Yuka alternative — track what you eat, not just rate it
Yuka scores packaged products in-store. Swoodie tracks the calories and macros you actually eat — including cooked meals. Different jobs; many people use both.
The bottom line
Yuka rates packaged products; it doesn't track intake, see cooked food or plan meals. Swoodie is a different category — calorie tracking, recipes and planning — so the two genuinely complement each other.
Yuka is brilliant at one job: scan a barcode, see a colour-coded health score, get cleaner alternatives. With 80M+ users, it's the best in-store scanner for packaged goods.
But it doesn't track what you eat, can't see cooked food, and doesn't generate recipes. Swoodie is a different category — calorie tracking, recipes and meal planning — so the two genuinely complement each other.
And Swoodie now scores packaged products too: Product Check gives any barcode an instant 0–100 quality score with the additives behind it and cleaner-scoring swaps — so you get in-store quality scanning and full meal tracking in one app, no second app needed.
Features evolve fast
Swoodie ships new features regularly, so this page may not reflect the very latest. The homepage is always up to date — check there for everything Swoodie does today.
See the latest on the homepage →Feature by feature
| Feature |  Swoodie | Yuka |
|---|---|---|
| Permanent free plan (not a trial) | Free — $0 forever | Free — basic scoring |
| Annual price | $39.99 / year | ~$20–30/yr Premium (regional) |
| AI features without paying | 10 free one-time uses, no card | No AI features |
| AI photo calorie / meal scan | Trial — 10 free uses, then Premium | Barcode only — can't see cooked food |
| Barcode scanner | Trial — 10 free uses, then Premium | Barcode scoring |
| Packaged-food (barcode) lookup | Global open food databases — ~85–90% of barcodes; plus 87,000+ branded foods searchable by name | Large product database — scores, not macros |
| Calorie estimate from a photo | Trial — scan output | |
| Allergen detection from a scan | Trial — scan output | Premium dietary alerts |
| Log a meal you ate ("ate it") | Free — basic calorie logging | No meal logging |
| Meal journal / food diary | Free: last 3 days · Premium: full history | |
| Packaged-product quality score (0–100) | Free — scan, score & breakdown · Premium: better swaps + Ask AI | Yes — its core feature |
| Blood-sugar impact read on a scanned meal | Blood Sugar Score — Free: steady / moderate / spiky, estimated from carbs & fibre | Score is nutrition quality + additives — no blood-sugar read |
| One-tap steadier swap for a spiky meal | Smart Swaps — Premium | Suggests better-rated products, not a swap for a logged meal |
| Recipe discovery / browse | Free — 8,000+ recipe library | |
| Swipe-to-choose recipe UX | Free | |
| Filter recipes by ingredients you have | Free — Discover Mode | |
| AI recipe generation (Chef AI) | Trial — 10 free uses, then Premium | |
| Import a recipe from a video / social post | Trial — 5 free saves, then Premium | |
| Hands-free voice cooking mode | Free | |
| Built-in kitchen tools (converters, scaler, cook times) | Kitchen Tools — Free: 6 offline tools (unit, oven & air-fryer converters, scaler, cook times, safe temperatures) | |
| Multi-day meal planner (1/3/7-day) | Trial — 10 free uses, then Premium | |
| Shopping list merges duplicate ingredients | Trial — built with the plan | |
| Real-time couples meal matching (Swipe Together) | Host: Lite or Premium · Join: Free | |
| Shared meal plan | Host: Lite or Premium · Join: Free | |
| Separate macro targets per person | Free | |
| Multi-person session (family / friends) | Host: Lite or Premium · Join: Free | |
| Intermittent fasting tracker | Tracker: Free · Coach quips: Premium | |
| Paired wellness accountability (2-person daily score) | Host: Lite or Premium · Join: Free | |
| Shareable meal report card | Meal Report Card — Free | Shares one product's score sheet, not a meal |
| Calorie & macro goal setting | Free | Scores products, not your intake |
| Diet-style macro targets (keto / low-carb / high-protein) | Free | |
| Custom macro targets (set your own grams) | Premium | No calorie or macro tracking |
| Daily insight drawn from what you logged | Coach Ollie — daily insight: Free · Pattern insights: Premium | No meal logging |
| iOS app | ||
| Android app |
Where Yuka wins
Yuka does one thing brilliantly — scan a packaged product's barcode and get an instant health score plus cleaner alternatives. With 80M+ users it's the best in-store scanner for packaged goods, and it pairs well alongside a tracker rather than replacing one.
Honest scorecard
Where Swoodie wins
- Swipe-to-choose recipe UX
- Real-time couples meal matching (Swipe Together)
- Multi-person session (family / friends)
- Paired wellness accountability (2-person daily score)
The verdict
Switch to Swoodie if…
you want to track what you actually eat — including cooked meals a barcode can't see — with real calories and macros, recipes and planning.
Stay with Yuka if…
you primarily want a quick in-store health score for packaged products. Many people happily use both.
Made up your mind? Start free.
Swoodie plans the week, tracks what you eat and lets two people pick dinner together. The recipe library and tracking are free, no account needed — every scan carries a Blood Sugar Score, six Kitchen Tools work offline, and Premium is free for 7 days on the yearly plan.
We put these comparisons together from publicly available information and each app's own website. Prices and features change — if you spot anything inaccurate or out of date, email support@swoodie.app and we'll correct it. We want this comparison to stay fair.
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