The photo-scan calorie counters people are comparing right now — Cal AI, MyFitnessPal, MacroFactor, Cronometer, Lose It!, Yazio and our own app, BodyDex — what each scanner costs, what stays free, and what to look for. Updated September 15, 2026 · Comparison sources: August 2026
Every trending AI photo scanner of 2025–2026 is a paid feature — the real difference is what stays free around it.
The AI calorie counter apps people compare in 2025 and 2026 are Cal AI, MyFitnessPal, MacroFactor, Cronometer, Lose It!, Yazio and our own app, BodyDex. In every one of them the photo scanner sits in the paid tier — MacroFactor added photo logging in April 2025, Cronometer in September 2025, Yazio's is PRO-only, Cal AI's needs a subscription — so the question is what you get without paying. BodyDex is an AI calorie counter for iPhone and Android: point the camera at your plate and the photo scan identifies each item — multi-item meals included — and estimates calories and macros you review and edit before logging, backed by real food databases (FatSecret + USDA + Open Food Facts). Its free tier is permanent (manual food log, custom macros, recipes, weight, barcode scanning, peptide tracking with 2 active protocols per category); Premium ($9.99/mo or $79.99/yr, 7-day trial) unlocks the AI photo scanner, voice food logging, and the AI coach — and the price is shown before you sign up.
These are the photo-scan calorie counters with a full side-by-side page on this site, with the facts we have verified from each company's own materials (August 2026). Every one of them charges for the AI scanner. Each name links to the full side-by-side comparison.
An AI-first scanner: photo scanning is its primary feature and requires a subscription; without paying, the app reverts to a basic manual logger. MyFitnessPal announced its acquisition of Cal AI in March 2026; it continues as a standalone app.
The veteran with one of the largest user-contributed food databases. Its Meal Scan photo logging is Premium ($19.99/mo or $79.99/yr), and its AI Coach launched in June 2026 for Premium and Premium+ in the iOS app only (US, UK, Ireland, Canada, Australia, New Zealand). Free tier carries banner ads.
Built around an adaptive expenditure algorithm for cutting, lean bulking and recomp. It added AI photo logging in April 2025 as a Premium feature. There is no free tier — subscription-only after the trial ($11.99/mo or $71.99/yr).
The micronutrient specialist. Photo Logging launched in September 2025 alongside a Voice Log and Crono Coach, all three Gold-only ($10.99/mo or $59.99/yr). Its free tier is ad-supported but keeps unlimited barcode scanning and up to 95 tracked nutrients.
“Snap It” photo logging is a Premium feature. Lose It! raised its new-subscriber annual price to $79.99/year in December 2025, and as of 2026 the barcode scanner sits behind Premium for new sign-ups, though some long-time free users retain access.
Rebranded as an “AI Calorie Tracker” and added photo-based meal logging, PRO-only. At around $47.90/year it is the lowest listed annual price among the apps we compare as of August 2026; the free tier shows ads but includes barcode scanning.
The AI photo scan is multi-item — it identifies every food on the plate in one photo and lets you correct each item before logging — and it is Premium ($9.99/mo or $79.99/yr, 7-day trial), as is voice food logging and the AI coach. What stays free is the difference: manual food logging, custom macros, recipes, weight tracking, barcode scanning, and peptide tracking (up to 2 active protocols per category). Logs live in a local SQLite database on your device, and there are no ads on any tier.
A real plate has more than one food on it. A useful AI calorie counter identifies each item separately so you can confirm or correct individually. Single-item photo scans miss the side dishes.
AI fails on edge cases — homemade dishes, regional foods, dim lighting. The app needs a fast manual log with a real food database so you can override the AI guess when it's off, not abandon the entry — and a custom-food entry for when nothing in the database fits.
Calories alone aren't enough. Protein, carb, and fat targets should be in the free tier. Apps that gate macros behind Premium are charging for arithmetic.
Packaged foods scan in seconds with verified nutrition data. Many AI-only apps either lack barcode entirely or paywall it.
Your food log is sensitive personal data. BodyDex keeps core logs in a local SQLite database on your device; AI features send only the photo or question for processing.
