Expiry date tracker apps, compared by how the date gets in

The apps at a glance

Checked October 2026 on the US App Store and Google Play. “Android” means we found a Google Play listing from the same developer; we didn't compare the Android versions' features. Prices are US prices shown in the store and vary by country.

Four ways the date gets in

The barcode point surprises people. The UPC on a grocery package identifies the product, not the individual package, so it can't say when that carton of milk expires. GS1, the barcode standards body, does define an expiration-date field for some barcode types, and its Sunrise 2027 program is moving retailers toward 2D barcodes that can carry production or expiration dates. Until those are common on groceries, the printed date is the only place the real date lives.

Not ready for an app? A marker, an “eat first” bin and a printable list work too; we compare those in how to keep track of food expiration dates. To check a single date without installing anything, type it into the free expiration date decoder.

Apps that scan the expiry date with the camera

These are the “expiry date detection” apps: they run text recognition on the printed date. They differ in what else they track, whether you need an account, and how they handle a label with more than one date.

FreshScan (ours)

FreshScan reads the date on the package on-device with the iPhone camera, then shows a confirmation card with the full date, the kind of date (best by, use by, sell by or EXP) and a suggested name. It scores down packed-on dates and lot numbers, and when a label shows two dates it lists both and asks which to track. An ambiguous numeric date like 03/04/27 is shown both ways. A month-and-year date like EXP 10/2026 is saved as the last day of the month. A short USE BY 10/26 can mean October 26 or October 2026; while October 26 is near, it offers both and you pick (our guide to month-or-day-first dates explains why). It also reads Canadian two-letter month codes such as BEST BEFORE 26 OC 04.

Items are grouped into Use today, Next 3 days and Later, with reminders at 9:00 AM two days before and on the day. You can mark items Used it or Threw it away. For food with no printed date, such as leftovers, you type a date yourself.

What it doesn't do: no barcode scanning, no shelf-life estimates, no Julian or lot code reading, no recipes or shopping lists, no sharing between phones, and it's iPhone only (iOS 18 or later), with no Android or iPad version. It's free for up to 10 active items; FreshScan Pro ($3.99 a month or $29.99 a year in the US; prices vary by country and are shown in the App Store) adds unlimited items, reminder timing and the Impact screen. There's no account and no server; your list stays on your phone.

Want to try the camera-first approach? FreshScan is free for your first 10 items at a time, with no account to create.

Free on theApp Store

RiScan

According to its App Store listing (October 2026), RiScan (“Expiry date scanner: RiScan”) reads the expiry date with the camera, then has you take a photo of the product. The listing says it supports over 70 date formats, including ambiguous ones like “28.3.27,” sends a notification as the date approaches, and allows manual input. It's aimed at food, medicine and emergency supplies. Data is stored on the device, with iCloud backup and sync.

Useby

According to its App Store listing (October 2026), Useby (“Useby: Food Expiry Scanner”) reads packaging photos to detect product names and expiry dates, and you confirm or edit every result before saving. It sorts items by what expires soonest, organizes them by category and adds reminders. The listing describes it as local-first, with no accounts, no backend and no cloud database.

Scannly

According to its App Store listing (October 2026), Scannly (“Scannly - Expiry Date Tracker”) scans expiry dates with the camera, including on curved bottles, and can look up a product name from its barcode (that part needs an internet connection). It sends reminders with timing you choose and has import and export for backups. It covers medicine, cosmetics and household products as well as food, stores data on the device, needs no account, and describes itself as completely free.

PROvisions

According to its App Store listing (October 2026), PROvisions (“PROvisions: Expiry Tracker”) reads the production date, expiry date and period after opening (PAO) from a label, in 15 languages, and offers to swap two dates it thinks are mixed up. It has family lists shared by link, iCloud sync, widgets and Siri support, and covers medicine, cosmetics and documents too. It requires iOS 26 or later.

