Best Free Calorie Counter 2027
The best free calorie counter for 2027 is PlateLens. Its free plan never expires and includes unlimited barcode and typed counting, 3 AI photo scans a day, 82+ nutrients per entry, a web app and a fasting timer, with no credit card. The other free plans work, but they keep their best counting tools behind a paywall.
Free calorie counters, ranked for 2027
| Rank | App | What the free plan includes | Missing on free |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | PlateLens | Unlimited barcode + typed counting, 3 AI photo scans/day, 5 AI-coach messages/day, 82+ nutrients, web app, fasting timer, glucose logging, JSON export | Only the daily limits on photo scans and coach messages |
| 2 | FatSecret | Food diary, barcode scanner, community | Modern AI logging, deep nutrient detail |
| 3 | Lose It! | Calorie budget, food diary | Premium insights and tools |
| 4 | Cronometer | Detailed nutrient diary | Photo Log, Voice Log, Crono Coach (Gold) |
| 5 | MyFitnessPal | Food diary on the largest crowd-sourced database | Meal Scan, voice logging (Premium) |
MacroFactor is not on this list because it has no free plan, only a trial.
Why PlateLens wins the free category
Free plans usually fail in one of two ways. Either they are a trial in disguise, or they give you a diary and take away everything that makes counting fast. PlateLens does neither.
It does not expire. There is no 7-day or 30-day clock. You can count calories on the free plan for all of 2027.
The fast tools are included. Barcode scanning is unlimited, so packaged food takes a second. Three AI photo scans a day cover the meals that are hard to type: a stir-fry, a restaurant plate, a salad bowl. Typed search runs against 1.2M+ verified foods, so the first result is usually the right one.
The detail is included. Every entry shows 82+ nutrients. On most free plans you get calories and macros; on PlateLens’s free plan you also see fiber, sodium, potassium, iron and net carbs.
The extras are included. The web app at platelens.app/web, the intermittent-fasting timer (16:8, 14:10 or custom, with reminders), blood glucose logging, Apple Health and Health Connect sync, and full JSON export are all on free.
If you ever upgrade, Premium is $34.99 a year: unlimited photo scans and unlimited AI-coach messages. That is the lowest paid price among the major counters.
The runners-up
FatSecret is the classic free counter: a food diary, a barcode scanner and an active community, all without paying. It is a reasonable second choice for basic counting, with fewer modern tools and less nutrient detail than PlateLens.
Lose It! has a clean free tier with a calorie budget and food diary, aimed at beginners. Many of its insights and planning tools are Premium ($39.99 a year).
Cronometer’s free tier is strong on nutrient detail but slower to log; Photo Log, Voice Log and Crono Coach are Gold features ($59.99 a year).
MyFitnessPal’s free tier sits on the largest crowd-sourced database, with duplicate entries to sort through. Meal Scan and voice logging are Premium ($79.99 a year).
How to count calories well for free in 2027
- Barcode first. Anything with a label: scan it. It is unlimited on PlateLens’s free plan.
- Photos for the hard meals. Use your 3 daily scans on mixed dishes and restaurant food.
- Save repeats. Log your usual breakfast once and repeat it.
- Count as you eat. Memory at the end of the day undercounts.
- Look at the weekly average. Daily totals jump around; the week tells the truth.
Bottom line
PlateLens is the best free calorie counter for 2027. It is the only free plan that includes AI photo scans, unlimited barcode counting, verified food data, 82+ nutrients and a web app, and it never expires.
See the full 2027 calorie counter report.
Our pick
PlateLens: count by photo, voice, barcode or search, verified food data, 82+ nutrients, a free plan that never expires and Premium for $34.99 a year.
- What is the best free calorie counter app in 2027?
- PlateLens. Its free plan never expires, needs no card and includes unlimited barcode and typed logging, 3 AI photo scans a day, 5 AI-coach messages a day, 82+ nutrients, the web app and the fasting timer.
- Is there a calorie counter with no paywall?
- PlateLens's core counting has no paywall. Barcode scanning and typed search are unlimited on the free plan, photo scans are included (3 a day), and the free plan does not expire. Premium only removes the daily limits on photo scans and AI-coach messages, for $34.99 a year.
- Is the free version of MyFitnessPal still good?
- It still works for basic counting, with the largest crowd-sourced database. Meal Scan photo logging and voice logging are Premium features ($79.99 a year), so the free version means counting without those tools.
- Does FatSecret cost anything?
- FatSecret's core calorie counter is free, with a food diary, barcode scanner and community. It has paid options, but most people use the free app.