MyFitnessPal vs Lose It: which calorie app works for runners?

MyFitnessPal vs Lose It, short answer: both are good calorie counters, and if your goal is general weight loss, either one will work. MyFitnessPal gives you more on the free plan, including macro goals by percentage and free linking to Garmin, Strava and Fitbit, but its Premium plan costs more ($19.99 a month or $79.99 a year on the US App Store). Lose It is simpler and about half the yearly price ($39.99 for a year of Premium), but most of the useful tools, from barcode scanning to device syncs, sit behind its paywall.

If you run or train for endurance events, the bigger question is not which app is better. It is that both use the same model: a fixed daily calorie budget, with exercise calories added back after you train. That model does not plan carbs around your long runs or races. Mavr publishes this article and makes a training-driven fueling app, not a general diet app, so we point out where MyFitnessPal and Lose It do their job well. Prices checked October 2026.

Quick answer

• Pick MyFitnessPal if you want the most features on a free plan, free Garmin, Strava or Fitbit linking, and a huge database that includes restaurant dishes.
• Pick Lose It if you want a simple, friendly app and a cheaper Premium plan, and you are happy to pay for barcode scanning and device syncs.
• Either one is fine for general weight loss, as long as you set a sensible rate and log honestly.
• If you train for a marathon, triathlon or Hyrox, neither app plans carbs for your long runs, workouts or race day. You need to do that part yourself, or use a training-driven app.

MyFitnessPal vs Lose It at a glance

Price: what is free and what you pay for

Both apps have a free plan. The difference is how much the free plan does. MyFitnessPal’s own plan table lists food and exercise logging, your own foods and recipes, macro goals by percentage and linking to partner apps as free. Barcode scanning, Meal Scan, macros in grams, goals by day or by meal, exercise calorie settings, data export and no ads are Premium. A higher tier, Premium+, adds meal plans and grocery lists.

Lose It’s free plan covers calorie tracking, a weight loss plan and community groups. Its App Store listing puts photo logging, voice logging, the barcode scanner, macro and micronutrient tracking, intermittent fasting, meal targets and fitness app syncs under Premium. So Lose It is cheaper, but you will likely need Premium sooner.

Prices vary. The US App Store also lists cheaper MyFitnessPal Premium options ($9.99 and $49.99), and Lose It lists price points from $9.99 to $79.99 plus lifetime options at $49.99 and $59.99. Both apps show your exact offer before you pay, so check it there. MyFitnessPal’s help center says pricing varies by country and plan length.

Food database, barcode and photo logging

MyFitnessPal says you can log from 20.5 million foods, including restaurant dishes. Lose It says its global database has 56 million items and recipes. The numbers are not directly comparable, since each counts entries in its own way. Both are big enough that you will find almost any packaged food or chain restaurant meal.

The faster logging tools are paid in both apps. MyFitnessPal Premium includes the barcode scanner, Meal Scan (point the camera at your plate and pick from suggestions) and voice logging. Lose It Premium includes the barcode scanner, Photo Meal Logging and AI Voice, where you say something like two eggs and toast and it logs the meal. If you will only use the free plan, MyFitnessPal’s search and saved meals are the stronger free option. If you want a camera and voice on a budget, Lose It costs less per year.

Whatever app you pick, check the entries for the foods you eat most against the packet once, then save them. A handful of repeat foods make up most of a normal week of logging.

How each app sets your calorie budget

The two apps work the same way at the core. MyFitnessPal asks for your age, height, weight, sex and normal daily activity level to estimate the calories you need to maintain your weight. Then it subtracts calories for the weekly loss rate you pick. Your goal weight does not change the number. MyFitnessPal says it does not recommend women eat fewer than 1,200 calories a day or men fewer than 1,500.

Lose It says it calculates a personalized daily calorie budget and weight loss schedule once you complete your profile, based on your body, activity level and habits. In both apps, the result is one daily number that stays the same until your weight or settings change. A rest day and a 30 km long run start from the same budget.

Exercise calories and wearable sync

MyFitnessPal sets your goal in net calories: food eaten minus calories burned. When you log cardio, your goal for that day goes up, and the extra calories are split across carbs, protein and fat in your chosen ratio. Strength workouts do not add calories. Only Premium members can turn exercise calories off or change how they are split. If you link a device that tracks your whole day, MyFitnessPal compares its total burn with your goal and adds a calorie adjustment. By default it only adds, never subtracts.

