Software Alternatives, Accelerators & Startups

fatsecret VS Parse

Compare fatsecret VS Parse and see what are their differences

Note: These products don't have any matching categories. If you think this is a mistake, please edit the details of one of the products and suggest appropriate categories.

fatsecret logo fatsecret

Individualized and sustainable weight loss.

Parse logo Parse

Build applications faster with object and file storage, user authentication, push notifications, dashboard and more out of the box.
  • fatsecret fatsecret home
    fatsecret home //
    2025-09-10

At fatsecret we empower anyone to reach their desired weight through individualized and sustainable weight loss, because we envision a world where everyone can achieve their weight loss goals, leading to better health and happiness.

We support a community of more than 100 million enthusiastic members with the highest quality food and nutrition tracking tools that reduce effort and create lasting healthy habits for sustainable weight loss.

Our free iOS and Android mobile apps and websites let you track your food, exercise and weight as well as engage with a supportive community. The fatsecret community enjoys access to the largest verified database of food and nutrition information globally covering all generic foods, branded products and restaurant items.

fatsecret also operates the fatsecret Platform which includes the fatsecret Platform API and fatsecret Brand Tools. With more than 50,000 developers utilizing the service, the fatsecret Platform API is the largest provider of verified accurate food and nutrition data to health related mobile apps/web services and integrated fitness devices, available in 26 languages for more than 50 markets.

  • Parse Landing page
    Landing page //
    2021-10-17

fatsecret

$ Details
freemium $9.99 / Monthly
Platforms
Web iOS Android REST API
Release Date
2006 September
Startup details
Country
Australia

fatsecret features and specs

  • Weight Loss
  • Calorie Counter
  • Diet Tracker
  • Community

Parse features and specs

  • Open Source
    Parse Platform is open-source, which means it is free to use and can be customized to fit the needs of your application without any licensing fees.
  • Rich Feature Set
    Parse provides a wide range of built-in features such as a robust database system, real-time notifications, user authentication, cloud functions, and file storage, reducing the amount of development work needed.
  • Cross-Platform Support
    Parse supports multiple platforms including iOS, Android, JavaScript, .NET, and more, enabling easier development across different types of applications.
  • Community and Documentation
    There is a strong community around Parse with extensive documentation and numerous tutorials, which can help developers quickly resolve issues and learn best practices.
  • Unified Backend
    Parse allows developers to manage database, server code, and user authentication in one unified platform, simplifying backend management.

Possible disadvantages of Parse

  • Self-Hosting Complexity
    While Parse is open-source, it requires self-hosting, which involves managing and maintaining your own server infrastructure, adding operational complexity.
  • Performance
    Depending on your server setup and scaling needs, you might encounter performance issues, especially for high-traffic applications, requiring constant monitoring and fine-tuning.
  • Limited Scalability
    Parse might not be as scalable as other backend solutions like Firebase, particularly for apps that need to handle massive amounts of data and users.
  • Initial Setup Time
    The initial setup of a Parse server and its environment can be time-consuming and challenging, particularly for those without DevOps experience.
  • Feature Limitations
    While Parse offers a rich feature set, some advanced features available in other modern backend-as-a-service (BaaS) platforms may lack, necessitating custom development.

Analysis of fatsecret

Overall verdict

  • FatSecret is generally considered a good resource for those seeking a free and user-friendly way to monitor their diet and fitness journey. Its extensive food database and additional features like community support make it a valuable tool for many users.

Why this product is good

  • FatSecret is a popular nutrition and diet tracking tool that provides users with a comprehensive database of foods, including nutritional information and calorie counts. It allows users to track their meals, exercise, and weight loss progress. The app also features a community forum and provides access to healthy recipes and diet tips, which can be helpful for individuals looking to maintain or lose weight.

Recommended for

    FatSecret is recommended for individuals who want a simple yet effective app to track their calorie intake, monitor their weight loss or maintenance goals, and engage with a community of like-minded individuals. It is particularly useful for those on a budget, as the app's basic version is free.

Analysis of Parse

Overall verdict

  • Parse is a good choice for developers looking for a flexible and scalable backend solution that can be deployed on their own servers or using cloud services. It is particularly beneficial due to its active community and extensive documentation.

Why this product is good

  • Parse is a popular open-source backend-as-a-service framework that simplifies app development by handling server-side components, freeing developers to focus on front-end development. It offers features like push notifications, cloud functions, social media integration, and a real-time database.

Recommended for

  • Developers who want an open-source solution with the freedom to self-host.
  • Teams building mobile or web applications that require a robust backend service.
  • Projects that need strong support for relational data and real-time functionalities.
  • Developers looking to avoid the overhead of writing custom backend code.

Category Popularity

0-100% (relative to fatsecret and Parse)
Health And Fitness
100 100%
0% 0
Developer Tools
0 0%
100% 100
Nutrition
100 100%
0% 0
Realtime Backend / API
0 0%
100% 100

Questions & Answers

As answered by people managing fatsecret and Parse.

