Is MyFitnessPal Premium+ Worth It in 2026? Honest Review
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MyFitnessPal Premium+ costs $99.99 per year or $24.99 per month. That is only $20 more per year than standard Premium on the annual plan. The big question is whether the Meal Planner feature alone justifies the upgrade.
As a NutriScan nutritionist, I have tested both Premium and Premium+ side by side. A 2024 systematic review found that smartphone nutrition apps consistently improved healthy eating behaviors across multiple randomized controlled trials (PMC, 2024). Meal planning tools take that one step further by removing the daily "what should I eat?" decision. This blog breaks down exactly what Premium+ adds, who benefits most, and who should save their money.
IMPORTANT
Your MyFitnessPal Premium+ decision plan at a glance.
A quick roadmap so you can decide with confidence.
⏱️ Progress 0/4 - ~0 minutes in - Keep going
⏳ Step 1: What Premium+ actually adds over Premium
⏳ Step 2: Real-world examples and research
⏳ Step 3: Who should pay and who should skip
🔍 The 7-step trial hack that saves people from wasting $100/year (revealed near the end)
TL;DR - MyFitnessPal Premium+ in 2026
- Worth it for: Home cooks who hate meal planning, macro-focused lifters, families who use grocery delivery
- Skip it if: You eat out most days, already have a coach's meal plan, or rarely cook at home
- Best value: Annual plan at $99.99/year ($8.33/month). Only $20 more than standard Premium
- Alternative: NutriScan ($49.99/year) offers AI-powered NutriBites meal suggestions without a subscription lock-in
What Premium+ Actually Adds Over Premium 🔓
Premium+ includes everything in Premium plus one major feature: the Meal Planner. Here is what that means in practice.
| Feature | Premium ($79.99/yr) | Premium+ ($99.99/yr) |
|---|---|---|
| Barcode Scanner | Yes | Yes |
| Meal Scan (photo) | Yes | Yes |
| Voice Logging | Yes | Yes |
| Macro Tracking by Meal | Yes | Yes |
| Net Carbs | Yes | Yes |
| Custom Daily Goals | Yes | Yes |
| Food Analysis | Yes | Yes |
| Ad-Free | Yes | Yes |
| Priority Support | Yes | Yes |
| Intermittent Fasting | Yes | Yes |
| Meal Plan Builder | No | Yes |
| 1,500+ Goal-Friendly Recipes | No | Yes |
| Automated Grocery Lists | No | Yes |
| Instacart/Walmart+ Integration | No | Yes |
| Meal Prep Mode | No | Yes |
| Diet Preference Filters | No | Yes |
| Budget and Time Customizations | No | Yes |
| Recipe and Grocery List Sharing | No | Yes |
| Automatic Meal Plan Logging | No | Yes |
The monthly price difference is bigger. Premium is $19.99 per month while Premium+ is $24.99 per month. That is $5 more each month, or $60 extra per year if you pay monthly. The annual plan closes that gap to just $20 per year, which works out to about $1.67 per month.
When the Meal Planner tells you what to cook and you actually enjoy doing it.
The Real Cost Breakdown 💵
| Plan | Monthly | Annual | Per Day | Per Month (Annual) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Premium (monthly) | $19.99 | $239.88 | $0.66 | $19.99 |
| Premium (annual) | - | $79.99 | $0.22 | $6.67 |
| Premium+ (monthly) | $24.99 | $299.88 | $0.82 | $24.99 |
| Premium+ (annual) | - | $99.99 | $0.27 | $8.33 |
The $20 annual difference between Premium and Premium+ works out to $1.67 per month. If you already pay for Premium, the upgrade cost is negligible. If you pay monthly, the gap is $5 per month or $60 per year - always go annual.
MyFitnessPal also accepts FSA and HSA payments for both Premium and Premium+ (MyFitnessPal Help Center).
IMPORTANT
Checkpoint: here's where you are right now.
