There was a time when "doing the groceries" meant a trolley, a list scribbled on the back of an envelope, and at least one forgotten item. That's changed. Most of us now do some, if not all, of our shopping through an app, and the differences between them go well beyond who delivers fastest.
Some are built purely for speed. Others try to solve the harder problem: working out what to buy in the first place.
We looked at seven of the most-used grocery apps in the UK to see which ones are worth having on your phone, and which one genuinely stands out.
| App | Best For | Standout Feature | Price | Recipe-Linked Shopping |
| Cherrypick | Recipe-to-basket shopping | Turns meal plans into a ready-made order | Free tier + premium | Yes |
| Tesco Groceries | Weekly big shops | Clubcard pricing built into every order | Free | No |
| Sainsbury's Groceries | Loyalty-linked savings | Nectar points on every purchase | Free | No |
| Asda | Budget shopping | Consistently low prices on essentials | Free | No |
| Ocado | Premium range and quality | Wide selection, including specialist brands | Free | No |
| Too Good To Go | Reducing food waste | Surplus food from shops at a fraction of the price | Free (pay per bag) | No |
| Flashfood | Discounted near-expiry items | Deep discounts on food close to its sell-by date | Free (pay per item) | No |
Cherrypick: shopping that starts with a plan
Most grocery apps assume you already know what you want. The Cherrypick app works the other way round: you plan your meals first, and it builds the shopping list, and then the basket, for you. Once a plan is set, ingredients are sent straight through to partner supermarkets including Sainsbury's and Asda, so there's no copying a recipe onto a list, no working out quantities by hand, and no standing in an aisle trying to remember what you actually needed.
It's this order of operations that sets it apart. Rather than shopping and then figuring out what to cook, you cook first, in a sense, and the shop follows automatically. For households that tend to overbuy, or forget an ingredient every single week, that structure alone tends to save both money and trips back to the shop.
Tesco Groceries: solid, familiar, and loyalty-friendly
Tesco's app is a dependable choice for the weekly big shop, particularly for anyone already on Clubcard. Prices adjust automatically at checkout, and the app itself is straightforward: search, add, checkout, done. It's not trying to be clever about what you should buy, which is exactly what some households want.
Where it falls short is personalisation. There's no meal planning built in, so you're relying entirely on your own memory or list-making to know what to add.
Sainsbury's Groceries: rewarding regular shoppers
Sainsbury's app does the basics very well and adds genuine value for loyal customers through Nectar points, which stack up faster than many expect. The interface is clean, delivery slots are easy to manage, and substitutions during out-of-stock periods are generally sensible.
Like Tesco's app, it's built for shopping rather than planning, so it works best alongside your own list rather than instead of one.
Asda: dependable value shopping
Asda's app earns its place for households watching the budget closely. Prices are consistently competitive, and the app makes it easy to filter by offers and rollbacks. It's a no-nonsense shop, well suited to people who know what they want and just need it delivered affordably.
There's little in the way of extra features here: no planning tools, no recipe links, just a solid, budget-focused shopping experience.
Ocado: for quality and range
Ocado stands out for the breadth of its range, particularly for specialist, organic, and harder-to-find brands that don't always show up on other supermarket apps. Delivery slots tend to be reliable, and the app itself is pleasant to use.
It sits at a slightly higher price point than some competitors, and again, there's no planning layer, so you'll still need to know your list before you open the app.
Too Good To Go: shopping with a conscience
Too Good To Go has carved out a genuinely useful niche: surplus food from shops, cafes, and restaurants sold at a steep discount before it would otherwise be thrown away. It's an excellent way to save money while cutting food waste, and the surprise element of "mystery bags" has its own appeal.
It's not a substitute for a regular grocery shop, though. Availability depends on what local shops have left over, so it works best as a supplement rather than your main source of food.
Flashfood: discounts on food that's still perfectly good
Flashfood works on a similar principle to Too Good To Go but focuses specifically on near-expiry items still sitting on supermarket shelves. It's a straightforward way to cut your food bill, and the savings can be considerable on meat, dairy, and baked goods in particular.
As with Too Good To Go, stock depends entirely on what's left over, so it's more of a bonus tool than a reliable weekly shop.
Which one should you download?
If you want dependable, no-frills shopping, Tesco, Sainsbury's, Asda, and Ocado each do that job well, and the right one for you probably comes down to which supermarket you already trust. If you're keen to cut waste and save money on surplus stock, Too Good To Go and Flashfood are both worth having installed alongside your usual shop.
But if you want an app that removes the guesswork from grocery shopping entirely, by starting from a meal plan and building the basket for you, Cherrypick is the one built specifically for that job, and it remains the strongest all-round option on this list.
