---
title: "Best AI calorie counter apps compared: Cal AI, MyFitnessPal, Lose It! and more | Retenna"
description: "Best AI calorie counter apps compared: Cal AI, MyFitnessPal, Lose It!, SnapCalorie, MacroFactor and more. Photo, voice and barcode logging, costs, accuracy."
url: https://retenna.ai/articles/ai-calorie-counter-app
updated: 2026-10-25
---

Guide · Food

# The best AI calorie counter apps compared: photo, voice and barcode logging, and what to do with the numbers

Cal AI, MyFitnessPal, Lose It!, SnapCalorie, MacroFactor, Cronometer and Lifesum all promise to count a meal from a photo, a few words or a barcode. Here’s which ones really lead, how accurate a photo can be, what each one costs, and what changes when the counting feeds a nutritionist that knows your week.

By **Trent**, founder of Retenna 25 October 2026 26 min read

**Last checked 25 October 2026 How we checked**

Facts come from each maker’s own website, help pages, press releases, privacy policy and App Store listing, and link to their source; third-party sources are labelled. Prices are US prices and ratings are from the US App Store on 25 October 2026. Some of MyFitnessPal’s and Lose It!’s help pages wouldn’t load for us that day, so the few facts that rely on them come from our check on 22 October, and we say so. Accuracy figures are the makers’ own claims, not our tests. This is research, not hands-on testing. Retenna is our product and isn’t out yet: where we describe it, it’s what it’s built to do, and its examples show how it works, not test results.

In 30 seconds

- **Quickest from a photo:** Cal AI, the photo-first app MyFitnessPal now owns, and SnapCalorie, which measures portions with your iPhone’s depth sensor and is free for 3 AI logs a day.
- **Biggest food database:** MyFitnessPal, with photo, voice and barcode logging on Premium. **Most detail:** Cronometer, with a free barcode scanner. **Targets that adapt each week:** MacroFactor.
- **Treat a photo as a good guess:** Cal AI says it’s about 80% accurate, and SnapCalorie puts its average error at around 15%. Scan packets, mention the oil, and check what it found.
- **What Retenna adds:** a 3D meal scan that reads what’s on your plate and how much, barcode, label, voice and one-tap logging, and targets that adapt as you train and change (adults 18 and over). Then it plans your meals from what you log.
- **A kind note:** counting isn’t right for everyone. Retenna’s gentle mode tracks without numbers, or pauses counting whenever you like. If tracking food makes you anxious, or you’ve had an eating disorder, talk to a doctor first.

## Calorie counting got quicker. Here’s what it still misses

Counting calories used to mean searching a database for every ingredient, guessing the portion and typing it all in, three or four times a day. AI has changed that part. You can now take a photo of your plate, say what you ate, or scan a packet, and an app fills in the calories and nutrients in seconds.

The best apps are genuinely quick now. But speed isn’t the whole job. A photo can’t see the oil in the pan, and a number on its own doesn’t tell you what to cook tomorrow, that you’re training late on Tuesday, or that a friend with a nut allergy is coming for lunch on Saturday. A good AI calorie counter gets the counting right. A good nutritionist puts it to work.

## How AI calorie counting works: photo, voice, barcode and label

Most of the apps below offer several ways to log, and each one suits a different kind of meal.

How each way of logging works, and what to watch for. The apps that offer each one are compared below.

| Way to log | How it works | Best for | Watch out for |
| --- | --- | --- | --- |
| A photo | AI recognises the foods on your plate and estimates each portion. SnapCalorie also measures the food with your iPhone’s depth sensor, and Retenna’s meal scan reads its volume and angles in 3D. | Home cooking, and meals out with no label | Oil, butter, sauces and dressings it can’t see, and food hidden under other food |
| Your voice, or a few words | You say or type what you ate, such as “two eggs, toast with butter”, and AI matches each food | Cooking, or when you know exactly what went in | Vague amounts: “some rice” is still a guess |
| A barcode | You scan the packet, and the app pulls up that product | Packaged food | The serving: log what you actually ate, not the label’s portion |
| A nutrition label | You photograph the label, and AI reads the numbers into a new food | Products the database doesn’t have | Check the numbers it read match the label |
| One tap | The app already knows the meal: one it planned for you, or one you have often | Planned meals, and your usual breakfast | Changes: if you swapped something, log what you actually ate |
| Search | You find each food in the app’s database | Anything, when the other ways can’t help | It takes longest, and databases differ in how they check their entries |

## How accurate is a calorie counter that works from a photo?

Quick isn’t the same as exact, and the makers say so. Cal AI’s [FAQ](https://www.calai.app/faq) says it’s “about 80% accurate”. SnapCalorie’s [FAQ](https://www.snapcalorie.com/faq.html) puts its average error at around 15%, and by its own figures compares that with about 20% for nutrition labels and about 40% for dietitians estimating from a photo. These are the makers’ own numbers, not independent tests, and we haven’t tested them either.

