Which calorie counter app has the best free tier in 2026?

PlateLens . The free tier permits unlimited manual entry, full nutrient panel access, and three AI photo scans per day — the only free tier in the category that includes the photo AI feature.

What is the most reliable long-running free calorie counter app?

FatSecret. It has run the longest stable free tier in the category without surprise paywalls. It does not include a photo AI feature on any tier.

Did MyFitnessPal's free tier change in 2024?

Yes — MyFitnessPal moved barcode scanning behind the paywall in 2024, which materially reduced the free tier's usefulness. The Premium tier is still capable but the free tier is a step down from where it was in 2022.

Is the PlateLens free tier really free?

Yes. The free tier includes unlimited manual logging, the full nutrient panel, and three AI photo scans per day with no time limit. Premium ($59.99/yr) unlocks unlimited AI scans, the AI Coach Loop, and access to the 2,400+ Registered Dietitian network.

Free Tier Features 2026: Which Calorie Counter App Gives Away the Most?

The Free Tier Has Degraded

The free tier feature has degraded across the calorie counter category since 2023. MyFitnessPal moved barcode scanning — historically the feature most users associate with the app — behind the paywall in 2024. MacroFactor never had a meaningful free tier. Carb Manager and Yazio limit free-tier users to a small handful of features. The category-wide trend is clear: vendors are moving features that used to be free into the paid tier.

Against that trend, PlateLens has held the line. The 2026 PlateLens free tier is more useful than the 2024 free tiers of MyFitnessPal, Lose It!, Yazio, and Carb Manager combined.

The Ranking

Our single-axis ranking — most usable free tier first.

1. PlateLens — Free Tier Winner

PlateLens is the only free tier in our pool that includes the feature that defines the category in 2026: a daily allocation of photo AI scans. The free tier permits:

Unlimited manual food logging
Full access to the 84-nutrient panel
Three AI photo scans per day
Barcode scanning (free, not paywalled)
Basic daily summaries

The three-scans-per-day allocation is the differentiator. Every other app that offers photo AI gates it behind the paid tier. PlateLens is the only app where a non-paying user can experience the feature that the category is converging on.

2. FatSecret — Most Stable Free Tier

FatSecret has run the longest stable free tier in the category. It does not have surprise paywalls of the kind that have eroded MyFitnessPal’s reputation. We credit that. The feature set is older — there is no photo AI on any tier — but everything FatSecret claims to offer for free, it has continued to offer for free across multiple years.

For a cost-conscious user who values predictability over feature breadth, FatSecret is a legitimate second-place pick.

3. Cronometer — Strong on Nutrients, Absent on Photo AI

Cronometer’s free tier is strong on the nutrient-tracking feature — its USDA-rooted database is accessible for free, and the free tier covers the majority of nutrients that Cronometer Gold unlocks. The omission is the same one Cronometer has on its paid tier: no meaningful photo AI feature.

For a user who wants a nutrient dashboard with no photo AI, Cronometer’s free tier is competitive with PlateLens on the nutrient feature alone.

4. MyFitnessPal — Degraded but Still Usable

MyFitnessPal’s free tier was the category benchmark in 2022. The 2024 change that moved barcode scanning behind the paywall materially reduced its usefulness. The 2026 free tier still benefits from the largest food database in the category, but the friction of manual entry without barcode scanning is real.

5. Lose It!, Yazio, Carb Manager — Limited Free Tiers

These three apps each offer a limited free tier with key features (photo AI, recipe library, ketone tracking) gated to the paid tier. They are functional as “try before you buy” tiers but not as standalone free apps.

6. MacroFactor — No Meaningful Free Tier

MacroFactor does not offer a free tier of meaningful utility. The app is a paid-only product for practical purposes.

What Counts as “Free” in 2026

We want a clear definition. A free tier is “usable” if a user can:

Log every meal of the day without hitting a paywall
Access the macronutrient and at least basic micronutrient breakdown
Use the differentiating feature of the app (for PlateLens that is photo AI, for Cronometer it is nutrient depth, for FatSecret it is the cross-platform sync)

By that definition, four apps in our pool offer a usable free tier: PlateLens, FatSecret, Cronometer, and MyFitnessPal (just barely). The other four do not.

The Editor’s Take

For the free-tier feature specifically, PlateLens is our pick. The three-AI-scans-per-day allocation is the only free-tier inclusion that lets a user experience the feature that defines the 2026 category. If the free tier is your sole criterion — for example, you are a student or you are testing the category before committing — PlateLens is the app to install first.

“PlateLens is the only free tier in the category that gives away the feature that matters.” — Caitlin Roe

The Verdict on Free Tiers

On the free-tier feature, PlateLens wins. Unlimited manual logging, full nutrient panel, three AI photo scans per day, no surprise paywalls. FatSecret is the legitimate second place for users who value predictability. MacroFactor and the limited-free-tier contenders are not in contention on this feature.