Why Did MyFitnessPal Get So Expensive? What Happened and What to Use Instead

If you have used MyFitnessPal for any length of time, you already know the feeling. You open the app to log breakfast and a full-screen ad takes over. You try to set macronutrient goals for individual meals and hit a paywall. You glance at the premium price tag -- $79.99 per year -- and wonder how an app that was once completely free ended up here.

You are not imagining things. MyFitnessPal has changed dramatically, and the frustration is real. Millions of users who relied on the app for years are now searching for answers and, increasingly, for alternatives.

This article explains exactly how MyFitnessPal got so expensive, what you actually lose on the free tier today, whether premium is worth it, and which free alternatives deliver a better experience in 2026.

The Timeline: How MyFitnessPal Got Here

The story of MyFitnessPal's pricing is not really a technology story. It is a business story -- one that follows a pattern seen across many beloved free apps.

2005 to 2014: The golden years. Mike and Albert Lee founded MyFitnessPal in 2005 as a free calorie tracking tool. It grew through word of mouth and became the most popular nutrition app in the world. The database was crowdsourced, the interface was simple, and nearly everything was free. For millions of people, MyFitnessPal was synonymous with calorie counting.

2015: The Under Armour acquisition. Under Armour acquired MyFitnessPal for $475 million as part of a strategy to build a connected fitness ecosystem alongside MapMyRun and Endomondo. The purchase price was enormous, but Under Armour saw the app's 80 million users as a gateway into the digital health market. During this period, MyFitnessPal remained largely free. Under Armour was willing to subsidize the app to grow its fitness platform.

2020: The private equity sale. Under Armour's connected fitness bet did not pay off as planned. In 2020, the company sold MyFitnessPal to Francisco Partners, a private equity firm, for approximately $345 million -- a loss of $130 million from the original purchase price. This is where the pricing story really begins.

2021 to present: Monetization pressure. Private equity firms acquire companies to generate returns for their investors, typically within a three-to-seven-year window. Francisco Partners needed MyFitnessPal to become significantly more profitable. The playbook was predictable: raise the premium subscription price, restrict features on the free tier to push users toward paying, and increase ad load on the free experience to generate revenue from users who refuse to convert.

The result is the MyFitnessPal you see today. Premium went from $49.99 per year to $79.99 per year. Features that were previously free -- like detailed nutrient dashboards, meal-specific macro targets, and an ad-free experience -- moved behind the paywall. The free tier became a vehicle for advertising revenue, with banner ads, interstitial ads, and constant upgrade prompts woven throughout the logging experience.

None of this happened because the app needed these changes to function. It happened because the business model demanded it.

What You Actually Lose on MyFitnessPal's Free Tier Now

If you have not looked closely at what the free tier actually includes in 2026, here is the reality. The following features are locked behind the $79.99 per year premium subscription:

• Ad-free experience. Free users see banner ads on most screens, interstitial ads between actions, and promotional pop-ups for premium. The ads are not subtle -- they interrupt the logging flow and slow you down.
• Food verification badges. Premium users see which database entries have been verified for accuracy. Free users are left guessing which of the five "grilled chicken breast" entries is correct.
• Macronutrient goals by meal. Want to set specific protein, carb, and fat targets for breakfast, lunch, and dinner? That requires premium.
• Food timestamp data. Logging the time you ate each meal, which matters for anyone tracking meal timing or intermittent fasting, is a premium feature.
• Nutrient dashboards. Detailed visual breakdowns of your daily and weekly nutrient intake beyond basic calories and macros are paywalled.
• Priority customer support. Free users are directed to community forums and help articles. Premium users get faster response times from the support team.
• Exercise calorie adjustments. Fine-tuning how exercise calories interact with your daily goals is limited on the free tier.

What remains free is, essentially, a basic food diary with search-based logging, barcode scanning, and a daily calorie summary -- all wrapped in a heavy advertising experience. It still works for simple calorie counting, but it is a far cry from the comprehensive tool MyFitnessPal used to be.

Is MyFitnessPal Premium Worth $79.99 Per Year?

This is a fair question, and the honest answer is: it depends on your situation, but for most users, no.

