Verithiathe honest score on any app
Updated July 2026 · real, multi-region App Store reviews
Head-to-head

Lifesum vs Calorie Counter

Lifesum 4.6★ · Free + IAP 65
Winner Calorie Counter
Calorie Counter 4.8★ · Free + IAP 80

Calorie Counter is generally more reliable and user-friendly for core tracking, while Lifesum struggles with recent AI implementation and bugs.

Full reviews: Lifesum · Calorie Counter

Calorie Counter offers a more stable and accurate experience for calorie and macro tracking, with users praising its verified database and ease of use. Lifesum, despite its aesthetic appeal, is currently hampered by inconsistent AI, numerous bugs, and intrusive premium upsells.

Head to head

Features and Accuracy edge: Calorie CounterR1R3R4R9
Lifesum Lifesum's recent AI implementation is a major point of contention, with many users reporting wildly inaccurate nutrition results, especially when scanning labels or using the AI chat function R1R3R4R9. Some users find the AI helpful for estimating restaurant meals and some recent updates have improved it R20, but the core issue of incorrect data and difficulty editing remains R4R51. The app also lacks fiber tracking and has limited recipe selection for premium users .
Calorie Counter Calorie Counter is praised for its verified database, which reduces duplication and improves accuracy . Users appreciate the food grade ratings and the ability to easily add and adjust recipes and portion sizes . However, some users report calorie inaccuracies for certain items and issues with the photo analyzer .
Ease of Use and Interface edge: Calorie CounterR2R8R10R13
Lifesum Lifesum is described as easy to use by some R8R10, but many others find it difficult, especially with recent updates R13R25. The AI interface is seen as clunky and less intuitive than previous versions . Users report issues with search functionality , saving meals R2, and updating weight . The app also has time zone issues, leading to incorrect motivational messages .
Calorie Counter Calorie Counter is generally considered easy to use and quick to learn R83. Users appreciate the streamlined tracking process with fewer steps and features like quickly logging frequently eaten foods . However, some users find the UI updates unnecessary and complicated , and the onboarding process can be lengthy and filled with pop-ups .
Reliability and Bugs edge: Calorie CounterR6R12R19R25
Lifesum Lifesum is plagued by numerous bugs and glitches, especially after recent updates. Users report the app freezing R31, not saving logged food or calorie intake R6R12R19R25, data corruption and missing logs R28, and issues with barcode scanning R51. Some users also experience being logged out frequently .
Calorie Counter Calorie Counter has some reported glitches, such as the free version deleting previous entries and issues with syncing exercise data to Apple Health . Some users also experience the app slowing down on older phones after updates . The sign-up process can also be broken for some .
Price and Value tieR7R14R17R30
Lifesum Lifesum offers a free version that some find useful for basic tracking R17. However, the free version is heavily criticized for intolerable and frequent pop-ups to subscribe R7R30R31R36. Many essential features, like adjusting macros or accessing recipes, are paywalled R14R17. Some paid users feel the premium isn't worth the cost due to bugs and limited features R30R51.
Calorie Counter Calorie Counter also has a free version that users find generous and fully usable for creating a plan . However, the free version is also described as riddled with upsells and paywalls . Paid users complain about relentless pop-ups even after purchasing a yearly plan and some feel the premium features aren't worth the cost . There are also reports of incorrect charges .
Support tieR20R28R67
Lifesum Lifesum's customer service receives mixed reviews. One user reported excellent support R20, but another mentioned multiple unanswered attempts to reach customer service or only receiving canned responses R28.
Calorie Counter Calorie Counter's support is mentioned by one user who received an explanation via email R67, but the overall sentiment suggests that developers do not always listen to user feedback regarding UI changes R67.
Pick Lifesum if

You prioritize a visually appealing interface and are willing to navigate around AI inaccuracies and bugs, or if you've had a positive experience with its AI in the past R20.

Pick Calorie Counter if

You need a reliable, easy-to-use calorie and macro tracker with a verified food database and robust recipe management, and you are okay with some UI changes or occasional upsells .

