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openplate

openplate as a MyFitnessPal alternative, side by side

Last checked: October 2, 2026

openplate is open source under the MIT license, shows no ads, keeps your diary on your own device and lets you run the whole thing yourself, with no subscription when you self-host. MyFitnessPal wins on native apps, a larger food database, a Premium barcode scanner, exercise logging and a free plan with ads. If you want to own your food data, pick openplate.

We build openplate. This page compares it with MyFitnessPal from MyFitnessPal's own public pages, read on the date above. We have no tie to MyFitnessPal. MyFitnessPal is a trademark of its owner. Prices and features change. Check the vendor's own page before you decide.

openplate and MyFitnessPal compared, one topic per row. Each MyFitnessPal cell links to the page it comes from.
TopicopenplateMyFitnessPal
Where it runsA web app that you install from your browser. There is no app store and there are no native apps.

iOS, Android and the web.

Source: Where it runs

Languages6 interface languages: German, English, French, Italian, Spanish and Turkish.

Its App Store listing shows 19 languages.

Source: Languages

Food databaseA smaller database that is not built from branded products. It draws on German BLS and USDA FoodData Central data.

Its App Store listing says it has more than 20 million foods.

Source: Food database

PlansA monthly plan and a yearly plan for the hosted app. Self-hosting is free.

Three plans: Free, Premium and Premium+. Premium+ is sold in the United States, the United Kingdom, Canada, Ireland, New Zealand and Australia.

Source: Plans

Price of the paid plan€5.00 a month or €40.00 a year, VAT included. Self-hosting is free.

In March 2026 MyFitnessPal's own page listed Premium at $79.99 a year and Premium+ at $99.99 a year (US). Prices differ by country and change; check MyFitnessPal's page.

Source: Price of the paid plan

Free trial10 free AI scans or 14 days, whichever comes first, no card needed.

It offers a 7-day free trial to new Premium users.

Source: Free trial

Free useThe hosted app has no permanent free tier. A new account gets a free trial first. Self-hosting is free.

There is a Free plan, and it is ad supported. MyFitnessPal's help page says that the core of the app is free and stays free because ads help pay for it.

Source: Free use

AdsNo ads, and no ad or tracking SDK in the app.

Premium removes ads.

Source: Ads

Barcode scannerNone, by design. openplate reads the printed nutrition panel from a photo instead.

Premium only since 1 October 2022. It works only in the mobile apps.

Source: Barcode scanner

Meal plannerNo meal planner. You get saved meals and AI recipe ideas from a list of what is in your pantry.

Premium+ adds a meal planner.

Source: Meal planner

Exercise loggingNo exercise log. openplate logs food, weight and fasting, and it has a fasting timer with history.

Its help page says that the Free plan lets you log food and exercise.

Source: Exercise logging

Privacy policyNo third-party tracker. Hosted analytics use a Matomo that openplate runs itself, with cookies off.

Its privacy policy, effective 18 March 2025, says it engages in targeted advertising. It also says that some cookie use on its website may count as selling or sharing personal information under privacy laws.

Source: Privacy policy

Data exportCSV and a full JSON backup. Free, and made in your browser.

Data export is a Premium function.

Source: Data export

Who is behind itOpen source under the MIT license. You can read the code and run your own copy.

Under Armour sold MyFitnessPal to Francisco Partners in 2020 (closed 18 December 2020).

Source: Who is behind it

On 2 March 2026 MyFitnessPal announced that it acquired Cal AI, which continues as a standalone product.

Source

What does MyFitnessPal Premium cost compared with openplate?

MyFitnessPal has three plans: Free, Premium and Premium+. In March 2026 MyFitnessPal's own page listed Premium at $79.99 a year and Premium+ at $99.99 a year (US). Prices differ by country and change; check MyFitnessPal's page. New Premium users can start with a 7-day free trial.

The hosted openplate app costs €5.00 a month or €40.00 a year, VAT included. A new account starts with 10 free AI scans or 14 days, whichever comes first, no card needed. After that the app locks until you pick a plan. Everything you logged stays, and you can export it.

You can also run openplate on your own server. The software costs nothing. You pay for your server and, for photo scans, for your own AI key or your own hardware.

