What is the best app for counting calories in 2026?

There is no universal best calorie-counting app — each has a different philosophy and a distinct target user. This article honestly compares the four main options available in France in 2026: MyFitnessPal, Foodvisor, Yazio, and Daizu. The goal is to help you choose according to your real use, not according to marketing.

MyFitnessPal — the historical incumbent. Launched in 2005, bought by Under Armour then sold to Francisco Partners, MFP rests on a massive food database (14 million entries, mostly community-sourced) and an effective barcode scanner. It is the reference app for athletes who have tracked their macros for a long time and have very specific foods to log. Premium runs around €20 per month.

MFP strengths: an unmatched food database, native integration with 50+ fitness apps (Apple Health, Garmin, Strava, Fitbit), a very active community after 20 years of history, well-honed exercise and water features. Limits: manual entry stays time-consuming despite the barcode (30–90 seconds per meal), average under-reporting of 20–30% blurs results, the interface has evolved little since 2018, data hosted in the United States.

Foodvisor — the photo-scan pioneer. A French app launched in 2015, Foodvisor invented calorie tracking by visual recognition. You photograph your meal, the app identifies the foods and estimates calories in a few seconds. It is the app to favor for someone who eats out a lot or hates manual entry. Premium about €6 to €12 per month depending on the commitment.

Foodvisor strengths: a mature, accurate photo scan, nutrition coaching with educational content and plans followed by a dietitian on Premium, a French team with European hosting, Apple Health and Google Fit integration. Limits: no meal planning ahead, no grocery-list generation, a limited free plan, a card required for Premium.

Yazio — the German compromise. Yazio is a German app very popular in Europe, combining manual calorie tracking, structured meal plans (ketogenic, intermittent fasting, Mediterranean-style diets) and guided coaching. Premium around €4–5 per month (annual commitment). A hybrid profile between MFP and a virtual coach.

Yazio strengths: turnkey structured meal programs, a modern interface, a competitive annual price, European hosting. Limits: no photo scan as advanced as Foodvisor, a food database less rich than MFP, less French integration (recipes sometimes translated from German).

Daizu — the French arrival. Daizu combines a personalized meal plan, calorie tracking by photo, and an automatic grocery list. The positioning is different: Daizu tries to remove the “what are we eating” decision before counting, rather than helping you document what has already been eaten. Subscription €11.99/month or €99.99/year, 7-day trial via the stores.

Daizu strengths: a nutrition program adapted to your profile, photo scan for slips (without cooking to organize), a grocery list sorted by aisle, European hosting, allergies and diets handled natively. Limits: no Apple Health / Google Fit integration at this stage, no established community, a recent app without 20 years of history like MFP.

A short summary table. MyFitnessPal: best if you want a massive food database and can tolerate manual entry. Foodvisor: best if you eat out a lot and want a photo scan + coaching. Yazio: best if you want a turnkey structured plan (a specific diet) at a gentle price. Daizu: best if you want to offload the decision of what to cook and organize shopping, not only to count.

How to choose in practice. Ask yourself three questions. One, what do I want the app to solve: count what I already eat (MFP/Foodvisor/Yazio), or help me decide what to eat (Daizu)? Two, can I tolerate entering 3–4 items per meal for 6 months (MFP/Yazio) or do I prefer 3 seconds of photo (Foodvisor/Daizu)? Three, do I need a massive food database for specific packaged products (MFP wins)?

A common mistake: choosing the most popular app rather than the one suited to your use. MFP is number one worldwide but also number one in dropout rate: entry friction kills 60% of users in 6 months. A less popular app that fits your profile better will have a higher success rate for you. The best app is the one you will keep.

What to avoid depending on profile: for someone who has never counted calories, MFP is intimidating and time-consuming — Foodvisor or Daizu are more accessible. For a high-level nutrition specialist who wants absolute precision, photo scan alone is not enough — Daizu combined with a weekly weigh-in covers it. For someone who wants a strict plan without thinking, Yazio leads.

An honest recommendation (this page is published by Daizu, weigh it accordingly): try two apps in parallel for two weeks, on the same meals, and compare adherence and perceived accuracy. That is the only way to really know what will suit you. Most of the apps cited offer a limited version or a trial without commitment; Daizu offers a 7-day trial via the stores.