Evidence note: The evidence for Lifesum is heavily skewed by recent negative reviews regarding AI implementation and bugs, which contrasts with its higher lifetime rating. Calorie Counter's reviews are more consistently positive for its core functionality, despite some complaints about UI updates and premium upsells.

Frequently asked

Which app is better for accurate calorie tracking?
Calorie Counter is generally considered more accurate for calorie tracking due to its verified database and reliable logging features , whereas Lifesum's recent AI implementation has led to significant inaccuracies in nutrition results for many users R1R4R49R51.
Do these apps have a good free version?
Both apps offer a free version, but users report that both are heavily impacted by frequent and intrusive pop-ups and upsells to subscribe to premium features (R7, R30, R31, R36 for Lifesum; , , , for Calorie Counter). Calorie Counter's free plan is described as generous and 100% usable by some .
Which app is easier to use?
Calorie Counter is generally found to be easier to use, with users praising its quick learning curve and streamlined tracking process R83. Lifesum, especially after recent updates, is described as difficult to use and less flexible by many R13R25R46.

What reviewers actually said

Built only from these 120 real reviews (foreign ones translated). Superscripts jump to the quote here. Apple has no per-review links, so [ref] opens that app's reviews on the App Store.

  1. [R1] Lifesum 1/5 · US Ai Ruined This App: I’ve used this app on and off for years and loved it. However, with the introduction of Ai to the tracking, it’s become wildly inaccurate. I can tell it the same item from one day to another and get completely different nutrition results. Not a small margin of error but massive swings. Then, you have to take the time to go and adjust every single meal. It. Becomes so time consu
  2. [R3] Lifesum 3/5 · US Macros saving to zero: I really don’t like it how sometimes when you custom input your own nutrition lets say for example I know the weight and macros for X amount of bourbon chicken from Leanne Chin so I’ll take a separate AI give it my gram total have that tell me my macros for that amount and then I’ll copy paste macros Into lifesum and then sometimes later in the day it’ll sshow all zeros for
  3. [R4] Lifesum 2/5 · US Useless! Incorrect macros even when you scan a label: I scanned multiple labels and each time the carbs and protein and calories were input differently than the nutrition label shows them. The app doesn’t allow you to edit that info so tracking your macros with this app results in inaccurate data
  4. [R9] Lifesum 3/5 · US Used to be better: I’ve used this app on and off for the past five years and I like it. however, the AI is egregiously off when it comes to calories and nutrition so best to search your food in the database or input your own recipes. Also the little motivational blurb it gives you are random, telling me my goal is to gain weight when I’m trying to lose weight and talking about my midday check-in w
  5. [R2] Lifesum 4/5 · US Very good calorie tracker: Ux improvement: please make 'meal' adjustable when saved. It always saves some ingredient in my breakfast lunch or dinner of the day and not in the meal.
  6. [R8] Lifesum 5/5 · US Love this app: Easy to record and review data, and gathers data from my Apple Watch seamlessly.
  7. [R10] Lifesum 1/5 · US Great!: So easy to use and makes me think about what nutrition I am consuming
  8. [R13] Lifesum 2/5 · US Kinda hard to use: Don’t really give instructions on how to buy use the app rally
  9. [R6] Lifesum 3/5 · US Update issues: This recent update fixed some bugs but added new ones where its not showing me calories consumed anymore
  10. [R12] Lifesum 3/5 · US Was good but not anymore: After the update, it won’t save whatever food I track. I inout the calories and it doesn’t show, not sure whats wrong because the app used to work :(
  11. [R19] Lifesum 1/5 · US Loved to hated - DO NOT DOWNLOAD: I loved this app when they made it very simple. They have added so many things now and there’s bugs that make the app completely broken. For example I set my daily calorie intake to 1700 and for some reason it won’t save it and does a RANDOM calorie number. Secondly, when you select a meal plan it sets your carbs, protein and fats for you. there is NO way to remov
  12. [R25] Lifesum 2/5 · US It was good. Now it is not.: When i first had it, it was so easy to post my meals. Not very easy, but still doable. Now i am having huge problems posting. It is just not as flexible as it once was.
