Lifestyle · October 27, 2026 · 8 min read
Lifesum review: cost and free version
What the Swedish app does without paying, how much Premium costs in 2026, what users say about it and how to cancel.
Lifesum in 2026: free or paid, and is the app any good?
Published October 27, 2026 · By the Ember team
In short
Lifesum is free to download, and its free version lets you log meals with food search, the barcode scanner and Quick Track, according to its Help Center.
AI tracking (photo, voice or free text), custom calorie and macro goals, meal plans and the full recipe library require Lifesum Premium, an auto-renewing subscription.
On the US App Store, Premium costs $29.99 to $39.99 for three months and $99.99 to $119.99 for a year. The $99.99 annual plan works out to $8.33 a month.
Users rate it 4.6 out of 5 on the US App Store (more than 150,000 ratings). This guide is published by Ember, a competing app, which includes up to two AI analyses a day on its free plan.
Is Lifesum free?
Yes for basic tracking, no for what makes it fast. Lifesum is free to download, and its App Store listing says you can use it “with limited features” without a subscription. Its Help Center describes two ways to log a meal. Traditional tracking, available to all users, covers searching the food database, the barcode scanner, Quick Track (a fast calorie entry), favorites and recently tracked meals.
AI tracking is a Premium feature. Yet it is the novelty Lifesum puts forward: snap your plate, speak your meal or type it in one sentence to get an estimate. On the free version, you search for each food or scan each package, as in a classic calorie counter, with goals you cannot set yourself.
| Feature | Free version | Premium |
|---|---|---|
| Food search, barcode scanner and Quick Track | Yes | Yes |
| AI tracking: photo, voice or free text | No | Yes |
| Custom calorie goal | No | Yes |
| Custom carb, protein and fat goals | No | Yes |
| Meal plans and programs | No | Yes |
| Create your own foods, recipes, meals and exercises | No | Yes |
| Nutrient details (sodium, fiber, cholesterol…) | No | Yes |
| Access to all Lifesum recipes | No | Yes |
Based on the Lifesum Help Center articles “What do I get when I buy Premium?” (updated May 28, 2026) and “What is the difference between AI tracking and the traditional tracking?” (updated September 7, 2026).
If your subscription ends, Lifesum goes back to the free version without deleting your data. Your favorites stay available, but you cannot create new ones.
How much does Lifesum Premium cost in 2026?
Lifesum sells Premium as a one-month, three-month or one-year subscription that renews automatically at the end of each period unless you cancel it first. Its Help Center does not publish a price list: the price appears at checkout, on the payment platform. The App Store listings still give a sense of scale, with the in-app purchases offered in each country:
| App Store | 1 month | 3 months | 1 year |
|---|---|---|---|
| France | €9.99 to €14.99 | €21.99 to €39.99 | €99.99 |
| United States | Not shown | $29.99 to $39.99 | $99.99 to $119.99 |
| Spain | €10.99 to €14.99 | €39.99 | €99.99 |
| Germany | €9.99 to €14.99 | €21.99 to €39.99 | €99.99 |
| Norway | 149 kr | 239 kr to 399 kr | 999 kr |
Taken from Lifesum’s App Store listings on October 27, 2026. The App Store shows 10 in-app purchases at most and some have no stated length; in the US, a 6-month offer at $69.99 also appears. Several prices for the same length are different offers. The price actually offered appears in the app before you buy.
Over a year, the $99.99 annual plan works out to $8.33 a month (Ember’s calculation); in France, that compares with €9.99 to €14.99 for a monthly plan. Before you confirm, check the length of the offer and its renewal date, not just the amount. One more thing: Lifesum subscriptions do not work with Apple Family Sharing, so each person pays for their own.
What do Lifesum reviews say?
On the App Store, Lifesum is well rated in every country we checked, with 4.6 out of 5 in the US from more than 150,000 ratings and 4.5 in France from more than 34,000. Founded in Stockholm, the app claims 65 million users.
- Strengths
An app built to help you eat better, not just count: meal plans for a way of eating (keto, paleo, high protein…), thousands of recipes with filters, a Life Score that rates your habits, water tracking, Apple Health sync and an Apple Watch app.
- Limitations
Photo, voice and free-text logging are Premium only, as is setting your own calorie and macro goals. The website only manages your account: you cannot log meals there. And the subscription cannot be shared with family.
| App Store | Rating | Number of ratings |
|---|---|---|
| France | 4.5 / 5 | 34,093 |
| United States | 4.6 / 5 | 150,948 |
| Spain | 4.5 / 5 | 9,876 |
| Germany | 4.5 / 5 | 81,864 |
| Norway | 4.5 / 5 | 34,126 |
Ratings shown on Lifesum’s App Store listings on October 27, 2026.
