Which calorie counter is really free?

Fddb offers a free, ad-free food diary; Cronometer tracks calories, macros, vitamins and minerals on its free tier. GymLog AI also has a permanently free tier and additionally covers training.

Why does MyFitnessPal charge for the barcode scanner?

MyFitnessPal moved the feature into Premium in October 2022. On the free tier you have searched for foods manually ever since.

Are there calorie counters with no ads and no subscription?

Fddb advertises its food diary as free and ad-free. With other apps the free tier is partly ad-funded — the store description is worth reading.

Is a subscription worth it at all?

It depends what you are missing. If you scan many packaged products daily, a barcode scanner saves real time. If you cook from scratch anyway, you will barely use it.

Home/FAQ/Nutrition

Calorie counter without a subscription: what is really free

Paul Hummel Last reviewed September 14, 2026 4 min read

Quick answer

Almost every major app has a free tier — the difference is what sits behind it. With MyFitnessPal it is the barcode scanner; with others it is reporting or AI entry. Fddb offers a free, ad-free diary, Cronometer even gives micronutrients away.

Why "free" rarely means free

Almost all mainstream calorie counters follow the same pattern: the core function — log food, see calories — is free, and a subscription wraps around it. So the question is not whether there is a free version, but which feature you lose by not paying.

What sits behind each paywall

App	free to use	behind the subscription
Fddb	diary, ad-free	extended features
Cronometer	calories, macros, vitamins, minerals	AI entry, recipe import, reporting
MyFitnessPal	manual search, database	barcode scanner, photo recognition
Yazio	tracking, barcode	photo AI, plans, ad-free
Lifesum	basic features	full feature set

The best-known case: the barcode scanner

MyFitnessPal moved the barcode scanner into Premium in October 2022. For many people that was the whole reason they used the app — and the reaction was loud. If you want to scan rather than type and would rather not pay, Yazio or Fddb serve you better.

What else to watch for

Ads. Some free tiers are ad-funded. Fddb explicitly advertises its diary as ad-free.
Data export. Check before you commit whether you can get your entries back out. A year of history is a real reason not to switch later.
Trial instead of free tier. Some apps have no permanent free version at all, only a trial. Once it ends you often cannot log anything new.

And when training comes into it

Every app above covers nutrition only. If you also log sets and weights, you otherwise need a second subscription. GymLog AI keeps both in one chat and also has a permanently free tier.

Start calories and training for free

GymLog AI captures meals and sets in the same chat – by text, voice or photo.

Download on the App Store Get it on Google Play

Sources

FitBudd (as of May 2026). MyFitnessPal Cost: Free vs Premium vs Premium+. fitbudd.com
Fddb on Google Play (features, ratings). play.google.com
Cronometer on Google Play (features, ratings). play.google.com
GymLog AI on the App Store and Google Play (features & pricing). apps.apple.com · play.google.com

Third-party feature and price details reflect the time of review (September 2026) and may change; please check the respective app store. This content is for general informational purposes.