What is the best app for a child who eats very few foods?

It depends on the job. To plan meals around safe foods and track each new food offered, EatPal and Food Hopper are built for that. For games or rewards the child uses, look at Playful Eats or Food Explorer Club. General planners such as Paprika and Plan to Eat cover recipes for the rest of the family.

Is there an app for ARFID?

Food Hopper's site names ARFID among the families it is built for, and EatPal plans meals around the safe foods of children with ARFID. No app can diagnose ARFID or stand in for care. If you think your child has it, talk to your pediatrician or a feeding specialist.

Are there free apps for a child who refuses new foods?

EatPal has a free plan for one child, Food Explorer Club is free on the App Store, and Mealime is free to use until its announced shutdown on October 21, 2026. Food Hopper, Playful Eats and Plan to Eat offer free trials. Check each app for current prices.

Can a regular meal planning app work for a child who refuses most foods?

It can hold the family plan, but general planners do not record which foods a child accepts or how many times a new food has been offered. If that record matters to you or your feeding therapist, use an app built around safe foods alongside it.

Can an app replace feeding therapy?

No. The apps on this page are planning, tracking and play tools. A pediatrician or feeding specialist who knows your child should guide care; an app can keep the record you bring to them.

Apps for picky eaters, compared

Apps for a child who eats very few foods fall into three groups: planners and trackers built around safe foods (EatPal, Food Hopper), games and rewards for the child (Playful Eats, Food Explorer Club), and general meal planners for the rest of the family (Mealime, Paprika, Plan to Eat).

EatPal is one of the seven, and it is written up in the same format as the others. Every fact about another app was read off that app's own site or App Store page on 2026-10-11. Prices are left out on purpose, because they change faster than this page does.

The seven apps side by side

Seven apps compared on what they do, platforms, whether they are built for selective eating and free options, checked on 2026-10-11
App	What it does	Built for selective eating	Platforms	Free option
EatPal	Plans a family's week outward from each child's safe foods and schedules one small try bite at a time, using food chaining.	Yes, for children who eat a short list of foods, including ARFID	Web and iPhone	Yes, a free plan for one child
Food Hopper	A food discovery app for parents of selective eaters: it suggests new foods from the child's preferred foods and tracks exposures.	Yes; its site names selective eating, sensory differences, autism and ARFID	iPhone, iPad and Android	Free download with a 7-day free trial; no free tier stated
Playful Eats	Parent education plus in-app food games for children aged 0 to 8, built around a four-step program for trying new foods.	Yes, for children aged 0 to 8 who refuse new foods	iPhone, iPad and Android	Free download; its site says the full content needs a free trial first
Food Explorer Club	A reward app: parents give badges and points when a child tries a new food, and the child trades points for rewards the parent sets.	Yes; its site describes it as an app for parents whose children refuse new foods	iPhone (iOS only)	Free on the App Store
Mealime	A general meal planner: pick recipes for the week and it builds a grocery list sorted by category, with diet and allergy filters.	No; a general household meal planner	iPhone and Android	Yes, free to use
Paprika	A recipe manager: save recipes from any site, plan meals by week or month, and build grocery lists sorted by aisle.	No; a recipe manager for the whole household	iPhone, Android, Mac and Windows (each sold separately)	No free version listed on its site
Plan to Eat	A meal planner built on your own recipes: clip recipes from the web, drag them onto a calendar, and get a shopping list.	No; a general meal planner	Web, iPhone and Android	No; a 14-day free trial with no card needed

Checked on 2026-10-11. Apps change; if something here is out of date, the app's own page is the one to trust.

EatPal

Plans a family's week outward from each child's safe foods and schedules one small try bite at a time, using food chaining.

Each child gets a safe food list with texture, taste, temperature and appearance recorded per food.
Food chaining suggests the next food by changing one attribute of a food the child already eats, and each try bite is logged as eaten, tasted or refused.
Several children can have separate profiles in one household, and the week turns into a grocery list.
A Professional plan lets a feeding therapist the family already sees share food chains and read the mealtime record. EatPal does not diagnose or treat anything.

Good fit if: Your child eats a short list of foods and you want a meal plan built around it, with a record of every new food offered.

Platforms: Web and iPhone. Checked on 2026-10-11 against tryeatpal.com and the EatPal source code. EatPal plans

Food Hopper

A food discovery app for parents of selective eaters: it suggests new foods from the child's preferred foods and tracks exposures.

Suggests foods based on the ones a child already prefers, with sensory and nutrition filters such as texture, color and temperature.
Its site describes a database of more than 1,500 foods, a food exposure tracker and progress tracking over time.
The App Store listing says it supports families working with feeding therapists.

Good fit if: You mainly want help picking the next food to offer and a log of exposures, rather than a full weekly meal plan.

Platforms: iPhone, iPad and Android. Checked on 2026-10-11 against foodhopper.co and its App Store listing (developer: Brittyn Coleman Nutrition LLC). Food Hopper website

Playful Eats

Parent education plus in-app food games for children aged 0 to 8, built around a four-step program for trying new foods.

