Is MyFitnessPal Free in 2026? What You Get Without Paying
12 min read
You download MyFitnessPal, log your breakfast, then point your phone at the barcode on a pot of yoghurt and land on an upgrade screen. So is MyFitnessPal free, or is the free version just a long trial?
Yes, MyFitnessPal is free, with ads. Free covers food and exercise logging, weight, recipes and macro goals in percentages. Barcode scanning, Meal Scan, Voice Log, macro goals in grams, fasting, data export and ad-free use need Premium: $19.99 a month or $79.99 a year in the US (checked 14 October 2026).
This post covers what's free, what needs Premium or Premium+, prices in the US, UK and India, and free alternatives, with how VitalityApp handles the same jobs.
Is MyFitnessPal free? What the free version includes
MyFitnessPal's help centre answers the question directly: "Yes! The standard features of MyFitnessPal are free to use, and creating a basic account is free." Its list of free features:
- Food and exercise logging
- Weight and measurements, with your progress over time
- Your own foods, meals and recipes
- Viewing your macronutrients, and setting your own calorie goal and macro goals by percentage
- Sharing your diary with others and viewing theirs
- Linking partner apps
- A printable report (on the website only)
Other help articles list free features that are easy to miss. Quick Add works for calories alone (adding macros to it is Premium). You can import a recipe from a link with "Add from the Web" (in the apps, only with the device set to English). There's a water tracker on every platform. Steps come in from Apple Health, Google Health or Health Connect, and a calorie adjustment raises your goal on more active days.
Yes, free users can set their own macro goals
MyFitnessPal's Premium page lists "Macro Tracking with Custom Goals" as Premium, which makes it sound as if free users can't set macro goals. They can: carbs, protein and fat as percentages of your calorie goal, in 5% steps that add up to 100%. On iPhone there are presets too, such as High protein and Low carb.
Premium adds goals in grams, different goals for each day of the week, and calorie goals for each meal. The help centre counts 4 kcal per gram of protein or carbs and 9 for fat. On a 2,000 kcal goal, each 5% step is 100 kcal: 25 g of protein or carbs, or about 11 g of fat. A 120 g protein target (480 kcal, 24%) has to be set as 20% (100 g) or 25% (125 g) on free, while Premium lets you enter 120 g.
The catch: ads
"The core of MyFitnessPal is free, and it stays that way because ads help pay for it," says the help centre. Its Google Play listing says "Contains ads" in the US, UK and India. Premium removes banner ads, sponsored posts, and ads in the community and the in-app blog, though links to MyFitnessPal's own blog posts stay.
MyFitnessPal free vs Premium vs Premium+
The help centre sums it up like this: "Free gets you logging. Premium adds the insights. Premium+ plans the meals and builds the grocery list." Here are the features people ask about most:
| Feature | Free | Premium | Premium+ |
|---|---|---|---|
| Food search and logging | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Calorie goal, macro goals in % | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Quick Add (calories only) | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Water, weight, linked steps | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Barcode Scan | No | Yes | Yes |
| Meal Scan and Voice Log | No | Yes | Yes |
| Goals in grams, by day or by meal | No | Yes | Yes |
| Quick Add with macros | No | Yes | Yes |
| Intermittent fasting tracker | No | Yes | Yes |
| Data export | No | Yes | Yes |
| Weekly Digests | Last 2 | All | All |
| Ad-free | No | Yes | Yes |
| Meal Planner, grocery lists | No | No | Yes |
The help centre's comparison table lists 21 Premium features, including Food Analysis, food timestamps, Recipe Discovery, workout routines and priority customer support. (Voice Log is missing from it, though MyFitnessPal's other pages put it on Premium.) Premium+ adds a Meal Planner (plans of 2 to 15 days from more than 1,500 recipes), Meal Prep Mode, diet preferences and grocery lists. These work in the iPhone and Android apps only.
Is the MyFitnessPal barcode scanner free?
No. "As of October 1, 2022, Barcode Scan is available only with a Premium subscription," says the help article, and it names no country exceptions. It works only in the iPhone and Android apps. Meal Scan (logging from a photo) and Voice Log are Premium too, and both need the app set to English.
On free, search by brand and name instead, or add a missing product once from its label (see the tips below).
