Comparison

Mealchat vs BasicPlate

Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both apps, side by side — with what reviewers say about each.

Head to head
About

Mealchat

Features
Read full description

Other trackers hand you a number and walk away. Mealchat reads your week and tells you the one thing to change. "Your meals were on point all week — but your sugary drinks quietly added up to a whole extra day of calories. Want a few easy swaps?" That's your AI nutritionist. It learns your food patterns and does the thinking for you. — A NUTRITIONIST, NOT A SPREADSHEET — Most calorie apps make YOU do the thinking. Mealchat inverts it:* - Spots the patterns in your eating that you don't notice - Tells you what's working and what to change — based on YOUR meals, not generic tips - Answers in the moment: "I'm at a Thai restaurant, what fits my day?" - Sends weekly reports on what went well and what to adjust - The more you log, the smarter it gets — LOGGING IS THE EASY PART — 1) Set your goals and get a personalized nutrition plan 2) Log by text, voice, or photo* 3) Get your full breakdown instantly — every macro, 20+ micronutrients* Be as specific or as vague as you want. "300g chicken breast" or "a big plate of pasta" — Mealchat figures it out. No food databases. No serving size math. — BUILT FOR REAL FOOD — "Made a stir fry with chicken, broccoli, bell peppers, soy sauce, and rice" No weighing every ingredient. No building recipes from scratch. Just describe what you made, the way you'd tell a friend.* *ALL TRACKING AND AI NUTRITIONIST FEATURES SHOWN IN SCREENSHOTS REQUIRE A SUBSCRIPTION (FREE TRIAL AVAILABLE). THE INITIAL CALORIE NEEDS CALCULATION IS AVAILABLE FOR FREE. NOTE: Mealchat does not provide medical advice. All recommendations are suggestions only. Consult a healthcare professional before making changes to your diet. TERMS: https://www.apple.com/legal/internet-services/itunes/dev/stdeula/ PRIVACY: https://mealchat.ai/privacy

About

BasicPlate

Easily track your meals and nutrition with AI-powered logging. Snap a photo, record a voice note, or type a quick description to get accurate calorie and macro estimates. Build mindful eating habits without the frustration of tedious logging.

Highlights
  • AI food logging by photo, voice, or text
  • Barcode scanner for packaged foods
  • Daily calorie and macro tracking
  • Custom recipe creation and import
  • Workout logging with calorie burn estimates
  • Apple Health sync
  • Progress tracking (weight, measurements, photos)
Read full description

Track a meal in less than 10 seconds, then get back to your day. BasicPlate is a calorie and macro tracker for people who've downloaded every other calorie counter, used it for a week, and deleted it. The problem was never willpower — it's that logging food is tedious. So we made it simpler. BasicPlate is the calorie tracking app that includes everything you need and nothing you don't. Building mindful eating habits shouldn't be frustrating. Your tools should help you get the job done without getting in the way, and that's why we built BasicPlate. Snap a photo, leave a voice note, or type a quick line — "about two cups, cooked in olive oil" — and combine any of them before the AI estimates your meal. A photo alone can't tell you how something was cooked or how big that serving actually was. That context is what makes the number accurate, and it's the part most AI food trackers skip. --- What's Inside: - AI food logging by photo, voice, or text, in any combination - Barcode scanner for packaged foods - Daily calorie and macro tracking — protein, carbs, fat, against your targets - Custom recipes: describe them out loud, build them by hand, or paste a URL to import the whole thing in a few seconds - Recipes remember their serving size, so logging a half portion is one tap - Workout logging that turns a description of your session into a calorie-burn estimate - Apple Health sync to track your activity data against your goals - One-tap water tracking - Weight, measurements, and progress photos, so you're watching a trend, not just today's number Whether you're cutting, building muscle, holding steady, or just trying to eat with a little more awareness, BasicPlate is built to be the food diary you're still using in six months — not the one buried on page three of your home screen. Free to download, with a free trial included. After the trial, a subscription unlocks unlimited AI logging, unlimited recipes, and full progress history. Monthly and annual plans available. Terms: https://basicplate.com/terms Privacy: https://basicplate.com/privacy Questions or ideas? support@basicplate.com — a real person reads every message. Barcode Scanning Powered by fatsecret nutrition API (www.fatsecret.com) BasicPlate does not provide medical advice. Talk to a qualified professional before starting any nutrition or exercise program.

Screenshots

Mealchat4 screens
BasicPlate4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is ads: BasicPlate at none against Mealchat's shown. On price, update cadence, in-app purchases and device support 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

CostPrice · In-app purchases · Ads · Monetization

Both are free to download. Mealchat sells 5 in-app purchases, starting at $3.99 per 7 days and BasicPlate sells 2 in-app purchases, starting at $9.99 per month. Whichever you choose, the download price is not the number that matters.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

Mealchat ships an update every 9 days, BasicPlate weekly. The most recent releases landed on September 30, 2026 and October 10, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard1 real difference · 9 level
Mealchat versus BasicPlate: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterMealchatBasicPlate
PriceFreeFree
Rating—5.0 (9 ratings) — better
Positive reviews—100.0% of reviews
Number of ratings—9 — better
Update frequencyEvery 9 daysWeekly — better
AdsYesNo — better
In-app purchasesYesYes
Monetization—Freemium
DevicesiPhoneiPhone
Requires iOS17.0 — better18.0
Further details — not scored
Size83 MB65 MB
Age rating17+17+
DeveloperPurpose LabsBasicPlate, LLC

In-app purchases

5 purchases

Mealchat

Subscriptions5
  • Pro Weekly$3.997 Days
  • Pro Monthly$9.991 Month
  • Pro Annual - Special Offer3 Days trial$39.991 Year
Show 2 more
  • Pro Annual - Special Offer$44.991 Year
  • Pro Annual3 Days trial$69.991 Year
2 purchases

BasicPlate

Subscriptions2
  • BasicPlate Premium - Monthly7 Days trial$9.991 Month
  • BasicPlate Premium - Yearly7 Days trial$79.991 Year

Questions

Is Mealchat free?
Mealchat is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Is BasicPlate free?
BasicPlate is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Do Mealchat or BasicPlate have ads?
Mealchat shows ads; BasicPlate does not.
Which is updated more often, Mealchat or BasicPlate?
Mealchat ships an update every 9 days, and BasicPlate weekly. Most recently, Mealchat was updated on September 30, 2026 and BasicPlate on October 10, 2026.

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