Calorie Counter App Comparison · 2026
Calorie Counter Apps, Compared — by Price and by Who Paywalls the Photo-Scan.
The best calorie counter depends on the job, not a single ranking. For daily logging discipline, a huge food database, barcode scanning and wearable sync, MyFitnessPal and Lose It! lead. For the occasional 'is this plate 600 or 900 kcal' question, most apps — MyFitnessPal, Lose It!, Foodvisor, Cal AI — paywall the AI photo-scan itself behind a subscription. VUST Cal (@vustCalBot) makes that photo-scan the free tier: 3/day, then 1✦ per scan. Pricing below is as of 2026 — verify current before relying on it.
Calorie counter apps — pricing & model (2026)
Prices are the cheapest paid entry and the top consumer tier; annual-billed where noted. A dash (—) means the vendor doesn't publish a clear public price (A/B-tested, login-gated, or usage-only) — check their own page.
| Tool | Free tier | Cheapest paid | Top tier | Best for |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| VUST Cal (@vustCalBot) | 3 photo-scans/day | 1✦ per scan | — | Photo → kcal estimate, no subscription, photos not stored |
| MyFitnessPal | Manual log free | $79.99/yr ($6.67/mo, Premium) | $99.99/yr ($8.34/mo, Premium+) | Huge food DB; AI “Meal Scan” is Premium-only |
| Lose It! | Robust free log | $39.99/yr (~$3.33/mo, Premium) | $299.99 lifetime | AI “Snap It” photo (paid); best free DB |
| Foodvisor | Basic log free | $14.99/mo ($83.99/yr) | — | AI photo scan (Premium-only), no free trial |
| Cal AI | Manual only (no AI scan) | — | — | AI photo scan paid; price A/B-tested ($19.99–29.99/yr varies) |
| Lifesum | Log free | — | — | AI multimodal tracker (see lifesum.com) |
| Yazio | Manual+barcode | — | — | AI food recognition, fasting (see yazio.com) |
| SnapCalorie | Free basic | — | — | AI photo+voice scan (in-app pricing) |
Prices as of 2026, gathered from vendor pricing pages and app stores; several are A/B-tested or region-dependent. Verify the current figure on the vendor's own page before relying on it. VUST Cal pricing is per-scan in ✦ (sparks), topped up with Telegram Stars. Every VUST Cal result is an AI estimate — not medical or dietary advice — and photos are not stored.
How to read this
Pick by the job — three of them, honestly
Daily disciplined logging with a deep food database, barcode scanning and wearable sync → MyFitnessPal or Lose It!. Charts, streaks and coaching around the photo-scan → a dedicated tracker like Cal AI or Foodvisor, once you're past its paywall. The occasional 'how many calories is this' question, answered by a free photo-scan with no subscription → VUST Cal. The key asymmetry: most rivals paywall the AI photo-scan itself; VUST's photo-scan is the free tier.
See the difference
Three jobs, three winners — including where the competitors beat us.
02·Practical use cases
Pick your calorie counter by the job
Occasional photo check
Wanting to know if a restaurant plate is 600 or 900 kcal, without committing to daily logging
@vustCalBot: send the photo, get dish name, kcal, protein/fat/carb grams, portion assumption, confidence line back. Free 3 scans/day, then 1✦ each. No subscription floor.
Daily disciplined loggers
Logging every meal, wanting a deep food database, barcode scanning, and wearable sync
MyFitnessPal or Lose It! — that database depth + barcode + sync is their core product; VUST Cal has none of that.
Chart-and-streak trackers
Wanting goal-setting, trend charts and coaching built around an AI photo-scan
Cal AI, Foodvisor or Lifesum, once you're past their Premium paywall — that photo-AI is the product they're selling, not a free add-on like VUST Cal's.
03·How it works
How the pricing shapes differ
$3.33–8.34/mo (annual) for the logging app; the AI photo-scan feature is usually an extra Premium gate on top — worth it for daily loggers, a poor fit for the occasional photo.
Built around the photo-scan itself, but the scan is commonly paid (Cal AI ~$19.99–29.99/yr, A/B-tested) — you're paying to unlock the exact feature VUST gives free.
Free 3 scans/day forever, then 1✦ per scan — you pay only for scans past the daily free allowance, nothing in a quiet week.
04·Same tool · in Telegram
Telegram
Check a plate's calories — no subscription
@vustCalBot · Send a food photo to @vustCalBot: kcal + macro estimate back in seconds, free 3 scans a day, then 1✦ each.
05·Quality & trust
Honest scope
Estimate, not medical or dietary advice
Every VUST Cal result — welcome message and every scan — carries the same disclaimer: an AI estimate from a photo, not medical or dietary advice. Sauces, hidden oil and portion size are the honest sources of error.
No food log, no charts
VUST Cal has no history beyond /today's running total, no barcode scanning, no wearable sync, no trend charts — that's the trade for needing zero setup.
Prices verified + dated
Figures are as-of-2026 from vendor pages/app stores; A/B-tested or hidden prices show a dash, not a guessed number. Verify current before relying on it.
Frequently asked questions
Ready when you are
The right calorie counter depends on the job.
Daily logging + database depth → MyFitnessPal/Lose It!. Charts + coaching → a dedicated tracker. The occasional photo check without a subscription → VUST Cal, free 3/day.