WP Recipe Maker vs Tasty Recipes
These are the two best-known recipe card plugins for food blogs. Both now have a free version on wordpress.org, and both ship JSON-LD and Guided Recipes markup free.
WP Recipe Maker has more than 50,000 active installs. Tasty Recipes does not publish paid install numbers; its free Lite edition has about 2,000.
Both plugins have a checked value for 20 of 30 features, and they differ on 7 of them.
Verdict
WP Recipe Maker offers more, both free and paid, and is the default choice. Tasty Recipes makes sense if you value simple plans and want the wider WP Tasty suite. Compare the renewal price, not the first-year price, since Tasty's listed prices were introductory.
Choose WP Recipe Maker if
- You want the most features in the free version, including a template editor and step photos.
- You need nutrition calculated inside the plugin.
- You want collections, meal planning or visitor submissions.
- You want a 30-day refund window and listed prices that were not introductory offers.
Choose Tasty Recipes if
- You prefer one feature set on every paid plan, with no feature tiers to compare.
- You want affiliate links on cards free.
- You plan to use Tasty Links, Tasty Pins and Tasty Roundups together.
- You need three or five sites and want one plan for that.
At a glance
| WP Recipe Maker | Tasty Recipes | |
|---|---|---|
| Type | Recipe card plugin | Recipe card plugin |
| Active installs | 50,000+ | 2,000+ |
| Rating | 4.96 / 5 (355 ratings) | 5.0 / 5 (2 ratings) |
| Last updated | Oct 15, 2026 | Oct 13, 2026 |
| Free version | Yes | Yes |
| Price | From $49 / year | From $49 / year |
| Lifetime licence | Not listed | Not listed |
| Refunds | 30-day money-back guarantee | 14-day money-back guarantee |
Feature by feature
| Feature | WP Recipe Maker | Tasty Recipes |
|---|---|---|
| Structured data | ||
| Recipe schema (JSON-LD)Outputs Recipe structured data as JSON-LD, the format Google recommends for recipe rich results. | YesFree | YesFree |
| Guided Recipes markupMarks each step so the recipe is eligible for step-by-step guidance on smart displays and Google Assistant. | YesFree | YesFree |
| Editors and placement | ||
| Block editor (Gutenberg)Has its own block for adding a recipe in the WordPress block editor. | YesFree | YesFree |
| Classic EditorRecipes can be added to posts from the Classic Editor. | YesFree | YesFree |
| ElementorHas its own Elementor widget. | YesFree | YesFree |
| ShortcodeA shortcode displays a recipe or a recipe listing anywhere shortcodes run. | YesFree | Not checked |
| Recipe card inside a postA full recipe card can be placed inside a normal blog post, under your own writing. | YesFree | YesFree |
| Standalone recipe pagesEach recipe gets its own page and URL, separate from blog posts. | Not checked | Not checked |
| Design | ||
| Templates and layoutsHow many recipe designs come with the plugin. | Template Editor with unlimited custom templates (free); extra templates in Premium | 3 templates free; 11 on paid plans |
| Template editorA visual tool for changing the structure of a recipe template, beyond colours. | YesFree | PartialFreeA template styler for colours and options, not a structural editor. |
| Ingredients | ||
| Ingredient groupsIngredients can be split under headings such as "For the sauce". | YesFree | Not checked |
| Adjustable servingsReaders change the number of servings and the quantities recalculate. | YesPaid: Premium | YesPaid: Basic |
| Unit conversionReaders switch between US and metric units on the recipe. | YesPaid: Pro | YesPaid: Basic |
| Ingredient linksIngredients can link out, for example to an affiliate product. | YesPaid: Premium | YesFreeLinks are added by hand. Automatic linking needs the separate Tasty Links plugin. |
| Equipment listA section listing the tools a recipe needs, shown to readers. | YesPaid: PremiumEquipment links are confirmed in Premium. Whether a plain equipment list is free was not checked. | PartialPaid: All AccessNeeds Tasty Links, included in the All Access plan. |
| Instructions | ||
| Step photosA photo or video can be attached to an individual step. | YesFree | Not checked |
| TimersTimes in the instructions become timers the reader can start. | YesPaid: Premium | Not checked |
| Nutrition | ||
| Nutrition labelNutrition values are entered by hand and shown as a nutrition facts label. | YesPaid: Premium | YesPaid: Basic |
| Automatic nutrition calculationNutrition values are calculated from the ingredient list using a food database. | YesPaid: ProUses the Spoonacular API. | PartialPaid: NutrifoxThrough Nutrifox, a separate paid service from the same company. |
| Reader tools | ||
| Star ratingsReaders can rate a recipe out of five stars. | YesFreeRatings through comments are free. Rating inside the card needs Premium. | YesFreeStar ratings are taken from comments. |
| Print viewA print button opens a clean, printable version of the recipe. | YesFree | YesFree |
| Jump to recipeA button at the top of a post scrolls straight to the recipe card. | YesFree | YesFree |
| Cook modeA switch keeps the reader's screen awake while cooking. | YesPaid: Premium | YesPaid: Basic |
| Saved recipesReaders can save recipes and find them again later. | YesPaid: Premium | PartialPaid: BasicReaders can email a recipe to themselves or save through Grow or Slickstream. There is no built-in saved list. |
| Meal planner and shopping listReaders build a meal plan or shopping list from recipes on the site. | YesPaid: Elite | Not checked |
| Building a recipe site | ||
| Recipe index and searchListing pages where visitors browse, filter and search all recipes. | PartialFreeRecipe search is free. A browsable index needs the separate WP Ultimate Post Grid plugin. | Not checked |
| Visitor-submitted recipesVisitors send in recipes through a form on the site, for you to moderate. | YesPaid: Elite | Not checked |
| WPML or Polylang supportDeclares compatibility with a multilingual plugin so recipes can be translated. | Not checked | Not checked |
| Migration and extras | ||
| ImportersWhich other recipe plugins it can import recipes from. | 20+ plugins, including Tasty Recipes, Create, WP Delicious, Recipe Card Blocks, Cooked and Zip Recipes | 11 sources, including WP Recipe Maker, Create and Zip Recipes |
| AI recipe draftingGenerates a recipe draft with an AI model. | Not checked | NoNo AI drafting. The plugin offers a setting to block AI scrapers. |
- Yes: The plugin does this.
- Partial: It does part of this; the note says what is missing.
- No: The plugin does not do this.
- Not checked: We could not confirm it from the vendor's own pages, so we do not claim either way.