MyFitnessPal in the US, UK and India: what changes by country
MyFitnessPal says some features "are limited to certain devices, countries, or languages". For the US, UK and India, these are the ones that matter:
| Feature | US | UK | India |
|---|---|---|---|
| Free and Premium | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Premium+ | Yes | Yes | No |
| Progress tab (free) | Yes | Yes | No |
| Nutrition Coach (Premium) | Yes | Yes | No |
| Net Carbs mode (Premium) | Yes | No | No |
| Grocery delivery syncing (Premium+) | Yes | No | No |
Premium+ is sold only in the US, UK, Canada, Ireland, Australia and New Zealand. The new Progress tab and the AI Nutrition Coach are limited to the same six countries, in English, and the Coach is for paying members on iPhone only. Net Carbs mode and grocery delivery syncing work only in the US and Canada.
MyFitnessPal Premium price in the US, UK and India
Prices checked 14 October 2026. "Pricing varies by country and by plan length," says the help centre, and prices vary by store too, so check the price on the upgrade screen before you subscribe.
| Market | Premium | Premium+ |
|---|---|---|
| US | $19.99 a month or $79.99 a year | $99.99 a year |
| UK | £15.99 a month or £64.99 a year | Not found |
| India | App Store items from ₹619 to ₹6,700 | Not sold |
- US: the yearly plan works out at about $6.67 a month. The Premium+ price is from MyFitnessPal's February 2026 press release. The US App Store also lists Premium items at $9.99 and $49.99, without saying who gets them.
- UK: MyFitnessPal's own web prices and the UK App Store agree. The yearly plan is about £5.42 a month, and the App Store also lists lower items at £7.99 and £39.99. We couldn't find a UK Premium+ price on an official page.
- India: there's no single rupee price. The App Store lists Premium items at ₹619, ₹1,699, ₹1,799, ₹3,099 and ₹6,700, with names that don't line up, and Google Play lists in-app items from ₹100 to ₹10,200. To see your price before a trial, open the app's upgrade screen: More (or your profile icon), then Go Premium.
Is MyFitnessPal Premium worth it? Who free is enough for
Free is enough if you:
- Eat mostly repeat or home-cooked meals that you can save once and log again
- Don't mind searching for packaged food by name instead of scanning it
- Are happy with a calorie goal and macro goals in percentages
- Can put up with ads
Premium is worth a look if you:
- Log a lot of packaged food and want the barcode scanner
- Want an exact gram target, such as a fixed protein number, or different goals on different days
- Want the fasting tracker, Meal Scan or Voice Log
- Want to export your data or drop the ads
If you track food for a medical condition such as diabetes, during pregnancy or with a history of disordered eating, ask a doctor or registered dietitian which targets to use. That applies whichever app you choose. Nothing here is medical advice: see the medical disclaimer.
How to get the most out of MyFitnessPal free
- Search by brand and product name, and add what's missing. MyFitnessPal's database is built by its community, so check an entry against the label on the pack before you log it. Newer or regional products are sometimes missing: create the food once from the label, and it's saved for future logs.
- Use Quick Add for a number you already know, from a menu or a pack. On free it's calories only, so those entries don't count towards your macros.
- Save repeat meals and recipes. Save your usual breakfast, such as porridge with banana or poha with chai, as a meal. Build home recipes from their ingredients or a link: how to count calories in homemade food and recipes covers the method.
- Connect a step source such as Apple Health or Health Connect, so your steps come in with a calorie adjustment.
- Print instead of exporting. Free has no data export tool. On the website you can print a report, and you can share your diary with a trainer, doctor or nutritionist.
- Read your Weekly Digest each week. Free keeps only your last two.
No kitchen scale? How to track calories without a food scale covers estimating portions with what you already have.
Trying Premium: the trial, cancelling and your data
- Trial: 7 days free for people who have never had Premium or a trial before. Offers vary, so read the terms on the upgrade screen.
- Cancelling: cancel at least 24 hours before renewal, on the platform you paid on (Apple, Google Play or the website). Premium lasts until the end of the period you paid for.
- Your data: if you go back to free, MyFitnessPal says "your logs, recipes, and progress history stay in your account. You will just lose access to the paid features." The ads come back.
- Export first: Data Export is Premium only, so download your CSV files (nutrition, progress and exercise) before Premium ends.
Where MyFitnessPal is the stronger choice
- Branded and restaurant food: TechCrunch describes its database as 20 million foods from 68,500 brands, plus meals at more than 380 restaurant chains.
