MyFitnessPal vs macros.gg
By Austin Thiel, Founder of Macros.ggUpdated July 2026
One has the biggest food database ever assembled. The other has no ads, no upsells, and is built like a game.
Get startedQuick verdict
The short version.
- You eat out a lot and need the deepest restaurant database
- You sync with other fitness apps and devices
- You've used it for years and your history matters to you
- You've started and abandoned trackers before
- You want the scanner and AI logging without an upsell in the way
- 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.
MyFitnessPal
- Shows ads
- No barcode scanner
- Basic food and exercise logging
- Barcode scanner
- No ads
- Meal Scan and voice logging
Macros.gg
- The whole app, nothing held back
- No ads, ever
- Cancel in two clicks
- Unlimited AI logging
- Full trend history
- Quests, XP, and ranked seasons
MyFitnessPal Premium runs $79.99 a year, and its free version shows ads and locks the barcode scanner. Macros.gg is $80 a year (or $12 a month) with no ads and no locked features — the scanner and AI logging are in the one plan, not a tier above it.
Pros & cons
Where each app is strong, and where it isn't.
MyFitnessPal
- 20+ million foods, including restaurants
- Large community and forums
- Extensive exercise database
- Syncs with most fitness apps and devices
- Around since 2005
- Ads in the free version
- Barcode scanner requires Premium
- Logging a meal takes a lot of taps
- User-submitted entries are often wrong
- Price has gone up several times
- Restaurant-heavy diets
- People with a big device and app setup
- Long-time users with years of history
Macros.gg
- One plan — every feature included, no upsells, no ads
- Log a meal by typing a sentence or snapping a photo
- Barcode scanner included
- 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 free tier — 3-day trial, then $12/mo or $80/yr
- 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
Logging speed
Logging a meal means searching the database, picking the right entry out of several near-duplicates, setting the portion, and saving. It works, but it takes a minute or two per meal.
You type what you ate and the AI fills in the macros, with no weekly cap. Barcode scanning and manual entry are there too.
Staying motivated
There's a streak counter and community forums. Past that, staying consistent is up to you.
Logging earns XP and completes daily quests. A ranked ladder resets weekly, and you can form parties with friends. It's built for people who need the pull.
Food database & accuracy
The largest food database anywhere — 20+ million entries, with restaurant items most apps miss. Entries are user-submitted, so the top search result isn't always right.
Barcode lookups plus AI estimation instead of a fixed database. You trade encyclopedic coverage for not having to double-check entries.
Why people switch
Faster logging
Typing a sentence beats searching a database and comparing duplicate entries. Most meals log in a few seconds.
The scanner isn't a tier
MyFitnessPal moved barcode scanning to Premium in 2022. On Macros.gg it's part of the only plan there is.
Built-in motivation
Quests and ranked seasons give you a reason to open the app besides guilt.
No ads
MyFitnessPal's free version shows ads in your food diary. Macros.gg never does.
Sign in with Discord or Apple and log your first meal. Setup takes about a minute.
Get startedQuestions people actually ask
$12 a month, or $80 a year. There's one plan and everything is in it: food and weight tracking, the barcode scanner, AI logging, the nutrition assistant, full trend history, quests, XP, streaks, and the Discord. New accounts get a 3-day free trial — cancel before it ends and you're not charged.
Different pricing philosophies. MyFitnessPal sells its features one tier at a time, so scanning costs extra on top of the app. Macros.gg has one plan: you pay once for the whole thing, and nothing inside it is sold to you again.
No. There's a 3-day free trial, then it's a subscription. That's deliberate: free trackers pay for themselves with ads in your food diary, upsells at every tap, or by selling your data, and we won't do any of the three. One price, no ads, nothing else sold to you inside the app.
There's no automatic import from MyFitnessPal 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.