Best MyFitnessPal Alternatives (2026): What's Really Free

Checked September 14, 2026 against each app's own pricing page, help center and store listings

There is no single best MyFitnessPal alternative, because people leave for different reasons. Some want a free barcode scanner again, some want better nutrient data, and some want an app that sets their calories for them. So this page starts with the answer for each need, then shows the evidence: two comparison tables built from each company's own pages, and a picker that ranks the apps for you.

Disclosure: we make Vora, one of the 11 apps we checked, so Vora is not ranked or picked below. It stays in the comparison tables, marked as our app, and has its own section, Where Vora Fits.

The Short Answer: Best Alternative for Each Need

Find Your Match in 30 Seconds

Answer four quick questions. The picker ranks the apps using the same checked data as the tables below, and every result links to its row so you can see why it made the cut. It leaves out Vora, because we make it.

MyFitnessPal Alternatives Compared: Price and What Free Really Includes

Prices are US list prices from each company's pricing page or its App Store listing. When a store shows several prices for the same plan, we give the range rather than guess which one you will see. "Not listed" means we could not find the feature on the pages we checked, not that it does not exist.

Food Database, Nutrients, Sync and Platforms

Database sizes and "verified" labels are each company's own claims. The sync column shows whether the app connects to Apple Health on iPhone and Health Connect on Android, and on which plan. The last column links to the exact pages each row was checked against.

Where the Barcode Scanner Is Still Free

For many people this is the whole question. On their free plans, FatSecret, Cronometer, Lifesum and Vora, our app, all include barcode scanning, according to their own listings and help pages. Yazio lists a scanner that is not on its Pro feature list, but it never says which plan includes it, so treat that as unconfirmed. Lose It! lists its scanner as a Premium feature, which is the same trade you are trying to escape, and MacroFactor and Carbon have no free plan at all.

What Changed at MyFitnessPal

MyFitnessPal is still free to download, and its own FAQ says free members can do a simple food search and track what they eat. What changed is how much of everyday logging now sits behind Premium, and who owns what. The record, from primary sources:

• March 2018: Under Armour, then the owner, disclosed that an unauthorized party had acquired data from about 150 million MyFitnessPal accounts, including usernames, email addresses and hashed passwords.
• December 2020: Under Armour completed the sale of MyFitnessPal to Francisco Partners, for a transaction value of $345 million including potential earn-out payments.
• August 2022: Threads on MyFitnessPal's own community forum filled with free members objecting to the barcode scanner moving to Premium ahead of an October 1 cutoff. The scanner is still listed only in the paid tiers.
• February 2025: MyFitnessPal announced it had acquired the meal planning app Intent and would offer its Meal Planner through Premium+, a tier at $99.99 a year.
• January 2026: MyFitnessPal launched an app inside ChatGPT's Health experience, offering recipe recommendations, macro guidance and weight management support.
• March 2026: MyFitnessPal acquired Cal AI, the photo calorie app, and said Cal AI will continue to operate as a standalone product. The announcement put Cal AI's sales at over $40 million in the previous 12 months.
• Now: MyFitnessPal's App Store listing introduces an AI Coach, which its release notes describe as a feature for Premium and Premium+ members.

MyFitnessPal's Premium page is clear about what the free plan leaves out: barcode scan and meal scan, voice logging and multi-day logging, custom macros and goals, the intermittent fasting tracker, progress reports and the ad-free experience. Premium is $79.99 a year; Premium+ is $99.99 a year or $24.99 a month. Whatever made you leave, check that exact feature in any replacement before you move your routine.

The Alternatives, One by One

FatSecret: A Free Plan That Keeps the Scanner

Pick it if you want MyFitnessPal's everyday loop without paying. FatSecret's free app includes a food diary, a barcode scanner, image recognition so you can log with photos, calorie and macro goals and reports, an exercise diary, a weight tracker and a community, and it syncs food and weight with the Health app on iPhone. Premium adds meal plans from its dietitian, advanced meal planning, six extra meal headings and water tracking, listed on the App Store at $38.99 or $59.99 a year.

