Pensum
Pensum vs MyFitnessPal
MyFitnessPal is the app most people start with. It also shows ads on the free tier and has moved basics behind Premium over the years, the barcode scanner most famously, in 2022. Pensum gives you a full tracker for free, with no ads and no account, and barcode scanning is part of the free core.
Android only.
Side by side
Prices as of 2026; check the store for current numbers.
| Pensum | MyFitnessPal | |
|---|---|---|
| Free tier | Full-featured core, free | Ad-supported and limited; several basics moved to Premium |
| Cost to keep using | Everything free now; tracking stays free, optional Pro one day | Free tier usable; Premium around 80 USD per year, Premium+ around 100 USD per year |
| Behind the paywall | Diary, barcode scanning, custom macros and data export: free forever. Meal photo scan: free today and for early users | Ad-free, barcode scanner, custom macro goals, meal photo scan, voice logging, data export |
| Ads | None, on any tier | Yes, on the free tier |
| Barcode scanning | Free, via Open Food Facts | Premium only since 2022 |
| Card required to start | No account, no card | Free account; card needed for Premium |
| Food database | USDA plus German and Swiss national databases, generic foods first, values flagged | Very large but crowdsourced, many duplicate and user-submitted entries |
| Adaptive expenditure / TDEE | Yes, free today and free for early users, with weekly check-in | Goals from a static formula |
| Privacy | Local-first, no account | Cloud account |
| Platforms | Android (early); Health Connect sync | iOS, Android, web, wide integrations |
Where MyFitnessPal is stronger: breadth. Its branded and restaurant coverage is enormous, it runs on every platform, and it connects to a long list of apps and devices. If you eat a lot of US chain-restaurant food, that coverage is hard to match.
What actually differs
No ads, and no metered basics
MyFitnessPal's free tier carries ads in the middle of logging, and it has narrowed over the years. Features that were once free now sit in Premium at around 80 USD per year. Pensum is free with no ads, no account and no card. Everyday tracking is free forever. Adaptive expenditure and the AI scans are free right now, and early users keep them free when they become an optional Pro tier.
Barcode scanning stays free
MyFitnessPal moved its barcode scanner to Premium in 2022, so on the free tier you scroll the food list instead of pointing your camera at a package. You scan a barcode dozens of times a week. Pensum scans them for free, using the Open Food Facts product database.
Quality over volume in the database
MyFitnessPal's database is huge and crowdsourced, so one food can return dozens of entries with conflicting numbers, while Pensum starts from a hand-curated core of 16,358 foods built from USDA plus the German and Swiss composition databases, with millions of branded products reachable through Open Food Facts.
If you log US restaurant food, stay on MyFitnessPal
Its branded and restaurant coverage is enormous, and it runs on iOS. Either of those settles it. Pensum is Android-only and its catalogue leads with generic foods, so if that is what you eat, and you are tired of ads in the diary and paying to scan a barcode, everything here is free.
Questions
Is Pensum a good MyFitnessPal alternative?
If what pushed you off MyFitnessPal is ads in the diary and basics that moved behind Premium, Pensum is a direct answer: the whole tracker is free with no ads, no account and no card, and barcode scanning is included. MyFitnessPal has far wider branded and restaurant coverage and runs on every platform, so if you log a lot of US chain-restaurant food its database is hard to beat.
What does MyFitnessPal paywall behind Premium?
Several things that used to be free. Premium removes ads and unlocks the barcode scanner, which moved to Premium in 2022, along with custom macro goals, meal photo scan, voice logging, different goals by day, and data export. Premium costs around 80 USD per year and Premium+ around 100 USD per year. In Pensum all of that everyday tracking, barcode scanning included, is free.
Does MyFitnessPal show ads?
Yes, the free tier shows ads, and many users describe them as frequent and intrusive during logging. Removing ads is one of the reasons to pay for Premium. Pensum has no ads on any tier, and there are none to remove.
Is Pensum free?
There are no ads on any tier, and no account or card. The diary, the food catalogue, recipes, trends and Health Connect sync are all included. Everyday tracking is free forever. Adaptive expenditure and the AI scans are free right now, and early users keep them free when they become an optional Pro tier.
Which has better food data, Pensum or MyFitnessPal?
It depends on what you eat. MyFitnessPal's database is enormous, with wide branded and restaurant coverage, but it is crowdsourced, so it carries many duplicate and inaccurate user entries. Pensum's core catalogue is hand-curated: 16,358 foods from national sources with USDA first plus the German and Swiss databases, with millions of branded products available through Open Food Facts behind it. Search ranks generic whole foods above branded products, and every value is flagged verified, partial or estimated.
The basics MyFitnessPal moved behind Premium, the barcode scanner included, are free in Pensum.