Pensum
MacroFactor's expenditure number, free in Pensum
I ran a MacroFactor user's export through Pensum. The two expenditure numbers were 15 kcal a day apart on average, and Pensum's is free.
MacroFactor's adaptive expenditure sits behind a subscription of at least $71.99 a year. A MacroFactor user sent me their export, with a weigh-in every day and food logged on nearly every day. I ran their weigh-ins and calories through Pensum and put the two expenditure numbers side by side, day by day, from January to October 2026.
A cut, maintenance and a bulk
They cut from about 66 kg to 60 kg by May, held their weight through June and July, and started a lean bulk in August. Each switch changes intake overnight and the scale lags by weeks, so expenditure estimates tend to disagree most around these switches. In none of the three phases were the two more than 63 kcal apart on any day.
What Pensum gives you for free
In MacroFactor, the expenditure, the adaptive targets and the diary itself all sit behind the subscription once the 7-day trial ends. In Pensum the measured expenditure and the targets that follow it are part of the free app, with no ads and no account. You can read every equation behind the number at pensumapp.com/expenditure. Before there is data to measure, Pensum starts from a formula estimate, the same kind the TDEE calculator runs in your browser.
Check it on your own data
- In MacroFactor, tap More, then Data Export under Data Management, and choose Quick Export.
- In Pensum, open Settings, then Import data, and pick MacroFactor. Your weigh-ins and diary come with you.
- Open Profile and compare the expenditure with the last value in your export.
Pricing, features and switching are covered in the full Pensum vs MacroFactor comparison.
About the data: one user's export, compared from 1 January 2026, after the first seven weeks of the export. Pensum's expenditure settings were tuned on January to June; July to October was held out of the tuning, and on those months the gap was 7 kcal a day. I'm collecting more exports on r/PensumApp and will add them here.
Pensum is a fast, private macro tracker with a measured expenditure engine. The adaptive TDEE is free, with no ads and no account. Get Pensum on Google Play, read how expenditure works, or go back to the homepage.