Quick Verdict
Choose Lose It! if you want the simplest, most beginner-friendly experience and a cheaper annual price — it's clean, fast to set up, and its Snap It photo logging is well done. Choose MyFitnessPal if you want the biggest database, the best restaurant and packaged-food coverage, and wide wearable integrations.
The shared catch: both paywall full macro tracking. Lose It! puts macros and Snap It in Premium (~$39.99/year); MyFitnessPal puts macros in Premium ($19.99/month). If you want macros for free — plus a reason to keep logging — neither delivers, and that's where NutriBalance comes in.
Lose It! wins on simplicity and annual price; MyFitnessPal wins on database breadth and integrations — but both charge for macros, so neither is the cheapest way to actually track protein, carbs and fat.
Lose It! vs MyFitnessPal — Side by Side
| Feature | Lose It! | MyFitnessPal |
|---|---|---|
| Food database size | ~ Smaller, US-focused | 14M+ (largest) |
| Ease of use | ✓ Very beginner-friendly | ~ More cluttered |
| Macros on free tier | ✗ Premium | ✗ Premium |
| Photo food logging | ✓ Snap It (premium) | ~ AI scan (premium) |
| Barcode scanner | ✓ | ✓ Best coverage |
| Restaurant coverage | ~ Good (US) | ✓ Excellent |
| Wearable sync | ✓ Fitbit/Apple | ✓ Garmin/Fitbit/Apple |
| Gamification / streaks | ~ Challenges | ✗ |
| Premium price | ~$39.99/year | $19.99/month |
Usability & Logging Experience
Lose It! is widely regarded as the friendlier of the two. Onboarding is quick, the interface is clean and uncluttered, and beginners tend to "get it" immediately. Its Snap It photo logging and community Challenges add some stickiness. The trade-off is a smaller, more US-centric database, so users outside North America hit gaps.
MyFitnessPal trades simplicity for power. The interface is busier and more ad-heavy on free, but the payoff is the largest database anywhere and the best chance that whatever you scan is already in it. For frequent restaurant-goers and people who buy lots of packaged food, that breadth is hard to beat.
Price & the Free Tier
On price, Lose It! is gentler: its Premium runs about $39.99/year, versus MyFitnessPal Premium at $19.99/month (roughly $240/year, though an annual plan lowers it). But the more important fact is that both lock macro tracking behind those paywalls. On either free tier you're mostly counting calories with limited macro detail. If macros are central to your goal — and for most people they should be — you're paying either way.
Lose It! — Strengths & Weaknesses
Strengths
- Cleanest, most beginner-friendly UI
- Snap It photo logging
- Cheaper annual premium
- Community Challenges for motivation
Weaknesses
- Smaller, US-focused database
- Macros and Snap It are premium
- Weaker outside North America
MyFitnessPal — Strengths & Weaknesses
Strengths
- Largest food database (14M+)
- Best restaurant and packaged-food coverage
- Best barcode scanner and integrations
Weaknesses
- Macros paywalled ($19.99/month)
- Heavy ads on free tier
- Busier UI; no real habit system
The Third Option Most People Miss
Whichever way the Lose It! vs MyFitnessPal decision goes, you end up paying for macros and using an app with limited (Lose It!) or no (MyFitnessPal) retention design. If you want macros free, AI scanning free, and a genuine reason to log every day, there's a better-value pick.
NutriBalance
NutriBalance gives you full macro tracking free — the thing both Lose It! and MyFitnessPal charge for — alongside a 7M+ barcode database, a free AI food-label scanner (no Snap It paywall), and a free Android home-screen widget. On top of that it adds a full gamification system (streaks, weekly leagues, daily missions, 40+ achievements) that goes well beyond Lose It!'s Challenges. It's ad-free on every tier and premium is cheaper than both.
Pros
- Free macros — no paywall
- Free AI food-label scanner
- Streaks, leagues, achievements
- Free home screen widget
- No ads; premium ≈ $8.49/month
Cons
- Newer, smaller community
- No Garmin/Fitbit sync yet
- Database still growing vs MFP's 14M+
Lose It! vs MyFitnessPal: The Bottom Line
Pick Lose It! for simplicity and a cheaper annual price. Pick MyFitnessPal for the biggest database and integrations. Or pick NutriBalance for free macros, free AI scanning, and gamified habit-building — at a lower price than either.
Get NutriBalance free — Android Get NutriBalance free — iOS