Comparison

The apps, side by side.

Most comparison pages in this category are written by one of the apps being compared, including this one. So here is the table first, with every claim dated, and the argument afterwards where you can ignore it.

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

Which calorie counter apps paywall the barcode scanner?

MyFitnessPal does, and has since 1 October 2022, which makes it the most cited reason people switch away. FatSecret keeps barcode scanning on its free tier, and so does Cal AI. CalorieCounter intends to keep it free and unlimited, but it has not launched, so that is a stated intention rather than a track record.

One row in that table is a promise rather than a record. Every other app listed has kept or broken its free tier in public, over years. Ours has not shipped, so treat our row as what we intend and judge it later, the same way you would judge anyone else.

Checked 17 September 2026. Cronometer and Lose It are deliberately left out of this table: the sources we could find disagreed about whether each currently paywalls barcode scanning, and we would rather omit a row than print one we cannot stand behind.

What does the free tier actually need to include?

For most people, four things: barcode scanning, food search, a way to add something quickly, and your own history. If any of those is missing or metered, the app is a trial rather than a free tier, whatever the App Store listing calls it. AI photo scanning is a genuine cost and metering it is fair.

That is the line we drew. Photo scans cost real money per call, so they are metered at 2 a day on the free plan. A barcode lookup costs almost nothing, so it is not metered at all. The full list of what stays free is here.

Does AI photo logging actually work well enough to rely on?

For plates with separate, visible components, usually. For mixed dishes, sauces and anything hidden under other food, much less so. No app in this category is reliably accurate on a stew, and the ones publishing a single accuracy percentage are averaging away exactly that distinction.

This is why CalorieCounter labels each item Pretty sure, Best guess or Check this rather than publishing one number for the whole app. The reasoning is here, and the practical habits that improve an estimate are here.

How should you choose between them?

Start with what you log most. If it is packaged food, barcode coverage and whether the scanner is free decide it. If it is home cooking, photo quality and how easy corrections are matter more. If it is restaurant food, database size wins, which means MyFitnessPal.

Then check the free tier against that answer, and only then look at the subscription price. Picking on price first is how people end up paying for a database they never search.

What should you check before subscribing to any of them?

Four things, in order: whether the feature you actually use is in the free tier, what the renewal price is rather than the introductory one, whether you can export your own data, and whether the App Store privacy label lists a Data Used to Track You section. All four are visible before you pay.

The renewal price catches the most people. Several apps in this category run introductory or regional pricing, and the number on the paywall is not always the number on the second year. The App Store subscription screen shows the real renewal terms before you confirm.

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

What is the best free calorie counter app?

FatSecret is the most commonly recommended free tier that includes barcode scanning and macro tracking, with light advertising. Tiers change often, so confirm in the App Store.

Which calorie apps show ads?

MyFitnessPal shows ads on its free tier and removes them on paid tiers. FatSecret carries light advertising. CalorieCounter has no advertising SDK at all, on any plan.

Can I trust a comparison written by one of the apps?

Only as far as it is checkable. That is why every claim on this page is dated and every source is linked, and why two apps were left out of the table rather than guessed at.

Sources

• MyFitnessPal, membership pricing tiers
• Droid Life, MyFitnessPal puts barcode scanner behind Premium paywall, 24 August 2022
• TechCrunch, MyFitnessPal has acquired Cal AI, the viral calorie app built by teens, 2 March 2026
• Open Food Facts, the open database behind packaged products
• USDA FoodData Central
• Google Gemini, the vision model CalorieCounter uses