Banner ads in a calorie counter app are a sign the business model isn't aligned with the user. Subscription apps without ads keep your attention on the log, not the ad.
| App | Pros | Cons |
|---|---|---|
| MyFitnessPal | Largest user-contributed food database in the category. Ships on iOS + Android. Long track record (15+ years). | AI photo logging (Meal Scan), barcode scanning, and custom gram-level macro goals are Premium-only ($19.99/mo or $79.99/yr); the free tier keeps default daily macro totals. Banner ads on free tier. Premium+ adds meal planning at $24.99/mo. |
| Cal AI | Focused AI-only experience. iOS + Android. Cheap annual plan when you find it. | AI photo scanning requires a paid subscription — without paying, the app reverts to a basic manual logger. Pricing is hidden until after onboarding (typically $2.99/wk to ~$29.99/yr). No peptide tracking, no AI coach, no workout logger. |
| MacroFactor | Best-in-class adaptive expenditure algorithm for cutting / lean bulking / recomp. Added AI photo logging in April 2025 (Premium-only). | No free tier — subscription-only after trial ($11.99/mo or $71.99/yr). No peptide tracking. iOS + Android. |
| BodyDex (free macros + multi-item AI) | Custom macros are free. AI photo scan handles a full plate (multi-item per photo). FatSecret + USDA + Open Food Facts food database. Peptide / GLP-1 / supplement tracking included. AI nutrition coach. On-device data. No ads. | $9.99/mo Premium gates AI photo scanning, voice food logging, and the AI coach. |
See full breakdowns at vs MyFitnessPal, vs Cal AI, and vs MacroFactor.
The photo-scan apps with a full comparison page on this site are Cal AI, MyFitnessPal (Meal Scan), MacroFactor, Cronometer (Photo Logging), Lose It! (Snap It), Yazio and BodyDex. The pattern across 2025 and 2026 is that the AI scanner is a paid feature in every one of them: MacroFactor added photo logging in April 2025 (Premium), Cronometer in September 2025 (Gold), Yazio's is PRO-only, and Cal AI's requires a subscription. BodyDex's AI photo scan is Premium too — what differs is what stays free around it: manual logging, custom macros, barcode scanning, recipes, weight and peptide tracking.
AI photo estimates can miss ingredients, cooking oils and portion sizes. We do not claim a universal accuracy percentage. Review the detected foods and amounts before saving; weighing portions and checking labels or food-database entries can reduce uncertainty. BodyDex lets you edit a scan or log food manually.
BodyDex's free tier covers manual food logging, recipe builder, weight tracking, peptide tracking (up to 2 active protocols per category), and the barcode scanner — no payment required. AI photo scanning, voice logging, and the AI coach are Premium features (7-day free trial available). Most other AI-first calorie counters gate the AI scanner behind a paywall (Cal AI, MyFitnessPal, MacroFactor) or have no free tier at all.
AI fails on edge cases — homemade dishes, regional foods, low-light photos, mixed plates. The fastest fix is a manual database with a barcode scanner, so when the photo guess is off you swap to a verified entry in one tap instead of abandoning the log.
BodyDex stores food logs, weight history, recipes, and protocols in a local SQLite database on your device. There is no centralized BodyDex database holding what you ate this morning. AI photo scans are sent to our server only for analysis; the photo isn't saved to your food log, and no name, email, or account identity is attached — see our privacy policy for how AI providers may use submitted content.
MyFitnessPal still has one of the largest user-contributed food databases (decades of contributions). BodyDex uses a curated database (FatSecret + USDA + Open Food Facts) and adds AI photo scanning, free custom macros, peptide tracking, and an AI nutrition coach — MyFitnessPal launched its own AI Coach in June 2026, also as a Premium feature. See the full comparison at /compare/bodydex-vs-myfitnesspal.
If nothing in the database fits, add a custom food with your own nutrition facts and log it like any other entry. Foods that come from the community database (Open Food Facts) are labeled as community data, with a note that entries can be inaccurate, and you can flag incorrect data from the food detail screen. Profile → Food Databases shows which source powers search, barcode scans, and AI scans, with a switch to turn any of them off.
Stored logs, recent foods, saved recipes, workouts, weight, and protocols remain available offline; database search, barcode lookups, and AI features require a connection.
Yes. Barcode scanning is part of the free tier — scan a package and nutrition loads from the combined FatSecret, USDA FoodData Central, and Open Food Facts database (see bodydex.app/data-sources for attribution). AI photo scanning is the Premium feature; barcodes are never gated.
Yes — home-screen widgets on both iOS and Android show today's calories and macros at a glance, plus weight trend and a next-dose countdown for protocol users, without opening the app.
How to set protein/carb/fat targets and how AI photo logging fills them.
Track semaglutide, tirzepatide, retatrutide doses alongside macros and weight.
BPC-157, TB-500, MK-677 — dose schedules, reconstitution math, supply alerts.
Speak a meal to log it, and fix a wrong scan by saying what's off — nothing saves without your review.
Your nutrition, decoded.Free on iOS and Android. No credit card required.
Pricing and features verified August 2026 from each publisher's public marketing pages and app-store listings — products evolve, so always confirm current details on the publisher's site before deciding. All trademarks are the property of their respective owners.