The makers’ own tips point the same way:

- **Good light, everything in view.** Top-down photos with nothing stacked or hidden usually work best, [MacroFactor says](https://help.macrofactorapp.com/en/articles/258-ai-food-logging).
- **Say what the camera can’t see.** Add “fried in olive oil” or the dressing in a few words. SnapCalorie suggests a quick voice note, and MacroFactor lets you add a description to a photo.
- **Give it something for scale.** MacroFactor suggests your fist, a common object, or a food scale in the frame.
- **Scan packets.** For anything with a barcode or a label, scan that rather than photographing the food.
- **Check what it found.** MacroFactor and SnapCalorie let you edit every food the AI picked out, and SnapCalorie says it learns from your corrections.

Over a week, small misses add up, so treat a photo estimate as a good guide rather than a measurement. If you’re counting for a medical reason, ask a doctor or a registered dietitian how precise you need to be.

Retenna is built with this in mind. Its meal scan reads the volume and angles of what’s on your plate in 3D, to see what’s there and how much, and for anything the camera can’t see, such as the oil in the pan, you can say it or type it.

## The top AI calorie counter apps at a glance

We picked seven apps that lead on reach or on how much of the logging AI does for you: the counters with the most App Store ratings that log from a photo, plus SnapCalorie and MacroFactor, which take more careful approaches. It’s an editorial pick, not a ranking. Noom logs meals with AI too, but it’s a coaching programme more than a counter, so our [AI nutritionist guide](https://retenna.ai/articles/ai-nutritionist-app) covers it.

US prices and App Store ratings, checked 25 October 2026. Retenna is ours and not out yet: its row shows what it’s built to do.

| App | Cost | Logs by | Where | Best at |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| Cal AI | A subscription, after a 3-day free trial | Photo, barcode, or a few words | iPhone, iPad, Android, Apple Watch | Quick photo logging with little set-up |
| MyFitnessPal | Free; Premium $19.99 a month or $79.99 a year | Search for free; photo, voice and barcode on Premium | iPhone, iPad, Android, Apple Watch, web | The biggest food database, with an AI Coach |
| Lose It! | Free; Premium prices vary by offer | Search for free; photo, voice and barcode on Premium | iPhone, iPad, Android, Apple Watch, web | Simple counting with a personal calorie budget |
| SnapCalorie | Free for 3 AI logs a day; Premium $19.99 a month or $149 a year | Photo, voice, label | iPhone, iPad | Portions measured with your iPhone’s depth sensor |
| MacroFactor | $11.99 a month or $71.99 a year; no free tier | Photo, a few words or your voice, barcode, label | iPhone, iPad, Android | Targets that adapt to your progress each week |
| Cronometer | Free; Gold $10.99 a month or $59.99 a year | Barcode for free; photo and voice on Gold | Web, iPhone, iPad, Android, Apple Watch | Detailed nutrients, with a free barcode scanner |
| Lifesum | Free with limits; Premium from $29.99 for three months | Photo, voice, text, barcode | iPhone, iPad, Android, Apple Watch | Counting with meal plans and a weekly score |
| Retenna Ours | Free early access, with founding pricing for life | A 3D meal scan, barcode, label, voice or typing, and one tap for meals it planned or ones you have often; for adults 18 and over | Coming to iPhone, Android and the web | Counting with targets that adapt, feeding meals planned around your week, your training and your table, with every other expert you need |

## App by app

### Cal AI

Cost

A subscription, after a 3-day free trial

Where

iPhone, iPad, Android, Apple Watch

App Store

[4.8 from 373K ratings](https://apps.apple.com/us/app/cal-ai-calorie-tracker/id6480417616)

[Cal AI](https://www.calai.app/) is built around one idea: point your camera at your plate. You answer a few questions to build a plan, then snap a photo, scan a barcode or describe your meal, and it breaks down the calories and nutrients. It has more App Store ratings than any other photo-first counter here, and its chief executive says it made over $40 million in sales in the 12 months before [MyFitnessPal bought it](https://rss.globenewswire.com/news-release/2026/03/02/3247439/0/en/MyFitnessPal-Acquires-Cal-AI-Expanding-on-its-Position-as-the-Leading-Player-in-Digital-Nutrition-Tracking.html), announced in March 2026. It still runs as a separate app, and it connects to Apple Health and Google Fit.

**Worth knowing**Food scanning results [need a subscription](https://apps.apple.com/us/app/cal-ai-calorie-tracker/id6480417616), and the App Store lists prices from $2.99 to $29.99 without saying which period each covers. Its [FAQ](https://www.calai.app/faq) says it’s about 80% accurate and can’t yet import your MyFitnessPal history. [TechCrunch](https://techcrunch.com/2026/03/02/myfitnesspal-has-acquired-cal-ai-the-viral-calorie-app-built-by-teens) (third party) reports it now uses MyFitnessPal’s food database. Its [privacy policy](https://www.calai.app/privacy) says it doesn’t expressly sell information, but that some advertising cookies on its website may count as “selling” or “sharing” under US privacy laws, and that it may use targeted advertising.

