Where can I find your Terms and Conditions?

Our Terms and Conditions can be found here.

Can I cache data?

You may cache user-requested data to improve performance (for a maximum of 1 hour). After 1 hour, you must delete your cache and refresh the data via the spoonacular API. If you stop using the spoonacular API or if your access to the API is suspended for any reason, then you must delete all data you ever obtained from the spoonacular API.

What are requests, tinyrequests, and results?

Every API plan comes with an allotted number of requests, tinyrequests, and results, and every endpoint "costs" a certain amount of these. Here you'll find a comprehensive list of endpoints and what effect they will have on your quotas.

How much does the API cost?

We offer five plans: Free ($0/month), Cook ($29/month), Culinarian ($79/month), Chef ($149/month), and Enterprise (custom pricing for large clients). View the complete pricing details.

On RapidAPI four plans are available: Basic (free), Pro, Ultra, and Mega. View the complete pricing details on RapidAPI. The basic/free plan is VERY limited and may incur overage charges if used for development.

Here we explain the difference between subscribing on our platform vs on RapidAPI.

Do you offer custom plans?

If none of our standard plans fits your requirements, please contact us to discuss whether a custom plan may be possible.

How are the different diets defined?

Gluten Free: Avoid wheat, barley, rye, and other gluten-containing grains and foods made from them (or that may have been cross contaminated).

Ketogenic: Based on macro ratios: high fat and protein, low carbs.

Vegetarian: No meat or meat by-products (e.g. bones, gelatin).

Lacto-Vegetarian: Vegetarian ingredients only; no eggs.

Ovo-Vegetarian: Vegetarian ingredients only; no dairy.

Vegan: No meat, meat by-products, eggs, dairy, or honey.

Pescetarian: Everything allowed except meat and meat by-products; eggs/dairy optional.

Paleo: Allowed: meat, fish, eggs, vegetables, some oils, fruit, nuts, sweet potatoes, honey, maple syrup. Not allowed: legumes, grains, dairy, refined sugar, processed foods.

Primal: Similar to Paleo but dairy is allowed (raw/full fat milk, butter, ghee).

Whole30: Allowed: meat, fish/seafood, eggs, vegetables, fresh fruit, coconut/olive oil, small amounts of dried fruit and nuts. Not allowed: added sweeteners, dairy (except clarified butter/ghee), alcohol, grains, most legumes, and certain additives.

How can I display ingredient and/or recipe images?

Thorough instructions for using pictures can be found here.

Is there a guide to the API? What about documentation?

There is no official guide. You may find this API tutorial from Rakuten RapidAPI helpful.

Full documentation: here.

I want to make a "What's in my fridge?" app. How do I do this?

The "Find Recipes by Ingredients" endpoint will help—you can read more on the endpoint page.

How do I get the next results after requesting a set of recipes?

The parameter for pages/pagination is called offset.

Can I use your API to develop an app for specific medical conditions?

We do not provide medical guidance. There are no endpoints that determine suitability for medical conditions. You can set nutritional parameters (e.g. low sugar) yourself. Nutritional information is calculated automatically and may contain errors—you assume responsibility per our Terms and Conditions.

Where can I find my API key?

After you subscribe, find your API key in the console.

If you subscribe via RapidAPI, find your key in the documentation/endpoints as X-RapidAPI-Key.

How can I search recipes by the equipment used?

Use the Search Recipes Complex endpoint and the equipment parameter (e.g. "blender", "slow cooker").

Where does your ingredient data come from?

Primarily the USDA database. Missing ingredients were researched manually for nutritional information.

How do I get recipe instructions?

The Get Recipe Information endpoint includes instructions when available. To filter for recipes with instructions, set includeInstruction=true.

Can you help me with the API?

Support for paid plans starts at $99/month and is limited to technical API questions (not development). If hiring a developer, look for:

• knowledge of HTTP-based APIs
• knowledge of JSON
• fluency in the target development language

Is the API slow or down? What is your uptime?

Check API status and uptime: http://status.spoonacular.com/

Why is a credit card required for the free plan on RapidAPI?

RapidAPI requires a credit card because overage charges apply if you exceed allotted requests. If you subscribe directly through our API platform, there is no credit card required for the free plan.

Where does your cost data come from?

Estimated prices are based on average aggregated supermarket data. Prices vary by region/store; location-based pricing or user-entered prices may be added in the future.

Can the API be used with other languages?

Currently the API works only in English. Companies interested in translations can contact us for a one-time translation service.

Do you offer an SLA?

Service level agreements are offered to paying customers with plans above $250/month. Please contact us if applicable.

What SDKs are available?

Available SDKs: here. RapidAPI subscribers: see this post.

What are points?

Each API plan has a daily quota of points. Every API call costs points—usually 1 point per request plus 0.01 points per result, with exceptions. See each endpoint for point cost details.

On the free plan, when daily quota is used up, the API responds with error code 402 until quota resets.

Response headers to monitor quota:

• X-API-Quota-Request: points used by the request
• X-API-Quota-Used: points used today (resets at midnight UTC)

What is the difference between subscribing through RapidAPI vs through your website?

Main differences: pricing and plan availability. Our free plan on-site requires no credit card and restricts access instead of charging overages. Subscribing on-site allows direct contact and access to our SDKs. The API itself is the same.

Why do I get a 401 error code "You are not authorized"?

To make requests you must include your API key in the URL. See authentication docs.

Where can I find a list of ingredients with their IDs?

List of the 1,000 most common ingredients: here.