Calorie Tape vs MyFitnessPal
MyFitnessPal is the bigger, more connected app: more than 20.5 million foods including restaurant dishes, recipes, exercise tracking and 40+ connected apps and devices, on iPhone, Android and the web. Its barcode scanner and ad-free logging need Premium. Calorie Tape is a small, private food log: no account, a free barcode scanner that works offline, and every nutrient a food reports, all kept on your iPhone.
Where Calorie Tape leads
- Free barcode scannerMyFitnessPal keeps scanning in Premium.
- No adsMyFitnessPal’s free plan shows banner ads and sponsored posts.
- Works offlineMyFitnessPal can’t search foods without a connection.
- No accountNothing to sign up for; your log stays on your iPhone.
Which one fits you
Choose Calorie Tape if
- You want to scan barcodes without paying for Premium.
- You’d rather not make an account or see ads.
- You want every nutrient a food reports, and which foods each one came from.
- You log where the signal is bad. Search and scanning work offline.
Choose MyFitnessPal if
- You eat out a lot. Its database includes restaurant dishes.
- You want recipes, meal plans, an AI coach or a community.
- You track workouts, steps and weight, or connect a Garmin, a Fitbit or a smart scale.
- You use Android or the web, or want one diary on several devices.
At a glance
| Calorie Tape | MyFitnessPal | |
|---|---|---|
| Price | Calorie TapeCalorie Tape leads: Free. Every feature. | MyFitnessPalFree. Premium is $19.99 a month or $79.99 a year. |
| Ads | Calorie TapeCalorie Tape leads: None | MyFitnessPalBanner ads in the app and on the website, and sponsored posts, on the free plan. Premium removes them. |
| Features that need a subscription | Calorie TapeCalorie Tape leads: None. Every feature is free. | MyFitnessPalPremium: barcode scanner, Meal Scan, voice logging, macros by gram and by meal, data export, intermittent fasting, net carbs and no ads. Premium Plus adds meal plans and grocery lists. |
| Account | Calorie TapeCalorie Tape leads: None | MyFitnessPalRequired (free) |
| Where your log is kept | Calorie TapeCalorie Tape leads: Only on your iPhone | MyFitnessPalIn your account, shared by the app and the website |
| Data used to track you | Calorie TapeCalorie Tape leads: None. The app collects no data. | MyFitnessPalIdentifiers and usage data, per its App Privacy label |
| Works offline | Calorie TapeCalorie Tape leads: Search, scanning, label reading and logging all work offline | MyFitnessPalCan’t search its food database without a connection; diary changes sync later |
| Barcode scanning | Calorie TapeCalorie Tape leads: Free, and works offline | MyFitnessPalPremium |
| Foods | Calorie TapeMore than a million, from USDA and Open Food Facts, stored on your iPhone | MyFitnessPalMyFitnessPal leads: More than 20.5 million, including restaurant dishes |
| Nutrients | Calorie TapeEvery nutrient a food reports, and which foods each one came from | MyFitnessPalCalories, macros, vitamins and other micronutrients |
| Recipes and meals | Calorie TapeNo | MyFitnessPalMyFitnessPal leads: Yes, free; meal plans with Premium Plus |
| Weight, exercise, steps | Calorie TapeNo | MyFitnessPalMyFitnessPal leads: Yes, with 40+ connected apps and devices |
| Photo and voice logging | Calorie TapeNo | MyFitnessPalMyFitnessPal leads: Meal Scan and Voice Log, with Premium |
| Devices | Calorie TapeiPhone, with iOS 27 or later | MyFitnessPalMyFitnessPal leads: iPhone, iPad, Apple Watch, Android and the web |
| Export | Calorie TapeCalorie Tape leads: From the app: chosen days as text to copy or share, or a spreadsheet (CSV) | MyFitnessPalData export needs Premium; a printable report is free on the website |
MyFitnessPal’s details are from its App Store listing (US), website, help center and privacy policy, checked September 29, 2026.
Barcode scanning without a subscription
MyFitnessPal’s barcode scanner is part of Premium, along with Meal Scan and Voice Log. On the free plan, you search for foods by name.
Calorie Tape’s scanner is free, like everything else in it. It checks barcodes against more than a million USDA and Open Food Facts foods stored on your iPhone, so it works in a basement gym or on a plane. MyFitnessPal’s help center says its food database isn’t available without a connection. When a product isn’t in the catalog, photograph its Nutrition Facts label and the app fills in a new food for you to check.
Privacy: an account and ads, or neither
MyFitnessPal needs an account, and your diary lives in it so you can log from the app or the website. Its privacy policy says it engages in targeted advertising, and its App Privacy label lists identifiers and usage data as data that may be used to track you across other companies’ apps and websites.
