In the ever-evolving world of food storage and emergency preparedness, the right iOS food storage app can make all the difference when it comes to knowing what is in your food storage pantry. Team Survival Mom evaluated several apps to bring you a comprehensive comparison. Follow along to see our reviews and the big reveal — our top choice of food storage apps for the iPhone.
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In this post
Our iOS Food Storage Apps Evaluation Requirements
I ask you, is there a more satisfying feeling for a prepper mom than adding items to your emergency supplies? Every time you check something off your list and squirrel it away, you feel more confident that you’re preparing your family for the unknown.
The problem is a stockpile needs organization and maintenance or it becomes more frustrating than helpful. So I decided to test out some of the iOS food storage apps to see if any of them could help me set up a useful organization system. Which food storage app is best? Well, the answer is complicated.
An Invaluable Addition to Your Prepping
After years of accumulating preps, my number one goal is now organization and accessibility. It’s not helpful to have masks and sanitizer if I can’t find them when the pandemic hits. It’s beyond frustrating to be in the middle of meal prep and realize the jar of sauce you thought was on the shelf in the garage is not there. And don’t get me started about the amount of food I have wasted by not properly rotating it.
Requirements
We were looking for a system that:
- Is easy to maintain over time
- Allows me to easily check for items that need to be rotated or tossed
- Accommodates all my preps, not just food items
- Helps me keep track of the location of an item–I keep things in my house, garage, and in two outbuildings so this is a big one for me
- Allows me access to all this information even when I am out running errands
Several of these requirements indicated I needed a food storage app as part of the solution. I have tried several organizational methods over the years to tame my preps–spreadsheets with multiple tabs, lists in notebooks, and clipboards with laminated checklists and attached grease pencils–with little success.
Thus, I simply continued to add to my supplies hoping I would have what I needed and know where to find it when the time came.
Bad idea.
The COVID pandemic has illustrated how inefficient, and potentially harmful, this non-method is if I need to find things in a hurry.
A Comparison of Food Storage Apps
So I went on a mission and discovered three inventory apps that seemed the most likely candidates for my purposes to determine the best food storage app.
- Food Storage, an app I used years ago but figured it had been updated since then.
- Pantry Check (iOS only at this time)
- Inventory Wolf, an app specifically geared toward preppers
Food Storage and Pantry Check work in similar ways. You can either scan package barcodes or manually enter items into the app to create an inventory that helps you to rotate and restock. This is a huge help if you stock up on freeze-dried food. You’re investing money for that long-term food storage and need a way to always know what you have and where it’s stored.
Inventory Wolf is entirely different. It works backward by giving you very specific lists of what they believe you will need and then you work to check off those lists.
For my purposes, I quickly eliminated Inventory Wolf. It is an intriguing idea for someone just getting started who wants step-by-step help, but to try and identify what I already owned that matched their lists was too overwhelming for me. I might try it if I was new to prepping and wanted help creating a Go Bag or Vehicle Emergency Car Kit as it gives detailed instructions about what to include.
The Pros and Cons
That left Pantry Check and Food Storage. I compared their usability by inputting the same twenty items and then playing around with the features. I discovered fairly quickly that while they are similar, Pantry Check is easier and faster to use. Plus, it has a beautiful visual system where you can see a picture of the exact brand and packaging of your item. This helps when you are looking through your shelves to find the specific item that is about to expire. Pantry Check also had more ways to search and locate items and a feature where you can backtrack and see you if already entered an item.
It’s not an open and shut case, however. Food Storage is designed for preppers and has a feature that allows you to set goals for food storage and know where you are in the process. Also, Food Storage is a one-and-done app that you download and own forever. Pantry Check is an app, but also a service. You can input up to 200 items for free. After that, it is $12/year for up to 2,000 items and $29.99/year for up to 10,000. Happily, I stumbled on a half-off sale. I like that the subscription doesn’t automatically renew so I can test it out for a year without further obligation. You can compare and contrast yourself from Pantry Check and Food Storage.
