Lifesum vs MyFitnessPal

Updated November 2026 · AppBreakup editorial

Lifesum

Swedish nutrition app with food tracking, diet programmes and meal plans

Free plan + paid

Visit Lifesum Lifesum profile

MyFitnessPal

Calorie and macro tracking app with a very large food database, barcode scanning and device sync.

Free plan + paid

Visit MyFitnessPal MyFitnessPal profile

The short answer

Pick Lifesum if you want guided diet programmes, meal plans and recipes with a daily rating that nudges habits. Pick MyFitnessPal if you mainly want to count calories against a huge food database, sync with many devices and log from a computer too. The biggest difference is approach: Lifesum coaches an eating style, MyFitnessPal is a broad, database-first tracker.

Lifesum or MyFitnessPal: our take

Lifesum, from Stockholm-based Lifesum AB, is built around habits and eating styles. Each day gets a rating, there are trackers for water, fruit and vegetables, and a large part of the app is its diet programmes (high-protein, Mediterranean, fasting, keto) with matching recipes. MyFitnessPal is the classic food diary: you log into a database of about 20.5M foods, including restaurant dishes and user-added entries, and it totals calories, macros and many micronutrients against your goals, alongside exercise, weight and steps.

Both are freemium, and in both the most useful extras are paid. Lifesum's free tier covers basic tracking, while most meal plans, recipes and detailed nutrient insights need Premium. Lifesum offers photo, voice, text and barcode logging. MyFitnessPal's free tier covers basic food and weight tracking but shows ads, and Barcode Scan, Meal Scan and Voice Log are Premium features; first-time Premium users get a 7-day trial. MyFitnessPal's large user-built database is a strength for coverage, but entries can be duplicated or inaccurate.

Platforms and devices differ too. Lifesum runs on iPhone and Android with no full web app, and syncs with Apple Health, Apple Watch and Samsung Galaxy Watch. MyFitnessPal adds a web version and connects with 40+ apps and devices, including Fitbit and Garmin. Neither is aimed at deep micronutrient tracking; Lifesum's is explicitly less detailed than specialist apps.

Choose Lifesum if you want structure: a plan to follow, recipes to cook and gentle habit tracking in a clean design. Choose MyFitnessPal if you want to log almost anything you eat, including restaurant meals, sync with a Garmin or Fitbit, or use a computer for logging, and you can live with ads or pay for Premium.

Choose Lifesum if…

People who want structured diet plans and recipes, not just a calorie number
Many ways to log food, including photo and voice
Diet programmes and meal plans for popular eating styles

Choose MyFitnessPal if…

People who want the biggest food database and wide device sync for everyday calorie counting
You need Web, which Lifesum doesn't list
Food database of over 20 million items, incl. restaurant dishes
Syncs with 40+ apps and devices

What is Lifesum?

Lifesum is a healthy-eating app from Stockholm-based Lifesum AB, available for iPhone and Android. It tracks food and exercise and gives each day a rating, so the focus is on building better habits rather than only counting calories. You can log meals by photo, voice, typing, barcode scan or quick-add, follow water, fruit and vegetable trackers, and see a breakdown of protein, carbs, fats, sugar and fibre. A big part of the app is its diet programmes and meal plans, which cover approaches such as high-protein weight loss, Mediterranean, fasting and keto, with recipes to match. It syncs with Apple Health and wearables like Apple Watch and Samsung Galaxy Watch. Basic tracking is free, while the diet plans, detailed nutrient insights and most recipes need a Premium subscription. There is also a Lifesum for Work programme for employers.

What is MyFitnessPal?

MyFitnessPal is the best-known calorie counter. You log meals into a food diary drawn from a database of more than 20 million foods, including restaurant menu items and user-added entries, and the app totals calories, macros and many micronutrients against your goals. Exercise, weight and steps can be logged too, and it syncs with dozens of apps and devices such as Apple Watch, Fitbit and Garmin. The free version covers basic food and weight tracking. Premium adds barcode scanning, photo-based Meal Scan, Voice Log, custom macro goals by day, a net-carbs mode, intermittent fasting tools and an ad-free experience, with a free trial for first-time subscribers. It runs on iPhone, Android and the web. The trade-off: barcode scanning, once free, is now a paid feature, the free tier shows ads, and because many foods are added by users, entries can be duplicated or inaccurate. People who care about micronutrient accuracy often prefer Cronometer.

Side by side

Attribute	Lifesum	MyFitnessPal
Pricing	Free plan + paid	Free plan + paid
Open source	No	No
Self-hostable	No	No
Platforms	iOS, Android	iOS, Android, Web
Best for	People who want structured diet plans and recipes, not just a calorie number	People who want the biggest food database and wide device sync for everyday calorie counting
Status	Active	Active