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MyFitnessPal alternatives: what’s free, what’s accurate, and what works with your assistant
Updated November 8, 2026
TL;DR
If you left MyFitnessPal because barcode scanning went Premium, Cronometer and FatSecret scan for free. If you want adaptive targets, MacroFactor is the usual pick; Lose It! is the simplest. If you want to log by telling Claude or ChatGPT what you ate, with a food catalog you can check, Calorie Cub is built for that, and tracking is free. Which one fits depends on how you like to log.
Why people leave MyFitnessPal
- •Barcode scanning moved to Premium in 2022, and Premium costs about $80 a year.
- •The free app shows ads.
- •The crowd-sourced database has many near-duplicate and wrong entries, so the same food can come up with five different calorie counts.
- •No way to log from the assistant you already talk to: no public API, no MCP server, and a ChatGPT app that answers questions without logging.
The alternatives, by what you need
Prices and free-tier limits change often; these are as of November 2026, and each app’s own site has the current numbers.
Cronometer
Free tier: Yes, with barcode scanning
Food data: Curated databases (USDA, NCCDB) with verified entries
Ways to log: Search, barcode
Logs from ChatGPT or Claude: No official connection; community servers need your password
Lose It!
Free tier: Yes; photo logging is Premium
Food data: Crowd-sourced with verified entries
Ways to log: Search, barcode, photo (paid)
Logs from ChatGPT or Claude: No official connection
MacroFactor
Free tier: No, 7-day trial
Food data: Verified database
Ways to log: Search, barcode, describe in text
Logs from ChatGPT or Claude: No; an MCP-style bridge is planned
FatSecret
Free tier: Yes, with barcode scanning and ads
Food data: Large crowd-sourced database
Ways to log: Search, barcode, photo
Logs from ChatGPT or Claude: No official connection
Calorie Cub
Free tier: Yes, no time limit
Food data: USDA plus restaurants’ published nutrition, each food labeled official, reviewed, or estimated
Ways to log: Search, barcode, photo, voice, recipes, chat
Logs from ChatGPT or Claude: Yes: MCP server for Claude, ChatGPT, and any client
If you want to log by talking to ChatGPT or Claude
Only trackers with an MCP server can do this today, and none of the big apps has one. Calorie Cub does. Connect it once, say what you ate, and the entry lands in a diary you can open in the app on the web or iPhone. The assistant works out what you meant; the calories come from the catalog.
How logging meals by chat works ›The MCP server and which clients connect ›If accuracy is your complaint
The fix is provenance. Calorie Cub’s generic foods come from USDA data; restaurant items come from the chains’ own nutrition guides, with more than 70 US chains covered item by item; and anything a person added is labeled estimated until it’s reviewed. You still have to get the portion right, because no database can see your plate.
Browse restaurant nutrition facts ›What studies say about AI calorie estimates ›Switching: what carries over
Export your data from MyFitnessPal, then import it in Calorie Cub’s Settings on the web: each meal comes in as one entry with its nutrients, and your weigh-ins come in as weights. Individual foods don’t carry over, because the export doesn’t list them. Setting your goals takes a minute, and recipes you make often are worth saving once.
What free means in Calorie Cub
Tracking is free with no time limit: the food catalog, restaurant menus, recipes, favorites, weight, goals, export, and a small daily allowance of photo and voice logging. One assistant can read your diary on the free plan. Pro raises the photo and voice allowance and lets assistants log and edit for you: $6.99 a month, or $39.99 a year with a 3-day free trial. No ads on either plan.
Food diary, not medical advice
An assistant and Calorie Cub can help you keep track and think through options, but neither is a doctor or dietitian, and an assistant can be wrong with total confidence. If you’re pregnant, have diabetes or another condition, take weight-loss medication, or have a history of disordered eating, talk to a clinician before changing how you eat.
Questions people ask
What’s the best free alternative to MyFitnessPal?
For a classic tracker with free barcode scanning, Cronometer. For logging by chat with ChatGPT or Claude, Calorie Cub, where tracking is free and reading your diary from one assistant is included.
Is there a MyFitnessPal alternative with a free barcode scanner?
Cronometer and FatSecret scan barcodes on their free plans. Calorie Cub scans on iPhone and takes the typed digits on the web, free.
Which MyFitnessPal alternative works with ChatGPT or Claude?
Calorie Cub connects through MCP to Claude, ChatGPT, Claude Code, Gemini, Grok, and any client that supports remote MCP servers. None of the large trackers offers an official connection as of November 2026.
Can I import my MyFitnessPal data into Calorie Cub?
Yes, on the web. Unzip your MyFitnessPal export and choose the Nutrition-Summary and Measurement-Summary files in Settings. Each meal comes in as one entry with its nutrients, and your weights come too. Individual foods don’t carry over because the export doesn’t list them.
Is Calorie Cub really free?
Yes, for tracking, with no time limit and no ads. Pro is only for logging by chat and a larger photo and voice allowance.
Other guides
Use ChatGPT to help you diet ›ChatGPT diet plan and meal plan prompts ›Is ChatGPT accurate for calories? ›Use Claude to help you diet ›Use Gemini to help you diet ›Use Grok and Grok Bot to help you diet ›AI calorie counter: photo, voice, or chat ›How logging meals by chat works ›Calorie tracker MCP server for any client ›Is there a MyFitnessPal MCP server? ›Is there a MyFitnessPal API? ›Cal AI alternatives ›Try Calorie Cub free
Sign in with Apple or Google, then log from the app or connect your assistant. No card needed.
How Calorie Cub works