with cheaper or one-time-purchase apps.
- ● A few users note that the breadth of features and catalog can feel complex if you only need a basic index.
Data as of 2/8/2026
Based on 29 reviews
- ● Android users value having access to the same indexed cookbook catalog and online recipes that Eat Your Books provides on the web.
- ● CookShelf’s Android app gives cookbook lovers a way to search shelves and plan cooking directly from their phones.
- ● Recent updates through February 2026 suggest active development and ongoing improvements.
- ● The lower average rating on Android versus iOS hints at more UX issues or instability for some users.
- ● As on iOS, the subscription model is a common complaint among price-sensitive users.
- ● Some functionality depends on an internet connection, which can frustrate users expecting fully offline behavior.
Data as of 2/8/2026
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