Yes, MyFitnessPal is free: creating a basic account costs nothing, and the free version lets you log food and exercise, create recipes, view macros and set calorie and macro goals by percentage. The catch is that the free plan shows ads, and the faster logging tools (the barcode scanner, Meal Scan and voice logging) need Premium, which MyFitnessPal lists at $79.99 a year or $19.99 a month in the US.
Disclosure: this page is written by the Calo AI Team. Calo AI is our own app, and we have no link to MyFitnessPal. Every MyFitnessPal fact below comes from MyFitnessPal’s own website, help centre and app store listings, checked on 19 October 2026. Prices and plans change, so treat them as a snapshot.
What can you do with MyFitnessPal for free?
MyFitnessPal’s help centre answers the question directly: “The standard features of MyFitnessPal are free to use, and creating a basic account is free.” The free version includes:
- Food and exercise logging, by searching the food database. The Canadian App Store listing says the database has over 20.5 million foods, including restaurant dishes.
- Weight and measurement logging, with your past progress.
- Your own foods, meals and recipes, including importing a recipe from a web link.
- Macronutrients for each food and for your day, with a daily pie chart.
- Calorie and macro goals by percentage, in 5% steps.
- Diary sharing with friends, a trainer or a dietitian.
- Partner apps and devices linked to your account.
- A printable report of your diary, on the website only.
That is enough for many people to build a logging habit. MyFitnessPal sums up its own plans this way: “Free gets you logging. Premium adds the insights. Premium+ plans the meals and builds the grocery list.”
What does MyFitnessPal Premium add?
Premium is where most of the convenience features sit. MyFitnessPal’s comparison table and premium page list these as paid:
| Feature | Free | Premium | Premium+ |
|---|---|---|---|
| Food and exercise logging by search | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Custom foods, meals and recipes | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Calorie and macro goals by percentage | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Barcode scanner | No | Yes | Yes |
| Meal Scan (photo logging) | No | Yes | Yes |
| Voice logging | No | Yes | Yes |
| Intermittent fasting | No | Yes | Yes |
| Macros by gram, by meal and different goals by day | No | Yes | Yes |
| Net carbs | No | Yes | Yes |
| Data export | No | Yes | Yes |
| Ad free | No | Yes | Yes |
| Meal Plan Builder and grocery lists | No | No | Yes |
The full Premium column is longer and also includes food analysis, quick-add macros, food timestamps, workout routines, multi-day logging and priority support. Premium+ adds meal planning on top, and MyFitnessPal says it is sold in the United States, the United Kingdom, Canada, Ireland, New Zealand and Australia.
The barcode scanner is the one that surprises most people. It sits in the Premium column, so on the free plan you log a packaged food by typing its name and picking the right entry.
How much does MyFitnessPal Premium cost in the US, Canada and Australia?
MyFitnessPal’s help centre says pricing varies by country and plan length. Here is what MyFitnessPal’s own website (US) and App Store listings showed on 19 October 2026:
| Country | Monthly Premium | Yearly Premium |
|---|---|---|
| USA (myfitnesspal.com) | $19.99 | $79.99 |
| Canada (App Store) | Items at CA$13.99 and CA$27.99 | Items at CA$69.99 and CA$114.99 |
| Australia (App Store) | Items at A$14.99 and A$29.99 | Items at A$79.99 and A$129.99 |
The App Store listings show more than one price for the same plan length, and the US listing also includes lower-priced Premium items, such as a yearly item at $49.99. The lower prices may be offers, so the price on your own upgrade screen is the one that applies. On Google Play, the US listing carries the labels “Contains ads” and “In-app purchases”.
On the US website prices, paying monthly for a full year would cost $239.88, against $79.99 for the annual plan. If you plan to stay with Premium, the yearly plan is far cheaper.
