Is MyFitnessPal Free in 2026? What You Get and What You Pay For
MyFitnessPal is not fully free in 2026. A free tier still exists and still gives you food logging, weight and exercise tracking and access to the largest food database in the category — but barcode scanning moved to Premium in 2022, and macro tracking in grams requires a subscription. Free users see macro percentages only. Premium costs around $19.99 a month or $79.99 a year.
Yes, you can use MyFitnessPal without paying. No, the free version is not the one you remember. The two features most people assume are free — the barcode scanner and gram-level macros — both now sit behind Premium.
What you get for $0
- Unlimited food logging via search
- Calorie tracking against a daily goal
- Macro tracking as percentages of your intake
- The full food database, over 20 million entries
- Weight and exercise logging
- Wearable integrations and community features
What requires Premium
- Barcode scanning — moved to Premium in 2022, and the single change that surprises people most
- Macro targets in grams — the free tier only shows percentages
- Meal Scan / AI photo recognition
- Voice logging
- Meal-by-meal calorie targets
- Advanced nutrition insights and reports
- Data export
- An ad-free experience
- Meal planning (Premium+ only)
Why the percentages-only limit matters
If you are tracking to lose fat or build muscle, you almost certainly have a protein target in grams — something like 140 g a day. MyFitnessPal's free tier will tell you that protein was 28% of your intake, which is a different question and not the one you asked. Converting in your head at every meal is exactly the friction that makes people stop logging.
This is why several free alternatives are genuinely more useful than MyFitnessPal's free tier despite smaller databases.
Free alternatives that include what MyFitnessPal charges for
| App | Free barcode | Free macros in grams | Free AI photo | Database size |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| MyFitnessPal (free) | No | No | No | Largest |
| FatSecret | Yes | Yes | No | Large |
| Cronometer | Yes | Yes | Limited | Smaller, verified |
| MyNetDiary | Yes | Partly | No | Medium, verified |
| PlateLens | Yes | Yes | Yes | Photo and voice instead |
We keep a full PlateLens vs MyFitnessPal comparison if you want the detail. FatSecret is the closest like-for-like free replacement: same manual workflow, barcode scanning and gram-level macros included, no subscription at all. Cronometer is better if you care about data accuracy. PlateLens takes a different approach entirely — instead of searching a database you photograph the meal or describe it, on a free plan that includes the AI coach and does not expire.
Is MyFitnessPal still worth it?
Yes, in one specific case: if you eat a lot of chain-restaurant meals, international packaged foods or obscure branded products, the database advantage is real and no competitor matches it. If that is you, Premium is a defensible purchase.
For everyone else, the free tier in 2026 is weaker than FatSecret's or Cronometer's, and paying $79.99 a year for barcode scanning that competitors give away is a hard case to make.
Before you pick an app, work out the number you are tracking against: our calorie calculator gives you a daily target from your own stats. And for the record, PlateLens Premium is $9.99 a month or $34.99 a year — the free plan above needs no card and has no end date.
Barcode scanning and gram macros, free
Photo, voice or barcode logging with the AI coach included, on a plan that never expires. No card required.
Frequently Asked Questions
Is MyFitnessPal free?
Partly. MyFitnessPal has a free tier that includes food logging, calorie tracking and the full food database. But barcode scanning moved to Premium in 2022 and macro tracking in grams requires a subscription, so free users see percentages only.
Is MyFitnessPal 100% free?
No. The core logging experience is free, but several features most people consider essential are Premium-only: barcode scanning, gram-level macros, photo recognition, voice logging, data export and an ad-free experience.
How much does MyFitnessPal Premium cost?
MyFitnessPal Premium costs around $19.99 a month or $79.99 a year, with a Premium+ tier at roughly $24.99 a month or $99.99 a year. Prices vary by region and change over time, so check the in-app pricing.
Why is barcode scanning not free on MyFitnessPal any more?
MyFitnessPal moved barcode scanning into Premium in 2022 as part of a broader shift toward subscriptions. It had previously been one of the most-used features of the free app, which is why the change is still the most common complaint about the free tier.
Is there a free alternative to MyFitnessPal?
Yes. FatSecret is the closest free replacement and includes barcode scanning and gram-level macros with no subscription at all. Cronometer's free tier is more accurate, drawn from verified USDA data. PlateLens replaces database search with photo and voice logging on a free plan that does not expire.
Can I still use MyFitnessPal without paying?
Yes. You can log food by searching the database, track calories, log weight and exercise and see macros as percentages without ever paying. You will see ads, and you will need to enter packaged foods by search rather than by scanning them.
When did MyFitnessPal stop being free?
It never stopped entirely, but the free tier narrowed sharply from 2022, when barcode scanning moved to Premium. Gram-level macros, photo recognition, voice logging and data export followed, which is why the free app feels different from the one people remember.
Does MyFitnessPal free have a barcode scanner?
No. Barcode scanning moved to Premium in 2022 and is the single most common complaint about the free tier. FatSecret, Cronometer, MyNetDiary, Lose It! and PlateLens all include it at no cost.
Can I see protein in grams on MyFitnessPal free?
No. The free tier shows macros as percentages of your intake only. A gram target — the way most people track protein — requires a subscription.
Is MyFitnessPal Premium worth it?
In one case: if you eat a lot of chain-restaurant meals, international packaged foods or obscure brands, its database is genuinely unmatched and worth paying for. Otherwise FatSecret and Cronometer give you more on their free tiers than MyFitnessPal gives on its.
How do I cancel MyFitnessPal Premium?
Through the store you subscribed with, not inside the app: Subscriptions in your Apple ID settings on iPhone, or Payments and subscriptions in the Play Store on Android. Cancelling there stops the renewal and leaves access running to the end of the period.
What is the best free replacement for MyFitnessPal?
FatSecret, for a like-for-like manual workflow with barcode scanning and gram macros free. Cronometer if you want more accurate data. PlateLens if the database search itself is what you want to stop doing, since it logs from a photo, your voice or a typed description.