Samsung Health offers a free health app on Android and iPhone, with features that vary by device and region. Its Android listing includes recording meals and snacks. MacroLog focuses on food logging with a free scanner and paid photo and voice tools. [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 | Samsung Health |
|---|---|---|
| Free tier | Manual search, unlimited barcode scanning, basic stats and local storage. Free forever, no card. | Free app with activity tracking; Android description includes meals and snacks. Some mindfulness content requires an optional paid subscription. [3][4] |
| Barcode scanner | Free, unlimited. | Food barcode recognition is not stated in the checked listing; its QR-code permission concerns adding friends. [4] |
| Macros and nutrients | Basic stats free; 12 micronutrients in Pro. | The checked description confirms meal recording but does not specify the macro breakdown or its platform parity. [4] |
| AI photo logging | Pro; photo and voice need internet. | Food photos can be saved. Automatic AI calorie estimation from those photos is not stated by vendor. [4] |
| Apple Health | Supported on iOS; full data scope below. | The iPhone listing states that Samsung Health can read steps from Apple Health with permission; full nutrition exchange is not stated. [1] |
| Health Connect | Supported on Android; full data scope below. | Supported on Android; Samsung's documentation lists nutrition, activity, sleep and weight among supported data types, subject to version and permissions. [5] |
| Platforms | iOS and Android; no web app. | Android and iPhone; device, region and OS affect which features are available. [3][1] |
| 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. | Free app. Monthly/annual prices for optional partner content are not stated in the checked listing. [1][4] |
| PLN prices: Polish offers | Prices vary by country and store. Check the Polish purchase screen; the USD amounts above are US prices. | Free app in the Polish App Store; monthly/annual prices for optional content are not stated. [2][4] |
Store entries can be different offers. Amounts with no stated period are not presented as monthly or annual prices.
Photo logging and its limits
Food photos can be saved. Automatic AI calorie estimation from those photos is not stated by vendor. [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.
Samsung Health: what the vendor documents
Samsung's Android listing mentions saving food photos and recording meals. Neither statement proves automatic food recognition. Its iPhone listing separately describes reading steps from Apple Health, while Android uses Health Connect for supported data exchange. Do not assume the same nutrition features on both platforms. [4][1][5]
The iPhone listing states that Samsung Health can read steps from Apple Health with permission; full nutrition exchange is not stated. [1]
Supported on Android; Samsung's documentation lists nutrition, activity, sleep and weight among supported data types, subject to version and permissions. [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 Samsung Health if its supported activity and health records meet your needs. Consider MacroLog if you need explicit free food barcode scanning or Pro AI meal logging. MacroLog's Health Connect support does not promise identical data handling in every connected app. [4][1][5]
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 food barcode scanning, automatic photo calorie estimation, macro detail across platforms, nutrition exchange with Apple Health or optional-content subscription prices.
- 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
- Google Play (Android; fallback listing) — read 10 September 2026
- Vendor Health Connect / Android documentation — 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.