### MyFitnessPal

Cost

Free; Premium $19.99 a month or $79.99 a year; Premium+ $99.99 a year

Where

iPhone, iPad, Android, Apple Watch, web

App Store

[4.7 from 2.4M ratings](https://apps.apple.com/us/app/myfitnesspal-calorie-counter/id341232718)

MyFitnessPal has the biggest reach here: [more than 280 million members in over 120 countries](https://rss.globenewswire.com/news-release/2026/02/24/3243668/0/en/myfitnesspal-debuts-its-2026-winter-release.html), and a database of [over 20 million foods](https://rss.globenewswire.com/news-release/2026/03/17/3257233/0/en/myfitnesspal-launches-advertising-media-network-that-connects-brands-with-millions-of-health-conscious-consumers.html), including more than 68,000 brands and 380 restaurants. Logging by search is free. [Premium](https://www.myfitnesspal.com/premium) adds Meal Scan (a photo of your plate), Voice Log and Barcode Scan, and since February you can take the photo now and log it later, on iPhone. Premium members also get the [AI Coach](https://rss.globenewswire.com/news-release/2026/06/10/3309733/0/en/myfitnesspal-introduces-ai-coach-to-deliver-personalized-nutrition-guidance-rooted-in-20-years-of-nutrition-expertise.html), launched in June, which can now [read a photo of your fridge](https://apps.apple.com/us/app/myfitnesspal-calorie-counter/id341232718) and suggest meals. Premium+ adds a meal planner with grocery delivery. MyFitnessPal also owns Cal AI, and since January its recipes and calorie targets have been [available inside ChatGPT](https://rss.globenewswire.com/news-release/2026/01/07/3214864/0/en/MyFitnessPal-Launches-App-in-New-ChatGPT-Health-Experience.html).

**Worth knowing**Photo, voice and barcode logging all need Premium, and so does an ad-free app. In March 2026 MyFitnessPal [launched an ad network](https://rss.globenewswire.com/news-release/2026/03/17/3257233/0/en/myfitnesspal-launches-advertising-media-network-that-connects-brands-with-millions-of-health-conscious-consumers.html) for brands that reaches its free users. When we checked its [Coach help page](https://support.myfitnesspal.com/hc/en-us/articles/45212266254221-Introducing-Nutrition-Coach-Your-Nutrition-Assistant) on 22 October, the Coach was on iPhone only, in English, in six countries. If you’re thinking of leaving, our [MyFitnessPal alternatives guide](https://retenna.ai/articles/myfitnesspal-alternatives) covers why people do and where they go.

### Lose It!

Cost

Free; Premium prices vary by offer, including a lifetime option

Where

iPhone, iPad, Android, Apple Watch, web

App Store

[4.8 from 782K ratings](https://apps.apple.com/us/app/lose-it-calorie-counter/id297368629)

[Lose It!](https://apps.apple.com/us/app/lose-it-calorie-counter/id297368629) says more than 57 million people have used it, with a database of over 56 million foods and recipes. It works out a personal daily calorie budget from your profile and your goal, and logging, a plan and community groups are free. Premium adds photo meal logging, AI voice logging (“I had 2 eggs, toast with butter and jam”), the barcode scanner, macro and nutrient tracking, fasting, targets for each meal, and connections to Fitbit, Garmin, Withings, Apple Health and more. It also supports people taking GLP-1 medication, with dose logging.

**Worth knowing**The barcode scanner is now a Premium feature. Its AI is about logging: chat coaching, allergies and planning for a household aren’t mentioned, and its meal planning means targets for each meal rather than planned meals. Its [privacy policy](https://www.fitnowinc.com/privacy/loseit/) allows using your data to develop and train AI tools, and selling or sharing some data for targeted ads, with an opt-out.

### SnapCalorie

Cost

Free for 3 AI logs a day; Premium $19.99 a month or $149 a year

Where

iPhone, iPad

App Store

[4.7 from 6.9K ratings](https://apps.apple.com/us/app/snapcalorie-ai-calorie-counter/id1574239307)

[SnapCalorie](https://www.snapcalorie.com/) was founded by former Google AI researchers who, [it says](https://apps.apple.com/us/app/snapcalorie-ai-calorie-counter/id1574239307), co-founded Google Lens. It’s built for accuracy: you snap a photo or dictate a voice note, and on iPhones with a depth sensor it measures the volume of the food rather than guessing it. It reads nutrition labels, checks foods against US Department of Agriculture data, tracks more than 100 nutrients, learns from your corrections and syncs with Apple Health. Its team published Nutrition5k, a study of 5,000 dishes with every ingredient weighed.

**Worth knowing**It’s [free for 3 AI logs a day](https://www.snapcalorie.com/faq.html); the App Store also lists other Premium prices from $9.99 to $99.99 without saying which period each covers. Its 15% average error is its own figure. It’s smaller than the others, with more than 100,000 active users by its own count, and although its site mentions Android, we couldn’t find it on Google Play in the US. It says it never sells your information.

