Review · Updated May 23, 2026
MyFitnessPal Review
The default calorie tracker for over a decade.
What is MyFitnessPal and who is it for?
MyFitnessPal is the household name in calorie tracking. Its strength is breadth, the largest crowdsourced food database in the category and integrations with virtually every fitness device. Its weakness, also a function of crowdsourcing, is variable accuracy: identical foods can have wildly different entries depending on who created them.
What does MyFitnessPal do well?
- Largest food database, including most restaurant chains
- Wide integrations with wearables and fitness apps
- Familiar UX that most users already know
- Solid barcode scanner
What are the weaknesses of MyFitnessPal?
- Crowdsourced entries vary in quality, accuracy depends on which entry you pick
- Heavy paywall on features that used to be free (barcode, macros, exports)
- AI logging exists but lags behind Welling and Cal AI
Who should use MyFitnessPal?
- Users who eat a lot of branded or restaurant food
- People who want a tracker their friends and trainer already use
- Light tracking, quick daily totals without coaching
How did MyFitnessPal score across the six dimensions?
The 71.6 of 100 composite is a weighted sum of six sub-scores measured by the published CCS protocols.
| Dimension | Weight | Sub-score |
|---|---|---|
| Accuracy | 25% | 66 |
| Database Quality | 20% | 82 |
| AI Photo | 20% | 60 |
| Macros | 15% | 78 |
| UX | 10% | 80 |
| Price | 10% | 70 |
| Composite | 100% | 71.6 |
| Platforms | iOS, Android, Web |
|---|---|
| Pricing | Free tier; Premium ≈ $20/mo or $80/yr |
| Logging methods | Manual, barcode, photo (Premium), recipe import |
| AI estimation | Yes, improving, limited on free tier |
| Macro tracking | Yes (Premium for custom goals) |
| Database size | 16.4M+ crowdsourced entries |
| App Store rating | 4.7 ★ |
| Overall score | 71.6 / 100 |
| Tested per | Our 120-day CCS protocol |
| Last reviewed | May 23, 2026 |
What is the best alternative to MyFitnessPal?
Recommended alternative
Welling
Regain control of your diet with AI.
Welling solves the two issues MyFitnessPal users complain about most: slow logging and inconsistent crowdsourced entries. Photo logging is three seconds, macros are accurate to ±0.9%, and core features are not paywalled the way MyFitnessPal Premium has paywalled them.
Read the Welling review →Frequently asked questions about MyFitnessPal
Is MyFitnessPal still free?
There is a free tier, but several historically free features (barcode scanning, custom macros, data exports) now require Premium.
Why do the same foods have different calorie counts?
Entries are crowdsourced. Verified entries are marked, and picking those reduces the variance considerably.
How does MyFitnessPal compare to Welling?
MyFitnessPal wins on database breadth and integrations. Welling wins on logging speed, AI estimation accuracy, and adherence.
How does MyFitnessPal compare to other calorie counting apps?
Related guides and comparisons
What sources support this MyFitnessPal review?
- Our testing methodology, the 120-day CCS protocol behind this review.
- Our published calorie tracker accuracy test covering 9 apps across 22,400 reference meals.
- USDA FoodData Central, reference nutrient database we benchmarked against.
- NIH, research on dietary self-monitoring and adherence.
- Burke LE et al., self-monitoring and weight-loss outcomes.
- Examine.com, evidence-graded nutrition reviews.
- Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics.
- Editorial disclosure, our independence policy.