Last reviewed: 7 May 2026
We're NutraSafe — a UK food scanner app. We get asked all the time how we compare to others in this space, so here's what each of the 7 main UK food scanner apps does, including ours. Prices verified 6 May 2026; database observations from January 2026 retests still hold.
Updated: 6 May 2026 — pricing re-verified for NutraCheck (£6.99/month, £29.99/year) and Yuka (£15/year Premium); database hit-rate observations from January 2026 retests still hold. Re-test scheduled August 2026.
NutraSafe (ours): vitamin and mineral tracking against UK NRVs, allergen warning detail, additive scanning, UK food database — Pro features at £3.99/month iOS. Yuka: additive scoring, free basic tier (£15/year Premium); database is primarily French. MyFitnessPal: large user-generated database (14M+ entries), supported by ads. NutraCheck: UK-specific calorie counting, nutritionist-verified, £6.99/month or £29.99/year.
Food scanner apps let you scan barcodes and see nutrition info, allergens, and additives without squinting at tiny labels. Below is what each of the seven main UK options does — including ours — so you can pick the one that matches what you want to track.
Full disclosure: this is our app. Everything below describes what we built and what's free vs Pro.
What it does: Our UK food scanner tracks calories and macros, scans barcodes for additives and E-numbers, logs allergen warnings, and tracks vitamins and minerals against UK NRVs. Built around a UK food database — you can see ingredient breakdowns for popular UK products in our product hub without installing the app.
Price: Free to download — log up to 25 foods/day, barcode scan + grade, log up to 5 reactions, public E-number lookup. NutraSafe Pro is £3.99/month (iOS, monthly only) and unlocks vitamin and mineral tracking against UK NRVs, AI Coach, AI meal scan, allergen warning detail, fasting features, workouts, suspected-triggers analysis and full pattern history.
Who we built it for: UK shoppers who want more than calorie counting — additive context, vitamin gaps, and a reaction diary you can take to your GP.
What it does: UK-focused calorie counter with a nutritionist-verified database and food images for most products. Covers UK supermarkets and restaurant chains.
Price: Lite tier with limited daily entries (free); Premium £6.99/month or £29.99/year (the annual works out to roughly £2.50/month).
Who it's for: Accurate UK calorie and macro tracking with verified data.
For a deeper side-by-side, see our NutraCheck vs NutraSafe comparison.
What it does: Scans barcodes and gives a 0–100 score based on nutrition quality and additives. Suggests alternatives within its catalogue.
Price: Free basic; £15/year Premium for search, offline mode, and unlimited history.
Who it's for: Quick additive checks and a single composite score.
What it does: Calorie counter with a barcode scanner, macro tracking (protein, carbs, fats) and integrations with fitness trackers.
Price: Free, supported by ads. Premium £15.99/month.
Who it's for: Calorie and macro tracking with the largest catalogue.
For a deeper side-by-side, see our NutraSafe vs MyFitnessPal comparison.
What it does: Scans barcodes and grades products A+ to D-. Adds educational notes about ingredients.
Price: Free (limited); Premium £4.99/month.
Who it's for: People who want short ingredient explanations alongside a single grade.
What it does: Calorie counter with barcode scanner, weight-loss challenges, and social features.
Price: Free (basic); Premium £3.99/month.
Who it's for: Weight-loss tracking with community elements.
What it does: Open-source food scanner with crowdsourced product data. Shows nutrition, additives and an eco-score.
Price: Free (open-source).