### MacroFactor

Cost

$11.99 a month, $47.99 for six months or $71.99 a year; 7-day free trial

Where

iPhone, iPad, Android

App Store

[4.8 from 23K ratings](https://apps.apple.com/us/app/macrofactor-macro-tracker/id1553503471)

[MacroFactor](https://apps.apple.com/us/app/macrofactor-macro-tracker/id1553503471), from the Stronger By Science team, is a macro tracker with a coach built in. It estimates how much energy you really use from what you log, then adjusts your calorie and macro targets at a weekly check-in, with no warnings or red numbers when you go over. Its [AI food logging](https://help.macrofactorapp.com/en/articles/258-ai-food-logging) turns a photo, or a photo with a description, into separate foods you can edit; [Describe](https://help.macrofactorapp.com/en/articles/215-how-to-log-food-in-macrofactor) lets you type or say what you ate; and since July its [label scanner](https://macrofactor.com/mm-july-2026/) reads labels in different formats and languages.

**Worth knowing**There’s no free tier, only a 7-day trial. It’s built for hitting your numbers, so meal plans aren’t mentioned. It’s ad-free, and its [privacy notice](https://privacy.macrofactorapp.com/) says it doesn’t sell your personal data or share it for cross-behavioural advertising.

### Cronometer

Cost

Free; Gold $10.99 a month or $59.99 a year

Where

Web, iPhone, iPad, Android, Apple Watch

App Store

[4.8 from 100K ratings](https://apps.apple.com/us/app/cronometer-calorie-counter/id1145935738)

[Cronometer](https://apps.apple.com/us/app/cronometer-calorie-counter/id1145935738) is for detail: calories, macros and dozens of vitamins and minerals, from a database of more than 1.1 million verified foods. The barcode scanner is free. [Gold](https://cronometer.com/gold/) adds photo logging, voice logging (to the app or to Siri), a recipe importer, a Macro Scheduler that sets different targets for each day of the week, no ads, and [Crono Coach](https://cronometer.com/blog/crono-coach/), announced in July: short guidance from your own diary, targets and settings. It connects to Apple Health, Fitbit, Garmin, Oura, WHOOP and more.

**Worth knowing**The free version shows ads, and photo and voice logging need Gold. Its [privacy policy](https://cronometer.com/privacy/) allows using your food photos, comments and corrections to train its models, and says it hasn’t sold personal information in the last 12 months.

### Lifesum

Cost

Free with limits; Premium from $29.99 for three months to $119.99 a year

Where

iPhone, iPad, Android, Apple Watch

App Store

[4.6 from 151K ratings](https://apps.apple.com/us/app/lifesum-ai-calorie-counter/id286906691)

[Lifesum](https://apps.apple.com/us/app/lifesum-ai-calorie-counter/id286906691) says 65 million people have joined it. You can log a meal by snapping a photo, speaking, typing it out or scanning a barcode. It builds nutrition plans from your goals, preferences, restrictions and activity, including keto, paleo and high-protein, offers meal plans with grocery lists, and gives you a weekly Life Score from what you eat and drink and how active you are. It syncs with Apple Health both ways.

**Worth knowing**Its listing says the free version has limited features, but not which ways of logging are free. In the App Store, Premium is $29.99 to $39.99 for three months, $69.99 for six or $99.99 to $119.99 a year. Its App Store privacy label lists identifiers as used to track you.

Also worth a look: [FatSecret](https://apps.apple.com/us/app/calorie-counter-by-fatsecret/id347184248), which is free with photo recognition and a barcode scanner, and [Yazio](https://apps.apple.com/us/app/ai-calorie-tracker-by-yazio/id946099227) and [Foodvisor](https://apps.apple.com/us/app/foodvisor-ai-calorie-counter/id1064020872), which also log from photos.

## Where Retenna’s nutritionist goes further

Every app above counts, and the best of them count quickly. Retenna’s nutritionist counts calories and nutrients too, with the same quick ways to log and a few more, and then it puts what you log to work. Counting is a health feature, so it’s for adults aged 18 and over.

Checked 25 October 2026 against each maker’s own pages, with MyFitnessPal’s meal planner and Lose It!’s Calorie Schedule from our check on 22 October. Cal AI isn’t in this table, to keep it readable: it logs from a photo, a barcode or a few words and sets a plan from a few questions, and none of the other rows is mentioned in its materials. Retenna is ours and not out yet: its column shows what it’s built to do.

