Simple app reviews, and how Simple compares to MyFoodBuddy

Simple vs MyFoodBuddy, feature by feature

Simple (from simple.life, listed on the App Store as Simple, AI Weight Loss Coach) is a weight-loss app built around a fasting schedule, an AI coach and a daily Success Score. MyFoodBuddy is a calorie tracker. Both have an AI coach and both let you log by typing, so the question is what you want back from a log.

Two rows matter most. Macros is the big one. Simple gives each meal a score and keeps the macro breakdown for Premium, while MyFoodBuddy shows calories and macros on every food. And fasting cuts the other way. Simple has a schedule and timer built in, and MyFoodBuddy has none.

How Simple works day to day

Here is the routine as Simple’s help center and App Store listing describe it.

1. Answer the survey. Simple builds a personal plan and recommends an intermittent fasting schedule that suits your goal.
2. Check in with Avo. On Premium, a quick daily check-in with the AI coach sets your actions for the day.
3. Fast and log. The Track tab shows your fasting timer and when to stop. You log food by typing what you ate or scanning it with Avo Vision, which turns the photo into text you check before logging.
4. Get a score. Each meal is scored on things like fiber, protein, healthy fat and calorie density, and feeds your daily Success Score. Blinky, the purple mascot, reacts to what you log.
5. Track the rest. Water, weight, movement and a wellbeing tracker, with Apple Health and Apple Watch on iPhone and Health Connect on Android.
6. Move. Premium includes pilates, yoga and walking plans.

How MyFoodBuddy works day to day

MyFoodBuddy has no fasting schedule and no score. It tells you what you ate in numbers and lets you ask about it.

1. Say what you ate. Type or speak a normal sentence, like two eggs, toast with butter and a coffee with oat milk.
2. Check the cards. Fiona splits it into foods and amounts and shows calories, protein, carbs and fat for each one before anything is saved.
3. Scan packaged food. The barcode scanner is part of the plan.
4. Fix it by chatting. Tell Fiona what changed and she updates the entry.
5. Ask Fiona. What is left for today, how your week went, where your protein is.
6. See trends. 20+ vitamins and minerals, weight, sleep, steps and workouts from Apple Health, streaks, friends and leaderboards.

How much does the Simple app cost compared to MyFoodBuddy

Simple does not publish a price list. Its help center says Premium comes in monthly, quarterly, 9-month and yearly plans, plus commitment plans of 3, 6 or 10 months at a lower monthly price, and that prices vary by location and are shown on the paywall. The US App Store lists Simple Premium and Simple Pro in-app purchases between $14.99 and $59.99, without saying which plan each price is for.

What you would actually pay

Fortune’s reviewer could only find Premium quoted at about $30 a month from online sources and listed the lack of price transparency as a con. If price matters to you, check the paywall carefully before you subscribe, and note whether you are picking a commitment plan.

Does the Simple app count calories

Not in the usual way. Simple says plainly that its method does not include calorie counting or weighing food. When you log a meal, it is scored on nutritional factors such as fiber, protein, healthy fat and calorie density, and that score feeds your Success Score.

Simple Premium shows a nutrition breakdown with macros for each meal, and Avo Vision can give an estimated calorie count if you ask. On the free version, Simple says you get no detailed breakdown or macros for logged meals.

MyFoodBuddy is the opposite approach. Every food shows calories, protein, carbs and fat before you save it, along with fiber, sugar, sodium and 20+ vitamins and minerals. Numbers come from USDA FoodData Central, Edamam and Open Food Facts, and if you state a number yourself, your number wins. If you want to hit a protein target or a calorie goal, you need those numbers.

Is the Simple app free

Yes, there is a real free version. According to Simple’s help center, it includes

• Logging fasts, meals, water, weight and activity
• Up to 2 replies a day from Avo, the AI coach
• Avo Vision once a day, to scan a meal or a menu

It leaves out personalized insights, Blinky and the Success Score, the macro breakdown of logged meals, streaks and daily Avo check-ins, workout plans and most of the education library. Those are Premium.

MyFoodBuddy has no free version. The 7-day free trial includes everything, and after that there is one plan with nothing locked behind an upgrade.

Is the Simple app legit, and can you get a refund

Simple is a real, widely used app with 408K App Store ratings averaging 4.7, an Android app and published subscription and refund terms. The searches for complaints mostly come back to billing, so here is what its terms say.

• Premium renews automatically, even if you are not using the app. Deleting the app does not cancel it.
• Intro offers renew at the regular price unless you cancel at least 24 hours before the intro period ends.
• For website purchases you may get a refund if you ask within 30 days of a charge.
• Commitment plans (3, 6 or 10 months) generally run to the end. Within 7 days of buying one you can cancel and pay only the first month. After that, Simple’s refund policy says ending early costs a non-refundable $29.99 cancellation fee.
• App Store and Google Play purchases are refunded by Apple or Google, not Simple. You can also pause Premium for 1 or 3 months.

Is Simple worth it, and what do reviews say

Fortune reviewed Simple in 2026 and gave it 4 out of 5. The reviewer liked the robust free version, the clear interface, the reminders and the approach that avoids food shaming. The cons were that nutrition tracking was not always accurate on portion sizes, that Premium pricing is not transparent and that signup involves a long questionnaire. Fortune also notes the app is not for everyone, including people with eating disorders or who are pregnant.

In App Store reviews, people often say Blinky and the streaks keep them logging. Some long-time users mention glitches, such as steps not syncing or a meal from a previous day being logged again, and the developer replies to many reviews.

When Simple is the better pick

• You want intermittent fasting with a schedule and a timer.
• You would rather see a meal score than count calories.
• You want a free version that you can keep using.
• You want photo logging, menu scanning or workout plans in the same app.
• You use Android. MyFoodBuddy is iPhone only.

When MyFoodBuddy is the better pick

• You want calories, protein, carbs and fat for every food, not a score.
• You want 20+ vitamins and minerals tracked too.
• You want a published price, $39.99 a year or $7.99 a month, known before you sign up.
• You want to fix any entry by chatting with Fiona.
• You want to know where the numbers come from, USDA FoodData Central, Edamam and Open Food Facts.

Comparing fasting and program apps? See Fastic vs MyFoodBuddy and Noom vs MyFoodBuddy. Everything is on the compare page.

Frequently asked questions

Sources and how we checked