FreshSave

According to its App Store listing (October 2026), FreshSave (“FreshSave: Expiry Tracker”) reads a printed date with on-device text recognition and fills in product names from barcodes. Reminders come 3 days and 1 day before an item expires. It suggests recipes for food that expires within 7 days, using Claude AI after asking your permission, with 3 suggestions a month free and more with Pro. You can start without signing up and link an account later to sync. There's also an Android version.

UseSoon

According to its App Store listing (October 2026), UseSoon (“UseSoon: Food Expiry Tracker”) finds the date in a package photo with on-device text recognition, or you add food by hand. Reminders come 3 days before, 1 day before and on the day. You can mark food as used, discarded, frozen or extended, and data stays on the device.

Bestfor

According to its App Store listing (October 2026), Bestfor (“Bestfor - Food Expiry Tracker”) combines barcode scanning with camera capture of the expiry date, plus manual entry. It sends reminders before and on the expiry day, suggests meals based on what's about to expire, and works offline.

Zuzanka

According to its App Store listing (October 2026), Zuzanka was developed for blind and visually impaired people. It guides you to the date with sounds, reads the recognized date aloud, tells you if it has passed, and lets you share it as text to Notes or Calendar. It also scans barcodes and QR codes, and the listing says it is fully compatible with VoiceOver. It's a date reader more than a tracker. Scanning is a 2-week free trial, then one free scan a day, with subscriptions or a lifetime purchase. There's an Android version.

Barcode apps

These are closer to household inventory apps. Scanning a barcode fills in the product; the date still has to come from somewhere.

BEEP

According to its App Store listing (October 2026), BEEP (“BEEP - Expiry Date Tracking”) fills in a product's name and image from its barcode, “so you only need to enter the expiration date.” You create an account, can invite others to a shared team, set reminder timing and alerts by category, and your data is backed up and synced. The listing mentions homes, restaurants and retail inventory.

Pantry Check

According to its App Store listing (October 2026), Pantry Check (“Pantry Check - Grocery List”) combines a barcode scanner backed by a crowd-sourced product database with automatic expiration reminders, shopping lists based on usage, and real-time syncing and family sharing. The listing says you can track up to 200 items free, with paid storage subscriptions.

NoWaste

According to its App Store listing (October 2026), NoWaste (“NoWaste: Food Inventory List”) keeps inventory lists for the freezer, fridge and pantry, adds food by scanning barcodes, receipts or photos, and reminds you before things expire. It also has recipes, shopping lists, meal plans and separate locations such as a cabin. The listing names a Pro subscription at $6.99 a year and says it's available on iPhone and Android.

KitchenPal

According to its App Store listing (October 2026), KitchenPal (“KitchenPal Shared Grocery List”) is a grocery list, pantry tracker and recipe app. You set quantities and expiry dates, and the listing says it detects expiry automatically for items like fridge food and produce, which suggests estimated dates for those items. It adds products with a barcode scanner, voice or text, sends alerts before the expiry date, and shares lists and the pantry with family.

Best Before

According to its App Store listing (October 2026), Best Before (“Best Before - Food Tracker”) fills in a product's name and photo from its barcode, and you add the expiry date. It reminds you of food that is about to expire or has been open too long. It costs $0.99 once, with no ads or in-app purchases. (A Google Play app with the same name comes from a different developer.)

Scanoid

According to its App Store listing (October 2026), Scanoid (“Expiration Date - Scanoid”) is built for convenience stores and shops as well as homes: barcode-based expiration tracking, stock by location, a team mode, a calendar view, and Excel import and export. The multi-location and spreadsheet features lean toward shops.

Apps that import what you bought

Cooklist

According to its App Store listing (October 2026), Cooklist (“Cooklist: Pantry Meals Recipes”) connects to grocery store loyalty cards (it names Walmart, Kroger, Safeway, Wegmans and 75 more stores) and downloads your purchases into a digital pantry. It also has a barcode scanner, keeps track of how old each item is, sends expiration notifications and suggests recipes from what you have. The household shares the pantry, list and recipes.

