OurGroceries
OurGroceries is a privately held, family-owned consumer software company that provides a cross-platform grocery list app enabling households and roommates to coordinate shopping in real time across iOS, Android, smartwatches, web, and Alexa via a freemium ad-supported model.
- Company typePrivate
- Founded2009
- HeadquartersSan Francisco, United States
- Headcount1–10
- GTM typeB2C
- OfferingSoftware
What OurGroceries does
OurGroceries is a privately held, family-owned mobile consumer software company founded in 2009 by Dan and Lawrence. The company's flagship product is a cross-platform grocery list application that enables multiple members of a household or shared living arrangement to coordinate shopping in real time. The app maintains shared lists that synchronize instantly across all devices on a single account, supports voice input via Amazon Alexa, Apple Siri, and Google Assistant, and includes barcode scanning backed by a proprietary database of 17 million product UPC codes, automatic aisle-based categorization, photo attachments, recipe management with one-tap ingredient addition, and widgets on both iOS and Android.
The technology stack consists of native or first-party apps on iOS (iOS 16+), Android (Android 6+), Apple Watch (watchOS 6+), Wear OS, a web client, and an Amazon Alexa skill, all unified by a server-based sync architecture hosted on US servers. An MCP (Model Context Protocol) server, launched in 2023, exposes shopping lists and recipes to external AI agents including Claude and ChatGPT via OAuth authentication. The company is incorporated as OurGroceries, Inc. in the United States, has no disclosed external funding or institutional investors, and is operated by its two co-creators as a small family business.
The business model is freemium and consumer-direct. The app is free to download and use with unobtrusive in-app advertising; users can upgrade to remove ads for approximately US$1/month, US$6/year, or a US$20 one-time lifetime fee, with the upgrade applying to all devices and household members sharing the same account. Distribution is self-serve and product-led through the Apple App Store, Google Play Store, the company website, and the Amazon Alexa Skills Store, supplemented by organic word-of-mouth, app store optimization, and earned media such as a 2026 NerdWallet best-for-roommates designation. Customer segments are horizontal and consumer-oriented: households and families, roommates, and individual consumers seeking organized, multi-device list management. The product database for barcode scanning is acknowledged to be US-centric, and the company is self-attested compliant with GDPR, CCPA, LGPD, and PDPA privacy regimes.
OurGroceries firmographics
Firmographics- Name
- OurGroceries
- Legal name
- OurGroceries, Inc.
- Website
- https://ourgroceries.com
- Company type
- Private
- Founded year
- 2009
- Operating status
- Operating
- Headcount range
- 1–10 employees
- Short description
- OurGroceries is a privately held, family-owned consumer software company that provides a cross-platform grocery list app enabling households and roommates to coordinate shopping in real time across iOS, Android, smartwatches, web, and Alexa via a freemium ad-supported model.
- Ownership category
- akta.pro rank
Where OurGroceries is headquartered
LocationHeadquarters
- HQ city
- San Francisco
- HQ country
- United States
- HQ region
- North America
Offices1 record
Markets served
OurGroceries business model
Business model- GTM type
- B2C
- Offering type
- Software
- Cost components
- Technology or R&D, Personnel, Infrastructure, Operations, Marketing or Sales
Revenue model
- Freemium with Ad-supported Free Tier: The core OurGroceries app is free with unobtrusive ads displayed at the top of certain screens. This drives broad user acquisition across households.
- Ad Removal Upgrade (Subscription): Users can upgrade to remove ads. Pricing is approximately US$1/month for monthly subscription, US$6/year for annual subscription, or US$20 one-time lifetime upgrade. Subscriptions include a 7-day free trial. The upgrade applies to all devices sharing the same account.
Pricing tiers
| Model | Billing | Price |
|---|---|---|
| Freemium | Others | Free version with ads |
| Subscription | Monthly | Monthly subscription to remove ads |
| Subscription | Annual | Annual subscription to remove ads |
| One time/ perpetual license | Others | Lifetime one-time upgrade to remove ads |
Go-to-market motion2 records
Distribution channels4 records
Marketing channels6 records
OurGroceries product offering
Product offeringCore offering
OurGroceries develops and operates a cross-platform grocery list mobile application that synchronizes shared shopping lists in real time across every device in a household, including iOS, Android, web, Apple Watch, Wear OS, and Amazon Alexa. The app supports barcode scanning against a 17-million-product database, automatic aisle-based categorization, recipe management, photo attachments, and voice commands, with an optional paid upgrade to remove advertisements.
