The best calorie counter app is the one you’ll still open in three months, and that usually comes down to what it lets you do for free. So instead of naming a winner, we compared seven popular apps on the things that decide whether you keep logging: price, what the free tier includes, photo logging, barcode scanning, macro targets, ads, and where your food log is stored.
Disclosure: we make Lettuceburn, one of the apps in this comparison. It isn’t in the App Store or Google Play yet. We’ve tried to hold it to the same criteria as everyone else, link every competitor fact to the company’s own page, and say plainly where other apps do something better.
Best calorie counter apps compared (October 2026)
Six apps are in the table; Yazio, the seventh, is covered below the table because we could confirm fewer of its free-plan details. All competitor details are as of October 2026, from the sources linked in each app’s section. Paid-plan prices are US App Store or US website list prices.
| MyFitnessPal | Lose It! | Cronometer | Cal AI | FatSecret | Lettuceburn (coming soon) | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Paid plan (US) | Premium $19.99/mo or $79.99/yr | Premium $79.99/yr; Lifetime $299.99 list price | Gold $10.99/mo or $59.99/yr | "Unlimited" purchases listed from $2.99 to $29.99; terms not shown | App Store lists $10.49–$14.99/mo, $38.99–$59.99/yr | Pro: monthly after a 1-week free trial, price shown in the store |
| Free tier | Yes | Yes (Basic) | Yes (Basic) | Free download; scan results need a subscription | Yes | Yes: every feature with your own AI key |
| Photo logging | Premium (Meal Scan) | Premium | Gold (Photo Log) | Subscription | Premium (Smart Food Scan) | Free with your own key, or Pro |
| Barcode scan | Premium | Premium | Free | Offered; free access not stated | Free | Free |
| Custom macro targets | By % free; by gram Premium | Nutrient targets Premium | Free | Calculates macros; free targets not stated | Macro tracking free | Free |
| Ads in free version | Yes | Yes (one-time removal sold) | Yes | Not stated | Not stated | No ads |
| Where your log lives | Your MFP account | Your Lose It! account | Your Cronometer account | Cal AI’s cloud | Your FatSecret account | On your phone; no account needed |
A note on the last column: Lettuceburn is pre-launch, so there’s no App Store privacy label, ratings or track record to check yet. Everything else in the table has years of real-world use behind it.
How we compared the apps
We used seven criteria. They’re the questions people ask most before choosing a tracker:
- Price of the paid plan. Monthly and yearly, in US dollars unless noted.
- Free tier. Does a free version exist, and is it usable day to day?
- Photo logging. Can you snap a meal and get calories and macros, and is that free?
- Barcode scanning. Still the fastest way to log packaged food. Is it free?
- Macro targets. Can you set your own protein, carb and fat goals without paying?
- Ads. Does the free version show ads?
- Data and privacy. Is your food log stored on a company server tied to an account, or on your phone? What does the App Store privacy label say?
Every price and feature was checked on the company’s own website, help center or App Store listing as of October 2026. Prices change, vary by country, and are often discounted inside the app, so treat the numbers as a starting point and confirm them before you pay.
We didn’t score accuracy, because no independent study has tested all of these apps the same way. We cover what the research does say about AI photo estimates in our guide to how accurate AI calorie trackers are.
App by app
MyFitnessPal
MyFitnessPal calls itself the "#1 nutrition tracking app" on its Premium page, and its food database is a big part of the appeal. It says the database covers 20 million foods, 68,500 brands and meals from more than 380 restaurant chains, according to TechCrunch’s report on the Cal AI deal.
The free plan has narrowed over the years. As of October 2026, MyFitnessPal’s own plan comparison lists food and exercise logging, macro goals by percentage, recipes and partner-app linking as free. Barcode Scanner, Meal Scan (photo logging), macros by gram, intermittent fasting, data export and an ad-free experience are Premium, so the free version shows ads. Barcode scanning was free until October 1, 2022, when it moved to Premium.
Premium is $19.99 a month or $79.99 a year on the US App Store listing as of October 2026. Prices differ by country: the Premium page showed CA$27.99 a month or CA$114.99 a year when we loaded it from Canada. There’s also a Premium+ tier that adds meal planning and grocery lists.
Good fit if: you eat a lot of branded or chain-restaurant food and don’t mind paying for scanning, or you’re happy to log by search on the free plan.
Lose It!
Lose It! is built around a simple daily calorie budget. It’s made by FitNow, Inc., which the Lose It! website describes as a Ziff Davis company. Its help center says the free Basic plan includes a personalized calorie budget and its 50M+ food database.
As of October 2026, Premium costs $79.99 a year and adds barcode scanning, photo and voice logging, custom nutrient targets and device syncing, per that help article and the Lose It! App Store listing. The help center lists a one-time Lifetime purchase at $299.99 ($229.99 for active Premium members). The App Store also shows lower Lifetime price points ($49.99 and $59.99) that appear to be promotional, so check the in-app offer before you pay. New users can get a 7-day free trial. Free users can pay once to remove most ads, though upgrade prompts and affiliate offers stay.
