Shopping ethically, thinking about the environment and making sure to stay healthy. It can be a minefield being vegan, but the modern age has stepped up with a host of apps to lend a hand.
If you could go back in time to 1944 and crash the roundtable that Donald Watson was holding — to decide on a name for veganism — imagine his face as you revealed that one day, his lifestyle would be dominated with apps.
Then try explaining what an app actually is and how phones would eventually become handheld mini-computers. There’s a spiral. What we’re getting at, is that things have come a long way.
Even the least tech-friendly among us benefit from apps. From the egalitarian email on-the-go to increasingly niche and unusual offerings and even those that benefit public health, like the NHS Test and Trace app, these little software downloads are part of everyday life. The question is, which are the best and most useful for the plant-based community? Let’s find out.
HappyCow
Free, iOS and Android
A one-stop app for all things vegan, HappyCow helps you find fellow plant-based people in your area, opens up a global community to engage with and uses GPS to locate restaurants nearby that can cater to you. What started as a simple food locator has grown into a multifaceted hub of all things vegan, and it’s brilliant.
Cruelty Cutter
Free, iOS and Android
Want to know which products are safe to buy? Cruelty Cutter gives you a fast and accurate overview of a company just by scanning a product’s barcode. You’ll know if the item in your hand is cruelty-free or not and from there, you can check the ingredients to assess whether it is vegan as well. You can also share information to your socials directly from the app, helping highlight brands that are still using cruel production methods.
Find out what to be wary of when trying to find vegan and cruelty-free products.
21-Day Vegan Kickstart
Free, iOS and Android
The perfect app for new or potential vegans, 21-Day Vegan Kickstart is a haven of advice, recipes and scientific information. Designed to keep you healthy and on-track, it was created by The Physicians Committee for Responsible Medicine, who claim that 21 days is all it will take to feel undeniable benefits. A great tool for anyone that likes a little science with their diet.
Veggly
Free (with in-app purchases), iOS and Android
If you don’t think a niche dating app is necessary, consider how much you’ll be eating with your future partner and we think you’ll soon change your mind. Veggly understands that shared passions and ethics are a solid foundation for any lasting partnership, and has sought to make it easier to meet like-minded people.
Read our in-depth article about Veggly and what it offers the plant-based community.
abillion
Free, iOS and Android
A clever app that offers users a global platform to review anything and everything vegan. You’ll find zero-waste dental floss and no-chicken kievs in the same feed on abillion, proving that there is more to the lifestyle than just food.
It can be a good way to make new connections too, as fellow users can comment on your reviews. Discount code sharing is a popular activity and a very beneficial one too. But the best part is that using the site allows abillion to donate to good causes, which can be seen in real time, on the ‘Impact’ tab. Every review earns $1 for a brilliant cause.
Bunny Free
Free, iOS and Android
Following the same train of thought as the Cruelty Cutter app, Bunny Free lets you search for a company or brand, to discover whether or not it tests on animals. This is a PETA app and gives you a fast overview of the ethics of a company before you check specific product ingredients. It’s a nice companion app for the main PETA one and is useful when shopping.
AirVegan
$1.99, iOS and Android
Is it niche? You bet! But no less useful, especially when global travel is permitted again. The AirVegan app tells you which airport terminals have suitable food options for vegans. If that doesn’t sound important, think about how you’d cope if a flight was delayed for a day. Where would you eat? This app is designed to make it easy to find restaurants that cater to your needs. We imagine it will expand in the future to also include vegan airline meals too.
Food Monster
Free (with monthly subscription), iOS
The best app out there for vegan foodies that love to cook at home, Food Monster gives instant access to thousands of tried and tested recipes, with more uploaded every day. You can search by specific ingredients, if you’re looking for dinner inspiration (dinspiration?) or simply browse to see what takes your fancy. The subscription ensures 10 new recipes can be accessed daily, but there is a free version that gives you limited entry.
Daily Dozen
Free, iOS and Android
We’ve saved one of the absolute best vegan apps for last here and the reviews on both Google Play and the Apple Store confirm that Daily Dozen is much loved. With no ads or subscriptions, this is a totally free and easy-to-use resource to track your nutrients and ensure a super healthy and balanced vegan diet.
There is a weight tracker included, but the focus here is on health and eating good foods that nourish the body. Think of it like having a little healthy cheerleader in your pocket, just celebrating every great choice you make and giving you info about why you need certain vitamins and minerals.
As veganism continues to grow and expand, more apps will naturally spring up and with ever-increasing databases of products. For now, though, these nine should give you everything you need to take all the hard work out of being plant-based.
