Yuka vs Fooducate: 0-100 Score vs A-D Grade

Yuka and Fooducate both scan packaged food barcodes, but they report results in different formats. Yuka turns each food into a 0-100 score built from a published 60/30/10 weighting, while Fooducate gives an A-D letter grade and adds food and exercise tracking. No independent accuracy test of either app was found for this comparison, so it sets out how each one is built and what each listing says.

Key takeaways

• Yuka's food score is a 0-100 number built from nutrition (60%), additives (30%), and organic status (10%), with the nutrition part drawn from Nutri-Score.
• Fooducate's output is an A, B, C, or D grade from a formula the company has not disclosed.
• Fooducate's allergen filtering is a paid add-on, and Yuka's developer says its premium tier adds gluten and lactose alerts.
• Fooducate lists food, exercise, macro, and sugar tracking with Apple Health integration. The Yuka listing and website do not describe a comparable tracker.
• No recent peer-reviewed study of either app's accuracy was found, so this article covers scoring design and listed features, not validated accuracy.

How does Yuka score food compared with Fooducate's A-D grade?

Yuka converts each food into one number from 0 to 100, while Fooducate converts each food into one letter from A to D. Yuka shows where a product sits on a continuous scale, and Fooducate shows which of four grade bands it falls into.

Factor	Yuka	Fooducate
Output	0-100 score (example on its website: 'Bad - 21/100')	Letter grade A, B, C, or D for each food
Scoring inputs	Nutritional quality (60%), additives (30%), organic aspect (10%)	Analyzes nutrition panels and ingredient lists. Formula and weights not disclosed
Basis	Nutrition calculation based on Nutri-Score	Proprietary. Exact method not disclosed
Healthier alternatives	Recommends similar, healthier products when a product has a negative impact	Suggests healthier foods based on what you scan
Brand influence	Yuka states no brand or manufacturer can influence scores or recommendations. Its website says 'Brands cannot pay Yuka to advertise'	Not addressed in the cited listing or website
Database size	4 million food products and 2 million cosmetic products	Hundreds of thousands of unique product barcodes
Free use	Yuka is described as a free mobile app	Free trial of 3 days listed on its website. Free-tier scope not disclosed

Fooducate's website says 'Food Grades reveal the quality of the calories you consume.' The listing says it gives a 'personalized nutrition grade (A, B, C, or D) for each food,' but what the personalization changes is not disclosed.

What does Yuka's 60/30/10 weighting actually measure?

Yuka's food score gives 60% weight to nutritional quality, 30% to the presence of additives, and 10% to the organic aspect of the product. Yuka describes these as three objective criteria applied to each food.

Nutritional quality carries the largest share. Yuka's help center says the calculation method is based on Nutri-Score, which it describes as a science-based nutrition label adopted by 7 European countries. Because the nutrition part has the most weight, it has the largest effect on the total score by Yuka's own percentages.

The additive share is 30%, and the organic share is 10%. The help center does not describe how individual additives are counted within the 30%, so readers cannot reconstruct the number from the label alone.

When checking the inputs on a package, these are the places to look:

• The Nutrition Facts panel for nutrition values, with serving size shown first
• The ingredient list for additives, which are named in order of weight
• Any organic claim printed on the package

The weighting is a design decision by Yuka. The evidence cited here does not show that a 60/30/10 split reflects health outcomes for any particular person.

How does Fooducate build its letter grade from nutrition panels and ingredient lists?

Fooducate says it analyzes information found in product nutrition panels and ingredient lists, then assigns each food an A, B, C, or D grade. Its exact grading formula and weights are not disclosed in the listing or website cited here.

The grade is therefore a summary whose inputs are known in general terms but whose math is not. Fooducate's disclaimer says its nutrition information is based on the U.S. system and should be used at the reader's discretion in other regions.

When reading the same panel yourself, check these items:

• Serving size, since per-serving and per-package values can differ
• Added sugars on the Nutrition Facts panel
• The ingredient list, to see which additives and sweeteners a product names

Any app's grade can be compared against these fields on the package, which is useful when an app's result seems surprising.

How do Yuka and Fooducate handle allergen and gluten alerts?

Yuka's developer says its premium tier allows 'setting certain food preference alerts such as gluten, lactose, etc.' Fooducate offers allergen detection through a separate 'Gluten & Allergies' in-app purchase. Whether Yuka's free tier includes any allergen alert is not disclosed.

Fooducate's listing says the add-on lets users 'Uncover gluten and allergens in your food' and 'Choose allergen free alternatives.' It names 11 items: gluten, milk, lactose, soy, peanuts, tree nuts, eggs, fish, shellfish, sesame, and corn. The listing shows monthly and annual auto-renewing options and a one-time purchase option.

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) states that the Food Allergen Labeling and Consumer Protection Act of 2004 identified eight major food allergens: milk, eggs, fish, Crustacean shellfish, tree nuts, peanuts, wheat, and soybeans. The FASTER Act, signed April 23, 2021, declared sesame the 9th major food allergen recognized by the United States, effective January 1, 2023.

