Pensum
Pensum vs MacroFactor
Pensum is a calm, fast food tracker for Android with a calorie target that follows your measured expenditure. The diary, barcode scanning, photo logging, micronutrients and the adaptive target are all part of the free app, with no ads and no account, and every equation behind the target is published. MacroFactor has no free version: after a 7-day trial, logging requires a subscription.
Android. iPhone waitlist on the home page.
Pick Pensum to get the adaptive part for free: a calorie target from measured expenditure, barcode scanning, photo logging and micronutrients, with no ads, no account and no card, and an algorithm whose every equation is public. Your MacroFactor history imports, so the target starts from real data. MacroFactor puts everything behind a subscription, from $71.99 a year, and its trial starts as a store subscription. Pensum is Android only for now.
Is MacroFactor free? Everything is behind the subscription
No. MacroFactor's own product page says there isn't, and will never be, a free version. Logging food, barcode scanning, the expenditure algorithm and AI logging all require a subscription. In Pensum all of these are free, the adaptive calorie target included.
What you get before paying is a 7-day free trial. It runs through the App Store or Google Play, so you choose a paid plan and need a payment method on your store account before it starts, and it renews into that plan unless you cancel. Cancelling does not delete your MacroFactor data, but without an active subscription you cannot keep logging.
| Pensum | MacroFactor | |
|---|---|---|
| Without paying | ||
| Food diary | Free | Subscription only |
| Barcode scanner | Free | Subscription only |
| Adaptive calorie target | Free | Subscription only |
| Photo logging | Free | Subscription only |
| Label scan and recipe import | Free | Subscription only |
| Micronutrients | Free | Subscription only |
| Price (US) | ||
| Monthly | Free; Plus is optional | $11.99 |
| 6 months | Free | $47.99 |
| Yearly | Free; Plus is optional | $71.99 |
MacroFactor features and prices from its product page and help center, US App Store. Other regions differ. Google Play shows the Pensum Plus price in your currency.
How Pensum is paid for. The tracker is free and has no ads: diary, manual logging, barcode scanning, search, photo logging, label scans, recipe import, saved meals and recipes, 18 micronutrients plus fiber, sugar and saturated fat, trends, adaptive targets, Ask Pensum, Health Connect sync, widgets, CSV export and imports.
Pensum Plus is optional. It adds conveniences that pay for what costs money to run: unlimited AI, micronutrients that fill in on their own as you log, and a daily cloud backup, encrypted in transit and at rest on servers in the EU. Nothing you need to track sits behind it.
Pensum vs MacroFactor, side by side
Every MacroFactor cell checked against its own site, help center or store listing on September 25, 2026.
| Pensum | MacroFactor | |
|---|---|---|
| Price and access | ||
| Free plan | Yes, the full tracker | No free tier, and the company says there never will be |
| Paid plan | Optional Plus for unlimited AI, auto micros, cloud backup | Required: $11.99 monthly, $47.99 half-yearly, $71.99 yearly |
| Trial | Not needed, free from the start | 7 days, started as a store subscription |
| Ads | None, on any tier | None |
| Account | None needed | Account required |
| Logging | ||
| Barcode scanner | Free | Subscription only |
| Nutrition label scan | Free | Subscription only |
| Voice | Free | Subscription only |
| Meal photo | Free: up to five photos of one meal plus notes, editable ingredient list | Subscription only |
| Repeat logging | Free: saved meals, recipes, favorites, Log again, last portion remembered, multi-add, copy to any day | Recipes and custom foods, subscription only |
| Food data | ||
| Database | Hand-curated catalogue on USDA FoodData Central, plus the German BLS and Swiss database, plus millions of products via Open Food Facts | Verified food database, subscription only |
| Search order | Generic whole foods ranked above branded products | Not documented |
| Value quality shown | Each nutrient flagged verified, partial or estimated | Not shown per value |
| Targets and expenditure | ||
| Adaptive expenditure | Free, measured from intake and weigh-ins | Subscription only |
| Method published | Every equation and constant, plus test results, at /expenditure | Principles explained; details kept as the company's "secret sauce" |
| Macro control | Pin protein, fat or carbs in grams or g/kg | Macro targets personalized by its algorithm |
| Nutrients and AI | ||
| Micronutrients | Free: 18 plus fiber, sugar and saturated fat, against daily targets | Subscription only |
| AI assistant | Free: Ask Pensum answers from your own diary; changes only on Apply | Not listed |
| Privacy and data | ||
| Where the diary lives | On your phone; optional EU cloud backup with Plus | Cloud account |
| Export and import | CSV export; imports MacroFactor, Cronometer, MyFitnessPal and more | Spreadsheet export (Quick or Granular) |
"Not documented" and "not listed" mean we could not find it on MacroFactor's product page, help center or store listing, not that it cannot exist.