Product overview
OurGroceries is a family-owned grocery list management app with a core mobile application available on iOS and Android, supplemented by an Apple Watch app, a Wear OS watch app, a Mac (Apple Silicon) app, an Amazon Alexa skill, and a web interface. The product ecosystem centers on shared household grocery lists with real-time synchronization. An optional paid upgrade removes ads across all platforms for all household members. An experimental MCP (Model Context Protocol) server enables AI agent integration with Claude and ChatGPT. The app is free to use with ads, with upgrade pricing at ~US$1/month, ~US$6/year, or ~US$20 lifetime.
Differentiator
Problem solved
Functional benefit
Products and services
- OurGroceries Mobile App (iOS and Android) Cross-platform grocery list mobile application available on iOS (iOS 16+ for iPhone and iPad) and Android (Android 6+), offering real-time household list sharing via a unified account, voice input through Alexa/Siri/Google Assistant, barcode and photo item entry, automatic aisle-based categorization, recipes, and home-screen widgets.
- OurGroceries Web App Browser-based version of OurGroceries accessible at ourgroceries.com/your-lists, allowing users to view and edit shopping lists and recipes, manage accounts, export data, and share list links. The web experience is ad-free when any mobile app on the same account is upgraded.
- OurGroceries Apple Watch App Native watchOS app for Apple Watch (watchOS 6+) that displays shopping lists, allows crossing items off, supports voice input via dictation, and provides complications and Smart Stack widgets for quick list access.
- OurGroceries Wear OS App Native app for Wear OS smartwatches that displays shopping lists, allows users to cross items off, and supports voice input for adding items via the paired Android phone.
- OurGroceries Alexa Skill Amazon Alexa skill enabling voice commands on Echo and other Alexa-enabled devices to add, remove, list, and check items on shopping lists, set default lists, and add multiple items at once. Requires linking to an OurGroceries account.
- OurGroceries Mac App iPad app compatible with Mac computers running Apple Silicon (M1/M2/M3) with macOS 12 or later, distributed via the Apple App Store.
- OurGroceries MCP Server Model Context Protocol (MCP) server endpoint at ourgroceries.com/mcp that lets AI agents such as Claude and ChatGPT query lists, add and move items, manage recipes, categorize items, and add photos via OAuth authentication. Documented as highly experimental.
Quantifiable outcome
- Real-time sync: changes are visible within seconds across all household devices
- +1 more outcomes
Companies that use OurGroceries
Customer profileNamed customers3 records
Segments3 records
Ideal customer profiles3 records
OurGroceries technology and API
TechnologyTechnology focussed Yes
API detail
- Has API
- Yes
- API docs
- API detail
Core technology
AI maturity
App detail
Integration11 records
AI capability10 records
Feature7 records
OurGroceries partnerships and signals
Strategic signalPartnerships
Five partnerships are on record, tiered core.
- Amazon AlexacoreOurGroceries integrates with Amazon Alexa-enabled devices including Amazon Echo. Users can ask Alexa to add, remove, or check items on their shopping lists using voice commands. The Alexa skill requires linking the user's OurGroceries account.
- Google AssistantcoreOurGroceries supports voice commands on Android phones and Wear OS watches via Google Assistant. Users can say 'Hey Google, ask OurGroceries to add milk.' Note: Google Home and Nest devices lost third-party voice app support on June 13, 2023.
- Apple SiricoreOurGroceries integrates with Apple Siri on iPhone, iPad, Apple Watch, and HomePod. Users can add items via Siri voice commands. The app supports iOS Shortcuts for custom voice commands to specific lists.
- Apple WatchcoreOurGroceries offers a native watchOS app for Apple Watch (requires watchOS 6 or newer). Users can view lists, cross items off, add items via voice or typing, and add OurGroceries complications to watch faces.
- Wear OScoreOurGroceries offers a Wear OS app for Android smartwatches. Users can view lists, cross items off, and add items by voice through their paired Android phone.
Scale indicators3 records
Recent moves1 record
Expansion highlights5 records
OurGroceries competitors and assessment
Company assessmentEmerging players
- Paprika Recipe Manager: Paprika is a recipe and meal planning app with shopping list features and cross-device sync. It competes for the household kitchen management use case, with deeper recipe management and lighter list collaboration than OurGroceries.