Good fit if: you want a calorie budget with few knobs, and you either log by search or would rather pay once than every year.
We compare these two head to head in Lose It vs MyFitnessPal.
Cronometer
Cronometer is the detail-oriented choice. Its free Basic plan, per the Cronometer Gold page as of October 2026, tracks 80+ nutrients, includes a barcode scanner and custom macro and micronutrient targets, and draws on a database of over 1 million lab-analyzed or verified foods. Cronometer’s Subscription Types article adds that every user, free or paid, can export all of their raw data. The catches: Basic shows ads (Gold is listed as "No Advertisements"), and reports and charts are limited to a 7-day window.
Gold costs $10.99 a month on the Gold page, or $59.99 a year per the Cronometer App Store listing. It adds Photo Log, voice logging, a recipe importer, a macro scheduler, a fasting timer, long-term charts and no ads.
Good fit if: you care about vitamins and minerals, or you want the most generous free tier among the big names.
Our Cronometer vs MyFitnessPal comparison goes deeper on databases and free features.
Cal AI
Cal AI is the photo-first app TechCrunch’s headline called "the viral calorie app built by teens." On March 2, 2026, MyFitnessPal announced it had acquired the app; TechCrunch reported that the deal closed in December, terms weren’t disclosed, and Cal AI would stay a standalone app. MyFitnessPal is owned by private equity firm Francisco Partners.
Separately, Cal AI’s App Store listing says food scanning analysis results require a subscription. The app is free to download, and as of October 2026 the listing shows several "Unlimited" in-app purchases between $2.99 and $29.99 without saying which billing period each covers. The Cal AI website offers a 3-day free trial, and its FAQ says your data is stored in the cloud.
Good fit if: speed matters more to you than anything else and you’re fine with a subscription.
If you’re weighing a switch, our roundup of Cal AI alternatives compares the other photo-logging options.
FatSecret
FatSecret is an older, quieter option with a useful free plan. As of October 2026, its Premium comparison page lists macro tracking, the barcode scanner, achievements and streaks, and limited reports as free. Smart Food Scan (photo logging), Smart Assistant, meal planning, the water tracker and more are Premium. FatSecret says Premium prices vary by region; its US App Store listing shows monthly plans from $10.49 to $14.99, quarterly from $19.99 to $28.99, and annual from $38.99 to $59.99.
Good fit if: you want free barcode scanning and macro tracking without much else.
Yazio
Yazio has a free version and a paid Yazio Pro. Its AI photo tracking was free at first and is now part of Pro, according to Yazio’s help center. Pro also adds fasting plans, extended statistics and an ad-free experience. Its US App Store listing shows Pro in-app purchases from $11.90 to $47.90 across 3-month, 6-month and 12-month options as of October 2026. We couldn’t confirm the free plan’s barcode and macro-goal details on Yazio’s own pages, which is why it isn’t in the main table.
Lettuceburn
Lettuceburn is our app: an AI photo calorie and macro tracker for iPhone and Android. It’s coming soon, not out yet. Here’s how it works against the same criteria:
- Free tier: every feature, free forever, when you bring your own AI key from Anthropic (Claude) or OpenRouter. Your phone talks to that provider directly and you pay them per scan, which is a few cents with Claude or a fraction of a cent with cheaper models.
- Pro: a monthly subscription after a 1-week free trial, for people who’d rather not set up a key. The price will be shown in the App Store or Google Play. Pro sells exactly one thing: not needing a key.
- Photo logging: up to 3 photos per meal plus an optional text hint, and you can fix the result before you save it.
- Barcode, label scan, food search, macro targets, fasting timer, health sync: never paywalled.
- Data: your food log, photos and weight are stored on your phone, with no account required. When you scan a meal, the photo goes to the AI provider you chose, or through our server on Pro, which doesn’t store it.
Where it falls short today: it has no track record, no published App Store privacy label yet, and the free lane asks you to create an API key, which is an extra step most apps don’t need. Its food search uses Open Food Facts and USDA FoodData Central rather than a large proprietary database like MyFitnessPal’s or Lose It!’s. See every Lettuceburn feature or how the free and Pro lanes compare.
Photo logging: who charges for it
Photo logging is almost always a paid feature, and at least one app, Yazio, moved it from free to paid. As of October 2026:
- MyFitnessPal includes Meal Scan only in Premium and Premium+.
- Cal AI, now owned by MyFitnessPal, requires a subscription for scan results.
- Lose It! includes photo logging in Premium.
- Cronometer includes Photo Log in Gold.
- FatSecret includes Smart Food Scan in Premium.
- Yazio moved its AI photo tracking from free to Pro.
So if photo logging is the main thing you want, you’re choosing between paid plans, or a pay-per-scan model like Lettuceburn’s free lane once it launches. Our post on calorie counter apps without a subscription works through what each route costs over a year.