Quick status update so you know the next best move.
⏱️ Progress 1/4 - ~2 minutes in - Keep going
✅ Step 1: What Premium+ adds over Premium (done)
👉 Step 2: Real-world examples and research (you're here)
⏳ Step 3: Who should pay and who should skip
🧩 The 7-step trial hack (coming soon)
Real-World Examples: When Premium+ Saves Time and Money 🏠
The Meal Prep Parent
Sarah works full time and has two kids. Every Sunday she opens Premium+ Meal Planner, sets her family size to 4, picks "budget-friendly" and "under 30 minutes," and gets a full week of dinners. The grocery list auto-generates. She sends it to Instacart. Total planning time: 10 minutes. Without Meal Planner, she spent 45 minutes browsing recipes and writing lists by hand.
The Macro-Focused Lifter
Jake hits 180g protein daily on a cut. He sets his macro targets in Premium+ and the Meal Planner suggests meals that hit his protein goal without going over calories. Each meal logs automatically to his food diary. No more hunting for high-protein recipes that actually fit his numbers.
The "I Hate Cooking" Minimalist
Priya upgrades to Premium+ hoping for easy meals. But she eats out 5 days a week and rarely cooks. The Meal Planner sits unused. She cancels after two months and drops back to Premium. For her, the barcode scanner and voice logging in standard Premium were enough.
TIP
If you mostly eat out and want AI-powered meal suggestions without cooking, NutriScan's NutriBites tells you what to eat next based on what you have already logged - no recipes or cooking required. Try it free.
Stories and Facts Behind the Meal Planner 📖
MyFitnessPal launched Premium+ in late 2024 as a direct answer to one of the most common user requests: "Tell me what to eat." The Meal Planner supports 10 diet approaches including Balanced, Flexitarian, Keto, Low-Carb, Mediterranean, Paleo, Pescatarian, Vegan, Vegetarian, and Whole-Food Focus (MyFitnessPal Support).
The recipe library has over 1,500 options. Each recipe includes full nutrition data that matches your calorie and macro goals. When you add a meal from the planner to your diary, it logs automatically. No manual entry needed.
Photo by Towfiqu barbhuiya on Unsplash
Grocery list integration is the feature that surprised users the most. Premium+ generates a categorized shopping list (produce, dairy, meat, pantry) from your weekly plan. The list connects to Instacart and Walmart+ for delivery or pickup. You can also share the list with a partner or roommate.
A 2025 narrative review found that mHealth apps with structured meal guidance helped patients with obesity and diabetes improve dietary adherence more consistently than apps offering tracking alone (PMC, 2025). The Meal Planner fits this pattern by combining planning with automatic tracking.
Garage Gym Reviews tested MyFitnessPal extensively in 2026 and gave it a 4.42 out of 5 overall. Their registered dietitian, Sydney Lappe, called it "one of the easiest apps I have ever used" after five years of testing. They noted that "upgrading to Premium+ adds the Meal Planner for just $20 more per year on the annual plan" (Garage Gym Reviews, 2026).
MyFitnessPal's Winter 2026 release added new recipe search filters. You can now search by ingredient, diet approach, or meal type. You can also favorite meals for quick future planning (MyFitnessPal Blog, 2026).
7 Tips to Decide If Premium+ Is Right for You 💡
Calculate your weekly planning time. If you spend more than 20 minutes per week deciding what to eat, the Meal Planner could save you real time. At $1.67 per month on the annual plan, that is a cheap trade for hours saved. Use our macro calculator to know your targets before setting up the planner.
Check if you actually cook. Premium+ is built for people who prepare meals at home. If you eat out most days, the Meal Planner adds little value. Stick with Premium.
Try the free trial first. New users get a 7-day free trial of Premium+. Set up a full week of meal plans during the trial. If you use the planner daily, upgrade. If you forget about it, do not.