| What it does | Retenna | MyFitnessPal | Lose It! | SnapCalorie | MacroFactor | Cronometer | Lifesum |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| Logs meals and counts calories and nutrients | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Logs from a photo of your plate | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Reads the portion’s volume in 3D | Yes | Not mentioned | Not mentioned | Yes | Not mentioned | Not mentioned | Not mentioned |
| Logs by voice, or a sentence you type | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Scans barcodes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Not mentioned | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Reads nutrition labels | Yes | Not mentioned | Not mentioned | Yes | Yes | Not mentioned | Not mentioned |
| Sets your calorie targets and adapts them as you go | Yes | Partly | Partly | Partly | Yes | Partly | Partly |
| Plans meals for you | Yes | Yes | Partly | Partly | Not mentioned | Partly | Yes |
| Plans around allergies and foods you avoid | Yes | Yes | Not mentioned | Not mentioned | Not mentioned | Not mentioned | Partly |
| Fits meals to your training days | Yes | Not mentioned | Partly | Not mentioned | Not mentioned | Partly | Not mentioned |
| Turns the plan into the food shop | Yes | Yes | Not mentioned | Not mentioned | Not mentioned | Not mentioned | Partly |
| Plans for everyone at your table | Yes | Partly | Not mentioned | Not mentioned | Not mentioned | Not mentioned | Not mentioned |
| Plans meals around your calendar | Yes | Not mentioned | Not mentioned | Not mentioned | Not mentioned | Not mentioned | Not mentioned |
| Acts for you, inside rules you set | Yes | Not mentioned | Not mentioned | Not mentioned | Not mentioned | Not mentioned | Not mentioned |
| A full space for the rest of your life too | Yes | Not mentioned | Not mentioned | Not mentioned | Not mentioned | Not mentioned | Not mentioned |

Yes

The maker documents it.

Partly

A lighter version: calorie targets you set, or that are worked out from your profile, rather than ones the maker says adapt as you go; targets for each meal, or for each day, that you set yourself rather than meals planned around your training; a meal suggestion or a plan generator rather than a planned week; dietary restrictions rather than allergies; grocery lists without the shop; or a serving count rather than each person at the table.

Dash

Not mentioned in the maker’s own materials. That doesn’t prove it can’t.

The top rows are where the best apps meet, and Retenna is built to match them: like SnapCalorie, it reads the volume of what’s on your plate in 3D, and like MacroFactor, it adapts your targets as you go. The rest is the difference. Most counters stop at the total, and the few that plan meals still plan them without your week: none of them says it reads your calendar, so none knows that leg day moved to Tuesday or that four of you are eating at yours on Saturday.

**Logging in seconds**Its advanced meal scan reads the volume and angles of your plate in 3D, to see what’s there and how much. It scans barcodes and nutrition labels too, and takes your voice or a few typed words.

**Often, just one tap**Meals it planned for you log with one tap (“Had it?”), portions and leftovers included. It learns your usual meals, so they’re one tap as well, and notices when you swap something. And it reads restaurant menus and the order emails you choose to share, so eating out and ordering in are logged too.

**Targets that keep up with you**It sets your calorie targets and adapts them over time from what you eat, how you train and how your body changes.

Then, because Retenna’s nutritionist shares one picture of your life with your [trainer](https://retenna.ai/articles/ai-personal-trainer-app), your planner, your personal shopper and the people you love, what you log goes somewhere:

**Next week’s meals**What you log teaches it what you actually make. The meals you come back to return on busy weeks, and the ones you keep swapping out stop appearing.

**Your training**It tells your trainer how you’ve eaten around hard sessions, and when leg day moves, a high-protein dinner is ready that night.

**The shop**Your personal shopper knows what’s running low, and the shop is sized to the nights you’re in.

**Everyone at your table**It plans around your allergies and the foods you avoid, and around those of your household and your guests. Always check labels: it isn’t medical advice.

## From a count to a plan: a week with Retenna’s nutritionist

Here’s a week where the counting does more than add up. You log as you go: a quick scan of your plate, a barcode, or one tap for anything it planned. Your trainer has moved leg day to Tuesday, Thursday is a big interview, and four of you are having lunch at yours on Saturday, including Sam, who has a nut allergy. Each note is what Retenna would show you, with its reason.

Sunday 09:00 · from what you’ve logged

This week’s dinners lean on meals you actually make: the chickpea curry is back on Monday, and nothing takes longer than 30 minutes on a weeknight.

**Why:** you’ve made the curry 6 times in 2 months, and you’ve swapped out anything longer 4 times this month.

Done for you

Tuesday 20:00 · after leg day

Dinner’s ready when you’re in, high in protein.

**Why:** your trainer moved leg day to Tuesday, and on late nights you order in unless dinner is ready, 5 of your last 6.

Done for you

Tuesday 20:40 · Had it?

One tap logs the dinner it planned, with your portion and the leftovers saved for Wednesday’s lunch.

**Why:** it planned the meal, so it already knows what went in.

Wednesday · for Saturday, four for lunch

The vegetable lasagne you saved from your cookbook, with no nuts, and its shop arriving on Friday. Ask Jo if there’s anything they’d rather not eat?

**Why:** Sam has a nut allergy, and you haven’t cooked for Jo before.

Waits for your yes · involves Jo

Thursday 07:30 · interview day

A light breakfast planned.

**Why:** you skip breakfast when you’re nervous, before your last 3 big days.

Done for you

Friday 21:10 · ordering in

Your takeaway logged from its order email: chicken katsu curry and rice, with the portion from the menu.

