Primal Eats MD vs Ketzal
Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both apps, side by side — with what reviewers say about each.
Primal Eats MD
Easily grade restaurant menus and grocery items based on the Primal eating framework. Get instant A-F ratings, macro breakdowns, and modification tips to make healthier choices on the go. Discover nearby Primal-friendly alternatives and connect with a community for shared insights.
- Restaurant menu grading (A-F)
- Grocery item barcode scanning
- Macro breakdowns (calories, protein, fat, net carbs)
- Modification tips for dishes
- Primal-friendly alternative suggestions
- Community comment threads
- Save favorite items and scans
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Eat Primal anywhere! At any restaurant, and right in the grocery aisle. PrimalEats MD grades food through the lens of Dr. Al Sears' Primal eating framework, so you can make a clean choice in seconds... whether you're staring at a menu or a nutrition label. Grade any restaurant menu, A–F Search any restaurant and instantly see how Primal-friendly it is. We break the menu down item by item: which dishes to order, which to skip, and exactly why, with macros (calories, protein, fat, net carbs) and simple modification tips to make a good dish even better. Scan groceries on the spot — NEW Scan a barcode or snap the ingredients label and get an instant Primal grade for any packaged food. See the red flags (seed oils, added sugar, ultra-processing), the wins (grass-fed, wild-caught, whole-food ingredients), and a more Primal alternative to reach for instead. Eat clean when you're out. • A–F Primal grades for restaurants near you • Recommended vs. avoid items, with the reasoning • Macros and easy "order it this way" tips • Nearby Primal-friendly alternatives when a spot falls short A community that eats the way you do. • Comment threads on every restaurant — tips, swaps, and questions • Crowd-sourced intel: grass-fed beef? seed oils? wild-caught? house-made? • Member ratings so the best Primal spots rise to the top • Save your favorites and your scans for quick reference Built on Dr. Sears' Primal principles Prioritize real, whole foods. Choose grass-fed and wild-caught. Avoid seed oils, refined sugar, and ultra-processed junk. PrimalEats MD turns those principles into a grade you can act on in the moment. PrimalEats MD provides general nutrition guidance based on the Primal framework and is not medical advice. Always check labels for allergens and your own dietary needs.
Ketzal
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Ketzal turns your phone into a label reader. Point it at a grocery barcode and in just a few seconds, you'll see our analysis of the products processing level, what's on the ingredient list, and how its nutrition stacks up. From the makers of UltraProcessedFoodList.com. Named after the quetzal, a bird known for noticing what others miss. WHAT YOU GET Scan a barcode Point the camera at a grocery barcode. The scan is hands free and focuses automatically, so small print and curved packages still read. A processing score, explained Every scored product gets a level from Minimally Processed to Ultra Processed, based on its ingredient list. You see the number and the reasoning. A nutrition score A separate 0 to 10 read on the nutrition panel, so you can tell a lightly processed product with poor nutrition from a more processed one that stacks up better. The two scores answer different questions and we keep them apart. The full ingredient list Every ingredient, in the order printed on the package, with the additives, preservatives, sweeteners, and colors called out so you can find them quickly. Save what you scan Keep a list of products you have looked up. Works signed out; sign in to keep it across devices. Search by name When a barcode will not scan, search over 400K products by name or brand. Your profile See your scans and your contributions in one place, with your level and badges. Learn more Guides on how the scores work, how to read a food label and what the NOVA food groups are. HOW WE TALK ABOUT SCORES A high processing score does not necessarily mean a food is bad for you. Processing is one property of a food, measured from its ingredient list. It is not a health rating, not medical advice, and not a judgment of any brand. When we are not confident, we say so instead of showing a number. If a product has thin data, unreadable ingredients, or is something our scoring was not built for, such as a dietary supplement, you get an honest "not scored" rather than a figure we cannot stand behind. We would rather show you less than mislead you. Every score comes from a published method you can read. HELP BUILD THE CATALOG Food data is messy and packaging changes. When a product you scan is missing something, like a front photo or the nutrition panel, Ketzal asks for a photo to help fill the gap. Every photo is checked by a person before it changes anything. Approved photos show in the app, and you earn levels and badges as your contributions are approved. Follow each one in My Contributions. PRIVACY The camera is used only to read barcodes and the labels you choose to photograph. Camera images are never uploaded unless you submit a photo yourself. When you ask for an instant score, your photos are sent to an AI service to read the label. When you scan, the barcode number is recorded so we can see which products people look for and fill the gaps. Signed out, that record is not linked to you. You can use Ketzal without an account, and you can delete your account and your personal data from inside the app at any time. KETZAL PLUS Scanning, both scores, search, allergen alerts, saved products and contributions are free. Saving, contributing and the Avoid List need a free account. Ketzal Plus adds unlimited instant scores for products we don't have yet, and ingredients on your Avoid List. You get one free instant score every month without it. Ketzal Plus is $29.99 a year with a 7-day free trial, or $3.99 a month. It renews automatically until you cancel in your Apple ID settings, at least 24 hours before the period ends. The yearly plan can be shared with your Apple Family Sharing group. Terms of Use: https://www.ultraprocessedfoodlist.com/terms Privacy Policy: https://www.ultraprocessedfoodlist.com/privacy Built by the team behind ultraprocessedfoodlist.com
Screenshots
Verdict
The clearest difference is in-app purchases: Primal Eats MD at none against Ketzal's 2. Primal Eats MD also leads on ratings volume (5 vs 1) and device support (3 vs 1). Ketzal's advantage is rating (5.0 vs 4.8). On price, update cadence, ads and iOS requirement there is nothing between them.
Scored on Price · Rating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings · Update frequency · Ads · In-app purchases · Monetization · Best chart rank · Devices · Requires iOS
Both are free to download. Ketzal sells 2 in-app purchases, starting at $3.99 per month. Primal Eats MD asks for nothing beyond the download.
Ketzal holds the better App Store score, 5.0 against 4.8. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: Primal Eats MD has 5 ratings behind it against 1, so its average is the more settled of the two.
Primal Eats MD ships an update every 5 days, Ketzal every 6 days. The most recent releases landed on November 5, 2026 and November 6, 2026 respectively.
| Parameter | Primal Eats MD | Ketzal |
|---|---|---|
| Price | Free | Free |
| Rating | 4.8 (5 ratings) | 5.0 (1 ratings) — better |
| Positive reviews | 100.0% of reviews | — |
| Number of ratings | 5 — better | 1 |
| Update frequency | Every 5 days — better | Every 6 days |
| Ads | No | No |
| In-app purchases | No — better | Yes |
| Monetization | Ad-supported | — |
| Devices | iPhone, iPad, iPod — better | iPhone |
| Requires iOS | 15.1 — better | 16.4 |
| Further details — not scored | ||
| Size | 39 MB | 59 MB |
| Age rating | 4+ | 4+ |
| Developer | Gabe Rios | Workhorse Labs, LLC |
In-app purchases
Primal Eats MD
No in-app purchases
Ketzal
- Ketzal Plus Monthly$3.991 Month
- Ketzal Plus Yearly7 Days trial$29.991 Year