Fridgely

According to its App Store listing (October 2026), Fridgely (“Fridgely: Smart Kitchen + Home”) lets you point the camera at your fridge or pantry to log what you have, or scan a grocery receipt, and then plans meals and a shopping list. It shows a “Fridge Health Score” and sends expiry alerts; the listing doesn't say whether those dates are read from packages or estimated. It describes itself as free with no subscription.

Type-it-yourself apps

Fridge Hero

According to its App Store listing (October 2026), Fridge Hero (“Fridge Hero: Track Food Expiry”) has you enter items in Fridge, Freezer and Pantry tabs with whatever details you want, such as best-before dates, quantity and notes. You swipe to record what was eaten, frozen or trashed, review your history, and get reminders you customize. The listing mentions a shopping list and Dropbox sync for the household.

On Android?

FreshScan is iPhone only. These apps from the comparison have a Google Play listing from the same developer (checked October 2026): FreshSave and Zuzanka, which read the printed date with the camera, and BEEP, Pantry Check, NoWaste, KitchenPal, Scanoid, Cooklist and Fridge Hero. We didn't check whether the Android versions match the iPhone features described above.

Tracking medicine, cosmetics or documents?

FreshScan is built for food dates. If you also want to track medicine, cosmetics or passports, look at apps whose listings say so. Scannly, PROvisions and RiScan, above, mention medicine; Scannly and PROvisions also mention cosmetics. Two more:

• ExpiryDay (“ExpiryDay - Expiry Tracker”): its listing covers food, medicine, IDs, documents, cosmetics and subscriptions for homes, stores and warehouses, with barcode and QR scanning for items and locations and cloud sync. It's free to download, with subscriptions from $9.99 a month.
• Expiry Date Tracker Pro: its listing is aimed at passports, permits, insurance, medicine and pantry items, with reminders and a “Snap & Save” option to add a date by photographing a label or document. It doesn't say whether the date is read automatically. It's free to download, with a $9.99 annual plan.

For storage times, not tracking: USDA FoodKeeper

The USDA FoodKeeper app, published by USDA's Food Safety and Inspection Service, is a reference for how long foods keep, which is what you need for leftovers and loose produce that have no printed date. Its listing calls the storage times “useful guidelines,” not hard-and-fast rules. The same data powers our shelf life chart and food expiration calculator, which work in any browser. FoodKeeper times count from the day you buy or open the food, not from the printed date.

Which kind of app fits you

• You mostly buy packaged food and want the real printed dates: a camera app (FreshScan, RiScan, Useby, Scannly, PROvisions, FreshSave, UseSoon). One scan per item, and the date is the one on your package, not an estimate.
• You want a full inventory and shopping list: a barcode app (Pantry Check, NoWaste, KitchenPal, BEEP). Expect to add or check the date yourself.
• You want the least effort possible: an import app (Cooklist with a supported store, or Fridgely's receipt scan). Check how each one sets dates before you rely on the reminders.
• You need a date read aloud: Zuzanka, which was built with blind and visually impaired users.
• Several people share one fridge: pick an app whose listing mentions sharing or sync; see the FAQ below.
• You run a small shop: Scanoid or BEEP, whose listings describe team and retail use.
• You rarely buy packaged food: an app may be overkill. The shelf life chart and a “use first” shelf (see reducing food waste at home) may be all you need.

How we checked

On October 5, 2026 we pulled each app's current US App Store listing through Apple's public search and lookup service, read the full description, and read the in-app purchase list and supported devices on each App Store page. We then searched Google Play for each app and counted an Android version only when the developer matched. Every feature above is attributed to those listings. We didn't install or test the other apps, we left out ratings and review counts, and we didn't repeat statistics that listings quote. Listings change; if you spot something out of date, tell us.

Questions people ask