US readers have one more option. MyFitnessPal’s help centre says you may be able to pay for Premium or Premium+ with an FSA or HSA account if you use the app in connection with treatment for a disease diagnosed by a physician. Eligibility is checked by its partner Truemed, it only works on myfitnesspal.com, and free trials are not available with this payment method.
How does the MyFitnessPal free trial work?
MyFitnessPal’s premium page offers a 7-day free trial if you have never upgraded to Premium or started a Premium trial before. Premium+ also starts with a 7-day free trial, according to its help article. Four points from MyFitnessPal’s own pages are worth knowing before you start:
- Your card is charged when the trial ends unless you cancel first, and the subscription then renews automatically.
- Cancel where you paid. iPhone purchases are cancelled in Settings, your name, Subscriptions. Android purchases are cancelled in Google Play under Payments and subscriptions. Website purchases are cancelled in Subscription Settings on myfitnesspal.com.
- Do not leave it to the last day. The help centre says that if you cancel less than 24 hours before renewal, your subscription may still renew.
- Your data stays. If you go back to Free, your logs, recipes and progress history stay in your account. You lose the paid features, and ads return.
Is MyFitnessPal Premium worth it?
It depends on how you log. Premium is likely worth it if:
- You eat a lot of packaged food and want the barcode scanner instead of searching every item.
- You want to set macros in grams, by meal, or different goals on training and rest days. Our macro calculator gives you gram targets to start from.
- You find the ads distracting. MyFitnessPal is open about the trade: its help centre says “The core of MyFitnessPal is free, and it stays that way because ads help pay for it.”
- You want meal plans and grocery lists built for you, in which case look at Premium+ rather than Premium.
The free plan is probably enough if you mostly cook the same meals, are happy to search for foods, and only need calories and macro percentages. Saved meals on the free plan make repeat meals quick to log.
MyFitnessPal does a lot well. Its food database is one of the largest available, it covers restaurant dishes, it works on Android, iPhone and the web with one account, and it connects to many partner apps. Those strengths are all on the free plan.
What are the free alternatives to MyFitnessPal Premium features?
If the feature you want is behind the Premium paywall, another app may offer it free:
| You want | MyFitnessPal | A free option |
|---|---|---|
| Barcode scanner | Premium | Cronometer Basic includes unlimited barcode scanning |
| Detailed vitamins and minerals | Nutrient values per food are free, Food Analysis is Premium | Cronometer Basic tracks up to 95 nutrients |
| Photo meal logging | Meal Scan is Premium | Calo AI photo scanning is free, with an ad before each scan |
| Voice logging | Premium | Calo AI voice and text logging is free |
| Intermittent fasting timer | Premium | Calo AI fasting timer is free, 12:12 to 20:4 plans |
Our Cronometer vs MyFitnessPal and Lose It vs MyFitnessPal pages compare those apps in more detail, with prices.
Where does Calo AI fit?
Calo AI is a free calorie tracker for Android, with a web app at caloai.fit/app that works in the browser on iPhone, iPad, Mac and PC. Every feature is free: AI photo meal scanning, voice and text logging, personalised meal plans using dishes from your own country’s cuisine, an AI nutrition coach, the fasting timer and weight and macro analytics.
To be fair about the trade-offs: the free version shows ads, including an ad before each meal scan, and there is a short timer between AI coach messages. Optional Premium removes the ads and waiting but adds no extra features. Calo AI has no barcode scanner and no native iPhone app, and photo results are estimates. Portion size is the hardest part for any photo tracker, so describing the dish or correcting the result by voice or text gives a closer number. Our guide on how accurate AI calorie trackers are explains why.
If you are thinking about leaving MyFitnessPal altogether, our MyFitnessPal alternative page covers switching, and Australian readers can see our MyFitnessPal alternative for Australia. You can try the Calo AI web app free or get it on Google Play.
A note on safety: if you are pregnant or breastfeeding, under 18, or have diabetes, PCOS, kidney disease or a history of eating disorders, speak to a doctor or registered dietitian before following a calorie target from any app. Real results vary from person to person.