Is MyFitnessPal Premium Worth It? 2026 Verdict
MyFitnessPal Premium costs about $19.99 a month or $79.99 a year. What you get, what stays paywalled, and whether it is worth it in 2026. Usually not.
Verdict: MyFitnessPal Premium is worth it only if you need its 14 million item database and barcode scanning together. For everyone else, no. It costs about $19.99 a month or $79.99 a year, and most of what it unlocks (barcode scanning, macro targets, no ads) is free or far cheaper elsewhere. Here is exactly what you get, what you don't, and the free alternatives that include the paywalled features.
What does MyFitnessPal Premium cost?
MyFitnessPal Premium runs around $19.99/month or about $79.99/year, with a higher Premium+ tier (~$99.99/year) that adds the Meal Scan photo feature. That makes it one of the most expensive subscriptions in the calorie-tracking category — over three times the price of Cronometer Gold.
MyFitnessPal free vs Premium at a glance
| Feature | Free | Premium |
|---|---|---|
| Food database and diary | Yes | Yes |
| Barcode scanning | No | Yes |
| Macro goals by gram | No (percentages only) | Yes |
| Ads | Yes | None |
| Meal Scan photo logging | No | Premium+ only |
| Price | $0 | About $19.99/month or $79.99/year |
Still deciding between database apps? Our Cronometer vs MyFitnessPal comparison covers accuracy and cost side by side, and the best AI calorie trackers list covers the photo-first options.
What you get with Premium
- Barcode scanning, which moved behind the paywall in 2022.
- An ad-free experience.
- Macro tracking by gram and percentage.
- File export and more detailed reports.
- Meal Scan (photo logging) on the Premium+ tier.
The barcode scanning problem
This is the crux of it. Barcode scanning used to be free and is, for many people, the single most-used feature of a calorie tracker. Putting it behind a ~$20/month subscription is what pushes long-time users to look elsewhere. Not because they can't afford it, but because paying monthly to scan a cereal box feels wrong. If barcode scanning is the main reason you'd pay for Premium, know that several apps include it free.
Is MyFitnessPal Premium worth it?
Premium is worth it only if you specifically need MyFitnessPal's massive database and barcode scanning and you value the ecosystem enough to pay a premium price for it. For most people, the answer is no: the same core features (barcode scanning, macro targets, ad-free logging) are available free or far cheaper elsewhere.
Free alternatives that include the paywalled features
- Cronometer's free tier includes barcode scanning and deep nutrient tracking. See our Cronometer review.
- Bento Bunny is free to download, with barcode scanning, AI photo logging, and type-to-log all included, plus on-device photo processing on iOS 26+.
If you're leaving MyFitnessPal over the paywall, the usual blocker is your years of history. Bento Bunny imports your full MyFitnessPal export, so you can switch without losing your data.
The bottom line
MyFitnessPal Premium is a lot of money for features that are free or cheaper elsewhere, most notably barcode scanning, which shouldn't be a paid feature in 2026. Unless you're tied to MyFitnessPal's database and ecosystem, you can get everything in Premium, including the scanner and AI photo logging, for free with Bento Bunny, and bring your history along.
Everything Premium paywalls, for free
Download free on the App Store: barcode scanning, AI photo logging, and macro tracking included. Import your MyFitnessPal export and keep your history.
- Download Bento Bunny free on the App Store
- Barcode scanning included free (MyFitnessPal charges for it)
- One-tap MyFitnessPal CSV import: dates, meals, and macros come across
If it's not faster and cheaper in your first week, your MyFitnessPal account is right where you left it.