Choose Cal AI if you want an Apple Watch app, Android or Mac support, or a fast photo-first app with a very large user base and roughly weekly updates. Choose Calorix if you’re on iPhone and want each ingredient of a photo estimate listed with its grams and a confidence badge, intermittent fasting built in, streak freezes that are earned, never sold, and Toasty, a living pet who eats, drinks and celebrates with you as you log.
We make Calorix, so we’re not neutral. That’s why every claim about Cal AI on this page comes from a public source (its App Store listing, its own website or press coverage) and was checked on October 11, 2026. Prices are US App Store prices unless noted; they vary by country and can change, including through A/B tests.
Some context: Cal AI is owned by MyFitnessPal. The deal closed in December 2025 and was announced on March 2, 2026. MyFitnessPal says Cal AI remains a standalone app, and it has connected Cal AI to MyFitnessPal’s database of 20 million foods, 68,500 brands and more than 380 restaurant chains (TechCrunch, Athletech News). In April 2026, Apple briefly removed Cal AI from the App Store over in-app purchase and billing issues; it was back within days, by April 17, with a new payment flow (9to5Mac, PiunikaWeb).
Logging and AI
Cal AI’s website sums up its approach: “Snap a photo, scan a barcode, or describe your meal” to get calories and nutrients (calai.app). The site says the phone’s depth sensor is used to estimate food volume, and Cal AI’s help pages cover scanning nutrition labels too (Cal AI FAQ). You can also search its database by name or brand, and add your own foods and recipes.
Calorix starts the same way: snap a plate, scan a barcode or nutrition label, or describe a meal by text or voice. The difference is what comes back. Calorix shows a review card listing each ingredient with its portion, grams, calories and a confidence badge. You can also log from food search, recents, favorites, custom foods, the recipe builder or quick-add calories. Here’s how the Calorix scanner works.
Editing and accuracy
Cal AI’s App Store screenshots show an ingredient list with calories for each item, calorie and macro totals you can edit, a serving counter and a Fix Results button (checked October 11, 2026).
In Calorix, you edit at the ingredient level: change a portion or the grams, add or remove items, use the portion slider, or tell Fix with AI what to change by text or voice, with each change shown for your approval before it’s applied. You can add a note like “cooked in butter” and re-analyze the meal from the stored photo.
Why this matters: in a preliminary NIH study presented at NUTRITION 2026, photos of 102 weighed meals were run through four apps, including Cal AI. All four underestimated calories by about 250 to 345 kcal per meal on average, roughly a third, and fat by about 30 g (EurekAlert, Healio). One of the researchers, Aaron Hengist, advised checking portions instead of accepting photo results as they are. Calorix was not tested, and we don’t claim it would do better: hidden oils and sauces are hard for any camera to see. There’s more in How accurate are AI calorie apps?
Targets and tracking
Cal AI builds a plan from a few lifestyle questions, and its App Store screenshots show daily calorie, protein, carb and fat targets. It tracks weight, measurements, water and exercise, and reads steps from Apple Health or Google Fit (calai.app, Cal AI FAQ). We didn’t find intermittent fasting in its App Store listing or on its website.
Calorix sets daily targets for calories, protein, carbs, fat, fiber and water using the Mifflin-St Jeor equation, with the pace capped at 1% of body weight per week and calorie floors of 1,200 kcal a day for women and 1,500 for men. It adds meal ideas from your remaining macros, water tracking, a weight trend with a projected goal date, and progress photos. Intermittent fasting supports 12:12, 14:10, 16:8, 18:6, 20:4, OMAD and custom schedules, with a timer, reminders, a Live Activity and a widget. Apple Health sync goes both ways. See the macro tracker and the fasting tracker.
Motivation: streaks and mascot
Cal AI has streaks, and its App Store in-app purchase list includes a Streak Restore item for $0.99 (checked October 11, 2026).
Calorix pairs streaks with Toasty, an original ember mascot whose energy grows as you keep up your habits. Toasty never shames a food or comments on your body. Daily and weekly challenges earn coins for Toasty’s outfits, and at launch coins are earned, not sold. Streak freezes are earned, a sick-day pass covers days you’re unwell, and neither is ever sold. Smart reminders are capped at two a day.
Platforms and languages
Cal AI runs on more devices. Its App Store listing shows iPhone (iOS 18 or later), Apple Watch, Mac with Apple silicon and Apple Vision Pro, in 15 languages, and its help pages cover Android 10 or later. Its version history shows a new release about once a week.
Calorix 2.0 is iPhone-only and runs on iOS 17 or later. There’s no Android, Mac or Vision Pro version, and an Apple Watch app is planned. Calorix is available in 16 languages. The two lists overlap but differ: Calorix includes Vietnamese, Indonesian, Turkish and Traditional Chinese, while Cal AI includes Hindi, Russian, Romanian and Azerbaijani.
Pricing and trial
Cal AI is free to download, but its App Store listing says food scanning results require a subscription. Its in-app purchases show “Unlimited” plans from $2.99 to $69.99 across two sets of rows that alternate between page loads, without plan lengths (checked October 11, 2026). A June 2026 third-party pricing guide reports $9.99 a month or $29.99 a year as the most common offer, with a 3-day free trial, and notes other prices seen in A/B tests (eesel AI). Cal AI’s website promotes the 3-day free trial, and its help pages mention a family plan. On that common offer, Cal AI’s yearly plan costs less than Calorix’s.
Calorix is free to download and has a free version: barcode lookups, food search and manual logging with no limit, and 3 AI scans a day. Pro costs $3.99 a week, $9.99 a month or $39.99 a year after a 3-day free trial (US App Store prices on October 9, 2026; they vary by country). You manage or cancel the subscription in Apple’s Settings. Accounts are optional: Sign in with Apple or Google is only for backup and sync, and you can delete your account in the app.
When Cal AI is the better choice
- You want an Apple Watch app today, or you use Android, a Mac or Apple Vision Pro.
- You want the lower typical yearly price: $29.99 a year is the commonly reported offer.
- You like an app with a very large user base: more than 15 million downloads by March 2026, according to TechCrunch, and over 369,000 US App Store ratings.
- You value frequent updates, with new versions about once a week.
- You want MyFitnessPal’s database of 20 million foods and 380+ restaurant chains behind a fast, photo-first app.
- You’d like a family plan.
When Calorix may suit you better
- You want to log by photo for free, within a daily limit, before deciding to pay.
- You want to check every ingredient of a photo estimate, with grams and a confidence badge, and correct it by text or voice.
- You want intermittent fasting built in, with a timer, a Live Activity and a widget.
- You’d like a mascot that rewards consistency and never shames a food or comments on your body, with earned streak freezes and a sick-day pass, neither of which is ever sold.
- Your iPhone runs iOS 17, or you’d like the app in Vietnamese, Indonesian, Turkish or Traditional Chinese.
Change log
- October 11, 2026: prices re-checked (a second set of App Store rows, up to $69.99); added a dated price table, Calorix’s free version and Cal AI’s April 2026 App Store removal and return.
- October 9, 2026: page published.
Updated October 11, 2026