Use the grocery integration. The Instacart and Walmart+ connection is the time-saver that makes Premium+ feel worth it. If you already use these services, the auto-generated list removes a step from your routine.
Set diet preferences early. The Meal Planner works best when you tell it your dietary approach and restrictions upfront. Spending 5 minutes on setup saves hours of filtering later.
Share grocery lists with household members. Recipe and grocery list sharing means your partner or roommate sees the plan. This reduces duplicate shopping and food waste.
Compare the annual vs monthly cost. Premium+ monthly ($24.99) costs $299.88 per year. Premium+ annual ($99.99) saves you $199.89. If you commit, always go annual.
NutriScan's NutriBites gives AI-powered meal suggestions based on what you've already eaten - no subscription lock-in. Path: Home > NutriBites
IMPORTANT
Checkpoint: final stretch before the reveal.
One last nudge - the trial hack is next.
⏱️ Progress 3/4 - ~5 minutes in - Keep going
✅ Step 1: What Premium+ adds over Premium
✅ Step 2: Real-world examples and research
✅ Step 3: Who should pay and who should skip
✨ The 7-step trial hack (about to reveal)
Step-by-Step: How to Test Premium+ Before You Commit 📋
Step 1: Start the free trial. Download MyFitnessPal from the App Store or Google Play. During onboarding, select Premium+ when prompted. The 7-day trial gives you full access.
Step 2: Set your goals and preferences. Go to the Meal Planner section. Enter your calorie target, macro split, diet type, budget preference (budget-friendly, moderate, or premium), and time per meal (under 15 minutes, under 30, or any).
Step 3: Generate your first weekly plan. Tap "Generate Plan." Premium+ creates breakfast, lunch, dinner, and snacks for 7 days. Review the suggestions. Swap out any meal you do not like with an alternative.
Step 4: Check the grocery list. Go to the Grocery List tab. Premium+ organizes your ingredients by category. Tap "Send to Instacart" or "Send to Walmart+" if you want delivery. Otherwise, use the list at the store.
Step 5: Log meals from the plan. When you eat a meal from your plan, tap "Log" next to it. The full nutrition data auto-fills in your food diary. No manual entry, no barcode scanning, no searching the database.
Step 6: Evaluate after 7 days. Ask yourself: Did I follow the plan? Did the grocery list save time? Did automatic logging make tracking easier? If yes to two or more, upgrade to annual. If no, cancel before the trial ends.
Step 7: Set a calendar reminder. Set a reminder for day 6 of your trial. This gives you one day to cancel if needed. Cancel through the same platform you signed up on (App Store, Google Play, or myfitnesspal.com).
WARNING
The free trial auto-converts to a paid subscription. If you signed up through the App Store, cancel through iPhone Settings. If through Google Play, cancel through Google Play subscriptions. Canceling through the wrong platform does nothing.
What the Research Says About Meal Planning Apps 🔬
A 2025 umbrella review covering 261 studies and 62,407 participants confirmed that mobile health interventions can meaningfully improve dietary behaviors and weight management outcomes (PMC, 2025). The strongest results came from apps that combined self-monitoring with structured guidance, which is exactly what Premium+ Meal Planner does.
A 2024 systematic review of randomized controlled trials found that internet-based smartphone apps "consistently improved consumers' healthy eating behaviors" across diverse populations and study designs (PMC, 2024). Apps that provided meal suggestions and planning tools showed higher adherence rates than simple logging apps.
Research on mHealth engagement published in 2023 found that users who planned meals in advance were more likely to maintain consistent food logging over 12 weeks compared to users who logged reactively after eating (PMC, 2023). Planning creates a commitment that reactive tracking does not.
A 2024 study on factors influencing mHealth app retention found that perceived usefulness was the strongest predictor of continued use. Apps that answered "what should I eat" kept users engaged longer than apps that only asked "what did you eat" (PMC, 2024).
