Is MyFitnessPal Premium Worth It? A Complete Review

MyFitnessPal is one of the most widely used apps for tracking nutrition, fitness, and overall wellness. With millions of active users, it has gained a strong reputation in the health and fitness community. The app is available in three versions: free, premium, premium+. While the free version offers plenty of functionality for basic health tracking, the premium version unlocks additional features that claim to provide a more tailored experience. But the big question is: Is MyFitnessPal Premium worth the investment? Let’s break down its features, pros, cons, and whether upgrading is truly necessary.

Understanding MyFitnessPal: Free vs Premium

Before we dive into the specifics of whether MyFitnessPal Premium is worth it, let’s first take a quick look at the two versions. The free version of MyFitnessPal is packed with useful features like:

• Access to a large food database (over 14 million foods).
• Basic tracking of calories, macronutrients, and exercises.
• Ability to set and track fitness and weight loss goals.
• Integration with fitness devices like Fitbit, Apple Watch, and Garmin.

While these features are useful, they may not be sufficient for users with more specific goals or those who want a deeper insight into their health and fitness journey.

What Does MyFitnessPal Premium Offer?

MyFitnessPal Premium is available for a yearly or monthly subscription fee, which is $82 per year or $20 per month, with a 1-month free trial for new users. So, what does the premium version bring to the table that makes it different from the free version? Here are the key features:

1. Custom Macronutrient Goals

One of the standout features of MyFitnessPal Premium is the ability to set customized macronutrient goals. While the free version allows for basic tracking of calories and macros, Premium gives users the ability to specify daily goals for carbs, protein, and fat in grams or percentages. This is particularly useful for those following specialized diets like keto, low-carb, or high-protein.

2. Food and Barcode Scanning

Both the free and premium versions offer access to a vast food database, but MyFitnessPal Premium takes it a step further with the Barcode Scanner and Meal Scanner. The barcode scanner allows you to quickly log packaged foods by scanning the barcode, while the meal scanner lets you take a photo of your food and have it automatically logged. These features are designed to save time and make the logging process more convenient, which can help users stay consistent with their tracking.

3. Ad-Free Experience

One of the complaints from users of the free version is the presence of ads. These can be distracting and detract from the overall user experience. MyFitnessPal Premium offers an ad-free experience, making it more pleasant to navigate the app without interruptions.

4. Detailed Nutritional Insights

Premium users have access to more detailed nutritional breakdowns. For example, you can see the percentage of your daily goals that are being met in terms of each macro (carbs, protein, fat) and get deeper insights into the nutritional content of your food. This level of detail can help users make more informed choices about their diet and ensure they’re meeting their nutritional goals.

5. Exercise Calories and Custom Goals

While the free version lets you track exercise, it’s limited when it comes to customizing how exercise calories affect your daily calorie target. With Premium, you can choose whether to add exercise calories back into your daily calorie allowance and set different goals for different days of the week (ideal for people who want more flexibility on weekends or during workouts).

6. Guided Plans and Intermittent Fasting

Premium users also gain access to guided fitness plans, which provide expert-led workout routines tailored to different fitness levels. Additionally, if you’re into intermittent fasting, MyFitnessPal Premium includes specific tools to help you track fasting windows, giving you greater control over your eating patterns.

7. Net Carbs Mode

For users following low-carb diets, the Net Carbs Mode is an essential feature in Premium. It allows you to track only the carbs that contribute to your calorie count, excluding the carbs from fiber and sugar alcohols. This feature is a big plus for those following keto or other low-carb regimens.

8. Progress and Trends

Another notable feature of Premium is the ability to track your progress in more detail. Premium users can analyze long-term trends in their fitness and nutrition data, which provides valuable insights for making adjustments to your routine and goals.

Is MyFitnessPal Premium Really Worth It?

Now that we’ve explored the features of MyFitnessPal Premium, let’s take a closer look at whether it’s truly worth the price. The value of upgrading really depends on your individual fitness goals, lifestyle, and how much you’ll benefit from the premium features.

If you have specific fitness goals like losing weight, gaining muscle, or following a specialized diet, MyFitnessPal Premium can offer a significant advantage. The premium version allows you to track macronutrients in more detail, set different calorie goals for different days, and get deeper insights into your nutrition. These features make it easier to fine-tune your diet and exercise plan. Additionally, the barcode scanner and meal scanner features save time and effort, making it easier to log food without doing everything manually. This added convenience can be a real game-changer for those with more defined fitness objectives.

