Shelve Frequently Asked Questions
Find answers about using Shelve to manage your pantry, organise recipes, plan meals, create smarter grocery lists and reduce food waste.
Helpful links: Pricing · Why Shelve · Privacy · Grocery budgeting · Reducing food waste
What is Shelve?
Shelve is a pantry inventory, meal-planning, recipe and grocery-list app designed to help households stay organised, reduce food waste and shop more intentionally. It keeps what you have, what you plan to cook and what you need to buy connected in one place.
How does Shelve work?
Add and organise food across your pantry, fridge, freezer and cupboards; save recipes; plan meals; create grocery lists; and get reminders for items nearing expiry or predicted to run low. Shelve connects these steps so you can use what you already have and buy only what is missing.
Who is Shelve for?
Shelve is designed for busy individuals, couples and families; meal planners; home cooks; and anyone who wants to reduce grocery spending or food waste. It works whether you cook every day or only occasionally.
Can Shelve help me save money on groceries?
Yes. Shelve helps you avoid duplicate purchases by showing what is already in your pantry, fridge and freezer. It also predicts low stock from your usage and reminds you when items may need restocking, so you can shop with better information.
How does Shelve help reduce food waste?
Food is often wasted because it is forgotten, hidden or bought twice. Shelve lets you track food, record expiry dates, receive alerts and plan meals around what you already have. This helps you use ingredients in time and reduce unnecessary purchases.
Can I create meal plans in Shelve?
Yes. Shelve’s free plan includes meal planning, so you can organise meals for the week and build grocery lists from your planned recipes. Meal planning can reduce decision fatigue, avoid last-minute grocery runs and help you use ingredients you already have.
Does Shelve create grocery lists?
Yes. Shelve creates grocery lists from your recipes and meal plans, leaves out ingredients already in your pantry, and includes items predicted to be running low or marked for restocking. When you finish shopping, Shelve prompts you to add each purchased item to a shelf or leave it uncategorised. Either way, it is added to your overall pantry inventory.
Can I store my own recipes?
Yes. You can save and edit your own recipes in Shelve, add notes or adjustments, and attach a photo of the finished meal.
How can I upload recipes?
Add recipes from PDF and DOCX files, images and supported social-media URLs. Recipe extraction from images and social-media links is available with limits on the Free plan and unlimited use on Premium.
Do I need to manually enter every grocery item?
No. You can add items manually or scan barcodes to build your pantry faster. As you use Shelve, stock levels and low-stock reminders are predicted from your usage. When you complete a grocery list, Shelve prompts you to add each purchased item to a shelf or leave it uncategorised; either way, it is added to your overall pantry inventory.
Can I track expiry dates?
Yes. Shelve allows you to record expiry dates for food items so you can quickly identify ingredients that should be used soon.
Is there a free version of Shelve?
Yes. Shelve has a Free plan with core pantry, recipe, meal-planning and grocery-list features. Premium adds household sharing, real-time syncing across devices, and unlimited recipe extraction from images and supported social-media URLs. Visit the Pricing page for the current comparison.
What features are included in the free version?
The free plan includes core pantry inventory, barcode scanning, expiry tracking, recipe management, meal planning and grocery-list features. It also includes limited recipe extraction from images and supported social-media URLs. Premium adds household sharing, real-time syncing and unlimited image and social-media recipe imports.
Why should I use a pantry inventory app?
A pantry inventory app shows what is already in your pantry, fridge, freezer and cupboards. That makes it easier to avoid duplicate purchases, use food before it expires, plan meals efficiently and keep grocery spending under control.
How is Shelve different from a grocery list app?
Traditional grocery-list apps primarily help you remember what to buy. Shelve connects pantry inventory, expiry tracking, recipes, meal planning and grocery lists, giving you a clearer picture of both what you already have and what is still missing.
How do I get started with Shelve?
Download Shelve from the App Store or Google Play, create your account and add a few pantry items. You can then save recipes, plan meals and let Shelve build grocery lists around what you already have. Barcode scanning can make the initial setup faster.
Is Shelve available on iOS and Android?
Yes. Shelve is available on both iOS and Android. Download it from the App Store or Google Play.
What does Shelve Premium include?
Premium includes household sharing, real-time syncing across devices, and unlimited recipe extraction from images and supported social-media URLs. Barcode scanning is available on both Free and Premium. Visit the Pricing page for the current comparison.
Can household members use Shelve together?
Yes. Household sharing is a Premium feature. It lets household members access and manage the same shared pantry, recipes, meal plans and grocery lists.
Does Shelve sync across devices?
Yes. Real-time syncing across devices is available on Premium. Changes made by household members are reflected across connected devices.
How do I delete my account and data?
You can delete your account and associated data from within the Shelve app. If you need help, contact hello@shelveapp.com. See our Privacy Policy for more information.
How can I contact Shelve support?
Email hello@shelveapp.com for support. Include a short description of the issue and, if helpful, your device type and app version so we can assist faster.