These findings support the idea that meal planning inside a tracking app can improve both diet quality and long-term app use.
IMPORTANT
Checkpoint: midway progress update.
You're halfway - the trickiest part is next.
⏱️ Progress 2/4 - ~4 minutes in - Keep going
✅ Step 1: What Premium+ adds over Premium
✅ Step 2: Real-world examples and research
👉 Step 3: Who should pay and who should skip (current)
⏳ The 7-step trial hack (next)
Who Should Pay for Premium+ and Who Should Not 🎯
Premium+ is worth it if you:
- Cook at home 4 or more days per week and want structured plans
- Spend time deciding what to eat and would benefit from auto-generated plans
- Use Instacart or Walmart+ for grocery delivery and want the integration
- Follow a specific diet (keto, Mediterranean, vegan, etc.) and want filtered recipes
- Want automatic meal logging so you do not have to search the database
- Meal prep on weekends and need batch-friendly recipe suggestions
- Share cooking duties and want to send grocery lists to a partner
Stick with standard Premium if you:
- Eat out most meals and rarely cook at home
- Already have a meal plan from a coach, dietitian, or another app
- Only need the barcode scanner, macro tracking, and voice logging
- Track meals reactively (logging what you already ate) - meal scanning may be a better fit
- Do not use grocery delivery services
- Prefer to build your own recipes from the 20.5 million food database
The free version is enough if you:
- Only need basic calorie counting and food logging
- Do not care about macros, barcode scanning, or meal plans
- Want to explore the app before committing any money
When you realize Premium+ is only $1.67 more per month than Premium on the annual plan.
Common Mistakes When Deciding on Premium+ ⚠️
Mistake 1: Paying monthly "just to try it." The monthly Premium+ price is $24.99. Over a year, that is $299.88 compared to $99.99 on the annual plan. If you want to try it first, use the 7-day free trial instead of paying for a single month.
Mistake 2: Upgrading without setting diet preferences. The Meal Planner generates generic balanced meals by default. Users who skip the diet preference setup get plans they do not like, blame the feature, and cancel. Spend 5 minutes on setup before judging the planner.
Mistake 3: Expecting restaurant meal plans. Premium+ plans are built around home cooking. The recipes assume you have a kitchen. If you eat out 5 or more days a week, the Meal Planner will not match your lifestyle. Standard Premium with barcode scanning and voice logging fits better.
Mistake 4: Forgetting about the free trial cancel deadline. The trial auto-converts to a paid subscription. If you sign up through the App Store, you must cancel through Settings on your iPhone. If you sign up through Google Play, cancel through Google Play subscriptions. Canceling through the wrong platform does nothing.
DANGER
Mistake 5: Assuming Premium+ replaces a dietitian. The Meal Planner is a recipe suggestion tool, not a clinical nutrition plan. It does not account for medical conditions, allergies beyond basic filters, or medication interactions. If you have specific health needs, work with a registered dietitian and use Premium+ as a logging convenience.
IMPORTANT
Recap: everything you completed this round.
You finished the run - save this for your next app decision.
⏱️ Progress 4/4 - ~6 minutes in - Nicely done
✅ Step 1: What Premium+ adds over Premium
✅ Step 2: Real-world examples and research
✅ Step 3: Who should pay and who should skip
✅ The 7-step trial hack (revealed)
How Premium+ Compares to Other Meal Planning Options 🔄
| App | Meal Planning | Grocery List | Grocery Delivery Sync | Annual Price |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| MyFitnessPal Premium+ | Yes (1,500+ recipes) | Auto-generated | Instacart, Walmart+ | $99.99 |
| Lifesum Premium | Basic meal suggestions | No | No | $99.99 |
| Lose It Premium | No meal planner | No | No | $39.99 |
| YAZIO PRO | Recipe suggestions | No | No | $47.90 |
| Cronometer Gold | No meal planner | No | No | $59.88 |
| MacroFactor | No meal planner | No | No | $71.99 |
| Eat This Much | Full meal planner | Auto-generated | Instacart | $60/yr |
| NutriScan Premium | NutriBites AI suggestions | No | No | $49.99 |
Figure 1: Annual subscription costs across top nutrition apps - MFP Premium+ sits at the top alongside Lifesum
Premium+ is one of the few calorie tracking apps that bundles meal planning, grocery lists, and delivery integration into a single subscription. Eat This Much is a dedicated meal planner that does similar things at a lower price ($5/month), but it does not include calorie/macro tracking or a barcode scanner. You would need two apps to match what Premium+ does in one.