What makes your product unique?

fatsecret's answer

fatsecret is defined by its global scale and data integrity. Unlike many platforms that rely solely on unverified user-generated content, fatsecret provides a highly curated, verified global food and nutrition database covering 56 countries and 24 languages. Our consumer app empowers millions of users to lose weight, while our professional-grade Platform API serves as the nutritional backbone for global tech giants. This ensures that whether a user is tracking a meal in Melbourne or a developer is building a health app in San Francisco, they are accessing the most accurate, localized and comprehensive data available.

Why should a person choose your product over its competitors?

fatsecret's answer

Users and businesses choose fatsecret for its uncompromising transparency and accessibility.

For Consumers: We offer a completely free, high-quality core weight loss experience including a barcode scanner, comprehensive macro tracking and an engaged community - without the aggressive paywalls common in the industry.

For Developers: We provide a "no lock-in" contract and a white-label API that is arguably the most flexible and easy to integrate in the market. Choosing fatsecret means choosing a partner that prioritizes data accuracy and user success over short-term monetization.

How would you describe the primary audience of your product?

fatsecret's answer

fatsecret serves a diverse, global audience:

Health-Conscious Individuals: People seeking a personalized, easy-to-use tool for sustainable weight loss and nutrition management.

The Developer Ecosystem: Over 35,000 developers and startups who require high-quality, localized nutrition data to power their own innovative health, fitness and medical applications.

Enterprise Leaders: Global corporations in the technology, insurance, and healthcare sectors (such as Google/fitbit, Samsung and Abbott) that integrate our data into their wearable devices and wellness platforms.

What's the story behind your product?

fatsecret's answer

Founded in 2006 in Melbourne, Australia, fatsecret began with a simple mission: to empower people to achieve their ideal weight through individualized and sustainable nutrition. Over the last ~20 years, we have evolved from a social network for dieting into the worldโ€™s leading provider of verified food and nutrition data to the leading consumer weight loss solution, now even expanding into medically supported weight loss through the fatsecret Clinic.

Which are the primary technologies used for building your product?

fatsecret's answer

The fatsecret platform is an API-first ecosystem designed for high-concurrency and global reliability. Our core infrastructure handles millions of API calls per month, utilizing:

  • Scalable REST APIs: Delivering JSON-formatted data with localized support.
  • Enterprise-Grade Security: Implementing robust OAuth protocols and role-based authentication to ensure data integrity for our global brand partners.
  • Advanced Image Recognition: Proprietary AI/ML models for automated food detection and portion estimation.

Who are some of the biggest customers of your product?

fatsecret's answer

Our Platform API is trusted by some of the most influential companies in the world to power their health and wellness offerings. Customers include:

  • Technology Giants: Samsung and Google (Fitbit).
  • Healthcare & Med-Tech: Lingo, LifeScan, Welldoc and Hims & Hers.
  • Global Brands: Nestlรฉ and Betty Bossi.
  • Innovative Apps: Bending Spoons, Health2Sync and CalAI.

User comments

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Reviews

These are some of the external sources and on-site user reviews we've used to compare fatsecret and Parse

fatsecret Reviews

Top Alternatives to MyFitnessPal
FatSecret provides basic calorie counting and community support in a simple, easy-to-use app. It is free and offers basic tracking capabilities including a food diary, exercise log, and weight chart. While it is user-friendly and offers community support, it lacks advanced features and has a less detailed food database compared to other apps, which may limit its usefulness...
Source: calsnaps.com
10 Best MyFitnessPal Alternatives
As we speak, there are multiple options that bear a striking resemblance to MyFitnessPal as tools for tracking our diet, workouts, and general health. The selection process is pretty specific too; it could be an all-inclusive weight loss application such as Noom or simply calorie counting tools like FatSecret. Thus, everyone can have a solution at hand when they need one.
The 8 Best Calorie Counter Apps
FatSecret also offers a monthly summary view, which displays total calories consumed each day and averages for each month. This feature may be convenient for tracking your overall progress.

Parse Reviews

10 Top Firebase Alternatives to Ignite Your Development in 2024
If youโ€™re looking for a Firebase alternative that gives you full control and the freedom to tinker, Parse Platform is your jam. Again, itโ€™s a popular open-source framework loved by developers who want to build custom backends without being tied to a specific provider.
Source: genezio.com
Top 7 Firebase Alternatives for App Development in 2024
Back4App is a backend-as-a-service (BaaS) platform that uses Parse Server, the open-source version of the Parse backend. It simplifies backend development and management, providing developers with a robust platform for building modern applications.
Source: signoz.io
What is AWS Amplify? - AWS Amplify Alternatives
It is well-known for making the development process quick, easy, and simple. Using Parse, you may complete a day's worth of work in a few hours.
Source: mindmajix.com
2023 Firebase Alternatives: Top 10 Open-Source & Free
Community Support โ€“ If Firebase comes with the backing of Google, then Parse is also tested and trusted by Facebook. Yes, Facebook is the parent company of Parse. Therefore, it has a big community. You can find resources and solutions regarding Parse on GitHub, Stack Overflow and several other programming forums.
12 Best Open-source Database Backend Server and Google Firebase Alternatives
Parse server is an open-source database backend solution which speed up application building. It features database, user management, authentication, file upload and push notification.I used Parse for a few times, and I was satisfied with the speed and productivity it offers, especially in terms of developer tools as it comes with dozens of SDKs, libraries and sample code to...
Source: medevel.com

