MyNetDiary alternatives: another free diary, or dinners to buy
Stay with MyNetDiary if a free, ad-free, verified calorie diary is the product. Cronometer, FatSecret and MyFitnessPal are other logs. Cal AI is photo-first. Carby is the alternative if you wanted a grocery dinner plan instead of a diary.
Pricing comparison
MyNetDiary Free $0; Premium $59.99 a year. Cronometer Basic $0; Gold $59.99 a year. FatSecret core $0. MyFitnessPal diary $0; Premium $79.99 a year. Cal AI scanning is paid. Carby $39.99 a year after a 3-day trial.
| App | Starter price | If you stay a year | Trial | Refunds |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| MyNetDiary | Free. Premium $8.99 a month or $59.99 a year. Premium Plus $14.99 a month or $99.99 a year, on MyNetDiary’s about and AI scanner pages. | $0 on Free. $59.99 on Premium yearly. $99.99 on Premium Plus yearly. A $179.99 lifetime option is listed on the free-tracker page. | Free tier needs no trial. Premium trial on iOS is documented in MyNetDiary’s FAQ index; length is shown in the store checkout. | Premium can be bought on MyNetDiary.com (Paddle) or as an in-app purchase. App Store and Google Play refunds follow those stores. |
| Carby | $39.99/year after a 3-day trial on web yearly checkout | $39.99 if you stay on the web yearly plan after the 3-day trial | 3-day trial on the web yearly offer visitors actually see. Monthly ($9.99) and weekly ($4.99) plans also exist. Read the checkout. | Web Stripe charges: email within 30 days of the charge for a refund. App Store charges go through Apple. Cancel during the trial and you are not charged. |
| Cronometer | Free Basic. Gold $4.99 a month billed annually at $59.99, or $10.99 a month billed monthly, on cronometer.com/gold. | $59.99 on Gold yearly. $131.88 if you stay on Gold monthly at $10.99. $0 on Basic. Grocery is extra. | Basic is free with no time limit. Gold checkout is on the Gold page and in the apps. | Web Gold: set Do Not Auto-Renew in Account Settings and access continues to the end of the term. App Store or Google Play Gold follows those stores. |
| FatSecret | Free core app. Premium is a paid in-app upgrade; fatsecret.com says pricing varies by region and is viewed in the app. | $0 if you stay on the free tracker. Premium yearly cost is the in-app price in your region. Grocery is extra. | Free core needs no trial. Premium trial, if any, is shown in the store checkout. | App Store or Google Play purchases follow those stores. This page does not invent a web refund window, because the public FAQ does not state one. |
| MyFitnessPal | Free food diary. Premium $79.99 a year or $19.99 a month. Premium+ $99.99 a year or $24.99 a month, on MyFitnessPal’s Premium+ page. | $79.99 on Premium yearly. $99.99 on Premium+ yearly. $0 if you stay on the free diary. Grocery is extra. | 7-day Premium or Premium+ trial if you have never upgraded or redeemed a trial. First charge is after the trial unless you cancel. Auto-renews. | Cancel at least 24 hours before renewal to avoid the next charge. Premium features stay until the paid period ends. App Store or Google Play purchases follow those stores. |
| Cal AI | Free to download. Scanning requires a paid plan. US App Store in-app items include Unlimited prices such as $2.99, $5.99, $9.99, $19.99, $29.99 and a $59.99 family plan. Read the paywall you see. | Depends on the Unlimited plan Apple shows you. The public site does not publish one yearly rate. Grocery is extra. | FAQ describes a free-trial page on family invites. Trial length is shown in the App Store paywall, not as a single public number on calai.app. | App Store and Google Play refunds go through those stores. Direct CalAI purchases: email support. Deleting the app does not cancel. Cancel in iPhone Settings → Subscriptions → CalAI. |
Grocery purchases are extra on every row. Read the checkout you actually see.
What each tool is best for
- Family dinners under a grocery budget, not a food diary: Carby
- Carby does not count calories or carbs. It plans five dinners and one aisle list around a store and a spending limit. Use it when the next job is shopping, not logging last night’s plate. Compare
- Lab-analyzed micronutrients: Cronometer
- Also a strong free barcode diary. Different database and Gold price of $59.99 a year. Compare
- A simpler free log: FatSecret
- Free barcode and macros. Premium price is only in the app. Compare
- Restaurant items in a huge database: MyFitnessPal
- Barcode scan is Premium, unlike MyNetDiary’s free scanner. Compare
- Photo-first logging: Cal AI
- Paid scanning. MyNetDiary’s Meal Scan is Premium on top of a free typed diary. Compare
Verdict
Keep MyNetDiary for a generous free diary. Cronometer if you want their nutrient depth. FatSecret if you want simpler. MyFitnessPal if you eat out a lot. Cal AI if you only snap. Carby if you needed dinners, not another log.
Carby vs MyNetDiary in one tableFrequently asked questions
What is the best MyNetDiary alternative?
Cronometer or FatSecret to keep a free diary. Carby if you wanted a dinner planner. MyFitnessPal if you wanted the bigger restaurant database.
Does Carby have a free barcode scanner?
No. Carby is not a food logger.
Is MyNetDiary’s shopping list like Carby’s?
No. MyNetDiary’s free shopping list comes from the diary. Carby’s list comes from planned dinners with estimated store costs.
Sources checked October 20, 2026: MyNetDiary homepage · MyNetDiary about · MyNetDiary free tracker page · App Store listing · iTunes Lookup id 287529757 · App Store listing · iTunes Lookup id 6779585429 · Carby billing policy · Carby refund help · Cronometer homepage · Cronometer Gold · Cronometer subscription types · App Store listing · iTunes Lookup id 1145935738 · FatSecret homepage · App Store listing · iTunes Lookup id 347184248 · MyFitnessPal homepage · MyFitnessPal Premium · MyFitnessPal Premium+ · App Store listing · iTunes Lookup id 341232718 · Cal AI homepage · Cal AI FAQ · App Store listing · iTunes Lookup id 6480417616. Competitor facts come from those public pages and US iTunes Lookup. Missing cells were omitted, not guessed.