The naming differs in one place. Fooducate's list uses 'gluten,' while the FDA's eight-allergen list uses 'wheat.' Sesame is listed separately because it was added by the FASTER Act, and Fooducate's list includes it. The FDA also notes that 'you still may find food products for sale that don't list sesame as an allergen on the label.' For anyone managing a food allergy, the physical label is the reference point regardless of which app is used.

Which scan flags does each app show for additives, sugars, and colorings?

Fooducate's listing names specific scan flags: added sugars, artificial sweeteners such as aspartame, trans fats, high fructose corn syrup, MSG, controversial food colorings, and additives and preservatives. It also lists GMO flags as a premium feature.

Yuka's listing and website describe additives as one of its three criteria but do not list individual flag names in the cited text.

These terms are useful to search for on a package:

• 'Added sugars' on the Nutrition Facts panel
• 'Aspartame' or other sweeteners in the ingredient list
• 'High fructose corn syrup' and 'MSG' in the ingredient list

How do the tracking features differ between Yuka and Fooducate?

Fooducate describes a food, exercise, macro, and sugar tracker, and its listing says it is seamlessly integrated with Apple Health. The Yuka listing and website describe scanning and scores, and do not describe a food diary or macro tracker.

Fooducate's listed tracking features include:

• Logging food intake and exercise
• Counting macros: protein, fats, and carbs
• Analyzing sugar intake
• Apple Health integration
• Adding meals, snacks, and water intake, according to its website

Scanning and tracking do different jobs. A product score answers a question about one item, while a tracker records what was eaten over time, so the two features are best compared separately.

What do the paid tiers unlock in Yuka Premium and Fooducate Pro?

Yuka lists Premium Member as an in-app purchase, and its developer reply names gluten and lactose-type preference alerts as one premium feature. The full list of Premium Member features beyond those alerts is not disclosed in the cited listing.

Fooducate lists Pro, Gluten & Allergies, Diet Kickstart, and Pet Food as in-app purchases. Fooducate's Pro description lists keto and low-carb support, diabetes, kidney, and heart-focused options, paleo, vegan, and vegetarian options, GMO warnings, weekly tips and priority support, and 'No ads.'

Prices for Yuka Premium Member and for Fooducate's paid options are not disclosed here, so check each app's store listing for current amounts. Yuka's listing states there is no in-app advertising.

Which platforms and store details are disclosed for each app?

Both apps have App Store listings, and both websites link to Google Play. Yuka requires iOS 15.5 or later, and Fooducate requires iOS 15.6 or later.

• Yuka: developer Yuca, category Health & Fitness, age rating 4+, 4.8 out of 5 from 102K ratings, subtitle 'Check What's in Your Products'
• Fooducate: developer Maple Media Apps, LLC, subtitle 'Calorie Counter & Diet Tracker', 4.6 out of 5 from 78K ratings
• Fooducate's age rating is not disclosed in the cited listing
• Android feature parity is not disclosed for either Yuka or Fooducate

Store ratings reflect user opinions of each listing. They do not measure how accurate an app's scores are. For a wider field of options, see Best Food Label Scanner Apps in 2026: 8 Compared.

Is there independent evidence on how accurate either app's scores are?

No recent peer-reviewed study evaluating the accuracy of Yuka or Fooducate was found, so validated accuracy results cannot be reported for either app. No comparison of either app's scores against laboratory results or dietitian ratings was found.

Is the Yuka app accurate for food?

No independent study of Yuka's food accuracy was found, so its accuracy is not established here. What the listing documents is the scoring design: a 0-100 score from three criteria, and a database of 4 million food products. Its 4.8 out of 5 rating from 102K ratings on the App Store is a user-rating figure and does not measure accuracy.

The evidence here cannot establish how either score relates to the health of any individual, whether results apply to populations not described in the listings, or whether each app's database covers the products on a given shelf. Fooducate's U.S.-based nutrition information also limits how its grades apply elsewhere. Readers comparing accuracy claims across apps may also read Aurascan vs Yuka: Which Food Label Scanner App Is Better?

Which other food scanner apps can you compare?

Several related guides compare other scanner apps, including Aurascan, with Yuka and Fooducate. For other Yuka-style options, see Best Yuka Alternatives in 2026: 8 Food Scanner Apps Compared.

Aurascan takes a third approach: instead of one product score, it grades each ingredient on a beneficial-to-concern scale with a plain-English explanation of what it is and does, and it shows a NOVA processing level for the product. Its site says every ingredient is checked against published studies and regulator rulings, and that products can be read against your health conditions, sensitivities and dietary rules, for you and your household.

For a side-by-side look at Aurascan against Fooducate, see Aurascan vs Fooducate: Which Food Scanner App Fits You?

If you want to see how a per-ingredient explanation looks on a product from your own pantry, scan it with the Aurascan app.