- Home
- Real Plans alternative
Looking for a Real Plans alternative?
If your family needs one dinner that suits several different diets, Gluten does that. You set up a profile for each person, and every recipe is checked against all of them. Real Plans builds the week around one diet, such as AIP, Paleo or GAPS, and is stronger on shopping, with a grocery list you can send to Instacart.
Free to start on iPhone, Android and the web.
Updated November 10, 2026. We have no connection with Real Plans.
Real Plans and Gluten, side by side
| Real Plans | Gluten | |
|---|---|---|
| Who it plans for | Your household, from one diet you choose (its “My Diet” filter), with portions for your family size | A profile for each person: their conditions, allergies, diets and age |
| Diets | 12 diets: Classic Healthy, Whole30, Paleo, AIP, Gluten Free, Dairy Free, Vegetarian, Low Carb, Mediterranean, Low FODMAP, Plant-Based Whole30 and GAPS | 50 conditions, diets, allergies and life stages, from celiac and AIP to pregnancy and toddlers |
| Allergies | Exclude any food group you’re allergic to or don’t like, for the whole plan | Each person’s allergies, checked against every ingredient |
| When people eat differently | One plan for the household. Add recipes from outside your diet for the others, and change servings meal by meal | One dinner for everyone, with a small change for anyone who needs one |
| Recipes | Over 3,000 by registered dietitians, functional medicine health coaches and food experts, plus partner packs such as Whole30, Nom Nom Paleo and AutoImmune Wellness | Dinners planned for your family and checked for each person |
| Import | Yes, a recipe import tool | No |
| Grocery list | Yes, made automatically, with a pantry. Order it through Instacart or Amazon | Not yet: each recipe lists its ingredients |
| Price | $15 a month or $84 a year on the web, with a 10-day money-back guarantee. In the iPhone app, $18.99 a month or $78.99 a year. No free trial that we found | Free to start. Gluten Pro is $4.99 a month for new recipes after a few nights |
When Real Plans is the better choice
Real Plans suits a house where one diet sets the menu and everyone is happy to eat it. It’s also the fuller shopping tool. It writes the grocery list for you, has a pantry feature, sends the order to Instacart or Amazon, and imports recipes from other sites. Its site lists more than 3,000 recipes, with AIP, Whole30 and low-FODMAP collections from partner authors, and the iPhone app holds a 4.6 rating from about 2,200 ratings. If the list and the import matter most, pick Real Plans, because Gluten has neither.
When Gluten is the better choice
Gluten is for the night when everyone at the table needs something different. Say you’re on AIP, your partner is pregnant, and the children are 3 and 5. In Real Plans the plan follows one diet, and fitting everyone else in is your job. Gluten keeps a profile for each person and plans dinners that fit them all, with any change for one plate written under the ingredient it replaces. It reads every ingredient against each person, because a recipe can look fine and still break a rule. When we asked 11 AI models for 1,530 family dinners (GlutenBench, October 2026), 143 of the first drafts failed that check. If AIP is the diet you’re planning around, there are 212 AIP recipes you can read free on gluten.ai.
A week of family dinners from Gluten
MondayFrench Garlic-Rosemary Lamb with Carrots
Spoon-tender lamb and sweet carrots braise with roasted garlic and rosemary, while tart apple rounds out the rich juices.
TuesdayTurkey Kofta Rice Bowl
Juicy saffron-and-garlic kofta, cool cucumber and sweet carrot, and a tangy dill-yogurt spoonful make a satisfying rice bowl.
WednesdayCumin Lamb Stir-Fry
Hard-seared lamb and crisp-tender peppers get coated in a cumin, ginger and tangy-sweet tamari sauce, finished with cool mint and cilantro.
ThursdayGinger Prawn Tacos
Sear ginger prawns until lightly browned, then coat them in a tangy-sweet lime glaze and tuck into warm tortillas with crunchy cabbage.
FridayBeef Tacos with Chimichurri
Crisp-edged beef gets a parsley-oregano chimichurri, tucked into soft corn tortillas with cool lettuce, zucchini, and avocado.
SaturdayLentil Shepherd’s Pie
A deeply browned onion and thyme lentil filling hides tender carrots and peas beneath golden olive-oil potato mash.
SundayFive-Spice Shrimp Stir-Fry
Seared five-spice shrimp and crisp vegetables wear a tangy orange-tamari glaze, with scallion greens over brown rice.
Or start with a plan for your diet
Gluten-free, dairy-freeMeal planAIPMeal planLow-histamineMeal planCeliacMeal plan
Allergy-friendlyMeal plan
Alpha-galMeal planDiabeticMeal plan
Heart-healthyMeal plan
Gestational diabetesMeal plan
Low-FODMAPMeal planLow-sodiumMeal planAnti-inflammatoryMeal plan
PaleoMeal planPregnancyMeal planPCOSMeal planCooking for more than one diet?
Add everyone you cook for, with their allergies, diets and ages. Gluten checks every recipe for each of them and tells you what to change for anyone who can’t eat it as written. It’s free to start.
Plan your dinnersSwitching from Real Plans
How much does Real Plans cost?
Its pricing page lists $15 a month or $84 a year on the web, and web purchases come with a 10-day money-back guarantee. Inside the iPhone app it’s $18.99 a month, $41.99 a quarter or $78.99 a year, and Whole30 plans cost more. We couldn’t find a free trial, though its AIP section offers a free four-week meal plan as a PDF. We checked these prices on November 10, 2026.
Can Real Plans plan for family members with different diets?
Partly. Its diets page calls it flexible enough for mixed-diet families. In practice your diet becomes one filter, “My Diet”, and you add recipes from outside it for everyone else or change the servings on a meal. We didn’t see a profile for each person, or a way to check one dinner against several people’s diets, on its site, its FAQ or its App Store page.
Is there an AIP meal planner for a family where not everyone is on AIP?
Yes, and Gluten was built for that table. Set yourself up on AIP next to a partner who eats everything and a child with a peanut allergy, and each dinner it plans fits all three, with one plate adjusted where needed. Real Plans has an AIP plan as well, but it’s built around the person following it.
Does Real Plans handle food allergies?
Yes. Its FAQ says allergies were one of the reasons it was made, and you can remove any food group you’re allergic to, or simply don’t like, in settings. Its App Store page says the filters go down to the single ingredient. Whatever you exclude applies to the whole plan rather than to one person.
How much does Gluten cost?
Gluten is free to start, on iPhone, Android and the web. Your first week of dinners, every recipe on your table and every check are free, with no trial and no card. Once your table has cooked with Gluten for a few nights, new recipes are Gluten Pro, $4.99 a month.
Can I bring my Real Plans recipes to Gluten?
No. Gluten has no import. You add your family once, and Gluten plans from there.
Sources
- Real Plans: Pricing (plans, money-back guarantee)
- Real Plans: home page (features, recipe count, Instacart)
- Real Plans: Choose your diet
- Real Plans: AIP meal plan FAQs (My Diet, allergies, families with different diets)
- Real Plans: Free AIP meal plans (four-week PDF)
- App Store: Real Plans - Meal Planner (rating, in-app prices, Amazon and Instacart)