The case for premium. MyFitnessPal still has the largest food database in the calorie tracking space, with over 14 million entries. If you have years of meal history in the app, custom recipes saved, and integrations with other fitness platforms that you rely on daily, the switching cost is real. Premium removes the ads and gives you back the features you used to have for free. For some users, that convenience is worth $80 per year.

The case against premium. The fundamental problems with MyFitnessPal exist on both tiers. The crowdsourced database still contains massive numbers of duplicate, outdated, and inaccurate entries. A premium subscription does not fix the fact that five different users submitted five different calorie counts for the same food. The food verification badges help, but they do not cover the majority of the database.

More importantly, $79.99 per year is a lot to pay for features that competing apps offer for free. When other calorie trackers provide ad-free experiences, detailed nutrient tracking, and even AI-powered photo logging at no cost, the value proposition of MyFitnessPal premium becomes difficult to justify.

The blunt reality is that you are paying $80 per year largely to remove restrictions that were artificially imposed on features you previously had access to. That is not premium value -- that is a toll.

The Best Free Alternatives to MyFitnessPal in 2026

If you have decided that MyFitnessPal's pricing no longer makes sense for you, here are the best free alternatives available right now.

1. Nutrola -- The Best Free Alternative Overall

Nutrola is not just a cheaper version of MyFitnessPal. It is a fundamentally different approach to calorie tracking, built around AI from the ground up. Every feature that MyFitnessPal charges $79.99 per year for -- and several features MyFitnessPal does not offer at any price -- is available on Nutrola for free.

AI Photo Logging. Instead of searching a database and manually selecting portions, you take a photo of your meal. Nutrola's AI identifies the food, estimates portion sizes, and logs the full nutritional breakdown in seconds. This works for homemade dishes, restaurant meals, and regional cuisines that would take minutes to log manually on MyFitnessPal.

Voice Logging. Say what you ate in natural language -- "two eggs, a slice of toast with butter, and a small coffee with oat milk" -- and Nutrola logs it all at once. No searching, no scrolling, no selecting from a list of duplicate entries.

100+ Nutrients Tracked. While MyFitnessPal's free tier limits you to basic calories and macros, Nutrola tracks over 100 nutrients including vitamins, minerals, and micronutrients. No paywall required.

Verified Database. Every entry in Nutrola's food database is cross-referenced with validated nutritional data. You never have to wonder which entry is correct because there is only one correct entry.

Completely Ad-Free. Nutrola does not show ads. There are no banners, no interstitials, and no pop-ups pushing you to upgrade. The logging experience is clean and uninterrupted.

Apple Watch and Apple Health Integration. Check your daily progress from your wrist and sync your data seamlessly with Apple Health.

For longtime MyFitnessPal users, Nutrola does not just replace what you lost -- it gives you capabilities that MyFitnessPal never offered.

2. Lose It! -- A Simpler Free Option

Lose It! offers a clean, straightforward calorie tracking experience with a more generous free tier than MyFitnessPal. The interface is easier to navigate, and the ad presence is lighter. It supports barcode scanning and has a decent food database for common items.

However, Lose It! tracks fewer nutrients than either MyFitnessPal or Nutrola, and it does not offer AI photo logging on its free tier. If your tracking needs are basic -- calories and simple macros -- it is a solid option. If you want the depth of tracking that MyFitnessPal premium used to provide, Lose It!'s free tier will feel limited.

3. Cronometer -- Strong Micronutrient Tracking

Cronometer is well-regarded for its accurate, verified database and detailed micronutrient tracking. It sources data primarily from institutional databases like USDA and NCCDB rather than crowdsourced submissions, which means fewer accuracy issues than MyFitnessPal.

The trade-off is that Cronometer's best features -- including its detailed nutrient reports and some customization options -- require the premium subscription (Cronometer Gold). The free tier is functional but more limited. Logging is entirely manual with no AI photo or voice logging, and the food database is smaller, particularly for branded and restaurant foods. For users who care deeply about micronutrient data and do not mind manual entry, it is worth considering.

