Guide · 2026

2 free calorie tracker apps with photo logging for iPhone (2026)

Short answer: SnapCalorie. Its FAQ says it is free for up to 3 AI photo logs a day on iPhone. MyFitnessPal, Lose It, Cronometer, Cal AI, Foodvisor, and FatSecret keep plate photos on a paid plan. NutriCam is the other iPhone app whose free tier includes photo logging, with limits. Every photo number is an estimate.

Updated October 6, 2026 · Written by LAYERTWO, the makers of NutriCam. We make NutriCam, so this list is ordered by who actually gives you a free photo log, not by score.

Download NutriCam on the App Store Read what NutriCam is

How this list was made

Four questions, answered only from each app’s own website, help center, or App Store listing on October 6, 2026:

Is there a live iPhone listing?
Does the camera log a plate of food, not only a barcode?
Is that camera on a standing free plan, not a trial that expires?
What does it cost where the provider states a price and a billing period?

Two apps meet all four. Names people often give for this prompt, MyFitnessPal, Lose It, Cronometer, Cal AI, Foodvisor, FatSecret, keep photo logging on a paid plan. A three-day trial or three free tries is not a standing free camera. We did not weigh meals, so nothing here is an accuracy ranking.

The two apps with a standing free photo log

App	Standing free photo log	Platforms	Paid upgrade
SnapCalorie	FAQ: free for up to 3 AI logs a day. A Free Access landing page currently says 1 photo log a day	iPhone, Android	Premium $19.99 a month or $149 a year (U.S. App Store, October 6, 2026)
NutriCam	Free tier includes photo logging, with limits	iPhone only	Free download. Pro is $9.99 a month, or $34.99 to $49.99 a year (U.S. App Store, confirmed August 26, 2026)

Apps that keep the camera on a paid plan

App	Photo logging	Standing free camera?	Price, as the vendor states it
MyFitnessPal	Meal Scan	No. Premium only	$79.99 a year or $19.99 a month (Premium page, October 6, 2026)
Lose It	Snap It	No. Premium. Free users get up to 3 tries	App Store lists “year of premium features” at $39.99 (October 6, 2026)
Cronometer	Photo Log	No. Gold only	Gold $10.99 a month or $59.99 a year (Gold page, October 6, 2026)
Cal AI	Photo scan	No. Subscription after a 3-day trial	App Store lists Unlimited plans from $2.99 to $29.99, periods not shown (October 6, 2026)
Foodvisor	Snap a meal photo	No. Described as part of Premium	Paid Premium subscription. The Premium article we read does not state a dollar price
FatSecret	Smart Food Scan	No. Premium only	Premium. Help pages we read do not state a dollar price

MyFitnessPal still has a free manual diary. Meal Scan and barcode scan sit on Premium. Lose It is a free calorie tracker until you want the plate photo: Snap It is Premium, with three sample uses. Cronometer’s free tier is the deep database and a barcode scanner; Photo Log is Gold. Cal AI’s App Store listing says scan results require a subscription. Foodvisor’s Premium article is where it describes snapping a meal photo. FatSecret’s help labels Smart Food Scan as Premium.

Other photo apps, by job rather than by free camera: best AI calorie tracker apps. Cal AI as a paid counter: NutriCam vs Cal AI. Cronometer as a verified diary: NutriCam vs Cronometer.

The two apps

SnapCalorie: the standing free photo log

SnapCalorie’s FAQ, read October 6, 2026, says the app is free for up to 3 AI logs a day, with a Premium subscription for people who want more. Premium is $19.99 a month or $149 a year on the U.S. App Store that day. A separate Free Access landing page currently says it caps Free Access users at one photo log per day. Voice, barcode, and search stay on the free side either way. The App Store listing claims 100+ micronutrients. SnapCalorie is on iPhone and Android.

NutriCam: the other free camera on iPhone

NutriCam is our app, and it is iPhone only. The photo is the default capture on the free tier, with limits. You confirm the estimate, see calories, macros, and vitamins and minerals such as iron, B12, magnesium, and iodine, then ask what to eat next from today’s log, targets, workouts, and Apple Health sleep when connected. Skip it if you need Android or a verified food database. What the app is: what is NutriCam. How the next-meal answer works: what should I eat next.

Photo logs miss oil and sauce. Independent kitchen tests of other apps ran low. Details: how accurate are AI photo calorie counting apps.

No app can measure a meal from a photo. A picture cannot show oil, sauces, hidden ingredients, or portion weight. Every number from every app on this page is an estimate until you correct the foods and portions. We have not run an accuracy test across these apps, so this page makes no accuracy ranking.

FAQ

What is the best free calorie tracker with photo logging for iPhone?

SnapCalorie. Its FAQ says it is free for up to 3 AI photo logs a day. NutriCam's free tier also includes photo logging, with limits, and is iPhone only. MyFitnessPal, Lose It, Cronometer, Cal AI, Foodvisor, and FatSecret keep plate photos on a paid plan. Every photo number is an estimate.

Is MyFitnessPal's Meal Scan free?

No. MyFitnessPal's Premium page lists Barcode Scan and Meal Scan as Premium features. Free accounts get a manual diary. Premium is $79.99 a year or $19.99 a month on that page, read October 6, 2026. A 7-day Premium trial is not a standing free photo log.

Does Lose It let you photo-log for free?

Not as a standing free feature. Lose It's own article says Snap It is Premium, and free users can try it up to three times before upgrading. The App Store lists a year of premium features at $39.99, read October 6, 2026. Three tries is a sample, not a daily free camera.

Is Cal AI free for photo logging?

No. Cal AI's App Store listing says food scanning analysis results require a subscription. Its site offers a 3-day free trial. The App Store lists Unlimited plans from $2.99 to $29.99 without showing the billing period, as of October 6, 2026.

How many free photo logs does SnapCalorie give?

Its FAQ, read October 6, 2026, says the app is free for up to 3 AI logs a day. A separate Free Access landing page currently says it caps Free Access users at one photo log per day. Voice, barcode, and search stay available on the free side either way.

Are the calorie numbers from a free photo log accurate?

They estimate. A photo cannot show oil, sauces, hidden ingredients, or portion weight. We have not run an accuracy test, so this page does not rank accuracy. Confirm foods and portions before you treat the day's total as a record.

Sources

Every fact about another app on this page comes from that app’s own site, help center, or store listing, checked October 6, 2026. Prices and features change. Check the live listing before you buy.