Recipe App Without Subscription

Subscriptions became the default business model for many apps over the last several years, including relatively small utility apps.

Sometimes that model makes sense. Services with ongoing infrastructure costs, collaboration systems, hosted platforms, or constantly changing online content often depend on recurring revenue to operate sustainably.

But I’ve always felt differently about many personal utility apps.

A recipe collection is personal. It is something you build slowly over time for yourself and your household. I never liked the idea of turning access to that collection into another recurring service.

Kurkum was designed to feel more like software you own and less like a platform you rent access to.

The app focuses on the essentials:

• saving recipes
• importing recipes from websites
• organizing recipes into cookbooks
• syncing through iCloud across your Apple devices

There are no separate user accounts, no social systems, and no unnecessary layers between you and your recipes.

I also think subscriptions subtly influence product design. Once software depends heavily on recurring engagement, there is pressure to continuously justify itself through more features, more systems, and more complexity. I increasingly prefer software that stays focused instead.

Kurkum is intentionally simple. The goal is not to become an all-encompassing cooking platform. The goal is to help people save recipes and cook comfortably with as little friction as possible.