Social recommendations and mentions

Based on our record, Parse should be more popular than fatsecret. It has been mentiond 21 times since March 2021. We are tracking product recommendations and mentions on various public social media platforms and blogs. They can help you identify which product is more popular and what people think of it.

fatsecret mentions (6)

  • 100g of rice contains 27.9g of carbs, 2.66g of protein, 0.28 g of fat, and about 400 mg of everything else in terms of nutrition, where is the other 68.78g? Is it the amount of excretion we will produce?
    Data from fatsecret.com Source : https://www.fatsecret.com/calories-nutrition/generic/rice-white-cooked-regular?portionid=53181&portionamount=100.000. Source: about 3 years ago
  • How to lose 10 pounds?
    I'm using fatsecret.com to track my calorie intake and used another site to figure out the macro ratios I should be eating. I eat healthy food anyways but after tracking it for a few weeks my macros were WAY off eating too many carbs and not enough protein. Just had to adjust the ratios of ingredients in what I was already making to even things out and to also bring the calorie count down. Made a pact with myself... Source: about 3 years ago
  • CMV: Eggs served in a restaurant should come properly salted unless otherwise requested by a customer.
    Should fatsecret.com be the one to determine standards for the amount of salt on eggs? I would think this ought to be up to the chef. Source: over 3 years ago
  • How do you plan your keto meals?
    I use fatsecret.com to plan my meals and track my carbs and calories. The rest of my household eat as far from keto as I can imagine, so I cook for myself. Using tips from the internet, I make up a menu and prepare everything the day before (I love to be organized!). I rarely use others' s recipes - I experiment with food combos that I think will work. I have a bent for math, so planning my meals became a... Source: over 3 years ago
  • Now that itโ€™s exam season, time to spend money for the next week on food to avoid cooking and maximize time to study. What are the best deals around campus with the best quality and quantity tradeoff?
    One large pizza has enough calories for an average males daily intake and the actually calorie count of the walk in special is most likely higher due to the additional toppings even if the pizza with just cheese were to be less calories than what fatsecret.com listed it as. Source: over 3 years ago
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Parse mentions (21)

  • Supabase Alternatives ๐Ÿ”„ in 2025 ๐Ÿ˜ผ
    Parse deserves mention primarily for its historical significance as the precursor that inspired the entire backend-as-a-service space. Founded in 2011, Parse pioneered many concepts that we now take for granted in modern BaaS platforms. - Source: dev.to / over 1 year ago
  • The 2024 Web Hosting Report
    Backend as a Service (BaaS) goes back to early 2010โ€™s with companies like Parse and Firebase. These products integrated everything a backend provides to a webapp in a single, integrated package that makes it easier to get started and enables you to offload some of the devops maintenance work to someone else. - Source: dev.to / over 2 years ago
  • How to set up a Parse Server backend with Typescript
    Parse Server is a great way to quickly spin up a backend for your project. Parse is a Node based utility that sits on top of ExpressJS. - Source: dev.to / over 3 years ago
  • Free online DB for production app
    You can try https://parseplatform.org/, it is self-hosted if you need. And also there are a number of cloud services with compatible API, like https://www.back4app.com/ It has dart-friendly generated API client, much simpler than firebase and is built on top of postgresql and mongodb. Source: almost 4 years ago
  • Supabase Series B
    Not to crash the party or anything. Supabase is great and all but in terms of feature completeness and getting actual products built, it doesn't come close to Parse[0]. Same with Appwrite. Both of these are very popular but they either lack essential features or have them behind a subscription wall. For example, the OSS version of Supabase (last I checked) doesn't include the edge functions which are really... - Source: Hacker News / almost 4 years ago
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What are some alternatives?

When comparing fatsecret and Parse, you can also consider the following products

MyFitnessPal - Track the number of calories that you consume each day with MyFitnessPal. The app also lets you create a diet and track the exercise that you complete each day whether it's walking, running or some other type of program.

Firebase - Firebase is a cloud service designed to power real-time, collaborative applications for mobile and web.

Cronometer - A big trend in todayโ€™s world is health and fitness, particularly in recording nutritional information. There are several options available to achieve this result.

AWS Amplify - JavaScript library for app development using cloud services

Lose it! - Snap a photo of your food to get nutritional facts

Back4App - Low code backend to build apps faster and scale easily.