MyFitnessPal Got Worse After the Update — Here Is What Changed and What to Do

If you have been using MyFitnessPal for years and recently felt like something is off, you are not imagining it. Across Reddit, app store reviews, and nutrition forums, long-time users are reporting the same thing: the app they relied on for years is not the same app anymore. More ads, fewer free features, a higher premium price, and a user interface that feels designed to funnel you toward a subscription rather than help you track your food.

You are not alone in this frustration. And understanding why these changes happened can help you decide whether to stick with MFP or move on to something better.

What Exactly Changed in MyFitnessPal?

The short answer is: almost everything, gradually, over about five years. The changes did not happen overnight. They accumulated through a series of ownership changes, business model shifts, and feature migrations that slowly transformed MFP from a generous free tool into a subscription-first product.

Here is the timeline of major changes.

Timeline of MyFitnessPal Changes

Year	Event	Impact on Users
2005	MyFitnessPal founded by Mike and Albert Lee	Free calorie tracker with community features
2015	Under Armour acquires MFP for $475 million	Gradual integration with UA ecosystem, early premium features introduced
2019	Under Armour begins cost-cutting across digital apps	Development slows, bugs persist longer
2020	MFP still offers robust free tier	Barcode scanning unlimited, macro tracking free, food diary fully accessible
2021	Under Armour sells MFP to Francisco Partners for $345 million	Private equity ownership, focus shifts to monetization
2022	Data breach exposes user information	Trust erosion, security concerns
2023	Major feature removals from free tier begin	Barcode scanning limited, macro goals paywalled, ad frequency increases significantly
2024	Premium price increases to $19.99/month ($79.99/year)	Users who relied on premium for removed features face higher costs
2025-2026	Continued migration of features behind paywall	Free tier becomes increasingly limited, ad experience becomes more intrusive

Each line item in that table represents a moment where the app got a little worse for the average user. Individually, each change might seem small. Together, they represent a fundamental shift in what MyFitnessPal is.

Why Did MyFitnessPal Get Worse?

Is It Just Greed, or Is There More to It?

The answer is more nuanced than simple greed, though the end result feels the same to users. When Francisco Partners acquired MFP for $345 million, they took on significant debt. Private equity firms operate on a specific model: acquire a company, increase its profitability, and sell it at a higher valuation within 3-7 years.

Increasing profitability means either growing revenue or cutting costs. For MFP, this translated to moving features behind a paywall to push free users toward premium, increasing ad frequency and intrusiveness for users who stayed on the free tier, and raising the premium subscription price to extract more value from paying users.

This is not unique to MFP. It is a pattern that repeats across the tech industry whenever a widely-used free product gets acquired by a profit-focused entity. The product was built to attract users. Now it needs to extract money from them.

How Do Ownership Changes Affect App Quality?

When a consumer app changes hands, the new owners inherit the user base but not necessarily the original mission. The founders of MFP built it because they wanted a good calorie tracker. The current owners bought it because they wanted a revenue-generating asset. Those are fundamentally different motivations, and they lead to fundamentally different product decisions.

What Specific Features Were Removed from MyFitnessPal's Free Tier?

Here is a comparison of what the free tier used to offer versus what it offers now, and what alternatives provide.

Feature	MFP Free (2020)	MFP Free (2026)	Nutrola (€2.50/mo)	Cronometer Free	Lose It Free
Barcode scanning	Unlimited	Limited scans/day	Unlimited	Unlimited	Unlimited
Custom macro goals	Yes	Premium only	Yes	Yes	Limited
Food diary	Full access	Full access	Full access	Full access	Full access
Ad-free experience	No (but fewer ads)	No (heavy ads)	Yes, all tiers	No	No
Meal insights	Basic	Premium only	Yes	Yes	Premium only
Food database type	Crowdsourced	Crowdsourced	Nutritionist-verified	USDA/verified	Crowdsourced
Recipe import	Manual	Manual	Social media import	Manual	Manual
AI food logging	N/A	Premium only	Photo AI + voice	N/A	Photo (premium)

The most painful removals are the features that users had come to rely on as part of their daily routine. If you spent three years scanning barcodes every morning, having that feature suddenly limited feels like a betrayal — even if MFP technically has the right to change their free offering.

How Bad Are the Ads in MyFitnessPal Now?

Why Does MyFitnessPal Have So Many Ads?

The ad experience in MFP's free tier has become one of the most common complaints. Users report full-screen interstitial ads between logging actions, banner ads that push content below the fold, video ads that auto-play in the food diary, and ads that are difficult to dismiss, with small close buttons and delayed close timers.

The ad frequency has increased because the free tier needs to generate revenue per user. As more features move behind the paywall, the remaining free features need to carry a heavier ad load to maintain revenue targets.

This creates a frustrating cycle. The free tier gets worse, which should push users to premium. But the premium price is now $19.99/month, which many users consider too expensive for a calorie tracker. So they stay on the free tier, endure the ads, and the experience continues to deteriorate.

Is MyFitnessPal Premium Worth $19.99 Per Month?

For most users, the answer is no — not when alternatives offer similar or better features for a fraction of the price. At $19.99/month ($239.88/year), MFP Premium is one of the most expensive calorie tracking subscriptions on the market.

What Are You Actually Paying For?

MFP Premium gives you the features that used to be free (unlimited barcode scanning, custom macro goals, food insights) plus some genuinely premium features (verified food entries, meal scan, no ads). The problem is that you are paying premium prices partly to get back what you used to have for free.

