Mocha's Mind LabsThe short answer
If you want a calorie counter with no recurring bill, you have three real options in 2026:
- Genuinely free trackers. Cronometer and FatSecret both give you calorie logging, macros and barcode scanning at no cost. They are ad-supported and have paid tiers, but the core tracking is free and stays free.
- One-time purchase apps. You pay once and own it. This category is small, and prices run from under ten dollars to several hundred. Ours, MindLab Fitness, is $8.99 CAD once, with the AI meal scanner included.
- Free tiers of subscription apps. Workable, but shrinking. The pattern over the last two years has been that useful features migrate into the paid tier over time.
What the subscription trackers charge
These are list prices as published in September 2026. Most of these apps discount the annual plan heavily during January and offer trial periods, so the first year is often cheaper than the number below.
| App | Recurring cost | One-time cost | Photo meal scan |
|---|---|---|---|
| MyFitnessPal Premium | $19.99/mo or $79.99/yr | Not offered | Paid tier only |
| MyFitnessPal Premium+ | $24.99/mo or $99.99/yr | Not offered | Paid tier only |
| Cronometer Gold | About $10/mo or $50 to $60/yr | Not offered | Paid tier only |
| FatSecret Premium | $14.99/mo or $59.99/yr | Not offered | Paid tier only |
| MindLab Fitness | None | $8.99 CAD, once | Included in the one-time unlock |
Prices for third-party apps are the publisher's own list pricing in USD, checked September 2026, and change without notice. Cronometer Gold pricing is shown as a range because published figures differ by source and region. Cronometer and FatSecret both have genuinely free tiers covering calorie logging, macros and barcode scanning; the prices above are for their paid tiers, which is where each puts photo scanning. Check the App Store or Google Play listing before you buy. MindLab Fitness pricing is $8.99 CAD; the store shows the equivalent in your local currency.
Every subscription tracker in that table puts photo meal scanning behind its paid tier. That is the single feature most people want automated, and it is the reason a free tier so often stops being enough.
The five-year math
Calorie tracking is a habit, not a one-month project. The honest way to compare these apps is over the length of time you will actually use one.
| Option | 1 year | 3 years | 5 years |
|---|---|---|---|
| MyFitnessPal Premium (annual) | $79.99 | $239.97 | $399.95 |
| MyFitnessPal Premium (monthly) | $239.88 | $719.64 | $1,199.40 |
| A genuinely free tracker | $0 | $0 | $0 |
| MindLab Fitness (one-time unlock) | $8.99 | $8.99 | $8.99 |
The thing most comparison articles skip: a free tracker genuinely costs nothing, and if Cronometer or FatSecret does what you need, use it. The case for paying once is not that free is bad. It is that free apps are usually funded by advertising or by data, and a one-time purchase is the only model where the app has no reason to monetise you later.
Why photo meal scanning became a paid feature
Photographing a meal and having software estimate its calories is the feature that made calorie tracking bearable for most people. It removes the part everyone hates, which is searching a database for "chicken thigh, roasted, skin removed" and guessing at portions.
It is also expensive to run, because every scan is an AI inference call the publisher pays for. That is why every tracker in the table above puts it in a paid tier. MyFitnessPal moved its scan-a-meal feature into Premium in May 2026.
There are only two sustainable ways to offer it: charge a subscription, or charge once and keep the per-scan cost low enough that a single payment covers it. We chose the second.
What to check before you commit to any tracker
- Where does your data live? Health data is among the most sensitive data you generate. Ask whether it sits on your device or on the publisher's servers, and what the privacy policy permits them to do with it.
- Can you export your history? Years of logs are worth something. An app that will not let you take your data out is an app you cannot leave.
- Does it need an account? Requiring a login usually means the data is going to a server.
- What happens if you stop paying? Some apps keep your history readable, others lock it.
- Does the free tier include the thing you actually want? Install it and check before you pay for a year.
Where MindLab Fitness fits
We built MindLab Fitness because we wanted a tracker with AI meal scanning that did not bill us every month. It is free to download. Unlocking Pro is a single $8.99 CAD purchase that includes everything: the AI meal scanner, barcode scanning, meal planning across six-plus diet types, exercise logging, a step counter, weight charts, and Apple Health and Google Fit integration.
Health data is stored on your device. There is no account to create and no cloud database holding your logs, so there is nothing for us to sell and nothing for anyone to breach. Encrypted iCloud or Google Drive backup is optional and under your control.
It is not the right app for everyone. If you want coaching, community features or a dietitian in your pocket, a subscription app will serve you better. If you want accurate logging with the annoying part automated, and you would rather not think about it again, that is what we made.
Try it without paying anything
Free to download on iOS and Android. The $8.99 one-time Pro unlock is there when you want the meal scanner, and never becomes a subscription.
Download for iOS Download for AndroidCommon questions
Is there a calorie counter that is completely free with no ads and no subscription?
Cronometer's free tier is the closest: calorie and micronutrient logging, macros and barcode scanning at no cost, with ads. FatSecret is similar. Neither charges for core tracking. If your priority is spending nothing at all, start with one of those. A paid app is worth considering when you want a specific feature their free tiers do not include, such as AI photo meal scanning.
Is a one-time purchase actually cheaper than a subscription?
Over any meaningful period, yes. A $79.99 annual subscription costs roughly nine times a single $8.99 purchase in the first year alone, and the gap compounds every year after. The question is whether the one-time app does what you need, since the subscription apps generally have larger teams and ship more features.
What happens to a one-time purchase app if the developer stops updating it?
It is a fair concern and it applies to subscription apps too. A one-time purchase app keeps working on your device as long as the operating system supports it. Look for a developer who ships regular updates and lets you export your data, so you are never locked in.
Do calorie counting apps sell health data?
Practices vary and you should read each privacy policy rather than trust a summary. The structural question is simpler: if an app stores your logs on its own servers, selling or sharing that data is technically possible, whatever the current policy says. If the data never leaves your device, it is not. MindLab Fitness stores health data on your device.
Can I move my history from MyFitnessPal to another app?
MyFitnessPal offers a CSV export of your logged data. Most competing apps, including MindLab Fitness, can import a CSV, though the fields that map across vary. Export before you cancel, because access to export tools can depend on an active account.