About Planets
Planets is a community-verified cheap eats map for the United States. It shows the real all-in price of a meal — including tax, tip, and fees — so you know what you will actually pay before you walk in.
The problem
Menu prices are misleading. An $8 meal in Chicago costs $10.42 after 10.25% sales tax and 20% tip. Most food apps show the menu price and leave you to do the math. Others accept advertising money from restaurants, so rankings reflect who pays the most, not who serves the best value.
How Planets works
Users eat at a restaurant and upload a photo of their receipt. The system reads the total — tax, tip, and fees included — and publishes the verified all-in price. Every listing with a receipt gets a “Verified by Receipt” badge. No estimates, no guesses, just what someone actually paid.
What makes Planets different
- No restaurant advertising — rankings are never paid.
- Receipt-verified prices — not estimates, real totals from real visits.
- All-in pricing — tax, tip, and service fees included in every price.
- No Tip filter — find counter-service spots where tipping is not expected.
- 100% free — supported by optional $3 one-time contributions.
Coverage
Planets currently covers 2,800+ budget-friendly restaurants across 10 major US cities: New York, Los Angeles, Chicago, Houston, Phoenix, Philadelphia, San Antonio, San Diego, Dallas, and Austin. New cities are added based on community demand.
Built by Stardusting
Planets is built by Stardusting, an independent software company. For questions or feedback, reach out at support@helloplanets.app.
Frequently Asked Questions
- What is Planets?
- Planets is a community-verified cheap eats map for the United States. It shows the real all-in price of a meal including tax, tip, and fees so you know what you will actually pay before you walk in.
- How are prices verified?
- Every price on Planets is verified through receipt uploads. Users eat at a restaurant, upload a photo of their receipt, and the system reads the total. This creates a Verified by Receipt badge on the listing.
- Does Planets accept money from restaurants?
- No. Planets takes zero money from restaurants. Rankings are based on verified price data, not advertising spend. This is the core principle of the platform.
- What does all-in price mean?
- An all-in price includes the menu price plus tax, tip where applicable, and any service fees. For example, an $8 menu item in Chicago costs $10.42 all-in after 10.25% sales tax and 20% tip.
- Is Planets free?
- Yes. Planets is 100% free to use. Users can optionally support the project with a one-time $3 contribution.