Nutrition API
FatSecret Alternative: Self-Serve Nutrition + Food Database API
Feature Comparison
| Feature | YMove | FatSecret |
|---|---|---|
| Self-serve signup | ||
| Public pricing | ||
| USDA FoodData Central | ||
| Branded products | ||
| International product coverage (180+ countries) | Strong | |
| Barcode lookup | ||
| AI food logging (text + photo) | ||
| Recipe search bundled | ||
| Exercise videos bundled | ||
| Workout generation bundled | ||
| Country-aware label localization | ||
| Starting price | $19/mo | Enterprise |
Self-serve signup
Public pricing
USDA FoodData Central
Branded products
International product coverage (180+ countries)
Barcode lookup
AI food logging (text + photo)
Recipe search bundled
Exercise videos bundled
Workout generation bundled
Country-aware label localization
Starting price
Why developers want a FatSecret alternative
FatSecret's Premier API requires going through sales, signing an MSA, and committing to custom volume pricing. That works for a Fortune 500 health platform; it is friction for indie developers, side projects, and early-stage startups. YMove fixes that: sign up, get an API key, and start calling endpoints. The plan covers nutrition, food database, recipes, and exercise videos at $19/mo.
Database coverage and global reach
FatSecret's database is large (1.9M+ foods) with strong coverage in English-speaking markets. The data quality is high, and the barcode database is well-curated.
YMove combines USDA FoodData Central with Open Food Facts (3M+ branded products from 180+ countries). The country-aware boost (country=NL, country=BR, etc.) ranks locale-matched products higher and returns localized labels. For global apps, that locale awareness is the practical difference.
AI food logging without the enterprise tier
YMove ships AI food logging from text (POST /api/v2/foods/log/text) and photo (POST /api/v2/foods/log/photo) on the standard plan. Send a meal description or image, get back identified foods with structured nutrition. FatSecret offers similar functionality only on its enterprise tier with custom pricing.
When YMove wins, when FatSecret wins
Choose YMove if you are a developer or smaller team that wants a self-serve, bundled API key, transparent pricing, AI food logging, and recipe + exercise content under one subscription.
Choose FatSecret if you are an enterprise health platform that needs a dedicated account team, SLA-backed support, and is already running on their data licensing model.
Frequently Asked Questions
Is FatSecret API free?
FatSecret has historically offered a limited free tier through its developer program, with the larger Premier Platform requiring enterprise contracts. The free tier has substantial rate and feature limits.
Does YMove have as many foods as FatSecret?
YMove + Open Food Facts has 3M+ branded products versus FatSecret's 1.9M+ foods. Both are well past the practical coverage threshold for a typical food-logging app.
Can I get FatSecret-style barcode lookup on YMove?
Yes. /api/v2/foods/barcode/{upc} returns full nutrition for the scanned UPC/EAN, with locale-aware serving descriptions and labels via cc=XX.
How does the macro/micronutrient profile compare?
Both APIs return calories, protein, carbs, fat, fiber, sugar, plus vitamins and minerals where available. YMove uses USDA FoodData Central as the canonical source for generic foods, which is the same gold-standard data MyFitnessPal and clinical software use.
Does YMove handle international products as well as FatSecret?
Yes. The Open Food Facts integration plus the country-aware boost gives YMove strong coverage in NL, DE, FR, BR, JP, and 175+ other countries. FatSecret's coverage is strongest in the English-speaking markets.
Ship without an enterprise contract
Self-serve nutrition API, food database, AI food logging, and exercise content for $19/mo.
Start Free Trial