**Why:** you share your order emails with Retenna, so there’s nothing to type.

Done for you

Everything you ate is logged and counted, most of it with one tap. And the numbers are working for you: meals you’ll actually cook, protein when leg day needs it, breakfast on the morning you’d have skipped it, and a lunch everyone can share. Allergies are planned around, not guessed: Retenna works from what you and your guests tell it, and you should always check labels. It isn’t medical advice.

## How it learns from what you log, and how you shape it

Everything Retenna learns from what you log, cook, swap and undo goes into one living model of you that every expert shares. Each thing it knows shows where it came from, and you can see, change or forget any of it.

1. **Day one** It asks. Who you cook for, any allergies and foods anyone avoids, your weekly food budget, and what to connect, such as your calendar and Apple Health, Health Connect, Samsung Health and more. Coming from another app? It brings your food diary over, from apps such as MyFitnessPal.
2. **Within weeks** It suggests. It has learned your usual breakfast, so logging it is one tap, and it has noticed you order in on late nights unless dinner is ready, so before a late Tuesday it suggests cooking double on Monday, and waits for your yes.
3. **In time** It decides the way you would. The week’s meals planned from what you actually eat and the week you’re actually having, and your targets adapted as your training and your body change, all done and explained, with an Undo.

**Your rules**You choose what it simply does and tells you about after, and what waits for your yes. New spending asks first, and anything that involves another person, like asking Jo what they’d rather not eat, always asks first.

**Numbers, or no numbers**Gentle mode tracks without numbers, just balance, protein or veg, and you can pause counting whenever you like.

**A reason and an Undo**Every meal it plans says why, and every change can be undone. Keep undoing the same kind of plan, and it notices and suggests a rule, so you only say it once.

**See, change or forget**Your living model is yours to read: “On late nights, you order in unless dinner is ready”, from 5 of your last 6. Change it or forget it, and it stops planning around it.

## How to choose

If you only want to count, one of these will do it, and some do it very well. If you want what you log to plan your meals around your whole week, that’s Retenna.

### For counting on its own

- **Cal AI** Quick photo logging with little set-up Owned by MyFitnessPal; scanning needs a subscription.
- **SnapCalorie** Portions measured with your iPhone’s depth sensor Free for 3 AI logs a day.
- **MyFitnessPal** The biggest food database, with an AI Coach Photo, voice and barcode need Premium.
- **MacroFactor** Calorie and macro targets that adapt each week No free tier.
- **Cronometer** Detailed nutrients, with a free barcode scanner Photo and voice need Gold.
- **Lose It!** Simple counting with a personal calorie budget Photo, voice and barcode need Premium.
- **Lifesum** Counting with meal plans and a weekly Life Score

### For counting that plans your week

Ours · coming to iPhone, Android and the web

Retenna

A nutritionist that logs your meals from a 3D scan, a barcode, a label, your voice or one tap, and counts calories and nutrients with targets that adapt, or tracks gently without numbers (for adults 18 and over). It plans meals, the shop and dinner after leg day around your week and everyone at your table, working with your trainer, planner, personal shopper and the people you love in one app.

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- Food
- Rest
- Days, occasions and trips
- Shopping
- The people you love

[Get early access](https://retenna.ai/#join-final)

## What to check before you trust one

- **How you feel about counting.** Counting isn’t right for everyone, and it shouldn’t take over. Retenna has a gentle mode for this: it tracks without numbers, just balance, protein or veg, and you can pause counting at any time. If tracking food makes you anxious, or you have a history of disordered eating, talk to a doctor before you start. The [NHS has advice on eating disorders](https://www.nhs.uk/mental-health/feelings-symptoms-behaviours/behaviours/eating-disorders/overview/) and where to get help. Aim for steady, not fast, and let a professional tell you what’s right for you.
- **Accuracy.** Treat a photo estimate as a guide, not a measurement. Scan packets, mention the oil and the dressing, and check what it found.
- **Allergies.** Retenna and some of the apps above plan around allergies and foods you avoid, but no app, ours included, can promise a meal or a product is safe. Always check labels: it isn’t medical advice, so don’t rely on an app alone for a serious allergy.
- **Health limits.** Retenna’s experts, and the apps compared here, are not doctors, registered dietitians, physiotherapists or therapists. If you’re managing a medical condition, or medication that affects how you eat, get advice from a professional.
- **Privacy.** What you eat and your body are personal. Check whether your data is sold, shared for advertising or used to train AI, and whether you can delete it.
- **Control.** If it plans or buys for you, it should ask before it spends new money or involves anyone else, and every change should come with an Undo.

## How Retenna’s nutritionist counts, and what it does next

About Retenna · that’s us

Every lifestyle expert, one mind that knows you.