For casual users who are simply looking for a basic overview of their calories and macronutrients, the free version of MyFitnessPal may be sufficient. The free version still offers essential tracking tools that can support general fitness and weight loss. If you don’t have specific dietary requirements or fitness goals, then upgrading to Premium might not offer enough extra value to justify the cost.

If you’re someone who loves food and is committed to health, the premium features like the meal scanner, barcode scanner, and detailed nutritional insights will likely enhance your experience. These tools are incredibly helpful for those who want to make informed food choices and ensure they’re meeting their nutritional targets. The ability to scan foods and instantly see detailed macros without entering everything manually can save you a lot of time and effort.

For those who find the ads in the free version disruptive, the ad-free experience in MyFitnessPal Premium can be a compelling reason to upgrade. While it’s a small feature, the lack of interruptions can make using the app more enjoyable and less frustrating, especially if you use it regularly.

Finally, for fitness enthusiasts who are serious about tracking their exercise, MyFitnessPal Premium offers advanced tools that can help you stay on track. You can choose to add exercise calories back into your daily calorie goal, track progress over time, and benefit from guided workout plans. The intermittent fasting tracker is also available for those following that lifestyle. These features are valuable for users who are committed to achieving their fitness goals and need more customization and support along the way.

In summary, whether or not MyFitnessPal Premium is worth it really depends on how serious you are about your health and fitness journey. For users with specific goals, the premium features offer deeper insights, added convenience, and more customization. But for those with more casual or general fitness goals, the free version may be more than enough.

Pros and Cons of MyFitnessPal Premium

To give you a clear picture of the benefits and potential downsides of upgrading to MyFitnessPal Premium, here’s a quick summary:

Pros:

• More control over macro and calorie tracking (ideal for specialized diets).
• Time-saving tools like the barcode and meal scanner.
• Ad-free experience for a cleaner, more enjoyable app use.
• Detailed insights into food nutrition and long-term progress tracking.
• Integration with fitness devices and the ability to adjust exercise calorie tracking.
• Access to guided fitness plans and intermittent fasting tools.

Cons:

• The cost may be prohibitive for casual users ($99.99/year or $24.99/month).
• Some of the premium features (e.g., barcode scanning) may not be necessary for users who already track calories manually.
• Free version still offers many useful features for basic users.

Try ReciMe: A Recipe-Centered Alternative 

Unlike MyFitnessPal, which tracks general nutrition throughout the day, we at ReciMe focus on calculating the calories and macronutrients specifically in the recipes you cook. With ReciMe, the nutritional data is directly tied to the recipes you save and create. As you import recipes or add your own, our app automatically calculates the calories, protein, carbs, and fats for each dish. This makes it especially useful for anyone looking to track the nutrition of homemade meals or meals found online, without manually entering each ingredient.

But ReciMe isn’t just about tracking nutrition, we also help you organize and plan your meals. You can create grocery lists based on your saved recipes, adjust serving sizes, and even plan meals for the entire week. We’ve made sure that all recipes are synced to the cloud, and with our app available on iOS and as a Chrome extension, you can easily access our recipes across multiple devices. Whether you’re saving recipes from social media or uploading your own, ReciMe helps stay organized and efficient in the kitchen.

If MyFitnessPal Premium feels too broad or if you’re specifically interested in tracking recipes instead of just individual food entries, ReciMe could be the perfect fit for you. It’s a simple, efficient way to manage your meals and nutrition without the added complexity. While MyFitnessPal offers a broad range of features for overall health tracking, we allow you to focus solely on what you’re cooking, making ReciMe a great alternative for those who prefer a recipe-centered approach to calorie and nutrient tracking.

Just try it – you’ll love it:

Conclusion

In conclusion, whether MyFitnessPal Premium is worth the investment depends largely on your specific fitness goals, lifestyle, and how much value you place on the premium features. For those of us with clear health and fitness objectives, such as tracking specific macronutrients or following specialized diets, the premium version offers substantial benefits, such as greater control over calories and macronutrients, detailed nutritional insights, and time-saving tools like the barcode and meal scanner. It can also provide the flexibility needed for tracking exercise, setting goals, and following specific fitness plans.

However, if your fitness goals are more general or if you’re simply looking for a basic way to track your calories and nutrition, the free version of MyFitnessPal may be sufficient. The premium features offer a lot of added convenience and customization, but for many, the free version still provides everything necessary to stay on track with health and fitness goals.

Ultimately, if you’re on the fence, consider starting with the free trial to test out the premium features. This way, you can decide for yourself whether the extra features are valuable enough to justify the subscription fee.

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