- Mealime: Mealime is a meal planning app that generates shopping lists from selected recipes. It overlaps with OurGroceries' recipe-to-list functionality but is more focused on meal planning, whereas OurGroceries is a dedicated list management app with recipes as a feature.
Others
- Todoist: Todoist is a general-purpose task and list management app used by some households for grocery lists. It is not grocery-specialized but competes for the same household list-management workflow with broader task functionality.
Broad incumbents
- Apple Reminders: Apple Reminders is a built-in iOS, iPadOS, and macOS app with shared list functionality via iCloud. It is a free, default-installed competitor to OurGroceries on Apple devices, with the advantage of zero switching cost for basic list users.
- Whisk (Samsung Food): Whisk, now Samsung Food, is a meal planning and recipe platform owned by Samsung. It includes shopping list functionality and is a broader incumbent in the smart-kitchen ecosystem, comparable to OurGroceries in list/recipe overlap but with significantly more resources.
- Yummly: Yummly is a recipe discovery and meal planning platform with smart shopping list features. As a Whirlpool-owned incumbent, it overlaps with OurGroceries' recipe and shopping list use case but operates at a much larger scale with a different business model.
- Google Keep: Google Keep is a free, default-installed notes and lists app with sharing capabilities. It competes with OurGroceries at the margin for basic grocery list use, benefiting from zero friction installation on Android devices.
Direct peers
- Bring! Shopping List: Bring! is a shopping list app with real-time household sharing, recipe-to-list functionality, and cross-platform support. It is a direct competitor in the grocery list category with strong presence in European markets, whereas OurGroceries is US-centric.
- Cozi Family Organizer: Cozi is a family organizer app with shared grocery lists, calendars, and to-dos targeted at households. It overlaps directly with OurGroceries' core household-coordination value proposition, though Cozi extends into broader family management.
- AnyList: AnyList is a direct competitor to OurGroceries, offering shared grocery and shopping lists with real-time household sync, recipe management, and meal planning. Both target households and families seeking collaborative list management across iOS, Android, and web.
Market position
Strengths4 records
Weaknesses4 records
Competitive moat5 records
Key risks6 records
Key highlights7 records
Customer concentration
OurGroceries social profiles
Digital presenceOurGroceries compliance and trust
Trust signalCompliance4 records
OurGroceries financial estimates
Financial estimateRevenue estimate
Valuation estimate
OurGroceries leadership team
Management profileNumber of profiles
Profiles2 records
OurGroceries funding detail
Funding detailFunding overview
Funding rounds
Investors
Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
OurGroceries M&A and investment
M&A and investmentM&A
Investments
M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
Frequently asked questions about OurGroceries
What does OurGroceries do?
OurGroceries develops and operates a cross-platform grocery list mobile application that synchronizes shared shopping lists in real time across every device in a household, including iOS, Android, web, Apple Watch, Wear OS, and Amazon Alexa. The app supports barcode scanning against a 17-million-product database, automatic aisle-based categorization, recipe management, photo attachments, and voice commands, with an optional paid upgrade to remove advertisements.
Is OurGroceries a public or private company?
OurGroceries is a private company. It is classified as family owned and is currently operating.
When was OurGroceries founded?
OurGroceries was founded in 2009. It employs 1 to 10 people.
Where is OurGroceries based?
OurGroceries is headquartered in San Francisco, United States, in the North America region.
How does OurGroceries make money?
Two revenue lines are on record. Freemium with Ad-supported Free Tier is the primary driver. The others are ad Removal Upgrade (Subscription).
Who are OurGroceries's main competitors?
Emerging players on record are Paprika Recipe Manager and Mealime. Todoist is listed as an others. Broad incumbents are Apple Reminders, Whisk (Samsung Food), Yummly and Google Keep. Direct peers are Bring! Shopping List, Cozi Family Organizer and AnyList.
Does OurGroceries have an API?
Yes. OurGroceries offers an MCP (Model Context Protocol) server that allows AI agents to interact with shopping lists and recipes. The MCP endpoint is available at https://www.ourgroceries.com/mcp. Currently supports connections from Claude (via Custom Connectors in Claude.ai) and ChatGPT (via OAuth-based app creation in ChatGPT). Once linked, AI agents can query lists, add items, move items between lists, categorize items, add photos, create recipes from web sources, and convert recipe ingredients between units. This is documented as a highly experimental feature. Developer documentation is at www.ourgroceries.com/mcp.