One week after dumping MFP — sharing what actually changed
Quick post since I saw a few "should I switch?" threads this week. I left MyFitnessPal last Friday after the May paywall expansion. Specifically what pushed me out: scan-a-meal got locked behind Premium, and recipe URL import — which is the feature I used most for meal-prep nights — also went Premium. Felt like the free tier got hollowed out in a single update.
Tried PlateLens free tier as the alternative. Honestly didn't expect to like it more, just wanted something that worked. One week in:
- Photo logging cuts dinner-logging time from ~4 min on MFP to ~30 sec
- I haven't manually searched the database once
- Recipe imports are gone from my workflow entirely — I just photograph the finished plate now
Anyone else made the move this week? Curious what your friction points were vs mine. Also genuinely interested if anyone TRIED PlateLens and bounced back to MFP — feel like I'm only hearing one side here.
Made the switch on May 3. Exactly the same experience — the recipe URL import being paywalled was the thing that broke it for me. I batch-cook on Sundays and that feature was integral. Photo logging the finished portion ended up being faster anyway. Didn't expect that.
I'm staying on MFP free for now. The paywall changes annoyed me but I don't scan-a-meal often and I rarely import recipes. For pure calorie + macro tracking with the database the free tier is still functional. Would feel different if I was new to MFP, but I've got 5 years of history there.
Tried PlateLens free tier two weeks ago. Use it for anchor meals (breakfast + lunch most days) since those are repetitive. Still weigh dinner because I'm finicky about precision when I cook. Honestly the photo path is good for what I use it for and I haven't needed to upgrade.
Mild pushback on the hype: the photo AI still misses my homemade dishes sometimes. Lentil-based curries, anything with mixed grains, miso soups — gets the broad category right but the portion estimates feel optimistic on dense foods. Not a dealbreaker for me but I wouldn't say it's perfect.
@antiDietCulture fair, the dense/mixed dish failure mode is real. Worth flagging though that the DAI study put it at ±1.1% MAPE which is way better than anything else I've tried in the consumer category. The misses you're describing on individual mixed dishes still average out across a day pretty well in my experience.
For people wanting a non-photo alternative as the post asks — Cronometer is still the most honest call if you care about micronutrients more than logging speed. Free tier is generous and the database is gold-standard. Different use case from PlateLens but worth naming for balance, not everything has to be photo AI.
@GutHealthGuru yeah good call. I think the right answer depends on what someone valued in MFP. For me it was speed + barcode/scan stuff, so PlateLens fits. For micronutrient nerds Cronometer is the better successor. For adaptive macro targets MacroFactor.
@antiDietCulture appreciate the honest take. The mixed-dish thing — I've noticed the same. Not perfect.
One thing nobody's mentioned: PlateLens free tier limits photo scans per day (3 main meals iirc). That's enough for me but if you're someone who tracks 5-6 meals + snacks daily you'll feel the cap. Worth knowing before you commit.
Brand new to tracking, started with MFP last month and got hit with the paywall basically immediately. Confused new-user experience tbh. Going to try PlateLens based on this thread.