Head-to-head · UK 2026

Scrannr vs Yuka

Yuka made food scanning mainstream. Scrannr is the UK-made alternative built for British shopping, with product search and dietary profiles included in one subscription, plain-English additive flags, allergens on every scan, and your data kept on your device. See how the two compare, and where each one comes out ahead.

By the Scrannr team Last updated 29 July 2026

Full disclosure: we make Scrannr, so this is our case for it. Every fact about Yuka is sourced from Yuka's own help pages and independent reviews, and we're clear about where Yuka is ahead.

At a glance

The short version.

	Scrannr	Yuka
Made for the UK	UK-made, built for UK shopping	French/EU origin; European Nutri-Score
Data source	Open Food Facts (open, UK-focused)	Own database; UK own-label hit-or-miss
Additives	Strong additives database, plain-English flags	Additive risk flags; one flag caps the score at 49/100
Search & dietary profiles	Included in the subscription	Premium-only, on top of the free core
Browse supermarkets	Yes	No
Allergens	Surfaced on every scan	Dietary alerts are a Premium feature
Scope	Food (built for UK grocery)	Food + cosmetics
Price	Subscription only: 3-day free trial, then £7.99/mo or £24.99/yr	Free core; Premium from £10/yr (adds search)
Privacy	Data on device, no account	Independent, but requires an account
Platforms	iOS, Android	iOS, Android

Made for the UK

Scrannr is built in the UK, for UK shopping. Yuka is French in origin, and while it's officially available here, its scoring engine is the European Nutri-Score, and independent UK reviews report that supermarket own-label lines (Tesco, Sainsbury's, Asda, Morrisons) are hit-or-miss in its database. One app is designed for your shelves; the other works on them.

Data: open and UK-focused

Scrannr runs on Open Food Facts, the open, non-profit "Wikipedia of food" that anyone can inspect or contribute to, with real UK coverage (~190k UK products). Yuka runs on its own proprietary database, which it built in January 2018 after starting on Open Food Facts. Yuka's database is larger globally, but it's closed, and its UK own-label coverage lags. For open data focused on the UK, Scrannr's foundation is the stronger one.

Additives & scoring

Both apps give a 0–100 score. Scrannr has a strong additives database and flags what's worth a second look in plain English, so you get the picture without a blunt penalty deciding it for you. Yuka publishes a transparent formula (60% nutrition, 30% additives, 10% organic). That Nutri-Score basis marks down nutritious whole foods like cheese, nuts and olive oil, though, and a single additive Yuka rates "high-risk" caps a product at 49/100 no matter how little is present, an approach dietitians have criticised. Either way, treat the number as a quick comparison, not a medical judgement.

What it costs

This is where the two apps differ most. Yuka's core scanning is free, and its Premium, from £10/year, adds search and dietary alerts on top. Scrannr has no free tier: the app is free to download but not free to use. After a 3-day free trial it costs £7.99/month or £24.99/year, which works out at about £2.08 a month, roughly 74% less than paying monthly. That one subscription covers everything Scrannr does: unlimited analyses, product search, dietary profiles, supermarket browsing, nutrition and allergens, with nothing held back for a higher tier. If a free app is what matters most, Yuka is the one; if you want UK-focused analysis without a paid-feature ladder, Scrannr is.

Privacy

Scrannr keeps your scan history on your device and needs no account. There's no login and no server-side profile of what you've scanned. Yuka is independent and states it doesn't sell user data, a real strength, but it does require an account, and your scan history is stored against it. Both beat ad-funded trackers; Scrannr is the more private of the two by design.

In fairness: what Yuka does that Scrannr doesn't

A few honest points in Yuka's favour. It has a genuinely free tier: you can scan without paying anything, and Scrannr no longer offers that. Its Premium, from £10/year, is also cheaper than ours. It scans cosmetics and personal care as well, which Scrannr doesn't, since we focus on food; if you want one app for your shampoo as well as your snacks, Yuka has the edge. And its global database is larger, which helps outside the UK. If those matter more to you than UK focus, included search and on-device privacy, Yuka is a reasonable pick.

The verdict

Why Scrannr for UK shoppers.

Why UK shoppers pick Scrannr

Made in the UK, built for UK shopping
Product search & dietary profiles included (Yuka charges extra for search)
Strong additives database, flagged in plain English
Allergens surfaced on every scan
Browse supermarkets to compare products
Open, UK-focused Open Food Facts data
Scan history stays on your device, no account
One subscription covers everything: £7.99/mo or £24.99/yr, after a 3-day free trial

Consider Yuka if…

You want a free app: Yuka's core scanning is free, Scrannr is subscription-only
You want to scan cosmetics and personal care too
You shop mostly outside the UK, where its global database is larger
You like its published, formula-based scoring

A note on scores. Yuka's scoring has drawn debate from dietitians: its Nutri-Score basis penalises calorie- and fat-dense whole foods (so olive oil, cheese and nuts can score poorly), and it flags an additive on presence rather than realistic dose. It's still good at surfacing additives, and it won a French court case in 2023 defending consumers' right to information about nitrites. Treat any single score, Scrannr's or Yuka's, as a guide to compare products, not medical or nutritional advice.

FAQ

Scrannr vs Yuka, answered.

Is Scrannr a good Yuka alternative?

For UK shoppers it's our pick. Scrannr is made in the UK, includes product search and dietary profiles in one subscription (Yuka charges extra for search), flags additives in plain English, surfaces allergens on every scan, and keeps your scan history on your device with no account. Yuka's edges are a genuinely free core tier, cosmetics scanning and a larger global database.

Does Yuka work in the UK?

Yes, Yuka is officially available in the UK with GBP pricing. But its scoring uses the European Nutri-Score, and UK supermarket own-label products can be hit-or-miss in its database.

Which is more accurate, Scrannr or Yuka?

Neither is a medical authority. Yuka publishes its formula (60% nutrition, 30% additives, 10% organic), but the Nutri-Score basis marks down whole foods like cheese and nuts; Scrannr scores from nutrition and ingredients via Open Food Facts. Both are best used to compare products rather than as a definitive health judgement, and both depend on the underlying label data being correct.

Does Scrannr use the same data as Yuka?

Partly. Scrannr uses Open Food Facts, the open non-profit food database. Yuka started on Open Food Facts too but built its own proprietary database in January 2018, and still contributes some data back to Open Food Facts.

Is Scrannr free like Yuka?

No. Yuka's core scanning is free and Scrannr's isn't: the app is free to download but not free to use. After a 3-day free trial you need a subscription, £7.99/month or £24.99/year (about £2.08 a month), and that one subscription covers everything: unlimited analyses, product search, dietary profiles, nutrition and allergens. Yuka keeps search and dietary alerts in its Premium tier, from £10/year.

Which is more private, Scrannr or Yuka?

Scrannr keeps your scan history on your device and needs no account. Yuka doesn't sell data and is ad-free, but it does require an account that stores your scan history. On privacy by design, Scrannr is the more private of the two.