TIP
Want AI-powered meal suggestions without the price tag? NutriScan's NutriBites analyzes your daily intake and tells you what to eat next - personalized to your goals, no recipes to follow. Download free.
Conclusion 📝
MyFitnessPal Premium+ is worth $99.99 per year if you cook regularly and want the Meal Planner to handle the "what should I eat" question. The automated grocery lists and delivery integration save real time. At $1.67 per month more than standard Premium on the annual plan, the upgrade pays for itself if you use the planner even once per week.
But if you eat out most days, already have a meal plan from a coach, or only need the barcode scanner and macro tracking, standard Premium at $79.99 per year gives you everything you need without the extra cost.
Start with the 7-day free trial. Plan one full week of meals. If the Meal Planner saves you time and keeps you on track, commit to the annual plan. If it sits unused, cancel and save your money.
If you want AI-powered meal suggestions without a subscription lock-in, try tracking your meals with NutriScan. The free plan includes 15 photo scans per week and NutriBites AI, which tells you what to eat next based on what you have already logged. You can also use our macro calculator to figure out your ideal targets before choosing any app.
Frequently Asked Questions ❓
Q: Is MyFitnessPal Premium+ the same as Premium?
A: No. Premium+ includes everything in Premium plus the Meal Planner feature. Premium costs $79.99 per year or $19.99 per month. Premium+ costs $99.99 per year or $24.99 per month. The only difference is the Meal Planner and its related tools (grocery lists, delivery sync, recipe library, diet filters).
Q: Can I try Premium+ before paying?
A: Yes. New users who have never redeemed a trial get a 7-day free trial of Premium+. The trial defaults to Premium+ pricing, so cancel before day 7 if you do not want to be charged. Cancel through the same platform you signed up on.
Q: Does Premium+ work with Instacart and Walmart+?
A: Yes. Premium+ generates grocery lists from your meal plan and syncs them directly to Instacart or Walmart+ for delivery or pickup. You need an active account with either service to use the integration.
Q: Can I use my FSA or HSA to pay for MyFitnessPal?
A: Yes. MyFitnessPal Premium and Premium+ are eligible for FSA and HSA reimbursement. Check with your plan administrator for specific submission requirements (MyFitnessPal Support).
Q: What if I already have Premium and want to upgrade to Premium+?
A: You can upgrade directly in the app through your subscription settings. Your new plan takes effect immediately. If you paid $79.99 for the annual Premium plan and want to switch, contact MyFitnessPal support about prorated pricing for the remainder of your billing period. Some users on Reddit report that MFP charges the full $99.99 at the next renewal rather than prorating the difference.
Q: How many recipes does Premium+ include?
A: Over 1,500 goal-friendly recipes across 10 diet types (Balanced, Flexitarian, Keto, Low-Carb, Mediterranean, Paleo, Pescatarian, Vegan, Vegetarian, Whole-Food Focus). Recipes include full nutrition data and can be swapped within the Meal Planner.
Q: Is Premium+ worth the monthly price?
A: The monthly Premium+ price ($24.99/month = $299.88/year) is hard to justify. The annual plan ($99.99/year = $8.33/month) saves you nearly $200. If you are not sure, start with the free trial and then commit to annual if you like it. Never pay monthly long-term.
