Tired of logging every meal in MyFitnessPal?
MyFitnessPal is a food diary: you eat first, then you search, scan and log to find out where you landed. Here is an app that starts from the other end — a weekly menu built for your numbers, so there is nothing left to log.
Updated September 2026
MyFitnessPal is one of the largest food-logging apps around, with a database of more than 20.5 million foods and a barcode scanner that makes daily tracking fast. For people who want to track exactly what they ate, whatever it turns out to be, that is a real strength.
But logging is retrospective by design: you decide what to eat, then you account for it afterwards, meal by meal, day after day. This page looks at what MyFitnessPal does well, where users say it falls short, and what a weekly menu and grocery list app does differently — written by the team behind Macro Recipe, so read it with that in mind.
What MyFitnessPal does well
Its food database is one of the largest available, and the barcode scanner turns most packaged foods into a logged entry in a couple of taps, with wide integrations to fitness trackers and other apps.
It is available on iPhone, iPad, Apple Watch, Android and the web, so logging follows you across devices, and it carries a 4.7/5 rating from more than 2.4 million App Store reviews.
Long-time users cite the daily habit and the community discussion boards as what keeps them accountable — logging itself becomes part of the routine that works for them.
Who MyFitnessPal is for
It fits people who want to track arbitrary meals — eating out, leftovers, home cooking that was never a recipe — and who are comfortable searching a database and logging as they go. If the goal is a record of exactly what was eaten, that is MyFitnessPal's core job.
It also fits people who already know how to cook to their numbers and just want the tracking layer, not help deciding what to make.
Where it stops — the complaints
Some long-time free users say the free tier keeps shrinking: "each year the app lessens what free app users can access."
Others question the value for the price after a recent premium price increase, calling it "expensive, not worth it."
Performance comes up too: some reviewers say the app "takes way too long to open and load" before they can even log a meal.
Database accuracy is a recurring complaint, since anyone can submit an entry: "too many foods with incorrect calories and nutrition."
A recent layout change was called "terrible" by reviewers and was reportedly forced on Premium members for months.
And the barcode scanner, for all its speed, sometimes fails to find a product at all, according to a French-language review.
What Macro Recipe does the same
Both apps work from a goal — lose weight, maintain, or build muscle — and both apps care about hitting estimated calorie and protein targets rather than just counting calories in the abstract.
Both respect a diet and allergies once you set them, and both are built to make that a daily habit rather than a one-off plan.
What Macro Recipe does differently
Instead of logging what was eaten and leaving you to figure out what to cook next, Macro Recipe builds the week's menu and grocery list upfront — real recipes adapted to your goal, your diet and your allergies, with an estimated grocery budget attached.
The numbers are handled by what is cooked, not by manual entry: portions are set so a day lands near your estimated calorie and protein targets, and if a day falls short the app says so instead of asking you to search and log to find out.
Everything in the week's menu lands in one grocery list, quantities added up across recipes, with an estimated cost in your own currency so you know roughly what the week will cost before you shop.
What it does not do
No barcode scanning, no daily food logging, no food database to search, and no coach chat. Macro Recipe is not a tracker and does not compete on database size or logging speed — if you want to log an arbitrary restaurant meal after the fact, that is not what it is for.
It is not free. Your first menu is free and there is a 3-day trial, after which it is a paid subscription — 9.99 € a month or 69.99 € a year. MyFitnessPal's core is free with paid tiers on top, so weigh the two against how you actually plan to use either app.
It is on iPhone today, with no Apple Watch or Android app and no web version.
Switching in practice
You do not need to bring anything over from MyFitnessPal — no export, no history to import. Keep the diet and allergy settings you already know work for you; you will be asked for the same things when you set up a menu.
A first week looks like this: set your goal, diet and any excluded ingredients, get a free weekly menu with a grocery list, then decide whether the estimated cost and the recipes fit before the trial ends.
If you still want a record of the odd meal you eat out or improvise, nothing stops you from keeping a simple note for those — the two habits are not mutually exclusive, they just serve a different moment in the week.
Price, side by side
MyFitnessPal is free with in-app purchases, with Premium tiers priced in the app at time of purchase.
Macro Recipe: free first menu, then a 3-day trial, then 9.99 € a month or 69.99 € a year. Every calorie and budget figure either app shows you is an estimate, not a lab measurement — treat both as a useful guide, not a guarantee.
What three days of a weekly menu look like
An indicative example for someone aiming at roughly 1,900 kcal and 130 g of protein a day. Estimated figures; your own menu is built from your profile, your tastes and your budget.
Frequently asked questions
Is there a free MyFitnessPal alternative?
Macro Recipe's first weekly menu is free, with a 3-day trial after that before it becomes a paid subscription. MyFitnessPal itself is free with in-app purchases for its paid tiers.
What is a good alternative to MyFitnessPal if I don't want to log meals every day?
Macro Recipe builds the week's menu and grocery list for you upfront, adapted to your goal, diet and allergies, so there is nothing to search or log afterwards — the numbers come from what you cook, not from daily entry.
Why does MyFitnessPal feel expensive now?
MyFitnessPal has recently increased its Premium pricing, which is part of why some reviewers now call the paid tier expensive for what it offers. Macro Recipe is a separate paid subscription at 9.99 € a month or 69.99 € a year, after a free first menu and a 3-day trial.
Can Macro Recipe scan barcodes or log food like MyFitnessPal?
No. Macro Recipe has no barcode scanner, no food database to search and no daily logging — it is not a tracker. It plans the week's menu and grocery list so you are not logging in the first place.
Is Macro Recipe connected to MyFitnessPal?
No. Macro Recipe is an independent app and is not affiliated with, endorsed by or connected to MyFitnessPal or its owner. MyFitnessPal is a trademark of its owner; it is named here only to describe an app people compare Macro Recipe against.
First menu free · 3-day trial · on iPhone