Skip it if micronutrients matter to you, because its listings do not describe them. On Android, its listing names Google Fit, Samsung Health and Fitbit for exercise rather than Health Connect.

Cronometer: Best for Micronutrients

Pick it if you care what is in your food, not just the calories. The free plan tracks up to 84 nutrients and includes the barcode scanner, custom macro targets and device sync. Gold, at $10.99 a month or $59.99 a year, raises that to 95 nutrients and adds AI photo and voice logging, a fasting tracker, a recipe importer, a macro scheduler and the Crono Coach AI coach. Cronometer works on the web as well as iPhone and Android, and syncs with Apple Health, Health Connect and Wear OS.

Skip it if ads bother you: the free plan has them, and the ad-free experience is a Gold feature, as is photo logging.

MacroFactor: Best for Adaptive Macro Coaching

Pick it if you want an app to set your calories and macros and keep correcting them. MacroFactor compares your trended weight changes with your calorie intake to back-calculate your energy expenditure, then adjusts your macro plan every week. Logging is quick: AI photo logging, speech-to-text logging, a barcode and nutrition label scanner, and a database it says holds more than 1.36 million verified entries. It syncs with Apple Health and Health Connect, and costs $11.99 a month, $47.99 for six months or $71.99 a year after a 7-day trial.

Skip it if you want free. MacroFactor's FAQ says there is not, and will never be, a free version, and there is no desktop version yet. It also chooses not to use smartwatch or activity tracker data to estimate your energy burn, because it does not think those devices estimate it well.

SnapCalorie: Best for Photo Logging

Pick it if typing food names is why you stopped logging. You photograph a meal or dictate a voice note, and SnapCalorie says its AI identifies the food, measures portions with your phone camera and pulls nutrition from USDA data, reporting calories, macros and 100+ nutrients. It also has a nutrition label scanner and Apple Health sync, and its listing says it was founded by former Google AI researchers who co-founded Google Lens and the Cloud Vision API. Core features are free with no credit card.

Skip it if you want to know the limits up front: SnapCalorie does not publish what its free plan caps, and Premium lists at $19.99 a month or $149 a year on the App Store. Photo estimates are still estimates, so check a few against package labels.

Lose It!: Best for Simple Weight Loss

Pick it if you want a number to stay under and little else. Complete your profile and Lose It! calculates a personalized daily calorie budget and weight loss schedule on the free plan. Its food database holds 56 million items and recipes by its own count, and it works on iPhone, Android and the web.

Skip it if the paywall is why you left MyFitnessPal. Lose It! lists photo meal logging, AI voice logging, the barcode scanner, macro tracking, intermittent fasting and fitness app syncs as Premium features. The App Store lists Premium purchases from $9.99 to $79.99, with a lifetime option at $49.99 or $59.99.

Carbon Diet Coach: Adaptive Macros With Explanations

Pick it if you want a coach's weekly check-in rather than silent adjustments. Carbon's site credits Layne Norton, PhD, and registered dietitian Keith Kraker. You check in each week, the app evaluates your progress and macros to decide whether to adjust, and it explains why it did or did not make a change. It has a barcode scanner and a food database powered by FatSecret, and it pulls weight and body fat from Apple Health or Health Connect.

Skip it if you want photo logging, which it does not list, or a lower price: $11.99 a month, $59.99 for six months or $99.99 a year, with no free plan on its pricing page.

Lifesum: Meal Plans With a Free Scanner

Pick it if you like structure: meal plans, a food rating system and adjustable calorie and macro goals. Lifesum's help center says traditional tracking is available to all users, and it includes food search, the barcode scanner, favorites, quick track and recipes. It exports food, nutrition and water to Apple Health and connects to Samsung Health or Health Connect on Android.

Skip it if you want AI logging for free. Photo, voice and text tracking are a Premium feature, and the App Store lists Premium at $99.99 or $119.99 a year.

Yazio: A Polished Counter With Low Pro Prices

Pick it if you want a clean calorie counter and will pay a little for extras. Its listing highlights a free calorie tracker, a barcode scanner that does not appear on Yazio's Pro feature list, and a database of more than 4 million items. Pro, listed on the App Store at $23.90 or $47.90 for 12 months, adds AI food tracking from photos, detailed vitamin and mineral breakdowns, all fasting plans, activity sync with Fitbit, Garmin, Polar and Samsung Health, and an ad-free experience.

