FatSecret lists a free food diary, barcode scanner, macro tracking and image recognition. MacroLog also has free search and barcode scanning, while its photo and voice logging require Pro. [1][3]
Facts as of 10 September 2026. Published by MacroLog, the maker of one of the apps compared. We are not neutral. Rival facts were checked on 10 September 2026 using vendor sources and the verified articles cited below.
Feature comparison
| Feature | MacroLog | FatSecret |
|---|---|---|
| Free tier | Manual search, unlimited barcode scanning, basic stats and local storage. Free forever, no card. | Food diary, barcode scanner, calorie and macro tracking, image recognition, exercise diary, reports and community. [1][3][4] |
| Barcode scanner | Free, unlimited. | Free. [3] |
| Macros and nutrients | Basic stats free; 12 micronutrients in Pro. | Calorie and macro tracking are core free features. [3] |
| AI photo logging | Pro; photo and voice need internet. | Image recognition is listed among the free app's features; the vendor does not give a scan allowance in these sources. [1][4] |
| Apple Health | Supported on iOS; full data scope below. | Imports calories burned and steps; writes food nutrition and weight to Apple Health. [1] |
| Health Connect | Supported on Android; full data scope below. | Not stated in the checked feature descriptions. Google Play names Google Fit, Samsung Health and Fitbit. [5] |
| Platforms | iOS and Android; no web app. | iOS and Android; the App Store description also mentions online account access. [1][5] |
| USD prices: US offers | Pro: $5.99/month or $49/year in the US. The first week costs $2: a paid trial, not a free trial. Prices vary by country and store. | Monthly offers: $10.49 or $14.99; annual offers: $38.99 or $59.99. [1] |
| PLN prices: Polish offers | Prices vary by country and store. Check the Polish purchase screen; the USD amounts above are US prices. | Monthly offers: 40.00 or 56.99 zł; annual offers: 80.00 or 229.90 zł. [2] |
Store entries can be different offers. Amounts with no stated period are not presented as monthly or annual prices.
Photo logging and its limits
Image recognition is listed among the free app's features; the vendor does not give a scan allowance in these sources. [1][4]
Pro adds AI photo logging, voice logging, 12 tracked micronutrients and CSV/JSON export. Photo and voice use Gemini and need internet access. Accuracy is not guaranteed; low-confidence items are flagged for your review.
This page has no measured comparison of recognition accuracy or logging speed. Check the identified food and portion before relying on the result.
FatSecret: what the vendor documents
FatSecret's Premium offering adds meal plans, advanced meal planning, extra meal headings and water tracking. Paying for those additions is separate from access to its core diary and scanner. The current feature list also includes image recognition, so describing FatSecret as manual-only would be wrong. [1][3]
Imports calories burned and steps; writes food nutrition and weight to Apple Health. [1]
Not stated in the checked feature descriptions. Google Play names Google Fit, Samsung Health and Fitbit. [5]
MacroLog: free and Pro
Manual search, unlimited barcode scanning, basic stats and local storage. Free forever, no card.
Pro adds AI photo logging, voice logging, 12 tracked micronutrients and CSV/JSON export. Photo and voice use Gemini and need internet access. Accuracy is not guaranteed; low-confidence items are flagged for your review.
Logging works offline with local storage, except AI photo and voice logging, which need internet. Multi-device sync is planned and is not available today. Data export is a Pro feature.
Apple Health on iOS / Health Connect on Android: writes calories, protein, carbs, fat, 12 micronutrients, water and weight; reads weight (two-way), steps and active energy. Steps and active energy are informational only and never change the calorie budget.
Prices and billing periods
Prices were read on 10 September 2026. USD amounts refer to US offers; PLN amounts come from the Polish App Store. We did not convert currencies. The table distinguishes named billing periods from purchases with no stated duration.
Pro: $5.99/month or $49/year in the US. The first week costs $2: a paid trial, not a free trial. Prices vary by country and store.
A store listing can include several prices for the same plan. The final purchase screen determines the amount, billing period and renewal terms offered to you. A free download is not proof of an ongoing free subscription.
Which fits your needs?
Consider FatSecret if free image recognition and a free scanner are your priorities. Consider MacroLog if you want local storage and the documented Pro package of photo, voice, 12 micronutrients and CSV/JSON export. [1][3]
What this does not solve
- We did not run a side-by-side app test, measure photo accuracy or check every regional paywall. Vendor descriptions establish advertised availability, not measured performance.
- We did not verify a photo-scan limit, Health Connect data support or rival offline behaviour. The several listed prices do not identify the offer a particular user will receive.
- MacroLog is available on iOS and Android, with no web app. Multi-device sync is planned. Photo and voice logging require both Pro and internet access.
What this is based on
MacroLog publishes this page and is not neutral. Sources below were read on 10 September 2026 through browser retrieval or the verified sibling articles explicitly identified here. Command-line curl requests failed with DNS errors.
- US App Store — read 10 September 2026
- Polish App Store — read 10 September 2026
- Vendor product/help page — read 10 September 2026
- Polish alternatives guide, verified today — read 10 September 2026. Verified sibling article; the original vendor sources are linked there.
- Google Play (Android; fallback listing) — read 10 September 2026
Unsuccessful source checks on 10 September 2026:
- Google Play, Poland (hl=pl, gl=PL) — attempted 10 September 2026; unavailable in this run. No unsupported facts were inferred from it.
MacroLog features and prices follow our product documentation, reviewed 10 September 2026. Unverified rival features are marked as not stated in the checked sources.
