Comparison

Two apps, one owner.

Since March 2026 Cal AI and MyFitnessPal have had the same owner, and both still run as separate apps. That makes choosing between them a stranger question than it used to be, because they no longer compete in the way the comparison articles assume.

By Alen Yaco · Double bachelor's in biological sciences and social ecology, UC Irvine · Published 17 September 2026

Are Cal AI and MyFitnessPal the same company now?

Yes. MyFitnessPal acquired Cal AI in a deal that closed in December 2025 and was announced on 2 March 2026. The apps were deliberately not merged. Reporting described a portfolio approach, keeping a fast photo-first app and a database-first app aimed at different ends of the same market.

So the practical question is no longer which company to trust with your food diary, because it is the same company either way. It is which interface you want, and what the free tier of each one leaves you with.

What does each app actually do differently?

Cal AI is photo-first and built for speed: point, shoot, accept. MyFitnessPal is database-first and built for completeness, with the largest food catalog in the category. Since the acquisition Cal AI has been running on MyFitnessPal’s data, so the gap is now interface and pricing rather than underlying numbers.

Checked 17 September 2026.

Which one should you pick?

If you log by camera and want it over in seconds, Cal AI is the closer fit and the cheaper subscription. If you log packaged and restaurant food and want the largest catalog, MyFitnessPal is. If free barcode scanning is the thing you care about, Cal AI keeps it and MyFitnessPal does not.

Neither is a bad app, and this is not a page arguing otherwise. The reason a third option exists at all is narrower than most comparison pages suggest, and it is set out below rather than dressed up as a verdict.

Where does CalorieCounter fit?

It does not, yet. CalorieCounter has not launched, so it cannot be recommended over either app today. What it does differently is keep the whole logging loop free permanently, and label each estimate Pretty sure, Best guess or Check this rather than publishing one accuracy percentage.

If neither of those matters to you, one of the two apps above is the right answer and we would say so. If they do, the waitlist is one email on launch day and nothing else.

Does having one owner matter for your data?

It means one privacy policy governs both, and one company decides what happens to the diary either way. That is neutral in itself. It matters if you were using one app specifically to avoid the other, which was a real reason people chose Cal AI before December 2025.

Whatever tracker you use, the questions worth asking are the same: is there an advertising SDK in the app, does the App Store privacy label carry a Data Used to Track You section, and can you export and delete everything yourself. Ours answers all three in writing.

Prices and tiers checked 17 September 2026. Other apps change their plans without notice and several use regional or in-app pricing, so confirm in the App Store before you subscribe.

FAQ

Did MyFitnessPal buy Cal AI?

Yes, in a deal that closed December 2025 and was announced 2 March 2026. Both apps continue to operate separately under the same owner.

Does Cal AI use the MyFitnessPal database?

Yes. Since the deal closed, Cal AI has integrated MyFitnessPal’s food data, reported as 20 million foods, 68,500 brands, and meals from over 380 restaurant chains.

Which is cheaper, Cal AI or MyFitnessPal?

Cal AI, at roughly $9.99 a month or $29.99 a year against MyFitnessPal Premium at $19.99 a month or $79.99 a year, as checked in September 2026. Cal AI uses regional pricing, so what you see may differ.

Sources

• TechCrunch, MyFitnessPal has acquired Cal AI, the viral calorie app built by teens, 2 March 2026
• MyFitnessPal, membership pricing tiers