Lifesum barcode scanner: the best-looking option, and what it costs

What the free tier does

• Barcode scanning, unlimited
• Calorie tracking against a goal
• A basic macro breakdown, shown as percentages
• Weight logging
• A limited selection of recipes

Scanning itself is free, which puts Lifesum ahead of MyFitnessPal immediately. The constraint is what you can do with the result.

What Premium adds

Macros in grams rather than percentages, the full recipe and diet-plan library, nutrient detail beyond the three macros, food ratings, and fasting tracking. Around $9 a month or $45 a year.

The macro presentation is the pointed one. Free users see percentages, which is close to useless for hitting a protein target — "24% protein" tells you nothing actionable without also knowing the calorie total and doing the arithmetic. If you track macros seriously, the free tier will not do.

The design argument

It is worth taking seriously rather than dismissing as decoration. Calorie tracking fails because people stop, and people stop partly because the tools are unpleasant. Lifesum is genuinely pleasant: clear typography, sensible colour, a diary that does not feel like data entry.

For someone who has abandoned two ugly trackers already, that is a real reason to choose it — a tool you enjoy opening is one you keep using, and consistency beats precision by a wide margin here.

The database

Good in Europe, particularly Scandinavia where Lifesum originates, and decent in the US and UK. Coverage of own-brand European supermarket products is better than most US-centric apps manage.

Entries are a mix of curated and user-submitted. Quality is middling — better than MyFitnessPal, well short of Cronometer.

The guided plans

Lifesum leans on structured plans — keto, high protein, Scandinavian, various fasting protocols. Premium, and the most divisive part of the app.

If you want to be told what to do, they provide structure and remove decisions, which for some people is exactly what makes a change stick. If you already know what you are doing, they are clutter in front of the diary. Neither reaction is wrong.

How it compares

Who it suits

Choose Lifesum if design is what has stopped you sticking with a tracker before, if you want guided structure, or if you shop in Europe and want good local coverage.

Look elsewhere if you track macros in grams and do not want to pay for it, or if you want to scan something without creating an account first.

For the second case, the browser scanner gives you full macros in grams, with the first scan free — a reasonable companion to Lifesum rather than a replacement for it.