  13. [R7] Lifesum 2/5 · US Pop ups are so irritating: I have used this app for years both the free version and the paid version. I love it, it does everything I want it to and is easy to use. However, currently I am using the free version and the amount of pop ups to subscribe is intolerable to the point I don’t use it. Every time you open the app there is an ad to subscribe that takes ages to load. I just want to track my
  14. [R14] Lifesum 4/5 · US This is how I keep myself accountable: I love this app, but the only thing I don’t like is that you have to pay for the advanced options but you have to do that with any app so it’s really not that big of a deal I suppose.
  15. [R17] Lifesum 5/5 · US Pretty good for a free app: It’s nice for being free and it’s easy to track calories now. The recipes aren’t free though which is a bummer but understandable
  16. [R30] Lifesum 3/5 · US daily user for years: The app used to be better. Now pop ups for subscriptions pop up EVERY SINGLE TIME you open the app. Since they added that "feature" the app takes forever to open and is usually glitchy until you close it and open it again. Food info isn't regulated bc it's often incorrect. I had premium for a year and i don't think it's worth the cost. you can just google recipes and the macr
  17. [R20] Lifesum 4/5 · US Solid App with Excellent Support: Updated Review: I have revised my review since my last post. The LifeSum app is a very good app that allows you to easily track your nutrition and calories. Its AI features have greatly improved over the past few months and it does an excellent of automatically tracking your meal either via a picture or general description. If you need an app that tracks your calo
  18. [R28] Lifesum 1/5 · US 10 months, great. Last two not so much.: I appreciate the year long subscription to this app. I used it daily and directly credit it with positive lifestyle changes. That said, the last two months were unreliable. My logs were corrupted - sometime saved, sometimes not, sometimes absent entirely (not just the present day, but weeks of data would go missing). Multiple attempts to reach out to c
  19. [R67] Calorie Counter 1/5 · US They still do not listen to users: Update 7/6/26 Still zero change to make it better. Update 22-29-25 Zero change for the better. This app has the potential to be really good. Unfortunately they don’t listen to feedback. UPDATE 8/31/25 I was emailed with an explanation. My response is while “addressing “ the food logging side of the app please “address “ the social side of the app. As far as emai
  20. [R49] Lifesum 1/5 · US Ai slop: Cancelled my premium because the new ai interface is gross and extremely inaccurate. I put in a full meal in the chat function to be told it was 36 calories. Making meals is a pain. They charged me anyway. I haven’t used the app in month and its cost me $50 Gross.
  21. [R51] Lifesum 3/5 · US Needs work for the price: App is sleek and simple but the Ai implementation is horrendous. Wrong barcodes, and Incorrect nutrition information constantly. It doesn’t save it either so every time you log something thats incorrect you have to manually tell the ai to correct it. Pretty big deal breaker for what you pay for the app.
  22. [R31] Lifesum 2/5 · US Please fix this app full of glitches: Was a great app until it became almost unusable. The app freezes when I open it making me wait at least a minute to log anything. The search results can be a little wonky or the macros are often wrong in some scannable products. Finally I’ll go to log in food but it doesn’t load for hours. Also i get hit with an ad to upgrade the app to premium EVERY SINGLE TI
  23. [R36] Lifesum 3/5 · US I was very loyal to this app.: I’ve used this app over the course of 5 years and I loved it so much! I recommended it to people and everything, but in the past year with adding AI and trying to upsell me every time I opened the app. I had to stop using it. Overall, it helped me lose weight and it has great tools. I’m finding myself using other apps more considering it’s less hassle opening the app
  24. [R46] Lifesum 2/5 · US I tried 3 times, and now I am done: I really wanted to like and use Lifesum. The aspirations and onboarding experience are spot on. Unfortunately, the excellent experience ends there. As an entrepreneur who built serious medical apps to support patients in clinical trials, I know something about what motivates and demotivates people using an app. An example: I eat healthy. I am setting up my meals
  25. [R83] Calorie Counter 5/5 · US Easy to use: Quick to learn and easy to use

Synthesized from 120 recent App Store reviews · updated July 2026 · View on the App Store