Retenna’s nutritionist counts calories and nutrients, a health feature for adults aged 18 and over, and makes logging light: an advanced 3D scan of your plate, barcodes, nutrition labels, your voice or a few typed words, one tap for meals it planned or ones you have often, and restaurant menus and order emails when you eat out or order in. It sets your calorie targets and adapts them as you go, and gentle mode lets you track without numbers or pause counting at any time. Then it puts what you log to work. It learns the meals you actually make and the habits behind them, and plans the week around your calendar, your training, your kitchen, your budget, your allergies and the people you’re feeding. In a week when leg day moves to Tuesday and Thursday is a big interview, it has a high-protein dinner ready after leg day, plans a light breakfast for Thursday because you skip breakfast when you’re nervous, and plans Saturday’s lunch without nuts for Sam, asking you before it contacts Jo. You see why it chose each one, and you can undo any of it. Our [AI meal planner guide](https://retenna.ai/articles/ai-meal-planner-app) goes deeper on the planning, and our [AI nutritionist guide](https://retenna.ai/articles/ai-nutritionist-app) on coaching.

And your nutritionist is one of a team, in one complete app.

What makes Retenna different

1. **Every expert, in one app.** A stylist, a beauty and grooming expert, a personal trainer, a nutritionist, a wellbeing coach, a planner for your days, occasions and trips, and a personal shopper, each with a full space of its own. They remember what matters to the people you love, and an assistant runs through all of them.
2. **One living model of you.** It learns from what you do, what you choose and what you tell it. On day one it asks; soon it suggests; in time it decides the way you would. You can see, change or forget any of it.
3. **Every expert plans together.** They share one picture of your week, so a change in one reshapes the rest: leg day moves, so dinner is ready that night; brows move, so any redness settles before the party.
4. **Everything inside your rules.** You choose what it simply does and what waits for your yes. Every plan comes with the reason and an Undo, and anything that involves another person always asks first.

Your data is yours: you can see, correct, export or delete anything, including what it has learned, and it’s never used to train public AI models or sold. Retenna is coming to iPhone, Android and the web. The UK will be one of the first countries, and we’ll confirm the others nearer the time. Early access is open now.

[Get early access](https://retenna.ai/#join-final)

## Questions

**What’s the best AI calorie counter app?**

It depends on how you eat. Cal AI for the quickest photo logging, SnapCalorie for portions measured with your iPhone’s depth sensor, MyFitnessPal for the biggest food database, MacroFactor for targets that adapt each week, and Cronometer for nutrient detail. If you want what you log to plan your meals around your week, your training and your table, that’s what we’re building Retenna to do. It isn’t out yet; early access is open now.

**Is there a free AI calorie counter?**

Partly. SnapCalorie is free for 3 AI logs a day, and Cronometer’s barcode scanner is free. MyFitnessPal and Lose It! let you log by search for free, but photo, voice and barcode logging need Premium, and Lifesum’s free version has limited features. Cal AI’s scan results need a subscription, and MacroFactor has no free tier. Retenna’s early access is free, and founding members keep founding pricing for as long as they keep their plan.

**How accurate are photo calorie counters?**

Close enough to be useful, not exact. Cal AI says it’s about 80% accurate, and SnapCalorie puts its average error at around 15%; both are the makers’ own figures. You’ll get closer if you photograph in good light, mention oils and sauces, include something for scale, scan packets instead, and check what the app found.

**Does MyFitnessPal own Cal AI?**

Yes. MyFitnessPal announced it had bought Cal AI on 2 March 2026. Cal AI still runs as a separate app, and its FAQ says it can’t yet import your MyFitnessPal history.

**Can I log food with my voice?**

In most of these apps. MyFitnessPal’s Voice Log and Lose It!’s AI voice logging come with Premium, Cronometer’s voice logging (to the app or to Siri) comes with Gold, SnapCalorie takes voice notes, Lifesum lets you speak a meal, and MacroFactor’s Describe lets you type or say what you ate.

**Does Retenna count calories?**

Yes. Retenna’s nutritionist logs your meals from an advanced 3D scan of your plate, a barcode, a nutrition label, your voice or a few typed words, and often with one tap, and counts calories and nutrients. It sets your calorie targets and adapts them over time from what you eat, how you train and how your body changes. Counting is a health feature, so it’s for adults aged 18 and over, and gentle mode lets you track without numbers or pause counting at any time. What you log then shapes next week’s meals and the shop, and tells your trainer how you’ve eaten around hard sessions.

**Is calorie counting right for me?**

It isn’t right for everyone. If you’d like to keep an eye on what you eat without the numbers, Retenna’s gentle mode tracks balance, protein or veg instead, and you can pause counting at any time. If tracking food makes you anxious, or you have a history of disordered eating, talk to a doctor first; the [NHS](https://www.nhs.uk/mental-health/feelings-symptoms-behaviours/behaviours/eating-disorders/overview/) explains where to get help. Retenna’s experts, and the apps compared here, are not doctors, registered dietitians, physiotherapists or therapists, so for anything medical, speak to a professional.

**When can I use Retenna?**

Retenna is coming to iPhone, Android and the web. The UK will be one of the first countries, and we’ll confirm the others nearer the time. Join early access free and you’ll hear first, and founding members keep founding pricing for as long as they keep their plan.

