Comparison

MealCam vs Shutterbite

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

Head to head
About

MealCam

Log your meals with photos to gain insights into your eating habits. This app focuses on visual logging rather than calorie counting, helping you understand patterns related to color, water content, and digestion timing. It's designed for improved accountability and a more holistic approach to health.

Highlights
  • Photo-based meal logging
  • Intermittent fasting support
  • Visual pattern analysis (color, water content)
  • Digestion timing insights
  • Meal history recall
  • Shareable meal summaries
  • Private iCloud syncing
Features
Read full description

MealCam is where you save pictures of everything that you eat. It is great for intermittent fasters to observe their feeding window lengths without starting timers. You can shortcut from the Lock Screen or Control Center to capture Meals very conveniently. The UI is focused on images instead of calories. Instead of obsessing over numbers, you can look more holistically at what and when you eat to measure things like: -How many colors did I eat? -How many ingredients did I eat that had water in them? (i.e. fruit/veg vs processed food) -How much time did I give my body to digest before I ate again? While it may seem simple. When you use it consistently it becomes immensely powerful. It may be the catalyst to a skinnier, healthier you because of the insights you gain... ...or simply because of the improved accountability you gain by simply taking a picture of every meal! (You might ask yourself, "should I really be eating this?" as you reach for MealCam) ...it could also uncover a food allergy you never knew you had but was responsible for your bloating and discomfort. --- Focusing on calorie counting can often be misleading because to meet a goal you may eat processed food that has an artificially-engineered low/no calorie number... ...when what your body really wanted was a hydrating piece of fresh fruit!   (Colorful fresh produce isn't usually sold with nutrition labels... and yet isn't it the healthiest food for us?) So by focusing instead on things like colors and water content you'll get a more holistic view of what you eat. ...and it's easier! (It only takes seconds to take a picture of a meal) --- With photos of your meals you'll have a broader perspective of what you eat where you can observe patterns you would otherwise be unaware of. You can ask questions that get to the root of problems: - What made my digestion like this? - Why am I bloated? - Did I eat something yesterday that caused me to break out? - Why did I gain weight this month? MealCam allows you to recall what you were eating days, weeks, or months ago. (Unlike our memory which often can only recall the past few meals) ...and the very act of taking a picture of every meal makes you more conscious of what you eat. You can also create a 1 day or 7 day summary of your meals to share with your doctor, personal trainer, or nutrition coach. --- MealCam uses of all the greatest new features in iOS: -It uses iCloud to privately sync your meals between devices. -It has a useful Widget. -It supports multitasking on iPad and works in all orientations. ~Private iCloud Syncing~ Meals can be stored in your private iCloud database where they sync with all your devices. Since MealCam uses iCloud's private database, I as the developer do not have access to them. They're for your eyes only. You also have the choice to store them locally on your device without syncing. ~Widget~ A common thing you may ask yourself is, especially if you are intermittent fasting is: what time was my last meal? The widget is the perfect place to quickly answer this question. It shows a timeline of today's meals. Or if you haven't eaten today, how long it's been since your last meal. You can quickly reference what time your last meal was without opening the app and decide if you're ready to eat again. You can also put an accessory widget with this info on the Lock Screen. ~Multitasking~ MealCam works in all sizes and orientations so you can use it for multitasking on the iPad. You can use MealCam side by side with other apps. For example, when you are looking for recipes online you can use MealCam to see what you've eaten the past couple nights. --- I hope you enjoy MealCam as much as I do! - Kevin (the developer)

About

Shutterbite

Easily track your meals and snacks with photos, no calorie counting needed. Customize your diary with over 40 options to understand your eating habits and achieve your goals.

Highlights
  • Track meals with photos
  • Customizable tracking options
  • No calorie counting required
  • View eating pattern insights
  • Set and track eating goals
  • Earn rewards for milestones
Features
Read full description

Shutterbite is designed to be the easiest and most flexible food journal and mindful eating app that you can find. The Shutterbite food journal will help you eat mindfully and improve your relationship with food. With Shutterbite, you can track what you eat with just a photo, no calorie counting or dieting required. You can also customize your food diary with various tracking options that suit your goals and preferences. Whether you want to lose weight, eat healthier, or simply be more aware of your eating habits, Shutterbite can help you achieve it. With Shutterbite, you can: - Track your meals and snacks with photos, the easiest and fastest way to journal your food. - Customize your food diary with 40+ additional tracking options, such as hunger/fullness, meal timer, why you ate, how you felt after eating, mood tracker, who you ate with, and more. - Create your own tracking options from scratch or edit the existing ones to fit your needs. - View your stats and insights to discover your eating patterns and habits, and how they affect your goals. - Set and track your progress towards any eating-related goal, such as losing weight, eating more fruits and vegetables, or reducing sugar intake. - Get rewards and motivation for reaching milestones and staying consistent with your food journaling. Here are a few of the features you can expect with Shutterbite 1. Simple and Easy Meal Tracking: - Track what you are eating using only a picture - No calorie counting required - Custom tracking options make it easy to track whatever is important to you 2. Custom Food Journal - 40+ Predefined tracking options available such as hunger/fullness, meal timer, why you ate, how you food after eating, mood tracker, who you ate with, and more - Easy-to-use tracking options that make it easy to track whatever you want - Edit any of the tracking options to meet your goals - Create your own tracking options from scratch using any of the other tracking options as a starting point - Edit your journal visually so that you create a journal that is truly for you 3. Detailed Stat Tracking - View your stats to find insights into your eating habits. - View your stats for particular food and see how your habits change based on the food that you are eating. - View stats for each particular eating habit that you have added to your journal - See how your habits change by visualizing how your habits change over time 4. Goal Tracking - Track your progress towards any eating-related goal - Get rewards for reaching milestones with your goal - Find the foods and the specific eating habits that best help you accomplish your goals - Help you stay motivated as you progress towards your goal Subscription Information: Shutterbite is free to download and use until you reach a certain threshold. We charge a small fee to store all of your data privately in the cloud, remain ad-free, and continue delivering new functionality and features on a consistent basis. After reaching the threshold of 15 saved meals you will be asked to subscribe to continue saving any more data. Terms of Use: https://shutterbite.com/terms-of-use/ and our privacy policy here: Privacy Policy: https://shutterbite.com/privacy-policy/

