Best MyFitnessPal Alternatives in 2026: Free and Paid Calorie Trackers Compared

MyFitnessPal is still the calorie counter most people start with, and its food database is the biggest in the category. But over the last few years more of the everyday features have moved behind Premium, including barcode scanning, custom macro goals and data export. If you are paying about $19.99 a month (or $79.99 a year) just to scan a packet of oats, or you eat mostly Indian food that the database handles inconsistently, it is worth looking at what else is out there.

This guide compares six MyFitnessPal alternatives on price, food database, logging speed and what each one is actually best at. Prices are as listed at the time of writing (October 2026) in US dollars; they vary by country and promotion, so check the app store listing before you pay.

Why People Switch From MyFitnessPal

• Paywalled basics. On the free plan you can log food, exercise and weight, but barcode scanning, custom macro targets, meal scanning and the ad-free experience need Premium. Exporting your own log as a spreadsheet is also a paid feature.
• User-submitted entries. The database is huge because users add to it, which means duplicates and wrong entries. Searching "dal" or "paneer bhurji" can return a dozen entries with very different numbers.
• Static targets. MyFitnessPal sets a calorie target from a formula and does not adjust it from your real weight trend. If your progress stalls, you have to work out the change yourself.
• Nutrition only. It logs exercise, but it is not a training app. If you lift, you end up using a second app for workouts.

None of these are dealbreakers for everyone. If the database size matters most to you, MyFitnessPal is still hard to beat. But if any of the points above bother you, one of the apps below will probably suit you better.

MyFitnessPal Alternatives at a Glance

Prices are USD list prices reported at the time of writing and vary by region, tax and promotions. Check the App Store or Google Play listing for your country.

1. UltraFit360 — Best Free All-in-One Alternative

Best for: people who want calorie and macro tracking and a training plan in one free app, especially if they eat Indian food.

UltraFit360 is our app, so read this section with that in mind. You can log a meal by taking a photo, typing a description in plain language ("2 rotis, a katori of dal and some bhindi") or searching the food database. The AI estimates calories and macros, and you can correct portions before saving. Alongside nutrition you get structured workout programs with automatic PR detection, progress photos, a weekly AI coaching report and two-way sync with Apple Health and Health Connect.

• Pros: free, with no paywall on photo logging; nutrition and workouts in the same place; handles katori, roti and plate portions; weekly report connects your eating, training and weight trend.
• Cons: the food database is smaller than MyFitnessPal's because the app is newer; workouts are curated programs rather than sessions generated on the fly; no community forums.

If you want to understand how photo logging works and where it can be wrong, read how AI photo meal logging works.

2. Cronometer — Best for Nutrient Accuracy

Best for: people who care about vitamins and minerals, plant-based eaters checking B12 and iron, and anyone who distrusts crowd-sourced entries.

Cronometer leans on curated lab databases (such as USDA and NCCDB) rather than user submissions, so the numbers are more consistent. It tracks dozens of micronutrients on the free plan, and barcode scanning is free. Gold, at roughly $50–60 a year, removes ads and adds features such as fasting tracking, recipe import and more detailed analysis.

• Pros: the most trustworthy numbers in the category; excellent micronutrient view; strong free tier.
• Cons: the interface is dense; fewer Indian restaurant and home-style dishes, so you often build recipes yourself; photo logging is a paid feature.

3. MacroFactor — Best for Adaptive Calorie Targets

Best for: experienced trackers who weigh themselves regularly and want targets that adjust automatically.

MacroFactor's main feature is its expenditure algorithm: it estimates your real energy expenditure from what you log and your weight trend, then adjusts your calorie and macro targets each week. That solves the "my target stopped working" problem better than any static calculator. It costs about $11.99 a month or $71.99 a year after a free trial, and the separate MacroFactor Workouts app is extra unless you buy the bundle (about $89.99 a year).

• Pros: the best adaptive targets available; fast logging; no ads.
• Cons: no free tier; workouts cost extra; it only works well if you weigh in often and log consistently.

We compare it in detail in MacroFactor alternatives.

4. Lose It! — Best for Simple Weight Loss

Best for: beginners who want a friendly calorie budget and not much else.

Lose It! keeps things simple: set a goal weight, get a daily calorie budget and log against it. The free version includes barcode scanning. Premium, now about $80 a year, adds macro goals, meal planning and more detailed insights.

• Pros: very easy to start; good free barcode scanning; clean design.
• Cons: weaker for macros unless you pay; database quality is mixed like MyFitnessPal's; no training features.

