Foodnoms: A MyFitnessPal Alternative with Free Barcode Scanning

Last updated: September 2026

Foodnoms is a MyFitnessPal alternative for iPhone, iPad, Apple Watch, and Mac. Barcode scanning is free (MyFitnessPal charges $79.99 a year for it), Foodnoms+ is $39.99 a year against $79.99 for MFP Premium, and a family plan covers up to six people for $69.99 a year. No ads, no account required. Here's how the two compare.

Rated 4.7 out of 5 from more than 7,600 App Store ratings.

How much does MyFitnessPal cost in 2026?

MyFitnessPal has three tiers. The free version is ad-supported and no longer includes the barcode scanner. Premium is $19.99 a month or $79.99 a year. Premium+ is $24.99 a month or $99.99 a year and adds meal planning. There is no family plan; each person pays separately.

What MyFitnessPal's free version includes (and doesn't)

Still free:

• Food diary and the full food database

• Manual food entry and saved meals

• Weight logging

• A calorie goal based on the standard formula

• Exercise logging

Premium only:

• Barcode scanner (moved behind the paywall in 2022)

• Ad-free

• Macro goals in grams instead of percentages

• Nutrient breakdown by meal

• Data export

• Meal planner (Premium+ only)

Foodnoms is free with barcode scanning, gram-based macro goals, and no ads. Foodnoms+ is $39.99 a year, half of MFP Premium, and $69.99 a year for a family of up to six.

Quick Comparison: Foodnoms vs MyFitnessPal

Why Users Are Switching from MyFitnessPal

MyFitnessPal has been the dominant calorie tracking app for nearly 20 years. But recent changes have frustrated many users:

• Barcode scanning moved behind paywall - In 2022, MFP moved barcode scanning to premium, upsetting millions of free users

• Increasing subscription costs - Premium now costs $80/year

• Cluttered experience - Social features, news feeds, and ads distract from the core task of tracking food

• Poor Apple Health integration - MFP doesn't properly store food names or timestamps when syncing to Apple Health

• Database quality issues - User-submitted entries often contain errors or missing data

Foodnoms vs MyFitnessPal: Key Differences

Focused Food Tracker vs Do-It-All Fitness App

Foodnoms focuses solely on what matters: helping you quickly log what you eat and track your goals. That's it.

MyFitnessPal tries to be an exercise tracker, recipe app, newsfeed, community forum, and social network all at once. Some users enjoy these features, but many find them overwhelming.

Built for Speed

Foodnoms is designed to get out of your way. No news feeds, no social prompts, no upsells—just fast, focused logging.

Multiple ways to log in seconds:

• Barcode scanner - Scan any product instantly (free, not paywalled)

• Nutrition label scanner - Snap a photo of any nutrition label to create a custom food

• AI meal scanning - Take a photo of your meal and let Foodnoms AI identify ingredients

• Recipe import - Paste a URL from any recipe website and AI extracts ingredients automatically

• Smart suggestions - Foodnoms learns your habits and suggests foods you're likely to log

• Quick actions - Log favorites from Apple Watch, widgets, or Shortcuts

The native iOS interface means everything feels instant—no waiting for servers, no loading spinners, no lag.

Free Barcode Scanning

Foodnoms includes free barcode scanning for all users. MyFitnessPal moved this essential feature behind their $80/year paywall in 2022.

Reliable Apple Health Integration

This is a major pain point for MyFitnessPal users. MFP's Apple Health integration has well-documented issues:

• Missing food names - MFP often writes entries to Apple Health without the food name, making your health data difficult to review

• Incorrect timestamps - Entries sometimes appear with wrong dates or times

• One-way sync limitations - Reading data back from Apple Health is unreliable

Foodnoms was built with Apple Health as a first-class feature:

• Bidirectional sync - Read from and write to Apple Health reliably

• Complete data - Food names, nutrients, and timestamps are preserved correctly

• Works with other apps - If you use other apps that write to Apple Health, Foodnoms can read that data

Native Apple Experience

Foodnoms is built exclusively for Apple platforms, taking full advantage of the latest features:

• iPhone, iPad, and Mac apps - Fully native on every device, including a Mac app rebuilt from the ground up in 2026 that can do everything the iPhone app can

• Full-featured Apple Watch app - Log food, view progress, and access favorites from your wrist

• Siri Shortcuts and App Shortcuts - Automate your tracking with powerful shortcuts

• Widgets - Home Screen, Lock Screen, and StandBy support

• iOS 26 Liquid Glass design - Updated with Apple's latest design language

• Bidirectional Apple Health sync - Reliable data exchange with complete food names and timestamps

MyFitnessPal is cross-platform, which means the Apple experience isn't as deeply integrated. There's no native Mac app (web only), limited Shortcuts support, and Apple Watch functionality is basic.

Local-First and Works Offline

Foodnoms is built local-first. Your data lives on your device and syncs when you're online. This means:

• Works offline - Log food anywhere, even without internet

• No account required - Use iCloud sync with your Apple ID, or optionally create a Foodnoms Cloud account

• Fast and responsive - No waiting for server responses

MyFitnessPal requires an account and internet connection for most features.

Database Quality Over Quantity

MyFitnessPal has a massive food library built over 20 years. However, many entries are duplicates, contain errors, or miss critical data like gram measurements.

