Menu Buddy vs Menu Scanner
Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both apps, side by side ā with what reviewers say about each.
Menu Buddy
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Chat with Your Menu ā Know What You Eat. Take the stress out of dining out! Scan any restaurant menu and let our AI instantly analyze it based on your specific dietary needs. Whether you have food allergies, intolerances, or follow a specific lifestyle like vegan or gluten-free, Menu Buddy helps you find safe and delicious options. Perfect for anyone with dietary needs or health goals. Make dining out simple, informed, and safe. Key Features: ⢠Instant Menu Scanning: Snap a photo of any physical menu and let AI analyze the dishes instantly. ⢠Custom Dietary Profiles: Set your specific allergies (nuts, dairy, shellfish, etc.) and diets (vegan, keto, gluten-free). ⢠AI Menu Chat: Talk directly with your menu! Ask questions about specific ingredients, potential allergens, and get tailored recommendations. ⢠Allergy Alerts: Get clear warnings about dishes that contain your allergens so you can order with confidence. Download Menu Buddy today and experience stress-free, safe dining at any restaurant! https://www.apple.com/legal/internet-services/itunes/dev/stdeula/
Menu Scanner
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PREMIUM ā PURCHASE REQUIRED: All features described below are part of Pro and require a purchase: a weekly or yearly auto-renewing subscription, or a one-time lifetime purchase. MenuScan helps you make sense of a printed restaurant menu before you order. Photograph a menu or choose an image from your library, review the dishes found, and compare AI-estimated nutrition in one calm dining ledger. WHAT YOU CAN DO ⢠Scan a printed menu: On-device text recognition extracts visible menu text, then our analysis service returns a structured dish list. ⢠Compare estimates: Review estimated calories, protein, carbohydrates and fat side by side. ⢠Keep a dining ledger: Save favourites and revisit scan history on this device. ⢠Plan ahead: Add saved dishes to a meal plan and review nutrition trends over time. ⢠Set preferences: Record dietary preferences to make review easier. MenuScan never certifies that a dish is safe or allergen-free. ⢠Export selected information when you need a portable record. IMPORTANT LIMITATIONS Restaurant recipes, ingredients, cross-contact and portion sizes vary. Every nutrition, ingredient, dietary and allergen result in MenuScan is an AI estimate, not a laboratory measurement or medical recommendation. Always confirm ingredients and allergy safety directly with the restaurant. Do not use MenuScan for diagnosis or emergency decisions. PRIVACY A menu image is uploaded securely only after you select it for analysis. Scan history, favourites, meal plans and profile preferences are stored on this device. Anonymous product interaction, performance and crash diagnostics help us improve reliability. MenuScan does not use data for cross-app tracking. PREMIUM (PURCHASE REQUIRED) Optional MenuScan Pro purchases unlock unlimited scans and advanced planning, history, insights and export features. Available products and prices are shown by the App Store before purchase. Subscriptions renew automatically unless cancelled in App Store account settings. Terms of Use: https://leanstudio.asia/terms-of-use Privacy Policy: https://leanstudio.asia/privacy-policy Support: support@leanstudio.asia
Screenshots
Verdict
The clearest difference is device support: Menu Buddy at 3 against Menu Scanner's 1. Menu Buddy also leads on iOS requirement (14.0.0 vs 16.0). On price, update cadence, ads and in-app purchases there is nothing between them.
Scored on Price Ā· Rating Ā· Positive reviews Ā· Number of ratings Ā· Update frequency Ā· Ads Ā· In-app purchases Ā· Monetization Ā· Best chart rank Ā· Devices Ā· Requires iOS
Both are free to download. Menu Buddy sells 2 in-app purchases, starting at $1.99 per 7 days and Menu Scanner sells 3 in-app purchases, starting at $9.99 per 7 days. Whichever you choose, the download price is not the number that matters.
Menu Buddy ships an update every 6 months, Menu Scanner every 3 months. The most recent releases landed on October 25, 2026 and October 12, 2026 respectively.
| Parameter | Menu Buddy | Menu Scanner |
|---|---|---|
| Price | Free | Free |
| Update frequency | Every 6 months | Every 3 months ā better |
| Ads | No | No |
| In-app purchases | Yes | Yes |
| Devices | iPhone, iPad, iPod ā better | iPhone |
| Requires iOS | 14.0.0 ā better | 16.0 |
| Further details ā not scored | ||
| Size | 50 MB | 9 MB |
| Age rating | 4+ | 4+ |
| Developer | JERZY FRYMARK | LEAN ASIA CO., LTD |
In-app purchases
Menu Buddy
- Weekly$1.997 Days
- Monthly$4.991 Month
Menu Scanner
- Premium Weekly Plan$9.997 Days
- Premium Yearly3 Days trial$49.991 Year
- Lifetime$89.99









