Best for UK users: NutraSafe (tracks vitamins + calories, UK food database, allergen warnings, £2.99/month). Best free option: Yuka (additive focus but French database). Largest database: MyFitnessPal (14M+ foods but many ads).
Food scanner apps let you scan barcodes and instantly see nutrition info, allergens, and additives — without squinting at tiny labels. But with dozens of apps available, which one actually works for UK supermarkets like Tesco, Sainsbury's, and Asda?
We tested 7 popular food scanner apps using 50+ products from UK supermarkets. This guide shows you which app is best for your needs, with honest pros/cons and feature comparisons.
What it does: Comprehensive UK food scanner that tracks vitamins, minerals, calories, allergens, additives (E-numbers), and food reactions. Built specifically for UK products.
Price: Free (5 scans/day) | £2.99/month unlimited
Best for: UK shoppers who want complete nutrition tracking beyond just calories
Verdict: NutraSafe is the best all-rounder for UK users who want detailed nutrition tracking. The vitamin/mineral tracking and allergen warnings are features you won't find elsewhere.
What it does: Scans barcodes and rates foods with a health score (0-100) based on nutrition quality and additives. Suggests healthier alternatives.
Price: Free (unlimited scans)
Best for: Checking food additives and getting quick health scores
Verdict: Great for quick additive checks but limited for UK products. Not suitable if you want to track calories or nutrition.
What it does: Calorie counter with barcode scanner. Tracks macros (protein, carbs, fats) and integrates with fitness trackers.
Price: Free (with ads) | £19.99/month Premium
Best for: Calorie counting and macro tracking with huge database
Verdict: Best for pure calorie counting with massive database, but expensive and ad-heavy. See our NutraSafe vs MyFitnessPal comparison.
What it does: UK calorie counter with barcode scanner. Database includes UK supermarket own-brands and restaurant chains.
Price: £6.99/month or £39.99/year
Best for: UK-specific calorie counting
Verdict: Solid UK option for calorie counting but subscription required from day 1.
What it does: Scans barcodes and grades foods (A+ to D-). Provides educational tips about ingredients and nutrition.
Price: Free (limited) | £4.99/month Premium
Best for: Learning about nutrition and food quality
Verdict: Good educational tool but poor UK product coverage makes it impractical for British users.
What it does: Calorie counter with barcode scanner, weight loss challenges, and social features.
Price: Free (basic) | £2.99/month Premium
Best for: Weight loss with community support
Verdict: Good for weight loss motivation but limited UK food database.
What it does: Open-source food scanner with crowdsourced product data. Shows nutrition, additives, and eco-scores.
Price: Free (open-source)
Best for: Privacy-conscious users who want open-source
Verdict: Great for privacy but too limited for practical day-to-day tracking.
| Feature | NutraSafe | Yuka | MyFitnessPal | Nutracheck |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| UK Database | ✓ Excellent | ✗ Poor | ✓ Good | ✓ Excellent |
| Calorie Tracking | ✓ | ✗ | ✓ | ✓ |
| Macro Tracking | ✓ | ✗ | ✓ | ✓ |
| Vitamin/Mineral Tracking | ✓ Full | ✗ | ✗ | ✗ |
| Allergen Warnings | ✓ Instant | Partial | ✗ | ✗ |
| E-Number Scanner | ✓ Full | ✓ | ✗ | ✗ |
| Food Reaction Tracker | ✓ | ✗ | ✗ | ✗ |
| Free Plan | 5 scans/day | Unlimited | Unlimited* | Trial only |
| Price (Premium) | £2.99/mo | Free | £19.99/mo | £6.99/mo |
| No Ads | ✓ | ✓ | ✗ (free) | ✓ |
*MyFitnessPal free version includes ads and limited features
Download NutraSafe free (5 scans/day, no ads)
We tested each app by scanning 50 products from UK supermarkets:
What we measured:
Apps pulling official product data (like NutraSafe and Nutracheck) are 95%+ accurate. Apps relying on user-submitted data (like MyFitnessPal) can have errors. Always check the source.
Only NutraSafe tracks vitamins and minerals. MyFitnessPal, Yuka, and Nutracheck focus on calories/macros/additives only.
NutraSafe and Nutracheck have the best UK coverage. Yuka is French-focused and misses many UK products.
Yes: Yuka (completely free, no ads) and NutraSafe (5 scans/day free, no ads).
NutraSafe highlights allergens with instant visual warnings. Set your allergies once and get automatic alerts when scanning products containing them.
No. Yuka is entirely free, and NutraSafe offers 5 free scans/day (£2.99/month for unlimited). MyFitnessPal is free but ad-heavy.
Overall winner: NutraSafe
For UK users who want complete nutrition tracking beyond just calories, NutraSafe is the clear winner. It's the only app tracking vitamins, minerals, allergens, and additives in one place — all with a clean, UK-focused database.
The £2.99/month price is fair compared to MyFitnessPal (£19.99/month) and Nutracheck (£6.99/month), especially given the extra features.
Best free alternative: Yuka (if you only care about additives and don't need calorie tracking)
Best for calorie counting only: MyFitnessPal or Nutracheck (but expect ads or subscriptions)
Try NutraSafe's free plan (5 scans/day) and see if it fits your needs. For most UK users wanting detailed nutrition tracking, it's the best choice available in 2026.
← Back to BlogLast updated: February 2026