What actually differs
A free tier versus none at all
MacroFactor's trial ends after 7 days, and then the diary locks until you subscribe. MacroFactor is premium-only and says so openly. In Pensum the tracker itself is free and has no ads. Plus pays for what costs money to run, and nothing you need to track sits behind it. No card, no account and no trial clock to start. If you track for three years, the diary and adaptive targets cost nothing in any of them.
Adaptive expenditure you can read line by line
Both apps work from the same physics: if your weight trend and your intake are known, what you burn follows from energy balance. MacroFactor describes the principles of its algorithm in long articles, and in its Expenditure V3 write-up says it will not divulge more details to avoid giving away its "secret sauce".
Pensum publishes the whole thing at pensumapp.com/expenditure: the equation, the smoothing, the step clamp, how cut-to-bulk switches and missing days are handled, and the test suite with the numbers. That includes the scenario Pensum handles worst, a plateau followed by a sudden water drop, printed at 230 kcal of error. You can check how the number on your screen was made. For a starting estimate before you have data, use the TDEE calculator.
Targets you pin yourself
Pensum sets the calorie target from your measured expenditure and your goal, and lets you pin protein, fat or carbs to your own grams or grams per kilogram, so the rest fills around what you decided. The calorie side keeps following your real data, with no check-in routine to keep up.
AI logging, free in Pensum
MacroFactor's AI photo logging, label scanner and recipe importer are part of its subscription. In Pensum, photo logging, label scans and recipe import are free.
Pensum's photo logging takes up to five photos of one meal plus your notes, such as a rough weight, the oil you used or the size of the bowl, and returns an editable ingredient list that names hidden oil and sugar. Our published research found that telling the model the plate's total weight cut the average gram error roughly in half. The photo guide shows how to get there.
Local-first, no account
MacroFactor keeps your diary in a cloud account. Pensum keeps the diary on your phone and asks for no account at all. Backups are manual files you control, or, with Plus, an automatic daily copy encrypted in transit and at rest on EU servers. Pensum shows no ads and sells no data. Health Connect sync reads your weight and writes meals and manual weigh-ins back.
Pensum is for you if
- You want adaptive, expenditure-based targets without a subscription.
- You want to read exactly how your expenditure number is calculated.
- You want photo logging, label scans and recipe import without paying.
- You prefer no account and a diary that lives on your phone.
- You eat a lot of generic whole foods and want them ranked above brands.
- You are on Android, or on a phone without Google services.
Switching from MacroFactor to Pensum
Your history comes with you, so the expenditure estimate starts from months of real data instead of zero.
- Export while you still have access. In MacroFactor, tap More, then Data Export under Data Management. Quick Export gives one spreadsheet with scale weight, calories, macros and expenditure; Granular Export lets you include the food log. Do this before your subscription ends.
- Install Pensum. From Google Play. No account to create.
- Import the .xlsx. In Pensum, open Settings, tap Import data, choose MacroFactor and pick the file. Each logged food comes over with its calories and macros, sorted into meals by time, plus the micronutrients Pensum tracks wherever MacroFactor has them, and your scale weigh-ins. The smoothed trend weight is left out on purpose. A preview shows before anything is written, and days you already logged in Pensum are skipped. How the import works.