**Is my data private with Retenna?**

Your Retenna is private to you. Everything it knows is locked to your account and walled off from everyone else’s, on Microsoft Azure’s secure cloud, encrypted when stored and on the way. You can see, correct, export or delete what Retenna holds about you, including anything it has learned. If you turn learning on, it learns from what you do and tell it to personalise your own experience, and what it learns stays with your account, never used for anyone else. We never use your information to train public AI models. We never sell your information, and detailed analytics and personalised ads are optional, for adults only, and off unless you say yes. Health features are for adults aged 18 and over.

## Sources

- Cal AI: [website](https://www.calai.app/), [FAQ](https://www.calai.app/faq), [privacy policy](https://www.calai.app/privacy), [App Store](https://apps.apple.com/us/app/cal-ai-calorie-tracker/id6480417616); MyFitnessPal’s [acquisition announcement](https://rss.globenewswire.com/news-release/2026/03/02/3247439/0/en/MyFitnessPal-Acquires-Cal-AI-Expanding-on-its-Position-as-the-Leading-Player-in-Digital-Nutrition-Tracking.html) and [blog post](https://news.myfitnesspal.com/myfitnesspal-expands-its-position-as-the-leading-player-in-digital-nutrition-tracking-with-cal-ai-acquisition/); third party: [TechCrunch](https://techcrunch.com/2026/03/02/myfitnesspal-has-acquired-cal-ai-the-viral-calorie-app-built-by-teens)
- MyFitnessPal: [Premium](https://www.myfitnesspal.com/premium), [2026 Winter Release](https://rss.globenewswire.com/news-release/2026/02/24/3243668/0/en/myfitnesspal-debuts-its-2026-winter-release.html), [AI Coach launch](https://rss.globenewswire.com/news-release/2026/06/10/3309733/0/en/myfitnesspal-introduces-ai-coach-to-deliver-personalized-nutrition-guidance-rooted-in-20-years-of-nutrition-expertise.html), [Coach help](https://support.myfitnesspal.com/hc/en-us/articles/45212266254221-Introducing-Nutrition-Coach-Your-Nutrition-Assistant), [Meal Planner](https://blog.myfitnesspal.com/myfitnesspal-meal-planner-what-to-know/), [ChatGPT app](https://rss.globenewswire.com/news-release/2026/01/07/3214864/0/en/MyFitnessPal-Launches-App-in-New-ChatGPT-Health-Experience.html), [MyFitnessPal Ads](https://rss.globenewswire.com/news-release/2026/03/17/3257233/0/en/myfitnesspal-launches-advertising-media-network-that-connects-brands-with-millions-of-health-conscious-consumers.html), [App Store](https://apps.apple.com/us/app/myfitnesspal-calorie-counter/id341232718)
- Lose It!: [App Store](https://apps.apple.com/us/app/lose-it-calorie-counter/id297368629), [Calorie Schedule](https://loseit.zendesk.com/hc/en-us/articles/50220249404308-Managing-Calorie-Schedule-and-Custom-Budgets), [privacy policy](https://www.fitnowinc.com/privacy/loseit/)
- SnapCalorie: [website](https://www.snapcalorie.com/), [FAQ](https://www.snapcalorie.com/faq.html), [App Store](https://apps.apple.com/us/app/snapcalorie-ai-calorie-counter/id1574239307)
- MacroFactor: [AI food logging](https://help.macrofactorapp.com/en/articles/258-ai-food-logging), [how to log food](https://help.macrofactorapp.com/en/articles/215-how-to-log-food-in-macrofactor), [July 2026 update](https://macrofactor.com/mm-july-2026/), [privacy notice](https://privacy.macrofactorapp.com/), [App Store](https://apps.apple.com/us/app/macrofactor-macro-tracker/id1553503471)
- Cronometer: [Gold](https://cronometer.com/gold/), [Crono Coach](https://cronometer.com/blog/crono-coach/), [privacy policy](https://cronometer.com/privacy/), [App Store](https://apps.apple.com/us/app/cronometer-calorie-counter/id1145935738)
- Lifesum: [App Store](https://apps.apple.com/us/app/lifesum-ai-calorie-counter/id286906691)
- Also mentioned: [FatSecret](https://apps.apple.com/us/app/calorie-counter-by-fatsecret/id347184248), [Yazio](https://apps.apple.com/us/app/ai-calorie-tracker-by-yazio/id946099227) and [Foodvisor](https://apps.apple.com/us/app/foodvisor-ai-calorie-counter/id1064020872) on the App Store
- Health: [NHS, eating disorders](https://www.nhs.uk/mental-health/feelings-symptoms-behaviours/behaviours/eating-disorders/overview/)

Spotted something out of date? Email [help@retenna.ai](mailto:help@retenna.ai) and we’ll fix it.

## Every lifestyle expert, one mind that knows you.

An expert and a full space for every part of your life, one living model of you, and everything inside your rules. Coming to iPhone, Android and the web: join early access free, and keep founding pricing for life.

[Get early access](https://retenna.ai/#join-final)