Skip it if you want AI photo logging on a free plan. Yazio's help center says the feature was initially free for all users and is now part of Pro.

Noom: A Program, Not Just a Tracker

Pick it if logging was never the hard part and habits are. Noom Weight pairs food logging with bite-sized daily lessons, human coaching and AI support, and the app advertises AI food logging with more than 1 million foods. It syncs with Apple Health, Fitbit, Garmin and Withings.

Skip it if you only want a food diary. Noom Weight starts at $17 a month, based on a $209 annual plan, Noom Med starts at $69 for the first month before medication costs, and its App Store privacy label lists more kinds of data used to track you than any other app here.

Cal AI: Photo Logging, Now Owned by MyFitnessPal

Pick it if you want point-and-shoot logging: snap a photo, scan a barcode or describe your meal. It connects to Apple Health on iPhone and Google Fit on Android.

Skip it if the company is why you are leaving. MyFitnessPal announced on March 2, 2026 that it had acquired Cal AI. Its App Store listing also says food scan results require a subscription, with plans listed from $2.99 to $29.99 after a 3-day free trial.

Where Vora Fits

Vora is our app, so weigh this section accordingly. Vora is an AI health coach for training, recovery, sleep and nutrition that includes food logging. It is not a dedicated calorie counter, and it should not be your pick if a calorie counter is all you want.

What you get free: photo, barcode, voice, description and search food logging with no daily limit, a USDA-backed database with 90 tracked nutrients per food, custom calorie and macro goals, and nutrition that syncs both ways with Apple Health and Health Connect. Every health data connection is free, including direct Oura, Garmin, Fitbit and WHOOP (beta) connections, and there are no ads. Vora Pro costs $12.99 a month or $89.99 a year and adds 100 AI messages a day instead of 10, AI-generated workouts and Deep Health Reports (what is free and what needs Pro).

Who it suits: people with a wearable, especially on Android, who want food logs next to their workouts, sleep and recovery. Vora sets starting nutrition targets using your workouts and daily steps. While you compare, it can also read the calories, macros, water and weight that MyFitnessPal shares with Apple Health or Health Connect.

Who should not pick Vora:

• You want a web or desktop diary. Vora has no web app. Cronometer, Lose It! and MyFitnessPal do.
• You want targets that adjust themselves every week. Vora does not do that yet. MacroFactor and Carbon do.
• Privacy labels decide it for you. Vora's App Store label declares some data used to track you. SnapCalorie, MacroFactor, FatSecret and Carbon declare none.
• You only want to count calories. If coaching, workouts and recovery feel like clutter, FatSecret or Lose It! will feel simpler.
• You need the deepest nutrient data for a dietitian. Cronometer tracks up to 95 nutrients and runs a separate professional platform for dietitians and nutritionists.

Limits to know: chat with Vora's AI coach, in the app or with Vora AI Text, is free for 10 messages a day, and your calorie and macro targets do not change automatically with your recovery. If your wearable matters, the direct WHOOP connection is in beta with limited spots, direct Fitbit spots are limited while Google verifies Vora's Fitbit access, Samsung Health does not share HRV with Vora, and Garmin's Body Battery and Training Readiness scores are not imported.

How We Checked

On September 14, 2026 we read each app's own pricing page and help center, plus its US App Store and Google Play listings, and recorded what each says about price, free features, sync and platforms. The links sit in each row of the second table and in the sources below. We did not test photo accuracy or database quality ourselves, so database sizes and "verified" labels are the companies' claims, and App Store privacy labels are self-reported by developers. Prices differ by country, store and promotion. Vora's row uses the same public listings, and its Where Vora Fits section was checked on September 15, 2026 against Vora's help center and integrations page.

Switching to Vora? Our MyFitnessPal switching guide covers bringing your targets and checking serving sizes. For the ownership history in more depth, read what MyFitnessPal's sales mean for your data, and for a two-app deep dive, see MyFitnessPal vs Cronometer.