VeganCheckr Android availability, features and privacy were checked against Google Play on September 15, 2026. This is a listing-based update, not a new hands-on test of every app. Competitor details retain their earlier review dates.
The best vegan scanner depends on your phone and what you need it to verify. VeganCheckr is now available on both iPhone and Android. Open Food Facts also serves both platforms, while WhatsVegan focuses on ingredient photos. Yuka is a health-rating app, not a vegan-verdict tool.
The longer version matters because these apps differ in ways their store screenshots do not always make obvious: some cap free scans, some hide key features behind subscriptions, and only a few tell you why a product failed. We put seven of them side by side. Platforms and core features were rechecked against their official listings on September 4, 2026; displayed prices can still vary by storefront.
How did we compare the vegan scanner apps?
A vegan scanner has one job: tell you quickly and reliably whether a product involves animals. So we judged each app on the criteria that actually decide that:
- Price and free limits: what you get before a paywall appears.
- Verdict evidence: does the app show which ingredients triggered the result, or just a badge? A bare "not vegan" doesn't help with tricky cases like E471 or natural flavors.
- Vegetarian mode: vegetarians need different flags, especially for animal rennet in cheese.
- Offline use: supermarket basements and foreign trips are exactly where you scan most.
- Privacy: food choices are personal; an app shouldn't harvest them.
What are the best vegan scanner apps in 2026?
| App | Price / free limits | Platforms | Vegan verdict & evidence | Vegetarian mode | Offline | Privacy notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| VeganCheckr | Free download; optional Premium. iPhone scans are uncapped; Android full ingredient details require Premium | iPhone (iOS 16+), Android; also Apple Silicon Macs and Vision Pro | Vegan / vegetarian / non-vegan, with the flagged ingredients and additives shown | Yes; animal-rennet detection described for iPhone | Offline scan history | No account. iPhone: "Data Not Collected" label. Android: data collection declared; see Android privacy |
| Is It Vegan? | Free; optional subscriptions from $1.99/mo, $19.99 lifetime | iPhone, iPad | Vegan verdict via barcode, label photo or search; 20,000+ ingredient database | Not advertised | Not advertised | Not stated |
| WhatsVegan | Free; premium $3.99/mo or $29.99/yr | iPhone, iPad, Android | Photo of the ingredient list, color-coded green / orange / red per ingredient; no barcode scanning | Partial; "possibly vegan" flags help vegetarians | Not advertised | Not stated |
| VegVisor | Free; Pro $6.99/week or $24.99/yr | iPhone, Android | Barcode scan plus AI ingredient-by-ingredient breakdown | Not advertised | Not advertised | Not stated |
| Fig | Free with capped scans; Fig+ approx. $5.99–7.49/mo or $34.99–69.99/yr | iPhone | Vegan is one of 2,800+ diet filters; flags ingredients against your profile | Not listed by name | Not advertised | Not stated |
| Yuka | Free scanning; Premium approx. €15/yr (open pricing) | iPhone, Android | None (health score only, no vegan verdict) | Premium-only "vegetarian diet" alert | Premium-only offline mode | Independent, ad-free |
| Open Food Facts | Free, non-profit, no premium | iPhone, Android | Vegan/vegetarian info shown where community data exists | Yes, where data exists | Not advertised | Anonymous use; open source |
Prices are in USD except Yuka, which advertises in euros. Core features and platform availability were rechecked on September 4, 2026. Prices and free limits can change by storefront.
The seven apps, one by one
VeganCheckr: barcode and ingredient checks (iPhone and Android)
VeganCheckr is our app, so judge this section accordingly. It is available on the App Store and Google Play. Both versions offer barcode and ingredient-label checks, vegan and vegetarian results, and E-number analysis. A result can be uncertain when the product record or ingredient source is incomplete; it is not a vegan certification.
On iPhone, scanning has no scan cap, the App Store privacy label reads "Data Not Collected", and the app supports 32 languages. Android supports barcode and product-name searches, ingredient photos or text, offline saved history, comparisons and avoidance alerts. Its photo recognition supports printed Latin-script labels. Android Premium unlocks full ingredient details and origin information where available, and its data-safety disclosure differs from iPhone. Neither version requires a VeganCheckr account. Read the platform-specific privacy policy before choosing.
Put it to the test on your next shop
The fastest way to compare scanners is to scan something tricky, like a biscuit with E471 or a pesto:
- Open VeganCheckr and tap Scan, then point your camera at the barcode.
- Read the verdict and the evidence: every flagged ingredient and additive is listed with the reason.
- No barcode? Use the ingredient scan to photograph the printed label instead.
Is It Vegan? The veteran, revived (iPhone and iPad)
Is It Vegan? is the revival of one of the original vegan scanners; its developer says the app has passed a million downloads since 2012. The current version scans barcodes (including a "PowerScan" mode for a whole cart), deciphers label photos, and searches a database of 20,000+ categorized ingredients across 100+ languages. It's free to download with optional subscriptions from $1.99 a month to a $19.99 lifetime unlock. As of September 2026 the revived app is available for iPhone and iPad; we found no current Android version. We compare it against four rivals in detail in our Is It Vegan? alternatives roundup.