5. FatSecret — Best Fully Free Tracker

Best for: people who want a free food diary with barcode scanning and do not want to pay at all.

FatSecret has been around for years and remains one of the few trackers where the free plan is genuinely complete for basic calorie counting, including barcode scanning and a food diary with a weight log. A paid Premium tier adds meal plans and extra features.

• Pros: free core features; works on web and mobile; decent global database.
• Cons: dated interface; limited coaching or insights; few Indian home-cooked dishes.

6. Healthify (formerly HealthifyMe) — Best for Human Coaching in India

Best for: Indian users who want a nutritionist or coach, not just an app.

Healthify is built around Indian food and offers photo logging, an AI assistant and paid plans that include human coaches and add-ons such as CGM programs. The free plan covers basic food tracking; the most useful features are on the paid Smart and coach plans. Prices vary widely by plan and offer, so check in the app.

• Pros: strong Indian food coverage; option of a real coach; regional language support.
• Cons: coach plans are expensive compared with app-only trackers; frequent upsell prompts; limited workout programming.

See our full comparison of HealthifyMe alternatives.

Best MyFitnessPal Alternative for Indian Food

Indian meals are the hardest case for any tracker. A katori of dal can be 120 kcal or 250 kcal depending on the tadka, and a restaurant paneer dish can carry two or three tablespoons of oil. A huge Western database does not help much if the entries for "dal fry" are inconsistent.

For Indian food, look for an app that lets you describe the meal or photograph it, then adjust the portion in katoris, rotis or plates. UltraFit360 and Healthify both do this; Cronometer is accurate for single ingredients but you will need to build your own recipes. Whichever app you use, learn a few anchor numbers: our Indian food calories and protein chart, calories in chapati and calories in rice cover the foods most people eat every day.

How to Switch From MyFitnessPal Without Losing Data

1. Export what you can. On Premium or Premium+, request a data export from the MyFitnessPal website; it arrives by email as CSV files covering nutrition, weight and exercise. On the free plan you can print or save a full report as a PDF, or use a privacy data request.
2. Move your weight history through Apple Health or Health Connect. If MyFitnessPal was writing weight to Apple Health or Health Connect, any app that reads from them (including UltraFit360) can pick up that history.
3. Recreate your five most common meals first. Most people eat the same 20–30 foods. Save your usual breakfast, lunch and post-workout meal in the new app on day one and logging will feel fast within a week.
4. Reset your targets. Use a fresh estimate from the calorie and macro calculator and the protein calculator rather than copying old numbers that may no longer fit.
5. Run both apps for a week if you are unsure. Log the same meals in each and compare the totals. Big differences usually point to a wrong database entry, not a better app.

Which One Should You Choose?

• You want everything free, including training: UltraFit360.
• You care about micronutrients and accurate data: Cronometer.
• You weigh daily and want targets that adapt: MacroFactor.
• You want a simple calorie budget: Lose It! or FatSecret.
• You want a human coach in India: Healthify.
• You need the biggest database and do not mind paying: stay on MyFitnessPal Premium.

The best tracker is the one you keep using. If you are new to tracking, read how to track macros for fat loss and macro tracking in real life before you pick an app, and see the wider field in best AI fitness apps in 2026.

Frequently Asked Questions

What is the best free alternative to MyFitnessPal?

UltraFit360 is the best free all-in-one alternative because it includes photo meal logging and workout programs at no cost. Cronometer, Lose It! and FatSecret also have useful free plans with barcode scanning.

Is MyFitnessPal barcode scanning still free?

No. Barcode scanning is a Premium feature in MyFitnessPal at the time of writing. Cronometer, Lose It! and FatSecret include barcode scanning on their free plans.

Is Cronometer better than MyFitnessPal?

Cronometer is more accurate because it uses curated lab databases and tracks micronutrients in detail. MyFitnessPal has a much bigger database with more branded and restaurant foods. Choose Cronometer for accuracy and MyFitnessPal for coverage.

Which calorie tracker is best for Indian food?

Apps that let you log by photo or description and use Indian portions such as katoris and rotis work best. UltraFit360 and Healthify are built around Indian meals. Cronometer is accurate for ingredients but you will often need to build recipes yourself.

Can I export my data from MyFitnessPal?

Yes, if you have Premium or Premium+. The export arrives by email as CSV files for nutrition, weight and exercise. Free users can save a printable report as a PDF or make a privacy data request.

How much does MyFitnessPal Premium cost?

About $19.99 per month or $79.99 per year in the US at the time of writing, with a higher Premium+ tier. Prices vary by country and promotion.