MyNetDiary review, and how it compares to MyFoodBuddy

MyNetDiary vs MyFoodBuddy, feature by feature

MyNetDiary is a long-running calorie and nutrient tracker with one of the more generous free versions around. MyFoodBuddy is a paid iPhone app where you text or say what you ate and an AI coach named Fiona logs it. Here is how they line up.

Two rows matter most. The free tier goes to MyNetDiary without much argument. It has no ads and keeps the barcode scanner free. The AI coach row is where MyFoodBuddy differs. In MyNetDiary the AI Coach sits on its top plan at $99.99 a year, while Fiona is part of MyFoodBuddy’s only plan.

How MyNetDiary works day to day

MyNetDiary was founded in 2005 and was one of the first calorie counters on the App Store in 2008. Here is the daily flow from its own pages.

1. Start without an account. Set a calorie and macro target. A free account adds sync across devices and the web.
2. Log each food. Search the database, scan a barcode for free, use voice logging, or reuse favorites and recent meals.
3. Snap a plate on Premium. Meal Scan matches a photo to its database.
4. Track the details. Up to 108 nutrients per food, water, exercise and weight, with charts over your full history.
5. Let Autopilot adjust targets on Premium. Advanced Autopilot estimates your real energy use from food, exercise and weight trend, and updates calories and macros weekly.
6. Add AI on Premium Plus. AI Coach, AI Voice Logging of spoken meal descriptions, AI Suggest Meals and AI Restaurant Menu Scan.

MyNetDiary also leans into health tracking. Premium covers blood glucose, A1C, ketones, medications and a GLP-1 Companion for people on medications like Ozempic or Zepbound, and the free Professional Connect feature shares your diary with a dietitian, coach or doctor.

How MyFoodBuddy works day to day

MyFoodBuddy is built for people who never got into the habit of search-and-pick logging.

1. Say what you ate. Type or speak a normal sentence, like “two eggs, toast with butter and a coffee with oat milk.”
2. Fiona logs it. She splits it 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 with the barcode scanner.
4. Fix anything by chatting. Tell Fiona what changed and she updates the entry.
5. Ask questions about what is left today or how your week went.
6. Track 20+ vitamins and minerals, and sync weight, sleep, steps and workouts with Apple Health.

How much does MyNetDiary cost compared to MyFoodBuddy

MyNetDiary has four ways to pay. Free, Premium at $59.99 a year or $8.99 a month, Premium Plus at $99.99 a year or $14.99 a month, and Lifetime Premium at $179.99 once (without the Premium Plus AI features). MyFoodBuddy has one plan at $39.99 a year or $7.99 a month after a 7-day free trial.

What you would actually pay

Put plainly, if you want a free tracker, MyNetDiary is the better deal and MyFoodBuddy is not trying to compete there. If you want the AI features, MyFoodBuddy is $60 a year cheaper than Premium Plus. If you want photo logging, fasting or meal plans, MyNetDiary Premium has them and MyFoodBuddy does not.

Is MyNetDiary free, and what does the free version include

Yes. MyNetDiary’s free version does not expire, needs no account to start and has no ads. According to its own feature table it includes the full food database, an unlimited barcode scanner, voice logging, macro tracking, up to 108 nutrients, exercise and water tracking, charts and reports over your whole history, custom foods and recipes, community features and offline use.

That is more than most free calorie counters give away, and it is fair to say so. MyFitnessPal moved its barcode scanner to Premium in 2022 and shows ads to free users. Lose It! is moving its scanner to Premium too. See MyFoodBuddy vs MyFitnessPal and MyFoodBuddy vs Lose It.

MyNetDiary Premium vs Premium Plus, and where the AI features are

MyNetDiary splits its paid features into two tiers, and the split decides what you pay.

Is MyNetDiary Premium worth it? If you want photo logging, meal plans, fasting or the adaptive Autopilot, yes, and at $59.99 a year it costs less than MyFitnessPal Premium. If the part you care about is talking to a coach and logging by description, that is Premium Plus at $99.99, and MyFoodBuddy covers that part for $39.99. Existing Premium members can upgrade to Premium Plus for $39.99 a year.

MyNetDiary also sells a separate AI-first app called PlateAI with the same AI features as Premium Plus. We could not find its price on a public page.

Is MyNetDiary accurate, and where does MyFoodBuddy get its numbers

MyNetDiary says its database has over 2 million foods, built on USDA and NCC data, and that trained staff review every branded and restaurant food before you can log it, with 2,500 to 3,500 foods reviewed each day. It also cites a 2026 study in the journal Nutrition and Health that rated it highest of 17 apps, and notes that the study used manually entered menus and did not test barcode or photo logging.

MyFoodBuddy matches everyday foods in USDA FoodData Central, branded foods in the Edamam food database and barcode scans in Open Food Facts. AI reads your sentence and works out portion weights. If nothing matches, the AI estimates and shows the card before saving, and if you give a calorie number yourself, your number is used.

We have not tested either app for accuracy and will not claim one is more accurate. Both lean on USDA data for everyday foods. The difference is that MyNetDiary has you pick from its database, while MyFoodBuddy picks for you and shows its work.

What do other MyNetDiary reviews say

When we checked on October 18, 2026, the US App Store showed about 169,000 ratings averaging 4.8. MyNetDiary says 32 million people have used it.

FeastGood scored it 4.0 out of 5, praising how easy it is to use, its food grades and the lack of ads, while noting that the per-food macro breakdown needed Premium and that the reviewer personally preferred MacroFactor. Garage Gym Reviews listed the large set of verified foods and no ads in the free version as pros, and the subscription price and wearable sync being Premium as cons.

The overall picture is a well-reviewed, careful app whose free tier is its strongest selling point. The trade-offs people mention are price at the top tiers and how much sits behind Premium.

When MyNetDiary is the better pick

• You want a free tracker with no ads and a free barcode scanner.
• You track vitamins, minerals and other nutrients in depth, up to 108 per food.
• You use Android or the web. MyFoodBuddy is iPhone only.
• You want photo logging, meal plans, fasting or adaptive targets.
• You manage diabetes or take a GLP-1 medication and want those tracked next to food.
• You want to share your diary with a dietitian through Professional Connect.

When MyFoodBuddy is the better pick

• You want to log every meal by typing or saying it, not by searching and picking.
• You want an AI coach without paying $99.99 a year. MyFoodBuddy is $39.99.
• You want to fix entries by chatting, like “the pasta was a bigger bowl.”
• You like streaks, friends and leaderboards to keep logging.
• You want one plan with nothing held back for a higher tier.

Still comparing? See MyFoodBuddy vs Cronometer, MyFoodBuddy vs MyFitnessPal and MyFoodBuddy vs Lose It, or browse every comparison.

Frequently asked questions

Sources and how we checked