WhatToEat vs Whats2Eat: Which AI Food App Do You Actually Need?
Both products use AI to solve a food decision. Whats2Eat (whatstoeat.app) photographs the ingredients in your kitchen and suggests what to cook. WhatToEat photographs the restaurant menu in front of you and suggests what to order. The AI approach is similar — but the dinner situation is completely different.
Disclosure: this page is published by WhatToEat. Whats2Eat data is sourced from their public website as of May 2026. Whats2Eat was in soft launch at the time of writing — some pricing and feature details may have changed.
You're at a restaurant with a menu you can't navigate — unfamiliar cuisine, dietary restrictions, or just overwhelmed by the options. Scan it. Get one pick. Free, no download.
Try it free →You're home and want AI to look at what's in your fridge, suggest what to cook tonight, and guide you through it step by step with Dede AI as your cooking companion.
Feature comparison
How each tool works
- Open whatoeat.today in any browser — no download
- Scan or upload your restaurant menu photo
- Set your mood and any dietary restrictions
- Get one confident dish recommendation with reasoning
Best for: the 30 seconds you have to make a decision at a restaurant table, anywhere in the world.
- Download the iOS app
- Photograph your fridge or pantry ingredients
- Dede AI recognizes what you have and suggests recipes
- Follow guided cooking steps with built-in timers
Best for: deciding what to cook at home tonight based on what's already in the kitchen, with AI guidance through the whole process.
Where WhatToEat wins
Whats2Eat is a pre-dinner planning tool — by the time you're at a restaurant table with a menu in your hands, it can't help you. WhatToEat is built for exactly that moment, and that moment only.
Whats2Eat requires an iOS download and an account setup before it can do anything. WhatToEat works in the browser in under 30 seconds — no friction when you're already seated and hungry.
WhatToEat reads the actual menu photo — printed, handwritten, digital, or in another language. Whats2Eat works from your kitchen inventory. They don't overlap at all in a restaurant setting.
As of May 2026, Whats2Eat was in soft launch with pricing and features still being finalized. WhatToEat is live, free, and works today.
Where Whats2Eat wins
Dede AI's ingredient photo recognition and step-by-step guided cooking is a genuinely different product category. If you want AI to watch over your shoulder while you cook dinner at home, Whats2Eat is designed for that. WhatToEat doesn't touch home cooking at all.
Whats2Eat prioritizes recipes based on what's going off soon in your fridge — a real food waste reduction tool. WhatToEat has no pantry features.
Whats2Eat generates shopping lists and helps plan a week of meals. WhatToEat is a single-meal, single-decision tool for when you're already at the restaurant.
Who should use which
Whats2Eat's Dede AI helps you cook from what's in your kitchen. WhatToEat's AI helps you order from whatever menu is in front of you. Both use AI. Neither does what the other does.
If you're cooking at home, Whats2Eat is worth watching — particularly once it fully launches with finalized pricing. If you're at a restaurant right now and need one confident dish recommendation, WhatToEat is free, live, and works in your browser without an app or account.
Try WhatToEat free →