- Let expenditure settle. With imported weigh-ins and intake, Pensum's measured expenditure has history to work from. Set your goal, pin your protein, and keep logging.
MacroFactor questions
Is MacroFactor free?
No. MacroFactor has no free version, and its own site says there never will be one. You get a 7-day free trial with every feature on, and after that logging requires a subscription. In Pensum the diary, barcode scanning, photo logging and the adaptive calorie target are free, with no ads.
How much does MacroFactor cost in 2026?
In the US, MacroFactor costs $11.99 per month, $47.99 for six months or $71.99 per year. A bundle with MacroFactor Workouts costs $89.99 per year for people who started on or after 1 January 2026. Prices in other countries differ and are shown in the App Store or Google Play.
Does the MacroFactor free trial need a card?
The trial runs as an App Store or Google Play subscription, so you pick a paid plan and need a payment method on that store account before it starts. It renews into the paid plan unless you cancel before the 7 days end. Pensum needs no card and no account to start.
Is MacroFactor worth it?
If MacroFactor feels too expensive, look at what the money buys. With MacroFactor you pay at least $71.99 a year to keep logging after the trial. That buys the diary, the expenditure algorithm, weekly check-ins and AI logging. Pensum gives you the core of it free: a fast diary, barcode scanning, photo logging, micronutrients and a calorie target that follows your measured expenditure, with no ads and no card.
Is there a free MacroFactor alternative without a subscription?
Yes. Pensum is a free MacroFactor alternative for Android, with no ads and no subscription needed. Its diary, barcode scanner, photo logging, micronutrients and adaptive targets from measured expenditure are free, with no account. The full expenditure method is published at pensumapp.com/expenditure, and Pensum imports your MacroFactor export so your history keeps working from day one.
Does Pensum have adaptive TDEE like MacroFactor?
Yes, and it is free. Pensum measures your expenditure from your logged intake and weigh-ins, then sets calorie targets from that measurement instead of a fixed formula. You can pin protein, fat or carbs to your own grams or g/kg. Every equation and constant is published on the expenditure page.
Can I export my MacroFactor data?
Yes. In MacroFactor, tap More, then Data Export under Data Management. Quick Export gives one spreadsheet with weight, calories, macros and expenditure; Granular Export lets you pick datasets such as the food log. Pensum imports that .xlsx file with a preview before anything is written. Export while your subscription is still active.
Does MacroFactor have AI food logging?
Yes, inside the subscription. MacroFactor lists AI photo food logging, speech-to-text logging, a nutrition label scanner and a recipe importer, none of which you can use without paying. In Pensum, photo logging with up to five photos of one meal, voice logging, label scans and recipe imports are free.
Does MacroFactor show ads?
No. MacroFactor is ad-free and funded entirely by subscriptions, which is one reason it has no free tier. Pensum is also ad-free, on the free plan and on Plus. The difference is that Pensum's ad-free tracking needs no subscription.
Is Pensum available on iPhone?
Not yet. Pensum is on Google Play for Android, with a direct APK for phones without Google services. An iPhone version has a waitlist on the Pensum home page, with no release date promised.
How we compared
We used MacroFactor's product page, pricing and help-center articles, its App Store listing and its own articles on the expenditure algorithm, checked on September 25, 2026, alongside the current Pensum release. Prices vary by region and change over time. If something here is out of date, tell us at [email protected] and we will fix it.
- MacroFactor product page: features, prices, "no free version"
- MacroFactor help: subscriptions and bundles
- MacroFactor Workouts pricing and bundle
- MacroFactor: An In-Depth Look at the V3 Expenditure Algorithm
- MacroFactor help: export your data
- MacroFactor help: integrations
- MacroFactor on the US App Store
Adaptive targets, no subscription required. The method is public.