WhatsVegan: ingredient photos, no barcodes (iPhone, iPad and Android)
WhatsVegan (EatSmart Apps) takes the opposite approach: no barcode scanning at all. You photograph the ingredient list, and it color-codes each ingredient: green for vegan, red for not, orange for "possibly vegan" ingredients that can come from animal or plant sources. That deliberately sidesteps the missing-product problem barcode databases have, though it means more squinting at labels. It's free with a premium tier at $3.99 a month or $29.99 a year and is available on iPhone, iPad and Android.
VegVisor: barcode plus AI analysis (iPhone and Android)
VegVisor (OneRack) is a newer cross-platform scanner: point it at a barcode for an instant status, backed by AI ingredient-by-ingredient analysis and a name search for products without barcodes. It keeps a scan history automatically. The listing doesn't advertise scan limits, but note the Pro pricing structure: $6.99 per week or $24.99 per year. That weekly tier can add up fast if you tap through without reading.
Fig: powerful, but scans are metered (iPhone)
Fig is really an allergen-and-diet app with vegan as one of 2,800+ supported filters, which is great if you're vegan and gluten-free, for example, or shopping for a household with mixed needs. The catch is the meter: "Unlimited Scans" is explicitly a Fig+ perk, so the free tier caps how much you can scan. Fig+ runs roughly $5.99–7.49 a month or $34.99–69.99 a year depending on the tier, and the app is iPhone-only as of this writing.
Yuka: excellent health app, not a vegan checker (iPhone and Android)
Yuka scans food and cosmetics and rates their health impact (nutritional quality, additives, organic status) across a database of some 6 million products, with over 10 million Android downloads alone. What it doesn't do is tell you whether a product is vegan. There is no vegan verdict at all, and even the "vegetarian diet" alert sits behind the Premium membership (about €15 a year, open pricing), along with offline mode and product search. We've written a full breakdown in Yuka for vegans: where it falls short.
Open Food Facts: the free, open database (iPhone and Android)
Open Food Facts is a non-profit project run by thousands of volunteers, often called "the Wikipedia of food", and its app is completely free with no premium tier. Scan a barcode and you'll see Nutri-Score, Eco-Score and vegan/vegetarian information wherever the community has filled in the data; you can set a vegan preference so matching products are highlighted. Its privacy stance is genuinely strong: anonymous use, open source, and your scans stay yours. The trade-off is coverage: analysis depends on volunteers having entered and maintained each product, so gaps and stale entries happen, and the raw label data is presented with less interpretation than the dedicated vegan scanners above give you.
A verdict you can't verify is just a guess with good UI. The best vegan scanner is the one that shows you the flagged ingredients — because you'll meet products it has never seen, and then the skill transfers.
Which vegan scanner should you download?
iPhone: VeganCheckr offers uncapped scanning; Is It Vegan? is another dedicated option. Android: VeganCheckr combines barcode and ingredient-label checks, with optional Premium for full ingredient details. Open Food Facts is the non-profit, open-data option, and WhatsVegan focuses on ingredient photos. Multiple dietary restrictions: compare Fig's filters and current platform support. General health scoring: Yuka fills a different role from a vegan checker.
Whichever you choose, keep your label-reading skills sharp. Apps are the fast path, but knowing the usual suspects, from gelatin and carmine to the rest of the hidden animal ingredients list, is what saves you when the database comes up empty. Our guide to reading food labels as a vegan covers the method, and The Vegan Society's definition of veganism is a sensible anchor for the judgment calls ("as far as is possible and practicable").
Frequently asked questions
What is the best free vegan scanner app?
Compare features as well as price. VeganCheckr is free to download on iPhone and Android; iPhone scanning has no scan cap, while Android full ingredient details require Premium. Open Food Facts is free and non-profit on both platforms. WhatsVegan focuses on ingredient-photo checks.
Is Yuka a vegan scanner app?
No. Yuka rates products on nutritional quality, additives and organic status, but it does not give vegan verdicts. It offers a vegetarian-diet alert, but only as part of its Premium membership (about €15 a year).
Do vegan scanner apps work offline?
Mostly no: verdicts usually need a connection to query a product database. Yuka puts its offline mode behind Premium, and VeganCheckr keeps your scan history available offline, which helps when you are traveling or shopping with poor signal.
How accurate are vegan scanner apps?
No scanner is perfect. Database entries can be outdated, recipes change by country, and camera scans can misread labels. Prefer apps that show the evidence behind a verdict, meaning the exact flagged ingredients, so you can double-check unclear cases yourself.
Official sources and update policy
We use the developers' own listings for platforms, core features, privacy labels and advertised prices, then state where a feature is not advertised instead of assuming it exists. Check the relevant storefront before paying because prices and availability can vary by country.
- VeganCheckr on the App Store
- VeganCheckr on Google Play (Android availability, features and data safety checked September 15, 2026)
- Is It Vegan? on the App Store
- WhatsVegan on the App Store and Google Play
- VegVisor on the App Store and Google Play
- Fig on the App Store
- Yuka on the App Store
- Open Food Facts
Check any product in seconds
VeganCheckr scans barcodes and ingredient labels, flags hidden animal ingredients and E-numbers, and shows you the evidence. Free to download on the App Store and Google Play. Optional Premium features vary by platform.
Scan with your iPhone camera