If you don’t want to pay for an ongoing service, you should know that both apps function similarly. They both use a phone to scan or manually input and export items, add expiration dates, and note the location of an item. Also, both have a handy feature that allows you to quickly add items to a shopping list for restocking. Food Storage still does the job, it’s just not quite as user-friendly. There may be other good ones out there as well, I just selected the three apps that looked the best suited for my purposes.
My Preference
Ultimately, Team Survival Mom agreed that the Pantry Check app is the winner. Here’s why.
- Easier and more efficient input of items. So easy and fast that I managed to input about 500 items in only a few hours! These were food and medicine items that mostly had bar codes.
- It has a unique feature called Timeline that allows you to see which actions you took on any given day. This is handy if you are busy so you can look back and see if you already added those grocery items to your inventory.
- You can search for items by general category, type of product, or specific product. For example, a box of Cheerios can be searched either by “breakfast food,” “cereal,” or Cheerios. This assists you in keeping track of how much breakfast food you have stored, how many boxes of cereal, and how many boxes of Cheerios you have on hand.
- Taking items out of inventory is as easy as scanning them directly or performing a quick search and tapping Finish. Pictures are invaluable to ensure you are removing or rotating the correct brand and size for inventory accuracy. This is probably my favorite feature as it cuts down on search time when I have several brands on a shelf.
- You can share the app with family members so they can add or remove items, but I prefer to maintain control over the inventory. I simply ask them to let me know when they take something from storage.
Disclaimer: Neither I nor anyone on Team Survival Mom is affiliated with these apps or their creators and receives no benefit for recommending them. It is simply my opinion based on my experience.
The Best Food Storage App Is…
In the quest to find the best pantry inventory app, iOS or otherwise, we all learned that the best app is the one that seamlessly adapts to your needs. For us, that app is Pantry Check. After four months of regular use, it has become a useful organizational ally, streamlining our pantry management and preps with remarkable efficiency. While it does demand a measure of discipline to remember to enter new items or scan out used ones, the benefits far outweigh the effort.
In the end, this is the app that allowed us to shift from worrying about the logistics of food storage to embracing life’s moments with less stress. So, in the world of pantry inventory apps, it’s clear that when you find the right fit, it can indeed be life-changing.
Additional Apps We Haven’t Personally Tried but Look Promising
In our ongoing quest to find the perfect organizational tools for our preps, we’ve come across other apps that look promising but haven’t yet had the chance to put through our rigorous testing. We’re including them here so you can explore them yourself, and we’d love to hear from you if you’ve given them a try!
Stockroom – Home Inventory
Stockroom – Home Inventory is an app that often comes up in discussions about personal inventory management. While we haven’t personally put it to the test, it aims to simplify inventory tracking and seems quite versatile, allowing users to create custom templates for various item types. This adaptability could make it a strong contender for tracking all your preps, not just food. From what we’ve gathered, it appears to be a free app, which is always a bonus!
What We Know From Other’s Experiences
- Customization and Versatility: Users appreciate the ability to create custom templates and fields to track unique details about their items, making it suitable for a wide range of inventory, from home goods to business supplies. This aligns well with our desire to track all types of preps.
- Location Tracking (kind of): It allows for the tracking of item locations, a critical feature for managing preps spread across multiple areas like a house, garage, or outbuildings. Users note that while folders can organize items, search results don’t always display the folder directly. A clever workaround involves using the “ID” field to manually enter the item’s location, which helps streamline searches.
- User Interface: Reviewers often highlight its clean and intuitive interface, suggesting it’s easy to set up and maintain.
Points to Consider:
- Barcode/QR Code Scanning: This is a point of uncertainty. While some related business inventory apps offer scanning, user reviews for this specific app have expressed a desire for barcode and QR code scanning functionality, indicating it might not be a prominent or fully integrated feature. This is a key area where we’d love to hear from our readers!
- Search Functionality: As mentioned, while you can track locations, the search doesn’t inherently show an item’s folder. This means you might need to rely on the “ID” field workaround if you prefer seeing the organizational folder in your search results.
- No Dedicated Expiration Alerts: As a general inventory app, Stockroom doesn’t appear to have built-in, proactive expiration date alerts like some food-specific apps. While you can likely input expiration dates as a custom field, you’d need to manually monitor them.