Who it's for: Privacy-conscious users who want a transparent open-source option.
| Feature | NutraSafe (ours) | Yuka | MyFitnessPal | NutraCheck |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| UK Database | UK-focused | Primarily French | Large, user-generated | UK-focused, verified |
| Calorie Tracking | ✓ | ✗ | ✓ | ✓ |
| Macro Tracking | ✓ | ✗ | ✓ | ✓ |
| Vitamin/Mineral Tracking | ✓ Full (Pro) | ✗ | ✗ | ✗ |
| Allergen Warnings | ✓ Detail on Pro | Partial | ✗ | ✗ |
| E-Number Scanner | ✓ Full | ✓ | ✗ | ✗ |
| Reaction Diary | ✓ (5 free, full on Pro) | ✗ | ✗ | ✗ |
| Free Tier | 25 logs/day | Free basic | Free, ad-supported | Lite (limited) |
| Paid Tier | £3.99/mo (no annual) | £15/year Premium | £15.99/mo | £6.99/mo or £29.99/yr |
| Ads | None | None | Free tier supported by ads | None |
Pricing verified 6 May 2026. NutraSafe Pro is monthly only — there is no annual tier.
Our app, NutraSafe, was built for this. The free tier covers 25 logs/day, barcode scanning with our grade, 5 reaction logs and the public E-number lookup. NutraSafe Pro (£3.99/month, iOS) unlocks vitamin and mineral tracking against UK NRVs, allergen warning detail on barcode scans, AI Coach, AI meal scan, and full reaction-pattern analysis.
Yuka does this. The basic tier is free; Premium (£15/year) adds search, offline mode and unlimited history. The catalogue is primarily French, so UK-specific brands and own-label products may not appear.
MyFitnessPal has 14M+ user-generated entries and integrates with Fitbit, Apple Health and Garmin. The free tier is supported by ads. Vitamins, minerals and allergen warnings aren't part of it.
NutraCheck has a nutritionist-verified UK database with food images. Lite tier has limited daily entries; Premium is £6.99/month or £29.99/year. It tracks 7 core nutrients — no full vitamin and mineral breakdown, no additive scanning, no allergen warnings on scans.
Full NutraCheck vs NutraSafe comparison →
We're NutraSafe — we made one of the seven apps. So this isn't a neutral test; it's our description of what each app does, alongside ours. Database observations come from January 2026 retests, scanning 50 products from UK supermarkets:
What we recorded:
Pricing is re-verified each refresh; database hit-rate observations are scheduled for re-test in August 2026.
Apps that pull from official product data tend to be more consistent than those built on user-submitted entries. Our app, NutraSafe, sources from official label data where available and flags when it's user-submitted. NutraCheck uses a nutritionist-verified database. MyFitnessPal's catalogue is large but user-generated, so individual entries vary.
Out of the seven listed, only our app, NutraSafe, tracks vitamins and minerals against UK NRVs (NutraSafe Pro, £3.99/month). MyFitnessPal, Yuka and NutraCheck focus on calories, macros or additives.
NutraSafe (ours) and NutraCheck are built around UK food databases. Yuka's catalogue is primarily French; Fooducate and Lose It! are US-focused.
Yuka basic tier and our app, NutraSafe (free tier and Pro), don't show ads. MyFitnessPal's free tier is supported by ads.
Our app, NutraSafe, surfaces allergen warnings on barcode scans (full warning detail is on NutraSafe Pro). Set your allergens once and we flag them when you scan a product. Allergen detection on scanner apps describes what's in the ingredients we have on file — not a guarantee for the physical product, which may have been reformulated. Always check the on-pack label for confirmed allergens.
No. Our app is free to download (25 logs/day on the free tier). Yuka's basic tier is free. NutraCheck has a Lite tier with limited daily entries. MyFitnessPal is free, supported by ads.
See it for yourself — scan a UK barcode in NutraSafe and you'll see ingredients, additives, our grade and macros in seconds.
Free to log up to 25 foods/day. NutraSafe Pro (£3.99/month, iOS) unlocks vitamin and mineral tracking against UK NRVs, AI Coach, allergen warning detail, AI meal scan and full reaction-pattern analysis.
Get NutraSafe on the App StoreIf you're tracking food reactions or symptoms, the diary is something to take to your GP or dietitian — we're a tracking tool, not a medical service.
← Back to BlogLast updated: 6 May 2026