Pricing

Is openplate free?

The software is. The hosted app is not. openplate is open source under the MIT license, and you can run your own copy for free. The hosted app at app.openplate.de needs a paid plan once the free trial ends.

MyFitnessPal works differently. It has a Free plan that is ad supported, and Premium removes the ads.

Is the MyFitnessPal barcode scanner free?

No. MyFitnessPal's help page says that, as of 1 October 2022, the barcode scanner is available only with a Premium subscription. The scanner works only in the mobile apps.

openplate has no barcode scanner, by design. It reads the printed nutrition panel from a photo instead.

What is the difference in privacy?

openplate keeps your diary on your device. On your own instance, syncing is optional. On the hosted app, every account syncs. A synced diary is encrypted on your device before it is uploaded. But the operator holds a recovery key that can restore a diary, and so can read it. On the hosted app, the operator is openplate. If you self-host, you are the operator.

openplate shows no ads and has no third-party tracker. Hosted analytics use a Matomo that openplate runs itself, with cookies off.

MyFitnessPal's privacy policy, effective 18 March 2025, says it engages in targeted advertising. It also says that some cookie use on its website may count as selling or sharing personal information under privacy laws.

In 2018 the company reported in a filing with the US Securities and Exchange Commission that an unauthorized party took data of about 150 million accounts: usernames, e-mail addresses and mostly bcrypt hashed passwords. Payment cards were not affected.

Source

What does MyFitnessPal do better?

MyFitnessPal does several things that openplate does not.

  • Native apps. MyFitnessPal runs on iOS, Android and the web. openplate is a web app that you install from your browser.
  • A larger food database. Its App Store listing says it has more than 20 million foods. openplate uses a smaller database.
  • Barcode scanning. Premium has a barcode scanner, and it works only in the mobile apps. openplate has none, by design. You photograph the printed nutrition panel instead.
  • Meal planning. Premium+ adds a meal planner. openplate has saved meals and AI recipe ideas from your pantry, but no meal planner.
  • Languages. Its App Store listing shows 19 languages. openplate has 6.
  • Exercise logging. MyFitnessPal's Free plan lets you log food and exercise. openplate does not log exercise, and it does not sync with wearables or health apps.
  • A free plan. MyFitnessPal has a Free plan with ads. The hosted openplate app has no free tier after the trial.

Are there other open-source calorie trackers?

Yes. Two that we know of, each linked to its repository:

openplate is a web app under the MIT license that you can also self-host.

Who should pick which app?

Pick openplate if you want open source code under the MIT license, no ads, your data on your own device, free CSV and JSON export, or a copy that you run on your own server with no subscription. Plan for no barcode scanner.

Pick MyFitnessPal only if native apps, a larger food database, a barcode scanner, exercise logging, a meal planner or a free plan matter more to you than those, and you accept ads in the free plan.

Not sure? Try the free trial of openplate. It needs no card.

Questions and answers

Is there an open-source alternative to MyFitnessPal?

Yes. openplate is open source under the MIT license, and you can run your own copy. OpenNutriTracker and Waistline are two other open-source calorie trackers. The section above links their repositories.

Is the MyFitnessPal barcode scanner free?

No. MyFitnessPal says the barcode scanner has been Premium only since 1 October 2022, and it works only in the mobile apps. openplate has no barcode scanner, by design. It reads the printed nutrition panel from a photo.

How much does MyFitnessPal Premium cost?

In March 2026 MyFitnessPal's own page listed Premium at $79.99 a year and Premium+ at $99.99 a year (US). Prices differ by country and change; check MyFitnessPal's page. The hosted openplate app has its own price, which the cost section above gives.

Can I export my data?

MyFitnessPal lists data export as a Premium function. In openplate, a CSV file and a full JSON backup are free, and your browser makes them.

Is openplate free?

The software is free and open source. Self-hosting costs nothing. The hosted app at app.openplate.de needs a paid plan after a free trial.

Sources

These are the pages we read for this comparison, each with the date we read it.

Want to try openplate? Open the app page or read how to run it yourself. The source code is at github.com/LowCarbCheck/openplate.

Using another app? See how openplate compares with Yazio.