FatSecret vs macros.gg
One is the most generous free tracker of the old guard. The other is free too — and built like a game.
Quick verdict
The short version.
- You want everything free and don't care about polish
- You want unlimited trend history without paying
- You want a built-in fasting timer on the free plan
- You've started and abandoned trackers before
- You want the scanner and AI logging without paying
- You don't want ads in your food diary
- You want to track with friends
Feature comparison
Both apps, feature by feature — July 2026.
Pricing
Full prices, July 2026.
FatSecret
- Shows ads
- Barcode scanner
- Fasting timer
- Unlimited trend history
- Smart Food Scan (photo AI)
- Smart Assistant (voice & text AI)
- Meal plans, no ads
Macros.gg
- No ads, ever
- Barcode scanner
- 10 AI logs a week
- Quests, XP, and ranked seasons
- Unlimited AI logging
- 365-day trends
- Streak shields
Both premium tiers cost $59.99 a year. FatSecret's free tier is famously generous — the real difference is what kind of app you want to open every day: a reports dashboard, or a game.
Pros & cons
Where each app is strong, and where it isn't.
FatSecret
- The most generous free tier of the big five
- Unlimited free trend history
- Free fasting timer
- 2M+ verified foods across 50+ countries
- Long-running community
- Ads in the free version
- Interface reviews consistently describe as dated
- AI logging requires Premium
- No quests, XP, or shared tracking
- People who refuse to pay for a tracker, period
- Anyone who wants full trend history free
- Old-school forum communities
Macros.gg
- Free with no time limit, no ads, no card required
- Log a meal by typing a sentence or snapping a photo
- Barcode scanner included free
- XP, daily quests, and ranked seasons
- Parties and a Discord server
- Recurring meals — set up once, log in one tap
- Imports your Cronometer history
- No micronutrient tracking
- No adaptive coaching algorithm
- No health app sync yet (Apple Health, Garmin)
- No voice logging
- Newer app with a shorter track record
- People who've quit other trackers
- Anyone motivated by streaks, levels, and ranked seasons
- Friends tracking together
Where they differ
What free actually gets you
The most complete free tier of the classic trackers: scanner, reports, fasting timer, and unlimited history, traded against light banner ads.
Also everything free — scanner, AI logging, quests, parties — and no ads at all. The trade is that Macros.gg is newer and skips micronutrients.
The experience
FatSecret is a reports dashboard: tabs of numbers, functional and complete, in a design that reviews consistently call dated.
A modern web and mobile app where logging earns XP and quests tick off as you go. Same job, very different feel.
Community
Groups and forums with years of history — genuinely active, in an old-message-board style.
A Discord server, parties you create with friends, and ranked seasons. Community is live rather than threaded.
Why people switch
A modern app
Web, iOS, and Android with a current design. FatSecret works, but it feels its age.
AI logging on the free plan
FatSecret's Smart Food Scan and Smart Assistant require Premium. Macros.gg includes ten AI logs a week free.
The game layer
Quests, XP, ranked seasons, and streak shields. FatSecret tracks your streak and stops there.
No ads
FatSecret's ads are lighter than most — but they're still there. Macros.gg has none.
Sign in with Discord or Apple and log your first meal. Setup takes about a minute.
Questions people actually ask
Yes. The free plan includes food and weight tracking, the barcode scanner, ten AI logs a week, quests, XP, streaks, and the Discord. There are no ads and you don't enter a card. Pro costs $59.99 a year — or $9.99 a month — and adds unlimited AI logging, 365-day trends, and streak shields.
If FatSecret's free tier does everything you need and the design doesn't bother you, it's a genuinely good deal — keep it. People switch for the ad-free experience, AI logging on the free plan, and the game layer that makes daily logging feel like progress instead of paperwork.
You type what you ate — "chipotle bowl, double chicken, no rice" — or snap a photo, and the AI works out the macros. Free users get ten logs a week. Pro removes the limit.
There's no automatic import from FatSecret yet — Cronometer import shipped first, and more are on the way. Your old diary stays behind for now, but your targets carry over in your head, and the first levels and quests come quickly.