- Reach and sharing: over 280 million members in over 120 countries (February 2026 press release), with free diary sharing and links to more than 40 apps and devices.
- Planning and platforms: in the six countries where Premium+ is sold, it builds meal plans and grocery lists, and one subscription covers the website and both apps.
Free alternatives to MyFitnessPal
If you want a free alternative to MyFitnessPal, usually for barcode scanning or fewer ads, here's what the main options give you without paying. Checked 14 October 2026.
| App | Barcode on free | Ads on free |
|---|---|---|
| MyFitnessPal | No | Yes |
| Cronometer | Unlimited | Yes |
| Lose It! | Moving to Premium | Yes (a one-time fee removes most) |
| FatSecret | Yes, per its store listings | Not confirmed |
| VitalityApp | 2 a month, shared with photo and label scans (apps only) | No |
Here's what the paid plans cost, monthly or yearly. Prices are from the App Store unless marked (MyFitnessPal's US and UK prices are its web prices) and vary by country and store.
| Paid plan | US | UK | India |
|---|---|---|---|
| MyFitnessPal Premium | $19.99 or $79.99 | £15.99 or £64.99 | ₹619 to ₹6,700 (several items) |
| Cronometer Gold | $10.99 or $59.99 | £9.99 or £59.99 | ₹999 or ₹5,900 |
| Lose It! Premium | $79.99 a year (list price) | Not checked | Not checked |
| FatSecret Premium | Up to $14.99 or $59.99 | Up to £10.99 or £44.99 | Up to ₹829 or ₹3,599 |
| VitalityApp Plus | $0.99 or $2.99 | £0.89 to £2.79 (Google Play) | ₹99 or ₹299 |
Cronometer
The free Basic account includes unlimited barcode scanning, up to 95 nutrients, your own macro and micronutrient targets, device sync and a database of over 1 million foods. Charts and reports cover a 7-day window, and the free app has ads. Gold is ad-free and adds photo and voice logging and a fasting timer. A good fit if micronutrients matter to you.
Lose It!
The free Basic plan gives you a personalised calorie budget, a weight loss plan and a community, with a database of over 50 million items. Its barcode and nutrition label scanners are being moved to Premium: "Some free members will still have access as we transition, while others will not." Its App Store listing also puts macro tracking, photo and voice logging and fitness app syncing on Premium.
Lose It! says most users are offered discounts on Premium's $79.99 list price, and new users get a 7-day trial. The free app has ads, and a one-time purchase removes the full-screen ads and the banners in your log.
FatSecret
FatSecret's store listings include a barcode scanner, and it isn't among the Premium extras they list. They also mention image recognition, but FatSecret's help centre puts Smart Food Scan, the photo logging feature, under Premium. Premium also adds dietitian meal plans, extra meal headings and water tracking (free on MyFitnessPal). We couldn't confirm whether the free app shows ads.
VitalityApp
VitalityApp works differently: you type or say the meal in one line (up to 100 characters), such as "2 scrambled eggs, a slice of toast and a coffee with milk". AI estimates the nutrition, and you check each food's grams before you save. The free plan has no ads and includes:
- Typing and voice logging (fair use: 50 AI food searches a day) and My Saved Meals
- Your own calorie, protein, carbs, fat and fibre targets, in grams
- Workouts, water, sleep, weight and steps, with Apple Health and Health Connect sync
- 2 photo, barcode or label scans a month in total, and 3 AI Coach replies a month
To set your targets, tap Recalibrate in Profile, answer the goal, weight and activity questions, then tap Set my own targets and Save my new plan.
Plus adds up to 50 scans a day, the full AI Coach, 14 more nutrients, a fasting tracker, meal insights and reminders. VitalityApp isn't on the UK App Store. On an iPhone in the UK you can use the web app at vitalityapp.fit, which has no barcode scanning, Apple Health sync or reminders.
Where it falls short of MyFitnessPal: nutrition is an AI estimate, not a browsable database of branded foods. There's no built-in data export, no recipe import from a link, and no percentage or day-by-day targets. Amounts you adjust are in grams or serving sizes, not ounces. More on how the two compare: VitalityApp as a MyFitnessPal alternative.
Frequently asked questions
Is the MyFitnessPal barcode scanner free? No. Barcode Scan has been Premium only since 1 October 2022, with no country exceptions named. On free, search for the product by name or add it from the label.