Its site lists more than 48 hours of eating content for parents.
Children play games that explore new foods without having to eat them.
The four steps on its site are exchange, expose, explore and expand, with guided mealtime activities.

Good fit if: You want lessons for yourself and games your child plays on the device, more than planning or tracking.

Platforms: iPhone, iPad and Android. Checked on 2026-10-11 against playfuleats.org and its App Store listing (developer: SpeakEasy Community). Playful Eats website

Food Explorer Club

A reward app: parents give badges and points when a child tries a new food, and the child trades points for rewards the parent sets.

Badges, custom reward points and food quests, with nutrition facts about each food.
The App Store listing showed version 2.01, updated June 5, 2024.

Good fit if: A sticker chart works for your child and you want the digital version of it.

Platforms: iPhone (iOS only). Checked on 2026-10-11 against foodexplorerclub.com and its App Store listing (developer: The LGP Group LLC). Food Explorer Club website

Mealime

A general meal planner: pick recipes for the week and it builds a grocery list sorted by category, with diet and allergy filters.

Quick recipes with a hands-free cooking mode, and diet and allergy filters such as vegetarian, gluten-free and shellfish allergy.
Its homepage said, on 2026-10-11, that Mealime will shut down on October 21, 2026. Its closing page says users are moving to Meals Hub in the Albertsons Companies grocery apps, where all Mealime recipes stay available.

Good fit if: You want weeknight recipes for the rest of the family and can use it before October 21, 2026. After that date its notice points users to Meals Hub.

Platforms: iPhone and Android. Checked on 2026-10-11 against mealime.com and mealime.com/closing. Mealime website

Paprika

A recipe manager: save recipes from any site, plan meals by week or month, and build grocery lists sorted by aisle.

Saves recipes from the web with a built-in browser, scales ingredients and detects timers in the steps.
Keeps a pantry list and syncs recipes, lists and plans across devices.

Good fit if: You already cook from your own recipe collection and want it organized in one place.

Platforms: iPhone, Android, Mac and Windows (each sold separately). Checked on 2026-10-11 against paprikaapp.com. Paprika website

Plan to Eat

A meal planner built on your own recipes: clip recipes from the web, drag them onto a calendar, and get a shopping list.

A recipe clipper imports recipes from websites into your collection.
The shopping list fills itself from the recipes on the calendar.

Good fit if: You plan family dinners from recipes you collect online and want a calendar view.

Platforms: Web, iPhone and Android. Checked on 2026-10-11 against plantoeat.com. Plan to Eat website

Checked and not included

Whispie's site lists its picky-eating game as coming soon, so there was nothing released to compare.
Goally's site lists no food or mealtime app among its tablet apps.

How to choose

If you need a plan for the week that starts from the few foods your child eats, look at an app built around safe foods: EatPal or Food Hopper.
If your child responds to games or rewards, Playful Eats and Food Explorer Club put something on the screen for the child, not only for you.
If your child eats a fairly wide range and you mostly need dinner ideas and a shopping list, a general planner such as Paprika or Plan to Eat does that job.
If you work with a feeding therapist, ask what they want recorded before you choose. A log they can read between appointments is worth more than extra features.
Try the free plan or trial before paying for anything, and check the price on the app's own page, since prices are not listed here.

EatPal plans your week outward from the foods your child already eats, with one small try bite at a time beside them. Start free or take the 2-minute quiz.

None of these apps diagnoses or treats a feeding problem. If meals are getting shorter, your child is losing weight, or the list of foods keeps shrinking, talk to your pediatrician or a feeding specialist.

Common questions

What is the best app for a child who eats very few foods?: It depends on the job. To plan meals around safe foods and track each new food offered, EatPal and Food Hopper are built for that. For games or rewards the child uses, look at Playful Eats or Food Explorer Club. General planners such as Paprika and Plan to Eat cover recipes for the rest of the family.
Is there an app for ARFID?: Food Hopper's site names ARFID among the families it is built for, and EatPal plans meals around the safe foods of children with ARFID. No app can diagnose ARFID or stand in for care. If you think your child has it, talk to your pediatrician or a feeding specialist.
Are there free apps for a child who refuses new foods?: EatPal has a free plan for one child, Food Explorer Club is free on the App Store, and Mealime is free to use until its announced shutdown on October 21, 2026. Food Hopper, Playful Eats and Plan to Eat offer free trials. Check each app for current prices.
Can a regular meal planning app work for a child who refuses most foods?: It can hold the family plan, but general planners do not record which foods a child accepts or how many times a new food has been offered. If that record matters to you or your feeding therapist, use an app built around safe foods alongside it.
Can an app replace feeding therapy?: No. The apps on this page are planning, tracking and play tools. A pediatrician or feeding specialist who knows your child should guide care; an app can keep the record you bring to them.