How to Pay for Fatsecret

FatSecret is an app for tracking calories, macros, and weight, built around a database of verified foods and a barcode scanner. You log what you eat, scan packaging instead of searching manually, and see how your actual diet lines up with your goal — losing weight, building muscle, or just eating more mindfully. The app is available on iPhone and Android, and part of it works even without an account.

The core of the service is a huge food database that users themselves add to and verify, so over the years it's come to cover almost everything you'd find on a store shelf in different countries. That broad database and the barcode scanner are what make the free version of FatSecret an actual working tool rather than a stripped-down demo meant to push a subscription.

FatSecret is free to use — so what's Premium for

The free version already covers basic tracking. It includes macro counting, the barcode scanner, a community for support from other users, an achievement and streak system, plus reports and a weekly overview — just in a scaled-back form compared to the paid version. For someone willing to search the database manually and analyze their own diet, that's enough.

Premium solves a different problem — it saves time and cuts out the manual-entry routine. A smart assistant recognizes a meal from a voice description and logs it for you, and a photo scanner identifies what's on your plate and estimates the calories from a single shot. A meal planner lets you lay out your diet in advance instead of filling in the diary after the fact, and dietitian-designed meal plans give you a ready-made structure if you don't want to build one yourself. On top of that you get one-tap recipe saving, the ability to reuse past meals, and full (not scaled-back) reports with a weekly overview.

Paying starts to make sense once the food diary turns into a daily habit rather than an occasional check-in. If you open the app a couple of times a month, the free version is enough — if you log every day, Premium noticeably speeds things up.

Why paying across borders can get complicated

FatSecret Premium isn't bought directly through the app's own site — it goes through the app store, the App Store on iPhone or Google Play on Android. The charge comes from whatever payment method is attached to your Apple ID or Google account, not through a separate form on FatSecret's site. So the payment issue isn't really about the service itself — it's about which payment instrument is attached to the app store account and which region that account belongs to.

An app store account is tied to a specific region, and the card attached to it needs to match that region for the store to accept it. To buy Premium at the standard dollar or euro price, the app store account needs to be set to the right region with a payment method the system accepts as issued there. The app itself works without restrictions anywhere — the food diary and product database are available in any region — it's specifically the subscription purchase that gets blocked.

Payment options worth considering

App store balance

You can top up your Apple ID or Google account balance with a gift card for the region you need, and the Premium purchase then charges to that balance without entering a bank card at all. It works, but only if that kind of top-up is actually available for your specific account — a gift card is tied to a region just as strictly as a bank card, so the store simply won't accept a code meant for another country. In practice, this works better as a supplement to another payment method than as a standalone solution.

An international bank card

The standard option for buying from a foreign app store is a personal card issued by a bank in the country your account is tied to. You add that card as a payment method on your Apple ID or Google Play account, and from there the subscription charges to it just like it would for any user in that country. Opening an account abroad gives you full control over payments, but it takes time to set up and to maintain afterward.

A virtual card

A virtual card carries the same payment details as a regular bank card, but you can get one online in a few minutes with no bank visit required. To an app store, there's no difference between a physical and a virtual card — all that matters is the number, expiration date, and security code; it goes through the same checks as any regular foreign card. That's exactly why a virtual card is usually the fastest way to pay for a subscription without opening an account abroad.

Why a virtual card works well for a recurring subscription

It's easy to get. A virtual card can be issued online any time, with no bank queue and no waiting for a courier to deliver a physical card — which matters a lot when all you need it for is a single subscription.

A subscription means repeat charges. FatSecret Premium doesn't charge once — it charges every month, quarter, or year depending on the plan, so you need a payment instrument that works reliably for the whole length of the subscription, not just for a one-off purchase.

It's easier to keep future charges under control. You can top up a virtual card for a specific purpose and not keep extra money sitting on it, so the next charge won't come as a surprise or eat into the rest of your budget.

The same card works for other international subscriptions too. One payment instrument works for any service with an international checkout, so you don't need to set up a separate solution for every app or streaming service.

Mirocard as a payment instrument

Mirocard issues exactly this kind of virtual card, ready right away for purchases at international checkouts, including the App Store and Google Play. For a crypto holder, it's the most direct way to spend wallet funds on a subscription, skipping a separate cash-out to fiat through an exchange. Issuing the card costs $5, charged once, not on every purchase.

For anyone who'd rather not deal with exchangers or open an account with a bank in another country just for one subscription, Mirocard offers a shorter route — no branch visit, no line, no weeks of document checks. The setup process is straightforward and doesn't require any special preparation. We covered how issuing a Mirocard virtual card works step by step in this article.

How to pay for FatSecret with cryptocurrency using Mirocard

Once the card is ready, here's how to pay for the subscription on iOS and Android.

Open the FatSecret app and tap the "Premium" tab at the bottom of the screen — it takes you to a page describing all the paid features.

Look through the subscription options and tap the plan you want to move on to checkout — monthly, quarterly, and yearly options are usually all available.

On iOS

1. The standard App Store purchase screen comes up next. If your Apple ID doesn't have the Mirocard on file yet, open the Settings app, go to your profile at the top of the screen, and add a new card under "Payment & Shipping" — you'll need the card number, expiration date, and security code.

2. Go back to the FatSecret subscription purchase and confirm the payment.

3. Once confirmed, Premium access opens right away, and the next charge goes to the same card automatically according to the subscription plan.

On Android

1. A list of Google Play payment methods comes up. The Mirocard may not show up yet on your first purchase — if not, tap "Add payment method," choose the bank card option, and fill in the number, expiration date, and security code.

2. Check the order details on the confirmation screen and tap "Subscribe" to complete the purchase.

3. Premium activates right after payment, and you can manage the subscription later — including canceling or changing plans — from the "Subscriptions" section in the Google Play menu.

Conclusion

The difficulty with paying for FatSecret Premium comes down to the same thing for everyone — the payment instrument attached to the app store account doesn't fit, even though the service itself works without restrictions. Opening an account with a bank in another country just for one subscription isn't necessary — a virtual card funded with cryptocurrency solves the problem in a few minutes with no office visit. Mirocard gets you that card quickly, and it works not just for FatSecret but for any other international subscription paid through the App Store or Google Play.