MyFitnessPal Free vs. MyFitnessPal Premium vs. Nutrola Free

Feature	MFP Free	MFP Premium ($79.99/yr)	Nutrola Free
Basic Calorie Logging	Yes	Yes	Yes
Barcode Scanning	Yes	Yes	Yes
AI Photo Logging	No	No	Yes
Voice Logging	No	No	Yes
Ad-Free Experience	No	Yes	Yes
Nutrients Tracked	Basic macros	Extended macros	100+ nutrients
Database Type	Crowdsourced	Crowdsourced + Verification Badges	Fully Verified
Macro Goals by Meal	No	Yes	Yes
Nutrient Dashboards	No	Yes	Yes
Food Timestamps	No	Yes	Yes
Apple Watch Integration	Limited	Limited	Native
Annual Cost	$0 (with ads)	$79.99	$0 (no ads)

The comparison speaks for itself. Nutrola's free tier includes everything that MyFitnessPal locks behind premium, plus AI features that MyFitnessPal does not offer at any price point.

How to Switch from MyFitnessPal

Making the switch is simpler than you might expect. Here is a practical approach:

Start fresh and do not look back. You do not need to export years of MyFitnessPal data. Your historical food diary is interesting to browse, but it does not affect your tracking going forward. What matters is today's meals, today's goals, and today's progress.

Let AI replace your food history. One of the biggest reasons people hesitate to switch apps is the time they invested in saving custom foods and recipes. With Nutrola's AI photo logging, that concern disappears. Instead of rebuilding a library of saved items, you simply photograph your meals. The AI handles identification, portion estimation, and nutrient calculation every time -- no saved entries needed.

Use voice logging for speed. If you are used to the search-and-select workflow of MyFitnessPal, voice logging will feel like a revelation. Describe your meal in plain language and everything gets logged in one step. Most users find this faster than even their most practiced MyFitnessPal routine.

Set your goals once. Enter your calorie and macro targets in Nutrola when you first set up the app. If you know your numbers from MyFitnessPal, you can replicate them exactly. If you want a fresh start, Nutrola will help you calculate appropriate targets based on your goals.

The adjustment period is typically a day or two. Most former MyFitnessPal users report that logging feels faster within the first week.

Frequently Asked Questions

Why did MyFitnessPal raise its prices so much?

MyFitnessPal was sold to Francisco Partners, a private equity firm, in 2020. Private equity firms need to generate returns on their investments, which means increasing revenue. The primary levers available were raising the premium subscription price, restricting free tier features to push conversions, and increasing advertising on the free tier. The price increase from $49.99 to $79.99 per year reflects this financial pressure, not a corresponding increase in the app's capabilities.

Can I still use MyFitnessPal for free?

Yes, MyFitnessPal still offers a free tier. However, it is significantly more limited than it was in previous years. You can log food, scan barcodes, and track basic calories and macros, but you will encounter frequent ads and lose access to features like meal-specific macro goals, nutrient dashboards, food verification, and timestamp tracking. For many users, the ad experience makes the free tier frustrating to use daily.

Is there a free app that does everything MyFitnessPal Premium does?

Nutrola offers all the core features of MyFitnessPal Premium -- including ad-free logging, detailed nutrient tracking, macro goals by meal, and nutrient dashboards -- completely free. It also provides AI photo logging and voice logging, which MyFitnessPal does not include even in its premium tier. For users looking for a free replacement that matches or exceeds the premium experience, Nutrola is the most comprehensive option available.

Will MyFitnessPal's price keep going up?

No one outside of Francisco Partners knows for certain, but the trend in private equity-owned software is continued price increases until the market resists. MyFitnessPal's premium has already gone from $49.99 to $79.99 per year, and further increases are plausible. If you are feeling price fatigue now, it is reasonable to explore alternatives before you are locked into a higher renewal price.

Is it hard to switch from MyFitnessPal to another app?

Switching is easier than most people expect. The biggest perceived barrier -- losing your saved foods and meal history -- is less relevant than it seems. Apps like Nutrola use AI photo and voice logging, which means you do not need to rebuild a library of saved items. You photograph or describe your meals and the app handles the rest. Most users adjust within a few days and find the new experience faster than their old MyFitnessPal workflow.