Screenshots

MealCam4 screens
Shutterbite4 screens

Verdict

The call

MealCam and Shutterbite both sit at 4.7 stars, but that hides the real split: 97% of MealCam's written reviews are positive against 33% of Shutterbite's. MealCam also leads on ratings volume (234 vs 26). Shutterbite's advantage is update cadence (fortnightly vs every 2 months) and iOS requirement (15.0 vs 18.0). On price, rating, ads and in-app purchases 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. MealCam sells 1 one-off in-app purchase and Shutterbite sells 3 in-app purchases, starting at $5.99 per month. Whichever you choose, the download price is not the number that matters.

ReceptionRating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings

On the App Store both sit at effectively the same score — 4.7 for MealCam against 4.8 for Shutterbite. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: MealCam has 234 ratings behind it against 26, so its average is the more settled of the two. Written reviews are what separate them: 97% of MealCam's written reviews are positive against 33% of Shutterbite's.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

MealCam ships an update every 2 months, Shutterbite fortnightly. The most recent releases landed on October 22, 2026 and October 24, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard4 real differences · 6 level
MealCam versus Shutterbite: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterMealCamShutterbite
PriceFreeFree
Rating4.7 (234 ratings)4.8 (26 ratings) — better
Positive reviews97.0% of reviews — better33.3% of reviews
Number of ratings234 — better26
Update frequencyEvery 2 monthsFortnightly — better
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesYesYes
MonetizationFree with in-app purchasesFreemium
DevicesiPhone, iPadiPhone, iPad, iPod — better
Requires iOS18.015.0 — better
Further details — not scored
Size28 MB107 MB
Age rating4+4+
DeveloperKevin HealyShutterbite

Customer experience

MealCam

All ratings229 ratings
Positive93.0%
Neutral3.9%
Negative3.1%
Written reviews33 reviews
Positive97.0%
Neutral0.0%
Negative3.0%

Shutterbite

All ratings25 ratings
Positive96.0%
Neutral4.0%
Negative0.0%
Written reviews3 reviews
Positive33.3%
Neutral33.3%
Negative33.3%

Bugs and requests

MealCam

Reported bugs

6 issues
  • Widget not working on homepages
  • Bubbles fly around and are hard to make sense of
  • App tells users to buy paid version without clear pricing
  • Camera does not zoom
  • Pictures move and get out of order
Show 1 more
  • Tiny preview of past days on a separate screen

Requested features

14 requests
  • Lock moving bubbles/photos
  • Indicator for photos on calendar days
  • Dark mode
  • See text notes over photos on main page
  • Option for static, non-moving photos (gallery view)
Show 9 more
  • Notes per day feature to track effects of food
  • Widget on homepages
  • Ability to repost a meal
  • Ability to like/favorite posts
  • Make notes easier to view (on the same page as photo)
  • Ability to enter a text post without a photo
  • Reminder to take pictures
  • Background options for aesthetic customization
  • Indefinite storage of pictures

Shutterbite

Not enough reviews yet to summarise bugs or requests.

In-app purchases

1 purchases

MealCam

One-time1
  • Upgrade to Paid$6.99
3 purchases

Shutterbite

Subscriptions3
  • Shutterbite Premium Monthly$5.991 Month
  • Shutterbite Premium 6 Months$28.996 Months
  • Shutterbite Premium Annual7 Days trial$43.991 Year

Questions

Is MealCam free?
MealCam is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Is Shutterbite free?
Shutterbite is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Which has better reviews, MealCam or Shutterbite?
Shutterbite is rated higher. MealCam averages 4.7 out of 5 from 234 ratings, while Shutterbite averages 4.8 from 26 ratings.
Do MealCam or Shutterbite have ads?
Neither MealCam nor Shutterbite shows ads.
Which is updated more often, MealCam or Shutterbite?
MealCam ships an update every 2 months, and Shutterbite fortnightly. Most recently, MealCam was updated on October 22, 2026 and Shutterbite on October 24, 2026.

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