HitMeal reviews, pricing and how it compares to MyFoodBuddy

HitMeal vs MyFoodBuddy, feature by feature

Both are iPhone calorie trackers built around fast logging. HitMeal is a food diary with four ways to add a food and a set of meal plans on top. MyFoodBuddy is a chat, where you describe what you ate and an AI coach named Fiona logs it. Here is how they line up, using HitMeal’s own listing, terms and privacy policy.

Two rows matter most. How you log is the daily difference. HitMeal has you scan, snap or search one food at a time, while MyFoodBuddy takes the whole meal as one sentence. And what you get without paying is where HitMeal reviews split, since its terms promise basic features for free while many recent reviewers say the useful tools sit behind Premium.

How HitMeal works day to day

HitMeal is made by AIBY Inc., a Miami app studio that also publishes ChatOn, Plantum and Coin ID. The app launched on the App Store in February 2021 and was on version 1.58 in October 2026. Here is the flow, from its listing and policies.

1. Onboarding quiz. You answer questions about your body and goal, and HitMeal sets a daily calorie target. Recent reviewers say the plan choice and trial offer appear right after the quiz.
2. Log a food. Scan a barcode, take a photo with the Meal Scanner, search the food database or type it in. Each item lands in breakfast, lunch, dinner or snacks.
3. Check the numbers. Calories plus protein, carbs and fat for every meal, and a running total for the day.
4. Follow a plan if you want one. Meal plans such as clean eating, keto, vegan and vegetarian, recipes, and a fasting schedule.
5. Track the rest. Weight, water, charts and home screen widgets, with steps, workouts and active energy read from Apple Health.

HitMeal has no product website of its own. Its terms, privacy policy and support form live on aiby.mobi, and support questions go through that form or support@aiby.com.

How MyFoodBuddy works day to day

MyFoodBuddy skips the search box. You talk to it like you would text a friend.

1. Say what you ate. Type or speak one sentence, like “two eggs, toast with butter and a coffee with oat milk.”
2. Fiona logs it. She splits the sentence into foods and amounts, looks each one up and shows a card with calories, protein, carbs and fat. Tap Log it.
3. Scan packaged food. The barcode scanner reads Open Food Facts, with USDA branded data as a backup.
4. Fix anything by chatting. Bigger portion or forgot the dressing? Tell Fiona and she updates the entry.
5. Ask questions. Ask Fiona what is left for the day or how your week went.
6. Keep going. Apple Health sync for weight, sleep, steps and workouts, streaks, and friends with leaderboards.

How much does HitMeal cost compared to MyFoodBuddy

HitMeal does not publish its prices outside the app. Its terms say the plan and trial length are shown on the signup screen. The only public price list is the App Store’s in-app purchase section, which names the items but not how often each one bills. MyFoodBuddy has one plan with everything in it.

What you would actually pay

If HitMeal offers you about $20 a year, it can cost less than MyFoodBuddy. The catch is that you only see the price after the quiz, and several reviewers say the plan they were charged for was not the one they expected. Read the plan length on the signup screen before you start a trial.

Is HitMeal free to use

Partly. HitMeal’s terms say that once you download the app you get its basic features, and that Premium options need a paid subscription. When you cancel Premium you keep the basic app.

What “basic” covers is where reviewers disagree. In May 2026 one reviewer said the free version let them enter food by hand but not use the scanner. In March 2026 another said the only free thing was the calorie target. Several reviewers in 2025 and 2026 titled their reviews “Not free” after reaching the plan screen at the end of the quiz, and others said features that used to be free moved behind the subscription.

MyFoodBuddy has no free tier at all, which is the honest trade. You get 7 days to try everything, then it is $39.99 a year or $7.99 a month, with no ads and nothing held back for a higher plan.

Where does HitMeal get its calorie numbers

HitMeal’s privacy policy names its suppliers. Food search runs on the FatSecret Platform API, a commercial food database. Photos sent to the Meal Scanner are analyzed by Clarifai and OpenAI.

The terms are direct about the photo feature. They say AI food recognition gives reference information that may be inaccurate and that you are responsible for checking it. That matches what reviewers report. In 2026 several said the Meal Scanner misread their plate and the barcode scanner failed to read packages, while others said barcode scans worked well for them.

MyFoodBuddy uses AI to read your sentence and work out portions, then takes the nutrition values from USDA FoodData Central for everyday foods, Edamam for branded foods and Open Food Facts for barcodes. If you give a number yourself, your number wins. When nothing matches, the card shows the AI estimate before anything is saved. More on this on our About page.

What happens to your HitMeal data if you delete the app

This is worth knowing before you build months of history. HitMeal’s privacy policy says your personal details and activity records, including your food diary and calorie intake, are stored locally on your device and will be fully erased if you uninstall the app.

Recent reviews line up with that. Reviewers in 2026 described losing their data after reinstalling, after moving to a new iPhone, and after the app froze. One said food logged on an iPad did not show up on their iPhone.

• If you use HitMeal, avoid deleting the app to fix a glitch, and check how your data moves before you switch phones.
• If you want one log across devices or after a reinstall, ask HitMeal support how that works for your account before you pay.

Is HitMeal worth it, and what do reviews say

On the US App Store HitMeal has about 49,500 ratings averaging 4.7. Written reviews are a smaller and more critical group. When we read the 100 most recent written US reviews on October 18, 2026 (posted between November 2025 and October 2026), 38 were one-star and 22 were five-star.

• What people like. It is easy to use, the database finds most foods including many restaurants, and several reviewers have used it for years.
• Paying. About half of the one- and two-star reviews were about price, with titles like “Not free”, charges after a trial and refunds that were refused.
• Scanning. Many said the barcode scanner would not read packages or the photo scanner got the plate wrong.
• Missing numbers. Several asked for fiber, net carbs, added sugar and vitamins.
• Data loss. Several lost their history after a reinstall or new phone, and two said setup would not accept their starting weight.

The developer replies to some reviews and points people to support@aiby.com. Whether HitMeal is worth it depends on the price you are shown and whether its database search fits how you eat.

When HitMeal is the better pick

• You want meal plans, recipes and a fasting schedule in the same app as your food diary. MyFoodBuddy has none of these.
• You want to log from a photo. MyFoodBuddy does not do photo logging.
• You like picking foods from a searchable database with restaurant items rather than describing them.
• You are offered a yearly plan around $20 and want the lowest price.
• You need an Android version, though reviewers say it has fewer features than the iPhone app.

When MyFoodBuddy is the better pick

• Searching and scanning one food at a time is why you stopped logging. In MyFoodBuddy you type or say the whole meal in one sentence.
• You want to fix entries by chatting and ask an AI coach, Fiona, what is left for the day.
• You want one published price, $39.99 a year or $7.99 a month, with a 7-day trial and no ads.
• You track more than macros. MyFoodBuddy shows fiber, sugar, sodium and 20+ vitamins and minerals.
• You like streaks, friends and leaderboards to keep you going.

Still comparing? See MyFoodBuddy vs Cal AI, MyFoodBuddy vs MyFitnessPal or the full comparison hub.

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