Foodnoms takes a quality-first approach:

• Foundation data comes directly from the USDA database, updated regularly

• 80% of foods include gram, ounce, or milliliter measurements

• User submissions are verified for accuracy

• No duplicate entries per barcode

• AI-assisted moderation catches errors

Super-Customizable Nutrition Goals

MyFitnessPal's free version limits goal customization significantly. Many features for effective macro tracking require premium.

Foodnoms lets you:

• Track calories, macros, vitamins, minerals, and more

• Set macro goals as percentages, grams, or grams per pound of body weight

• Pin the macros you care about, like protein at 1 g/lb, and Foodnoms fills in the rest

• Say what success means for each goal: staying under, hitting at least, or landing near a target

• Create multiple goal profiles

• Customize which nutrients appear in your dashboard

• Skip calorie goals entirely if you prefer

Goals That Adjust to Your Real Results

Foodnoms now tracks your weight, charted by week, month, or year with a moving average that smooths out day-to-day fluctuations. Weight syncs with Apple Health in both directions, so if you weigh in on a smart scale, your history is already there. Weight tracking is free for everyone.

It also powers Calibrated Energy, adaptive TDEE that shows its work (part of Foodnoms+). MyFitnessPal estimates your calorie goal from a formula and stops there. Foodnoms starts with the same kind of estimate, then checks it against your own logs and weigh-ins, works out what your energy expenditure actually appears to be, and suggests an adjusted goal. You review every calibration before it applies. No black-box algorithm quietly changing your targets.

Privacy-First Design

Foodnoms is built with privacy as a core principle:

• Your data stays on your device and syncs via iCloud or Foodnoms Cloud

• No ads or third-party tracking SDKs

• No account required (iCloud sync works with your Apple ID)

• No data sold to third parties

Is Foodnoms Free?

Yes! Foodnoms offers a generous free tier that includes:

• Unlimited food logging

• Weight tracking

• Barcode scanning

• Nutrition label scanning

• Apple Watch app

• Widget support

• Basic nutrition goals

• Cloud sync (iCloud or Foodnoms Cloud account)

Foodnoms+ unlocks additional features for $40/year:

• Calibrated Energy - Adaptive calorie goals calibrated from your own logs and weigh-ins

• Foodnoms AI - Snap a photo of meals or import recipes from any URL

• Track more nutrients - Net carbs, fiber, sodium, saturated fat, caffeine, water, and more

• Charts & insights - Monthly and yearly trends, top foods analysis

• Favorites - Save your most-logged foods for one-tap access

• Apple Health import - Pull in nutrition data from other apps

That's half the price of MyFitnessPal Premium ($80/year).

Frequently Asked Questions

Is Foodnoms better than MyFitnessPal?

Foodnoms is better for users who want a simpler, faster, more private experience without ads or social features. It's also significantly better if you rely on Apple Health integration. MyFitnessPal may be better if you need its massive database or social features.

Does Foodnoms have a barcode scanner?

Yes, barcode scanning is completely free in Foodnoms. Unlike MyFitnessPal, we haven't moved this feature behind a paywall.

Can I import data from MyFitnessPal to Foodnoms?

Direct import isn't currently supported. However, if you've been syncing MyFitnessPal to Apple Health, Foodnoms can read that historical data (though MFP's sync issues may mean some data is incomplete).

Is there a Foodnoms Android app?

Not yet. Foodnoms is currently iOS, iPadOS, macOS, and watchOS only. We're focused on building the best possible Apple experience first.

Do I need to create an account to use Foodnoms?

No! Foodnoms works without any account. Your data syncs automatically via iCloud using your Apple ID. If you prefer, you can optionally create a Foodnoms Cloud account instead.

Does Foodnoms work offline?

Yes. Foodnoms is local-first, so all your data is stored on your device. You can log food, view history, and track goals even without an internet connection. Data syncs automatically when you're back online.

Is MyFitnessPal free?

There is a free version, but it shows ads and the barcode scanner has been Premium-only since 2022. Custom macro goals in grams and data export are also paid. Foodnoms includes all of those for free.

How much does Foodnoms cost compared to MyFitnessPal?

Foodnoms is free. Foodnoms+ is $39.99 a year, or $69.99 a year for a family of up to six. MyFitnessPal Premium is $79.99 a year and Premium+ is $99.99 a year, per person.

Does Foodnoms track body weight?

Yes. Weight tracking is free, syncs with Apple Health in both directions, and charts your trend with a moving average so daily fluctuations don't hide real progress.

Does Foodnoms adjust my calorie goal over time?

Yes. Calibrated Energy (part of Foodnoms+) compares what you log against how your weight responds, then suggests an adjusted goal. It's adaptive TDEE that shows its work: you review and approve every change. MyFitnessPal does not offer calibration based on your actual results.

Does Foodnoms work with Apple Watch?

Yes! Foodnoms has a full-featured Apple Watch app that lets you log food, view your daily progress, and access quick actions directly from your wrist.

Does Foodnoms have a family plan?

Yes. Foodnoms+ Family is $69.99 a year for up to six people through Apple Family Sharing, and everyone keeps a private log. MyFitnessPal has no family plan; each person pays $79.99 a year for Premium. Details on the family plan page.

Ready to Switch?

Download Foodnoms free and try it yourself. Start with the free tier or begin a 7-day free trial of Foodnoms+ to unlock all features.

Download on the App Store