An average rating does not tell you which version or what use people rated. Before subscribing, read the most recent reviews and try the free version.
How do you cancel Lifesum and get a refund?
It depends on where you subscribed. Watch out: uninstalling the app or deleting your account does not stop the subscription, and Lifesum advises cancelling at least three days before renewal.
- On iPhone or iPad
Open the App Store, tap your account, then Subscriptions. Choose Lifesum and tap Cancel Subscription.
- On Android
Open the Play Store, tap your account in the top right corner, then Payments and subscriptions. Choose the Lifesum subscription and cancel it.
- On the Lifesum website
Log in to your account on lifesum.com, open Manage Subscription, then cancel. If your receipt mentions Paddle, you cancel on paddle.net.
Cancelling only stops the next renewal: you keep Premium until the end of the paid period, with no refund. Under its refund policy, you must ask within 14 days of purchase, and using Premium during that time can cost you that right. For an App Store purchase, Apple decides, through its support.
Is Lifesum Premium worth it?
It depends on what you expect. If you want meal plans, recipes and a program built around a specific diet, Premium brings all of that together, and the free version only gives you a glimpse. If you are also considering Yazio, our guide Is Yazio free? explains what its free version allows.
If your main need is to log meals quickly, by photo or in a few words, compare before you pay. Ember, the app that publishes this guide, includes up to two AI analyses a day on its free plan. We cover the differences in our Ember vs Lifesum comparison.
Finally, whatever the app, a photo gives an estimate, not a weighing: cooking oils, sauces and hidden portions change the result. Our guide to AI calorie counter accuracy explains how to correct these gaps.
Sources
- Lifesum Help Center. What do I get when I buy Premium? (updated May 28, 2026).
- Lifesum Help Center. What is the difference between AI tracking and the traditional tracking? (updated September 7, 2026).
- Lifesum Help Center. Multimodal tracking explained, AI tracking (updated September 23, 2026).
- Lifesum Help Center. Do I lose my tracked data when my Premium subscription is running out? (updated December 10, 2024).
- Lifesum Help Center. Cancel Subscription (updated August 28, 2026).
- Lifesum Help Center. How can I receive a refund? (updated August 28, 2026).
- Lifesum Help Center. Can I use Lifesum with Family Sharing? (updated October 15, 2026).
- Lifesum Help Center. Can I use Lifesum in my web browser or via a computer? (updated January 17, 2025).
- Lifesum Help Center. Lifesum Premium Subscription & Renewal Details (updated February 7, 2025).
- NGP Capital. The purpose behind Lifesum (September 3, 2020).
- App Store France. Lifesum: in-app purchases and ratings (checked October 27, 2026).
- App Store United States. Lifesum: in-app purchases, description and ratings (checked October 27, 2026).
- App Store Spain. Lifesum: in-app purchases and ratings (checked October 27, 2026).
- App Store Germany. Lifesum: in-app purchases and ratings (checked October 27, 2026).
- App Store Norway. Lifesum: in-app purchases and ratings (checked October 27, 2026).
Lifesum is a trademark of its respective owner. Ember is a competing app and is not affiliated with or endorsed by Lifesum. Features and prices were checked on October 27, 2026 on the official Help Center and App Store listings; they may change and vary by country, platform and the offer shown.
Frequently asked questions about Lifesum
The app is free to download, and its free version lets you log meals with food search, the barcode scanner and Quick Track. AI tracking, custom goals, meal plans and the full recipe library require a Premium subscription.
On the US App Store, on October 27, 2026, Premium cost $29.99 to $39.99 for three months and $99.99 to $119.99 for a year. The exact price depends on the offer shown in the app before you buy.
No. According to the Lifesum Help Center, AI tracking, which covers photo, voice and free text, is a Premium feature. The barcode scanner remains available on the free version.
On iPhone, in the App Store, your account, then Subscriptions. On Android, in the Play Store, Payments and subscriptions. If you subscribed on the website, from your account on lifesum.com. Deleting the app or your account is not enough to stop the subscription.
You must ask within 14 days of purchase, and using Premium during that time can cost you that right. For an App Store purchase, Apple support handles the refund. Cancelling without asking for a refund only stops the next renewal.
Not for tracking. The Lifesum website lets you manage your account and a web subscription, and export your food data seven days at a time, but not log meals or follow a program. You need the mobile app.
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