App	Monthly Price	Annual Price	Ad-Free	Verified Database	AI Features
MFP Premium	$19.99	$79.99	Yes	Partial	Meal scan
Nutrola	€2.50	€25.00	Yes (all tiers)	100% nutritionist-verified	Photo AI, voice logging, recipe import
Cronometer Gold	$5.49	$39.99	Yes	USDA/NCCDB	No
Lose It Premium	$9.99	$39.99	Yes	Crowdsourced	Photo logging
FatSecret Premium	$6.49	$38.99	Yes	Mixed	No

When you see the pricing side by side, MFP Premium's value proposition becomes difficult to justify unless you are deeply embedded in the MFP ecosystem and unwilling to migrate your data.

What Are the Best MyFitnessPal Alternatives in 2026?

Nutrola — Best for Accuracy and Value

Nutrola takes a fundamentally different approach from MFP. Instead of a crowdsourced database with millions of user-submitted entries of varying quality, Nutrola maintains a 100% nutritionist-verified food database. Every entry has been reviewed by a nutrition professional for accuracy.

At €2.50/month with no ads on any tier, it solves the two biggest MFP complaints simultaneously: data accuracy and intrusive advertising. Nutrola also offers AI-powered photo logging (snap a photo of your meal and the AI identifies the food and estimates portions), voice logging for hands-free tracking, and recipe import from social media — a feature that is especially useful if you cook from Instagram or TikTok recipes.

Available on both iOS and Android.

Cronometer — Best for Micronutrient Tracking

Cronometer uses USDA and NCCDB verified data rather than crowdsourced entries. Its free tier is more generous than MFP's current free tier, and its premium subscription ($5.49/month) is significantly cheaper. If you care about micronutrient tracking (vitamins, minerals, electrolytes), Cronometer is particularly strong in this area.

The trade-off is that Cronometer's database is smaller than MFP's, so you may not find every branded product. The interface is also more data-dense and less visually polished.

Lose It — Best for Simplicity

Lose It offers a clean, simple interface that is easier to navigate than MFP's increasingly cluttered design. The free tier includes unlimited barcode scanning and basic calorie tracking. Premium ($9.99/month) adds meal planning, macronutrient tracking, and integrations.

The database is crowdsourced like MFP's, so accuracy issues can still occur. But the overall experience is less frustrating because the app is not aggressively pushing you toward premium at every interaction.

FatSecret — Best Free Tier

FatSecret offers one of the most generous free tiers among calorie tracking apps. Most features that MFP has paywalled remain free in FatSecret, including barcode scanning, macro tracking, and community features. The trade-off is a less polished interface and a smaller user community.

Should You Switch Away from MyFitnessPal?

How Do You Know When It Is Time to Leave?

Consider switching if you find yourself annoyed by the app more often than helped by it, if you are paying for premium mainly to access features that used to be free, if you have experienced database errors that threw off your tracking, or if the ad experience is disrupting your logging routine.

The sunk cost of your food diary history is real, but it should not keep you in an app that is actively working against your goals. Most alternatives allow you to start fresh, and many users report that the transition period — while briefly uncomfortable — leads to a better long-term tracking experience.

How Do You Migrate from MyFitnessPal?

Most calorie trackers do not support direct data import from MFP. The practical migration path is to export your MFP data (Settings > Data Export) for your records, set up your new app with your current stats and goals, spend one week logging in both apps simultaneously to build comfort with the new interface, and then switch fully to the new app.

The first few days will feel slower as you rebuild your frequent foods list. By the end of the first week, most users report being back to their normal logging speed.

The Bottom Line

MyFitnessPal getting worse is not a matter of perception. It is a documented series of changes driven by business pressures that have degraded the free user experience. The app that millions of people relied on for straightforward calorie tracking has become a vehicle for subscription conversion and ad revenue.

The good news is that the calorie tracking market in 2026 has more options than ever. Whether you prioritize accuracy (Nutrola's verified database), micronutrient depth (Cronometer), simplicity (Lose It), or value (FatSecret), there is an app that does what MFP used to do — often better, and often cheaper.

You should not have to fight your tracking app. It should be working for you, not against you.

Frequently Asked Questions

Why did MyFitnessPal get worse after the update?

MyFitnessPal was acquired by private equity firm Francisco Partners in 2021 for $345 million. To recoup the investment, the new owners moved free features behind a paywall, increased ad frequency, and raised the premium price to $19.99/month. The product shifted from user-focused to revenue-focused.

Is MyFitnessPal Premium worth $19.99 per month?

For most users, no. At $19.99/month ($239.88/year), MFP Premium is one of the most expensive calorie trackers available. Alternatives like Nutrola (€2.50/month) and Cronometer Gold ($5.49/month) offer similar or better features — including verified databases, ad-free experiences, and AI logging — at a fraction of the cost.

What free features did MyFitnessPal remove?

Key features moved behind the paywall include unlimited barcode scanning (now limited to a few scans per day), custom macro goals (protein/carb/fat targets), food insights and weekly analysis, and meal scan AI logging. The free tier also now shows significantly more intrusive ads.

What is the best MyFitnessPal alternative in 2026?

It depends on your priorities. Nutrola (€2.50/month) offers the best combination of accuracy (nutritionist-verified database), modern features (AI photo and voice logging, recipe import), and value (no ads on any tier). Cronometer excels at micronutrient tracking. Lose It offers the simplest transition from MFP.

How do I switch from MyFitnessPal to another app?

Export your MFP data (Settings > Data Export), set up the new app with your current stats and goals, then log meals in both apps for 2-3 days to build comfort. Most users report being back to normal logging speed within one week of switching.