If you've been using the Barcode Scan feature on the free version of MyFitnessPal you'll need to start stumping up the cash or look for an alternative service from October 1st. Why? Because MyFitnessPal (MFP) has decided that despite it not being “an easy decision”, restricting access to the Barcode Scan to its Premium subscribers will “open doors for building even better features down the road”. Call me a cynic but it just sounds like an excuse to force users of the free tier to cough up the cash or move on if they wish to carry on scanning the barcodes of their favorite foods.
MFP states that it will still be possible to log over 14 million foods from its database – but instead of quickly scanning a barcode you'll need to type the name of the food into the search box, or create and save your own meals, recipes, and foods for logging in at a later time. All of this takes more time and adds mistyping the name of the food or recipe and navigating through the myriad of products bearing a similar name as additional inconveniences.
When does Barcode Scan become a Premium-only feature?
That depends on when you joined MyFitnessPal.
- Members who join before September 1, 2022: You’ll continue to have free access to Barcode Scan until October 1.
- Members who sign up for a new MyFitnessPal account on or after September 1: You’ll need a Premium subscription to access Barcode Scan.
How much is MyFitnessPal Premium?
Typically, a year's subscription costs $20 a month which adds up to a not-so-appealing $240 spend although you can get it for $80 right now because MFP is trying to appease those who have picked up the pitchforks. If you are in the UK, MFP only costs £8 monthly or £40 yearly as standard.
Do you plan to upgrade to the Premium plan or look for an alternative to MyFitnessPal once the barcode feature is removed from the free tier?
In addition to MFP (my old standby favorite) I also have the Healthi app for less than $2/month which has a lot of great features, including a bar code scanner. The one thing the Healthi app does not provide is a sodium count which is available with MFP.
I’ll miss that but there is no way I am going to pay $20/month for a diet app with no bar code scanner when I can just use my Healthi app for $18 less per month. I can keep track of my sodium intake on my own, thanks.
I’ll also look into other alternatives. Who knows, this may be a blessing in disguise.
I use the bar code scanner a LOT, probably almost on a daily basis, and actually prefer MFP to Healthi (but only slightly). But with this move my long relationship with MFP will come to an end.
Been nice knowing you, MFP, but the removal of the bar code scanner is a deal-breaker for me.
Moving on….
Still wondering about these news. The barcode scanner is a fantastic feature which is still free on great apps like YAZIO (which I switched to a few days ago when MyFitnessPal announced it). I already tested a few alternatives but got stuck on YAZIO as they’re offering the most important features for free. Now I’m wondering why I didn’t move on to this platform before. I’m sure it would be good alternative for you too!
I’m already starting to port over to Cronometer. Not only a free barcode reader, but the interface seems snappy and useful. I’d like the ability to group foods by breakfast/lunch/dinner on the free version, but it’s no big deal.
A big win? When I do type in foods, I’ve been finding the right one very quickly, rather than having to wade through dozens of user generated and incorrect entries.
The main downside is that it doesn’t push calories to my Garmin like MFP.
Will still be using MFP after 10/1. I have the patience and time for typing stuff in, because no way am I coughing up 20 bucks to keep a feature that was always free. Boneheaded move, MFP!
Yeah, no. They lost me with that one. I already use my Fitbit, and only really used MFP because it had so many of my recipes already built in and the barcode scan. Now, I’m just going to take a day to create those meals in Fitbit and drop MFP. They have me a reason to simplify.
Hell no…..I will stop using the product. They already show ads where they can make money, so we will see how much all the users leaving will affect that ad model.
this will cause me to ditch the app altogether. This means they don’t get my subscription, plus they lose all add revenue from showing me ads
Lol, nope. Unless it’s something like Netflix, I’m not supporting some greedy little dev that tacks on a subscription for features that work regardless.