MyFitnessPal vs Lifesum in the UK: Free, Premium and the checkout test

Quick answer: Both MyFitnessPal and Lifesum offer basic food tracking without a paid subscription, but their paid tiers solve different problems. MyFitnessPal's current comparison puts food and exercise logging in Free, detailed logging tools in Premium, and meal planning plus grocery lists in Premium+. Lifesum distinguishes traditional manual tracking from paid AI Tracking; its Premium offer adds plan choices, programs and custom goals, while Lifesum Meal Plans include a Shopping List. Neither vendor's public feature list tells you which app is easier with your foods, device or budget. Try your ordinary logging and list-making tasks, then confirm the final UK checkout terms before buying.

This is an editorial comparison of the vendors' public descriptions, not a hands-on performance test, clinical evaluation or proof of the accuracy of either food database. Smaklig's Swedish product, retailer coverage and subscription claims are not evidence of a live UK nutrition service. This guide does not offer a UK Smaklig account or food log.

AI-generated content. Always verify ingredients and allergen information yourself. An app's scan, recipe, photo estimate or dietary label cannot replace the actual pack or individual advice.

Which tier provides the task you need?#

The names matter. MyFitnessPal has three named levels in its current help table; Lifesum uses Standard as a program name as well as offering a paid Premium membership. Lifesum explicitly says that seeing the Standard program does not tell you whether you are paying for Premium.

These rows paraphrase MyFitnessPal's tier table and Lifesum's tracking, Premium, Meal Plan and Shopping List pages, checked on 24 September 2026. They describe vendor-stated availability, not independent verification on an iPhone, Android phone or web browser. MyFitnessPal's Premium+ help lists the United Kingdom among purchase markets and says Premium+ functions are available on iOS and Android apps at present. Neither vendor source establishes Tesco, Sainsbury's or Ocado stock, loyalty prices or checkout support at a postcode.

Free first: run the same three-entry trial#

Make the free tier prove it can handle a normal day before paying for faster input. Use an ordinary packaged breakfast, a home-cooked dinner and something eaten away from home. For each entry, inspect the product identity, raw or cooked weight, serving size and nutrient label. Record whether you could edit an error without leaving the workflow. A barcode match, branded food entry or photo estimate is a starting suggestion, not laboratory measurement of the portion you ate.

Use a short scorecard: works, works with correction, requires a paid tier, or not tested. If all you need is a diary you can check manually, the Free or traditional route might be enough. If you need to plan meals before shopping, compare that task separately; logging yesterday's dinner does not make next week's basket.

Lifesum's help describes Traditional Tracking as available to all users and AI Tracking as Premium. It also lists a barcode scanner in the Traditional flow. MyFitnessPal's current table, by contrast, marks its barcode scanner as Premium. This difference is worth testing on the device you actually use, because vendor pages and app-store descriptions can change and may describe platform-specific behaviour.

Premium, Premium+ and Lifesum programs#

MyFitnessPal Premium is mainly a more detailed and faster logging tier in its own description: barcode and meal scanning, voice logging, more flexible goals, analysis, export and no ads. Premium+ contains that tier and adds a meal plan builder, prep mode, diet preferences and grocery lists. A headline saying “MyFitnessPal Premium has meal planning” can therefore mislead if it ignores the plus. MyFitnessPal's UK-eligible Premium+ page does not promise that a particular UK grocer accepts a plan or basket.

Lifesum Premium's published list includes AI Tracking, custom calorie and macro goals, programs and meal plans, saved foods and recipes and more nutrition detail. Its Shopping List help says that the function is available with Meal Plans: on Android the list mirrors meals and ingredients in the planner; on iOS you add ingredients from selected recipes using the shopping-cart control. The list can be shared as plain text. Premium opens more Meal Plan options, but the shopping-list page does not establish that every program or diary entry automatically creates a list. Test the plan you can actually select, the update behaviour on your device and whether the resulting list is suitable for your shop. The default Lifesum Standard program is not a separate verdict on the billing tier. Neither programme description proves that following a plan will produce a particular health result, that its nutrition estimate matches a home recipe or that an allergy filter is safe.

If food tracking is for a medical condition, a prescribed diet or a history of an eating disorder, the NHS advises speaking with a GP or healthcare professional before changing lifestyle for weight loss. Calorie counting is not the only way to make food choices. This page compares software access and shopping tasks; it does not set calorie targets or give treatment advice.

Why there is no single UK subscription price here#

Both MyFitnessPal's UK iPhone listing and Lifesum's UK iPhone listing say Free · In-App Purchases and show several pound-denominated purchase entries. The public lists contain differently named and differently priced entries. They do not establish that the same entry, term, trial, promotion and tier will be offered to a new subscriber on your device today. An iOS listing also does not quote the Android or direct-web checkout.

Before subscribing, write down four values from the final screen: £ amount charged now; billing interval; trial end and first paid renewal; and the exact tier name. Check whether a headline monthly equivalent is charged monthly or as one annual payment. If a trial is offered, note how and where you would cancel it. Compare the same term and channel rather than placing a monthly headline beside an annual discounted figure. Do not enter payment details because a comparison article calls one app a winner; this article does not choose a universal winner.

Which one should you choose?#

If a basic diary is your only requirement, start with both free routes and keep whichever one lets you correct your regular foods and portions. If you need gram-based goals, data export or faster logging, investigate MyFitnessPal Premium's specific tools. If the purpose is to build a week of meals and a list, compare MyFitnessPal Premium+ with a Lifesum Meal Plan and its Shopping List that your chosen tier makes available. Test a changed dinner and inspect the list on your device; the two workflows are not interchangeable simply because both have a list. If program-led meal ideas matter more, inspect Lifesum Premium's available programs and whether the food diary remains easy to maintain. The decision is about your task and the verified checkout, not a general claim that one brand is best.

You can also choose no subscription and plan dinners with a note and a shopping list. Our methodology explains the source and correction approach.

Sources checked 24 September 2026: MyFitnessPal tier table and Premium+ UK availability; Lifesum Traditional versus AI Tracking, Premium features, Meal Plans, Shopping List and Standard program explanation; UK Apple listings for MyFitnessPal and Lifesum; NHS calorie-counting advice. Check features and paid terms in your own UK account and final subscription screen before paying.