If you’ve tried Stockroom – Home Inventory, we’d love to hear from you! Did you find its customizable features and location tracking helpful for managing your preps? What was your experience with adding new items – especially regarding barcode or QR code scanning? Your insights can help fellow Survival Mom readers decide if this free option is the right fit for their needs.
Your Food – No Waste Inventory
The “Your Food – No Waste Inventory” app (available on iOS and Android) looks like a delightful and functional way to manage your home’s food storage and cut down on waste. While we haven’t personally tested it, user reviews paint a compelling picture of a comprehensive tool for pantry, fridge, and even whole-house inventory management, complete with shopping lists and expense tracking.
What We Know from Others’ Experiences:
- Comprehensive Inventory: Users love that it tracks items across multiple locations like pantries, fridges, and freezers – perfect for preppers with diverse storage.
- Expiration Date Tracking: A standout feature is its robust expiration date management. The app sends reminders, helping you rotate stock and reduce waste, which means less stress for a prepping family.
- Shopping Lists & Budgeting: You can create shopping lists and easily move items from your list directly into your inventory. It also offers budget expense tracking.
- Barcode Scanning: A recent update added barcode scanning, speeding up item entry, which is a huge convenience for bulk purchases.
- Family Sharing: You can share and sync inventory across accounts, letting the whole family participate in managing supplies.
- User-Friendly & Visually Appealing: Reviewers consistently praise its “super user-friendly,” “simple to use,” and “adorable” interface, especially the wide array of food icons.
- Flexible Management: You can easily move items between lists (e.g., pantry to freezer) and set quantities to zero for accurate tracking.
- Free & Premium Options: The app is free with no ads, but a premium upgrade offers unlimited lists and item slots.
Points to Consider:
- While the icons are cute, a search function for them would be helpful.
- Some users wished for more specific date fields like “Date of Purchase” or “Frozen On Date.”
“Your Food – No Waste Inventory” sounds like a powerful ally for efficient prep organization and waste reduction. Its focus on ease of use, detailed tracking, and active development makes it a strong contender. If you’ve tried this app, we’d love to hear your thoughts, especially about the free versus premium features!
FAQ
For inventory purposes, especially with items like a whole steer that you butcher and freeze into individual portions, or large quantities of grains like cornmeal or wheat that you repackage, a traditional paper-and-pencil inventory might still be your best bet. We recommend keeping a simple list posted near your freezer or storage area to easily track what’s been used. While many of the apps allow for manual item entry, which could accommodate repackaged goods, for these specific large-scale, long-term items, the old-school method often provides the most practical and immediate way to monitor your stock as you consume it.
After years of accumulating emergency supplies, organization and accessibility become paramount. A good food storage app helps you easily track what you have, where it’s located (even across multiple storage areas), and when items need to be rotated or replenished. This prevents waste and ensures you can quickly find what you need in an emergency.
Absolutely! While the primary focus might be food, many of the apps, especially those designed for general home inventory like Pantry Check or potentially Stockroom, are versatile enough to track all your preps—from first-aid kits and masks to sanitation supplies and emergency gear. Our top choice, Pantry Check, definitely fits this bill.
This depends on your needs. Apps like Food Storage offer a one-time purchase, while Pantry Check and potentially Your Food have subscription models. For extensive inventories (hundreds or thousands of items), the subscription fees for apps like Pantry Check often unlock higher item limits, advanced features, and ongoing support, which can be well worth the investment for the peace of mind and organization they provide. Many also offer free tiers or trials so you can test them out before committing.
Related Food Storage Content
- Food Storage: Where Do I Begin?
- How to Use the LDS Food Storage Calculator
- The Food Storage Companies I Recommend and Why
- The 15 Commandments of Food Storage
Get my FREE guide to creating a balanced pantry!
Are you prepared for a food shortage? Building a balanced pantry is essential for emergency preparedness. I created a FREE guide to help you do that! In it I share more simple tips and explanations to help you create an emergency food supply that will provide nutritious and simple meals in an emergency. Don’t gamble with your family’s food security. My FREE pantry guide can help.