How much is MyFitnessPal Premium? $19.99 a month or $79.99 a year in the US, and £15.99 or £64.99 in the UK. In India, App Store items run from ₹619 to ₹6,700. Checked 14 October 2026; prices vary by country and store.
Can I set custom macros on the free version? Yes, as percentages in 5% steps that add up to 100%. Goals in grams, goals by day of the week and calorie goals by meal need Premium.
Can I get MyFitnessPal Premium for free? Only as a 7-day trial, if you've never had Premium or a Premium trial before. The first charge comes at the end of the trial unless you cancel before then, on the platform you signed up on.
Can I export my data on MyFitnessPal free? No, data export is Premium only. On free, you can print a report from the website or share your diary with a trainer, doctor or nutritionist.
Is Premium+ available in India? No. Premium+ is sold only in the US, UK, Canada, Ireland, Australia and New Zealand, so in India you can choose Free or Premium.
Keep reading
- MyFitnessPal alternative: VitalityApp and MyFitnessPal side by side (checked 9 October 2026).
- How to track calories without a food scale: estimating portions without weighing everything.
- How to count calories in homemade food and recipes: working out a home-cooked dish from its ingredients.
- AI calorie counter: logging by typing, voice, photo, barcode and label in VitalityApp.
- How accurate is AI photo calorie counting?: where photo estimates hold up, where they miss, and how to get closer numbers.
Sources
All checked on 14 October 2026.
- MyFitnessPal Help. What is included in the free version?. Updated 6 September 2026.
- MyFitnessPal Help. The difference between Free, Premium, and Premium +. Updated 5 October 2026.
- MyFitnessPal Help. Customize your nutritional goals.
- MyFitnessPal Help. How to use the Barcode Scanner.
- MyFitnessPal Help. How to use the Meal Scanner.
- MyFitnessPal Help. How to log food with your voice.
- MyFitnessPal Help. Getting started with Quick Add.
- MyFitnessPal Help. How the Recipe Importer works in the iOS and Android apps. Updated 29 September 2026.
- MyFitnessPal Help. MyFitnessPal Premium features.
- MyFitnessPal Help. The ad-free experience with MyFitnessPal Premium.
- MyFitnessPal Help. How to track how much water you drink.
- MyFitnessPal Help. How step tracking works in MyFitnessPal.
- MyFitnessPal Help. Export your data or share your diary with a Trainer, Doctor, or Nutritionist.
- MyFitnessPal Help. Export your nutrition, progress, and exercise data. Updated 27 August 2026.
- MyFitnessPal Help. Weekly Digest.
- MyFitnessPal Help. Can I track Net Carbs?.
- MyFitnessPal Help. Introducing Progress Overview.
- MyFitnessPal Help. Introducing Nutrition Coach: Your Nutrition Assistant.
- MyFitnessPal Help. Premium+.
- MyFitnessPal Help. How to use the Meal Planner.
- MyFitnessPal Help. How to upgrade to MyFitnessPal Premium.
- MyFitnessPal Help. How to cancel your Premium subscription renewal.
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- MyFitnessPal. Homepage: free food search, Premium scanning, 40+ apps and devices.
- MyFitnessPal. MyFitnessPal Debuts Its 2026 Winter Release. GlobeNewswire, 24 February 2026: tiers and prices, over 20 million foods, over 280 million members in over 120 countries.
- MyFitnessPal on the App Store: US, UK, India. In-app purchase prices.
- MyFitnessPal on Google Play: US, UK, India. "Contains ads" label and in-app item ranges.
- Bort J. MyFitnessPal has acquired Cal AI, the viral calorie app built by teens. TechCrunch, 2 March 2026.
- Cronometer. Free version: what's included and Cronometer Gold. Cronometer on the App Store: US, UK, India. Cronometer on Google Play (US): "Contains ads" label.
- Lose It! Help. Unlocking the Barcode Scanner/Scan It, Lose It! Membership Tiers & Pricing, What is Lose It! Premium? and Ad-Free Version of Lose It!. Lose It! on the App Store (US). Calorie Counter by Lose It! on Google Play (US): "Contains ads" label.
- Calorie Counter by fatsecret on Google Play (US). Calorie Counter by fatsecret on the App Store: US, UK, India. fatsecret Help. Smart Food Scan, in Getting Started with Premium.
- VitalityApp on the App Store: US, India; not listed on the UK App Store (page not found). VitalityApp on Google Play (UK). VitalityApp features, free and Plus.