Lose It tracks exercise and net calories too. Its listing names Fitbit, Misfit, Garmin, Withings scales, Google Fit and Apple Health (HealthKit) as fitness app syncs, and lists those syncs as a Premium feature.

• Garmin: MyFitnessPal links through Garmin Connect, and Garmin sends workouts, steps and their calorie burn, and weight. Lose It lists Garmin among its Premium syncs.
• Strava: MyFitnessPal lists Strava as a cardio exercise partner that updates your exercise diary, next to TrainingPeaks and Polar. Lose It’s listing does not name Strava.
• Apple Health: MyFitnessPal pulls exercise and sleep from Apple Health and sends food to it. Lose It lists HealthKit as a Premium sync.
• Fitbit: MyFitnessPal lists Fitbit (now Google Health) for weight and whole-day calorie burn. Lose It lists Fitbit as a Premium sync.

For a runner who wants free wearable sync, MyFitnessPal is the clear pick. Keep in mind that whichever app you use, the calories added back come from a device estimate, and those estimates can be well off for running. See how accurate Apple Watch and Garmin calories are for the details.

Macro targets

MyFitnessPal lets free users set calorie and macro goals by percentage, in 5% steps, with presets such as high protein or low carb. Premium lets you set grams, set different goals for each day of the week, and set goals by meal. That by-day option is the closest either app gets to matching food to training: you could set a higher carb day for your long run day. You still have to work out the numbers yourself, and it does not move if your training moves.

Lose It’s listing puts macro tracking for protein, carbs, fat and sugar, plus meal targets, under Premium. Neither app sets carbs from your planned sessions.

The runner problem: a calorie budget is not a fueling plan

A calorie budget answers one question: did you eat more or less than your number today? Training asks different questions. How many carbs does tomorrow’s long run need? When should they arrive? How much should you take during the run? Both apps add exercise calories after the fact, and spread them across your usual macro ratio. Neither looks ahead at your training plan.

Published sports nutrition guidance is built around carbs per kilogram of body weight, matched to the day’s training. The ACSM, Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics and Dietitians of Canada position stand gives these ranges:

• Moderate training, about 1 hour a day: 5 to 7 g of carbs per kg of body weight.
• Endurance training, 1 to 3 hours a day: 6 to 10 g per kg.
• Very heavy training, 4 to 5 hours a day: 8 to 12 g per kg.
• During exercise lasting 1 to 2.5 hours: 30 to 60 g of carbs per hour. Longer than 2.5 hours: up to 90 g per hour.

The World Athletics nutrition consensus (Burke and colleagues) says the same thing in plain terms: intake should be periodized to the type, amount and timing of training and competition. Its review of distance running adds that carb-rich eating in the days before a marathon stores glycogen for the race, and that the longest races benefit from 75 to 90 g of carbs per hour, practised in training first. A calorie counter does not plan any of this.

Take a 60 kg runner on a long run day. At 6 to 10 g per kg, that is 360 to 600 g of carbs, or about 1,440 to 2,400 kcal from carbs alone. On a 1,600 kcal weight loss budget, that leaves little or nothing for protein and fat. The app may add calories back later if your watch syncs and the setting is on. But it will not tell you to eat more carbs the night before, at breakfast or during the run. A taper week, a race day and a back-to-back weekend get the same treatment as any other day.

Why aggressive deficits during heavy training are risky

Both apps let you pick a fast weekly loss rate. During heavy training that can push you into low energy availability: too little energy left after training for your body’s basic needs. The IOC consensus statement on Relative Energy Deficiency in Sport (REDs), led by Mountjoy, describes harm to health and performance in both female and male athletes. It also notes a growing role for low carbohydrate availability, not just low calories.

This does not mean runners cannot lose weight. It means the deficit should come on easy and rest days, not on long run and workout days, and it should pause in peak weeks and race week. Our guide to marathon training weight loss without underfueling covers how to do that. If you have a history of disordered eating, or signs like missed periods, frequent injury or stalled performance, talk to a doctor or a registered sports dietitian rather than any app.

Pick MyFitnessPal if

• You want the most useful free plan: macro goals by percentage, saved meals and recipes, and free linking to partner apps.
• You use Strava, Garmin, Fitbit or Apple Health and want workouts to flow in without paying.
• You eat out a lot and want restaurant dishes in the database.
• You want to set different macro goals by day of the week (Premium) to roughly match your training week.
• You want an AI coach that reads your food diary (Premium on iOS, English, in the US, UK, Ireland, Canada, Australia and New Zealand).