Whichever app you pick, a photo gives you an estimate, not a weighed measurement. Yazio’s own help center calls its AI result "a rough estimate," and that’s a fair description of the whole category. Good photo loggers let you correct ingredients and portions before saving. Use that step.
What "free" actually means
"Free calorie counter" covers a wide range. As of October 2026, here’s what the free version of each app lets you do every day:
| Free version includes… | MyFitnessPal | Lose It! | Cronometer | FatSecret | Lettuceburn (coming soon) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Log by food search | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Scan a barcode | No | No | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Log from a photo | No | No | No | No | Yes, with your own key (you pay the provider per scan) |
| Set your own macro goals | By % only | No (Premium) | Yes | Not stated (macro tracking is free) | Yes |
| No ads | No | No | No | Not stated | Yes |
| Export your data | No (Premium) | Not stated | Yes, all raw data | Not stated | Yes (JSON and CSV) |
If you’re leaving MyFitnessPal specifically, our list of free MyFitnessPal alternatives covers how to move your history and what you’ll gain or lose.
Privacy: where your food log lives
A food log is personal: what you eat, when, your weight, sometimes your health conditions. Two questions are worth asking before you start one.
Where is it stored? MyFitnessPal, Lose It!, Cronometer, FatSecret and Cal AI are account-based services, so your log lives on their servers. That’s what makes syncing across devices and the web easy. Lettuceburn stores your log on your phone, which means no account, but also that you’re responsible for backups (there’s JSON export for that). Photo scans are the exception in every app, ours included: to be analyzed, the photo has to go to an AI service.
Is it used to track you? Apple’s App Store requires each app to declare this. As of October 2026, the "Data Used to Track You" section lists:
- MyFitnessPal: identifiers and usage data (listing)
- Lose It!: contact info, identifiers and usage data (listing)
- Cronometer: contact info, identifiers and usage data (listing)
- Cal AI: identifiers and usage data (listing)
These labels are written by the developers themselves. They’re still the quickest honest signal you have, and they take a minute to read.
How to choose
Match the app to how you’ll actually log:
- You mostly eat packaged food and don’t want to pay: Cronometer or FatSecret, both with free barcode scanning.
- You eat a lot of branded or chain-restaurant food and will pay for convenience: MyFitnessPal Premium, which cites 68,500 brands and 380+ restaurant chains.
- You want a plain calorie budget and hate subscriptions: Lose It!, either free or with the one-time Lifetime purchase.
- You care about micronutrients, or want to own your data on a free plan: Cronometer.
- You mostly eat home-cooked or restaurant meals and want photo logging: compare the paid options in our Cal AI alternatives guide, or join the Lettuceburn waitlist for free photo logging with your own key.
- You want your log off company servers: Lettuceburn, once it launches.
Searching for the best calorie counter app for weight loss? The honest answer is the one you’ll keep logging in; consistency matters more than any single feature. And if you’re really looking for a Lose It alternative or a Cronometer alternative, our head-to-heads above compare each against MyFitnessPal, and the free-alternatives and no-subscription guides cover the rest.
What no app can do for you
The app is the notebook, not the plan. Keeping a food record consistently is linked with better weight-loss results in research, though a systematic review of self-monitoring studies also found the evidence quality limited. The habit matters more than the brand of app.
Your targets matter too. If you’re not sure what your numbers should be, start with our guide to how many calories you should eat. Calorie numbers are information to help you decide, not a grade.
Pick the app whose free tier fits how you eat, try it for two weeks, and switch if logging feels like a chore. That’s a better test than any table, including ours.
Frequently asked questions
What is the best calorie counter app?
It depends on what you need for free. As of October 2026, Cronometer’s free tier includes barcode scanning, custom macro targets and full data export; MyFitnessPal has broad brand and restaurant coverage but puts barcode and photo logging in Premium; and Lose It! is the simplest calorie budget. Pick the app whose free tier covers the way you actually log.
Is there a calorie counter app with free photo logging?
Most apps put photo logging behind a paid plan: MyFitnessPal, Lose It!, Cronometer, FatSecret, Yazio and Cal AI all did as of October 2026. Lettuceburn (coming soon) includes photo logging in its free lane when you bring your own AI key; you pay the AI provider a few cents or less per scan.
Which calorie counter apps have a free barcode scanner?
As of October 2026, Cronometer’s free Basic plan and FatSecret’s free plan both include a barcode scanner. MyFitnessPal and Lose It! moved barcode scanning into their paid plans. Lettuceburn’s barcode scan will be free when it launches.
Who owns Cal AI?
MyFitnessPal. It announced the acquisition on March 2, 2026, and said Cal AI would keep running as a standalone app. See our guide to Cal AI alternatives for what that means if you’re looking around.
Do calorie counter apps sell or track your data?
Each app’s App Store privacy label lists what it collects and whether it is used to track you across other companies’ apps and sites. MyFitnessPal, Lose It!, Cronometer and Cal AI all list some data as used for tracking as of October 2026. Read the label before you sign up.