FatSecret Alternative for Asian Food: Bao, Compared on Chinese UI, Price and Dish Naming

October 31, 2026 · 5 min read

Bao is a calorie tracker for iPhone that names Taiwanese dishes from a photo and has no ads on any plan. Here is how it compares with FatSecret on price, photo AI, Chinese interface and dish naming, from both apps' App Store pages read on October 31, 2026.

We are Bao, so we are not neutral, and we are not affiliated with FatSecret. That is why every competitor cell below is something its store page says, with the date.

The chart

Two rows from the chart we use on every comparison page. Scroll sideways on a phone.

Facts read from each app's App Store page and Apple's public listing data on October 31, 2026. Prices and ratings change; check the store before you decide. Bao's own rating is from 4 ratings in the US and 10 in Taiwan. Prices are the entries the store page shows, which does not say which entry is current.

Sources, read October 31, 2026: Bao and FatSecret (US storefront), ratings from https://itunes.apple.com/lookup?id=<app id>&country=us and country=tw. All eight apps are in the full chart.

Where FatSecret is stronger

FatSecret has 15,439 US ratings and 8,866 Taiwan ratings (read October 31, 2026) against Bao's 4 and 10. It is also listed in 23 languages, including both Simplified and Traditional Chinese, where Bao's listing shows English and Traditional Chinese.

Its listing describes “image recognition of foods, meals and products,” a barcode scanner, an exercise diary, a weight tracker, a community, and syncing with the Health app and Apple Watch. It also says “fatsecret is free,” with Premium available for features such as meal plans. Bao is iPhone only. We did not test either app's food database, so we make no accuracy claim about FatSecret's figures or our own.

Where Bao is different

Bao scans a whole menu before you order. It reads the menu in the language it is printed in and gives an AI estimate for each dish, which is separate from scanning one plate after it is served. Our post on scanning a whole restaurant menu explains the difference.

Bao shows dish names in three languages, and its listings name Taiwanese dishes: the US listing says “Taiwanese street food,” and the Taiwan listing names braised pork rice and bubble tea in Chinese. FatSecret's US listing, as we read it, says the app is “customized for US foods and brands” and names no Taiwanese dish. Both apps list a Traditional Chinese interface.

Bao shows no ads on any plan. Bao is free to download with a 7-day free trial of Pro, then $4.99 weekly, $9.99 monthly or $59.99 annual. Every Bao figure is an AI estimate, not a lab measurement.

What we did not test

We did not run the same plates through both apps, so we make no accuracy claim either way. We did not install FatSecret, try its image recognition, or check how it names Asian dishes. We read public store pages on one day.

Common questions

Is FatSecret free? Its US App Store listing shows the price as Free and says “fatsecret is free.” The same listing says Premium subscriptions are available, with monthly, quarterly and annual options, and the in-app purchase list we read showed entries from $10.49 to $59.99 (read October 31, 2026). We did not install the app, so we cannot say what the free download includes beyond the listing.

FatSecret vs MyFitnessPal: which is better? We compared listings, not accuracy, so we cannot say which is better. On October 31, 2026, FatSecret's US listing showed $10.49 to $59.99 across the subscription entries we read and 15,439 US ratings, while MyFitnessPal's showed $9.99 to $79.99 across 10 Premium entries and 2,386,714 US ratings. Both list Simplified and Traditional Chinese. Neither listing names a Taiwanese dish.

Is FatSecret good for Taiwanese food? We cannot say how the app performs. Its US listing says the app is “customized for US foods and brands” and names no Taiwanese dish; we searched the listing text and found none. Bao's Taiwan listing names braised pork rice and bubble tea in Chinese, and its US listing names “Taiwanese street food.” We did not test how either app handles a Taiwanese dish.

Does FatSecret have a Chinese interface? According to its US App Store listing, yes: the Languages field on October 31, 2026 listed Simplified Chinese and Traditional Chinese among 23 languages. Its Taiwan listing, read the same day, also lists Traditional and Simplified Chinese. We did not open the app to check how much of it is translated.

Is there a FatSecret alternative that names Taiwanese dishes? Bao is one option built around Asian dishes. It logs a plate from one photo, can scan a whole menu before you order, shows each dish name in three languages, and gives an AI estimate. Its US listing names “Taiwanese street food,” and its Taiwan listing names braised pork rice and bubble tea in Chinese. FatSecret's listing also describes photo recognition and names no Taiwanese dish. We did not test how either app handles an Asian dish.