Pick Lose It if

• You want a simple, friendly calorie counter for general weight loss.
• You want photo, voice and barcode logging for less money per year ($39.99 for a year of Premium on the US App Store).
• You do not need Strava sync, or you are happy to bring workouts in through Apple Health or Garmin on Premium.
• You like adding friends and joining support groups to stay on track.

Where Mavr fits

Mavr is not a general diet app, and it is not trying to replace MyFitnessPal or Lose It for someone who only wants to lose weight. It is for runners, triathletes and Hyrox athletes who want food matched to training. Mavr syncs your sessions from Strava, Garmin, TrainingPeaks, Intervals.icu, Runna and Apple Health (which brings in Coros, WHOOP and Oura), then sets daily carb, protein, fat and calorie targets that change with each day’s training.

It splits the day into per-meal targets and gives fueling before, during and after workouts. You can log food by search, barcode scan, photo (AI Food Analysis) or voice, save recipes and favorites, and ask Kai, the AI nutrition coach, what to eat before tomorrow’s long run. There is a free trial with full access, then Mavr Pro from $5.99 a week, or $79.99 a year (about $1.54 a week). Mavr is on iPhone, not Android, and it has far fewer App Store ratings than either MyFitnessPal or Lose It. If you are on Android, or only want to count calories, one of those two is the better fit.

How to make either app work better for training

• Pick a slow loss rate, or a maintenance goal, during your biggest training weeks.
• Keep exercise calories on and eat most of them back on long run and workout days.
• Connect your watch or Strava so runs arrive on their own, and check that each run only appears once.
• In MyFitnessPal Premium, set a higher carb goal for your long run day of the week.
• Log gels and sports drinks taken during runs, so the day’s carbs add up.
• Switch to maintenance in race week, and plan race-day carbs separately with a race fuel calculator.

Frequently asked questions

Sources

1. 1MyFitnessPal: Calorie CounterApple App Store (US)Premium prices ($19.99 monthly, $79.99 yearly, plus $9.99 and $49.99 entries), 20.5M+ foods, Premium and Premium Plus features, rating. Accessed October 17, 2026.
2. 2Lose It! Calorie CounterApple App Store (US)Premium price points ($39.99 for a year and others), free and Premium features, 56M+ items, device syncs, rating. Accessed October 17, 2026.
3. 3The difference between Free, Premium, and Premium +MyFitnessPal Help CenterFeature table for each plan. Accessed October 17, 2026.
4. 4How does MyFitnessPal calculate my initial goals?MyFitnessPal Help CenterProfile-based goal, net calories, 1,200 and 1,500 kcal floors. Accessed October 17, 2026.
5. 5Why your daily nutrient values and calorie goal change when you log exerciseMyFitnessPal Help CenterExercise calories added and split across macros; Premium toggle. Accessed October 17, 2026.
6. 6What kind of products and apps work with MyFitnessPal?MyFitnessPal Help CenterStrava, Garmin Connect, Fitbit and other partner categories. Accessed October 17, 2026.
7. 7MyFitnessPal PremiumMyFitnessPal7-day free trial terms, macro goals by day. Accessed October 17, 2026.
8. 8Cronometer: Calorie CounterApple App Store (US)Gold prices, 1.1M+ verified foods, free barcode scanning. Accessed October 17, 2026.
9. 92023 International Olympic Committee’s (IOC) consensus statement on Relative Energy Deficiency in Sport (REDs)Mountjoy M et al., British Journal of Sports Medicine, 2023Low energy availability and low carbohydrate availability in REDs. PMID 37752011.
10. 10International Association of Athletics Federations Consensus Statement 2019: Nutrition for AthleticsBurke LM et al., International Journal of Sport Nutrition and Exercise Metabolism, 2019Periodized type, amount and timing of intake; REDs risk from energy mismatch. PMID 30952204.
11. 11Contemporary Nutrition Strategies to Optimize Performance in Distance Runners and Race WalkersBurke LM, Jeukendrup AE, Jones AM, Mooses M, International Journal of Sport Nutrition and Exercise Metabolism, 2019Carb-rich eating before races; 75 to 90 g of carbs per hour in the longest races. PMID 30747558.
12. 12Nutrition and Athletic Performance (joint position statement)Thomas DT, Erdman KA, Burke LM, Medicine & Science in Sports & Exercise, 2016Daily carb ranges per kg and carbs per hour during exercise. PMID 26891166.
13. 13Mavr: Running Nutrition & FuelApple App Store (US)Mavr Pro prices; iPhone and iPad; 9 US ratings. Accessed October 17, 2026.