Calorie Tape has no account, no ads and no server. It doesn’t send your log anywhere: it stays in the app and in your iPhone’s own backups. The trade-off is that there’s no website and no second device.
Foods: size and sources
MyFitnessPal’s database is far larger, at more than 20.5 million foods, and includes restaurant dishes, which helps if you eat out often.
Calorie Tape has more than a million: USDA’s generic and branded foods plus Open Food Facts, covering what’s sold in the US, Canada, the UK, Australia and New Zealand. Each food shows its source, and a nutrient a food doesn’t report shows as “—” instead of zero. It has no restaurant menus.
Price
MyFitnessPal is free with ads: banner ads in the app and on the website, and sponsored posts. Premium costs $19.99 a month or $79.99 a year in the US, after a 7‑day free trial, and adds barcode scanning, Meal Scan, Voice Log, custom macro goals, data export, intermittent fasting and an ad-free diary. Premium Plus adds meal plans.
Every Calorie Tape feature is free, and there are no ads.
What MyFitnessPal has that Calorie Tape doesn’t
- Restaurant dishes, and a far larger database.
- Recipes, saved meals and meal plans.
- Exercise, steps, weight and water, with 40+ connected apps and devices.
- An AI coach, GLP-1 medication logging and a community.
- Apps for Android and the web, synced through your account.
- Photo and voice logging, with Premium.
Switching from MyFitnessPal
Calorie Tape can’t import a MyFitnessPal diary, so you’d start a fresh log. Set an energy target and, if you like, protein, carbs and fat in grams or as a percentage of energy. There’s no weight or exercise tracking, so if you rely on those, Calorie Tape won’t replace them.
Questions
Is there a MyFitnessPal alternative with a free barcode scanner?
Calorie Tape scans barcodes for free, offline, against more than a million foods from USDA and Open Food Facts, and needs no account. Cronometer and fatsecret also scan barcodes on their free plans, with an account. Calorie Tape is coming soon to the App Store in the US, Canada, the UK, Australia and New Zealand.
Does Calorie Tape have restaurant foods?
No. Its foods come from USDA and Open Food Facts, which cover groceries and packaged foods, not restaurant menus. For a restaurant meal, log its parts, or create a food from the nutrition the restaurant publishes.
Does MyFitnessPal work offline?
Only partly. MyFitnessPal’s help center says you can’t reach its food database without a connection; changes you make to your diary offline sync once you’re back online. Calorie Tape keeps its whole catalog on your iPhone, so search and scanning work offline.
Can I use Calorie Tape on the web or a second phone?
No. There’s no account, so your log lives only on your iPhone and in its backups. You can export chosen days as text or a spreadsheet. MyFitnessPal syncs one diary across its apps and website.
Get Calorie Tape
For iPhone, in the US, Canada, the UK, Australia and New Zealand.
More comparisons
- MyFitnessPal alternativesFree scanners, nutrient detail, privacy or coaching
- MyFitnessPal vs CronometerDatabase size or nutrient depth
- MyFitnessPal vs Lose It!Two weight-loss trackers, both with Premium scanning
- MyFitnessPal vs MacroFactorFree with ads, or a paid coach
- Calorie Tape vs CronometerUp to 95 nutrients with an account, or a private log
- Calorie Tape vs MacroFactorA paid coach that adjusts your macros, or a free log
- Calorie Tape vs Lose It!A weight-loss plan, or a nutrient log
- Calorie Tape vs fatsecretTwo free barcode scanners, one with an account
- All comparisonsSix apps side by side
Sources
All checked September 29, 2026. Prices are US prices. Apps change; if something here is out of date, email hellochillcreatures@gmail.com and we’ll fix it.
- MyFitnessPal: Calorie Counter, App Store (US): in-app prices, App Privacy label, Premium and Premium Plus features, food count, connected apps and devices.
- MyFitnessPal Premium: prices, free trial, and free versus Premium.
- MyFitnessPal: free account, free food search, micronutrients, restaurant dishes.
- MyFitnessPal Help, How to log food to your diary: logging on iPhone, Android and the website.
- MyFitnessPal Privacy Policy: targeted advertising.
- MyFitnessPal Help, The difference between Free, Premium, and Premium +: which features need Premium, including data export.
- MyFitnessPal Help, The ad-free experience with MyFitnessPal Premium: which ads the free plan shows and Premium removes.
- MyFitnessPal Help, Can I access MyFitnessPal when I don’t have an internet connection?: no food database offline; diary changes sync later.
- MyFitnessPal Help, What is included in the free version?: free recipes and meals; printable report on the website.
- MyFitnessPal on Google Play: the Android app.
- Calorie Tape Privacy Policy and Food Data.
MyFitnessPal is a trademark of its owner, used here only to name the app. Calorie Tape and Chill Creatures aren’t affiliated with or endorsed by MyFitnessPal, Inc.