Final Thoughts
Ultimately, the right food storage app is a personal choice, a tool to help you gain confidence and reduce stress in your prepping journey. Whether you opt for a robust, feature-rich platform like Pantry Check, explore the customizable potential of Stockroom or Your Food, or even stick to a simple paper-and-pencil system for bulk items, the goal remains the same: to have a clear, actionable understanding of your emergency supplies. The key isn’t just accumulating preps, but knowing exactly what you have and where to find it.
What is your favorite food storage app and why?
Originally published April 2, 2021. This article has been updated.
Zero mention that this was for iOS apps. Pantry Check is not available for Android. If you’re going to review apps, please give this information early in the article.
That’s a good point. When I published this, I didn’t realize it was only for iOS. My apologies. Here’s a link to be notified when it’s available for Android, https://pantrycheck.com/android/
Looks like BOTH apps are for Apple. .am I wrong?
Food Storage is for both Apple and Android.
No Matter it is iOS app or Linux app, but It gave the clue for right direction… Love to read your blog.
No, Food Storage is also iOS only. Says so right on the page you linked to — “Tested and compatible with iOS 14. Optimized for all iPad, iPhone and iPod Touch devices.”
If there is a different page for Android, I haven’t been able to find it yet.
Inventory Wolf is on both iOS and Android: https://www.inventorywolf.com/
It also has a barcode scanner, btw.
Your Food is a good app for pantry/fridge and the whole house inventory with expiry date, shopping list and so on. No ads and free. It’s even possible to share inventory with the whole family, everyone can participate. Here is the link https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.HarderuesCompany.YourFood
I’ve not heard of this app. If any readers give it a try, leave a review here!
I LOVE PantryCheck! You can even add that you have homemade freezer meals and breakfast items. Once you open a bottle of ketchup you can easily adjust the amount left in the bottle (using 5% increments). You can mark items in your spice cabinet vs. the cabinet above your dryer. Brands are already in the database if you need to add an item. I was shocked at how many things were in my house – it helped me do a good inventory because I went through my WHOLE house adding EVERYTHING.
I’m glad you agree with us! It’s a good app.
How does handle bulk item purchases, like meat from a big box store, that we split into smaller portions? How about a whole steer we harvested?
Do you mean for inventory purposes? In that case, a paper/pencil inventory will be best, in my opinion. Post it near your freezer so you can keep track of what is used. For other bulk purchases, cornmeal/wheat/etc., see if these apps offer the option for manually adding foods. Or, again, use the old school method. If these foods won’t be used any time soon, then paper/pencil should work just fine.
Been using pantry check but I couldn’t find price history. I’d like to know what I’ve spent over time on, say, eggs.
After 2 years are you still using the same app? How is it working for you?
Pantry Check is still not available for Android
I used Pantry Check to help me know what I have, get it organized and keep track of what I was using. That enabled me to do a major overhaul and implement a simple visual system where I just automatically rotate and replace items. I still use it for long term food storage and odd items, but I don’t need to use it all the time like I used to. It was definitely instrumental in helping me organize my preps! Again, I don’t receive anything from the company, I just like the product. Guessing there are some new apps in the last two years to check out.
I’m a big fan of the My Prepper Pal app! It’s easy to use and has a lot of great features.
Since I am the chief procurement person, and in my mid 70’s, I’m looking for a full containment app. I would actually like to find a system that creates barcodes for each item and allows listing for redistributions. Not just food tracking but all types of supplies and equipment. After being a follower of yours for many years, I find you to be a logical, methodical and influential figure in the world of preparation. I just need to step up my game for my family’s sake. Thanks for any advice and direction you can supply. Happy New Year and blessings.
Having a dedicated iOS food storage app can really streamline the process, ensuring you always know what’s in your pantry.
Great post! I’ve been looking for an app that helps manage my food storage effectively. I appreciate the detailed comparisons you’ve provided. Can’t wait to try out some of the ones mentioned!
There is a cool app “pantry pic” that allows you to take photos of your ingredients to keep track of them. Also can generate recipes from those ingredients based on your dietary preferences such as gluten free, high protein, etc. give it a try!