Grocy
Free, open-source, self-hosted web app for managing food stock and the household, billed as «the ERP for your home»: purchase and stock tracking with barcode scanning through the browser or camera, shopping lists that fill up below a minimum level, expiry tracking, recipes and meal planning with a score that highlights recipes to cook before items expire, chores, equipment and batteries. Custom fields, REST API, responsive interface installable as a web app. Version 4.7.1; a hobby project by Bernd Bestel, donations accepted.
Tracking what comes in and goes out, triggering an alert before an expiry date and generating a restock list are simple arithmetic rules, which Grocy already applies well. It was designed for the home, not a professional kitchen: no batch traceability, no recipe cards with costs, no reconciliation with sales. For a small business wanting a light inventory it can be adapted; for a restaurant, a custom tool built around your suppliers and your recipe cards is more suitable.
What you lose
- Barcode reading in the browser.
- The score of recipes to cook before expiry.
- Custom fields and the REST API.
- The app installable on a phone with no development.
Existing alternatives to Grocy
- InvenTreeOpen source
Open-source inventory management (MIT) with parts, suppliers, orders and a mobile app, more industry-oriented.
What a home-built tool costs once it exists
- Hosting and database: a server cost, and automatic backups you actually test.
- Security and GDPR: dependency updates, an HTTPS certificate, protection of your customers’ data.
- Upkeep time: who fixes the tool on a Saturday night in the middle of service if the server goes down?
The prompt to build it yourself
Build a small kitchen stock tool for my restaurant, replacing a home stock application. Context: a 30-seat restaurant, about 200 items, 6 suppliers, weekly inventory. To do: - A product catalogue with unit, supplier, purchase price, location (fridge, store room, freezer) and minimum level. - Goods receipts with batch number and use-by date, entered on a phone. - A list of products to use first (use-by within 3 days) and a morning email alert. - An order list per supplier calculated from the minimum levels. - A history of movements and a CSV export. Out of scope: barcode reading, link with sales, full regulatory traceability. Stack: PWA and SQLite. README: how to run, backup, and a reminder that regulatory traceability must be kept separately.
Frequently asked questions
- How much does Grocy cost, and what do you really pay for?
- Listed price: free. What the subscription covers and is hard to maintain yourself: Barcode reading in the browser.; The score of recipes to cook before expiry.; Custom fields and the REST API.; The app installable on a phone with no development..
- What free or open-source alternatives to Grocy exist?
- InvenTree (open source). Options to compare before committing to a custom build.
- Where do you start to build an equivalent of Grocy?
- Copy this page’s prompt into Claude, Codex or Cursor to get a first prototype. Then plan for hosting, data backups and GDPR compliance: that is what costs the most to maintain over time.
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