# Edamam vs LogMeal > LogMeal scores 49.1 (D) to Edamam's 42.2 (E) for cooking recipes. Prices, MCP, x402, uptime and agent notes side by side. - Canonical: https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/edamam-vs-logmeal - Markdown: https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/edamam-vs-logmeal.md (~4,250 tokens) - Site index for agents: https://www.anchorterminal.com/llms.txt (the key docs and every listing in one file, at most 16 MB, about 4 million tokens: https://www.anchorterminal.com/llms-full.txt) - API: https://www.anchorterminal.com/api/v1/index.json - MCP: https://www.anchorterminal.com/mcp (the whole catalogue as tools, no key) - DNS: dig +short TXT .grade.anchorterminal.com (the grade as a DNS TXT record, for a sandbox with no HTTP where names still resolve; also top., best.. and .vs.. under the zone, and the same under grade.letme.dev) - Licence: CC BY 4.0, credit Anchor Terminal and link this page (https://www.anchorterminal.com/terms/#data) - Updated: 2026-11-03 LogMeal scores 49.1 (D) on agent readiness against Edamam's 42.2 (E), and leads in 4 of 7 scored categories. Edamam leads on agent ergonomics and payments & pricing. Both do cooking recipes. - Edamam: grade E, 42.2/100, rank #1187 of 1349. Markdown https://www.anchorterminal.com/tools/edamam.md · JSON https://www.anchorterminal.com/api/v1/tools/edamam.json - LogMeal: grade D, 49.1/100, rank #1045 of 1349. Markdown https://www.anchorterminal.com/tools/logmeal.md · JSON https://www.anchorterminal.com/api/v1/tools/logmeal.json - Best recipe, nutrition and meal planning APIs for AI agents: https://www.anchorterminal.com/best/cooking/index.md - All 28 cooking comparisons: https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/cooking/index.md ## Which one, for what ### Edamam (E) Good for: Agents that need recipe candidates filtered by diet, allergen and nutrient ranges with nutrition on each, or food and barcode nutrition through the MCP tools. Ahead on: - Agent ergonomics, 71 against 54 - Payments & pricing, 25 against 20 Also in its favour: - A hosted endpoint, with nothing to install Watch for: The API terms of use and privacy policy render by script and could not be read; no status page, security.txt or disclosure policy was found ### LogMeal (D) Good for: Agents that log meals from photos for a person and keep a nutrition history with goals, plans and manager oversight, within the EU. Ahead on: - Reliability, 42 against 30 - Schema & documentation, 71 against 66 - Security & auth, 58 against 30 - Transparency & trust, 57 against 31 Also in its favour: - Free to start without a card Watch for: No plan price is published; the pricing pages describe credits and limits and leave figures to the account ## Why the edge ### Security & auth: LogMeal +28 - Edamam (30): One `app_id` and `app_key` pair per application, documented as query parameters first and HTTP Basic second, with no scopes, expiry or rotation found; the MCP server takes the pair as a Bearer token. Plain keys (20) less 10 for the documented query string (10 of 30). The APIs are read-only for an outside caller, but there is no read-only key mode and nothing to confirm (12 of 20). Recipe titles, ingredient lines and source urls come from the public web, and no guidance on treating them as untrusted was found; the MCP page only says to present results as estimates (5 of 15). Active user tracking counts users per app for billing, but no request log was found (3 of 15). security.txt returns 404 on developer.edamam.com and no disclosure policy, bug bounty or certification was found (0 of 20). 10 + 12 + 5 + 3 + 0 = 30. - LogMeal (58): Three bearer token types scoped by role (company, end user, manager), one token per end user, a rotation endpoint that needs a fresh password proof, and instant disabling of an end user; the tokens are JWTs with no stated expiry and no finer scopes (24 of 30). Per-user tokens cannot reach other users, managers see only the users they are granted, and deletion of intakes is a separate endpoint, but there is no read-only token and no confirmation step (15 of 20). Food names come from LogMeal's own model and dataset, with custom recipe names from the customer (10 of 15). GET /v2/info/usages returns request history per APIUser and credit headers show spend per call (9 of 15). No security.txt (404 on three hosts), disclosure policy, bug bounty or certification found (0 of 20). 24 + 15 + 10 + 9 + 0 = 58. ### Transparency & trust: LogMeal +26 - Edamam (31): Closed service whose API terms of use could not be read (the page is a script shell). The plan pages state the restrictions on caching, attribution and automated requests clearly (8 of 30). The privacy policy could not be read either, so no data-handling statement was scored (0 of 30, unchecked). Retired API versions are marked on their docs pages and the recipe docs announce the end of Shopping List V1 on June 30 with no year (6 of 20). No subprocessors or data locations found (0 of 20). 8 + 0 + 6 + 0 = 14. - LogMeal (57): Closed service with terms dated 10 March 2025 that name AIGecko Technologies S.L., Spanish law and 30 days' notice for prices and termination (15 of 30). The privacy policy of 9 May 2025 names the controller, a DPO address, Google Cloud in the EU and standard contractual clauses, and states that images and nutrition data are kept without a time limit for developing models; its introduction limits it to the website while its first section covers the API, and the terms' training clause and the policy's retention agree on substance (14 of 30). Deprecated endpoints are marked with replacements, the terms promise reasonable prior notice for documentation changes, but no dates or notice period for removals (8 of 20). Google Cloud named as the main processor with EU storage by default and replication elsewhere on request, with no fuller sub-processor list (12 of 20). 15 + 14 + 8 + 12 = 49. ### Agent ergonomics: Edamam +17 - Edamam (71): `field` selects any of 31 response fields, results a call are capped by plan at 100 or 1,000, and the MCP server lists two compact tools (22 of 25). `_links.next` paging with diet, health, cuisine, dish, meal, time, calorie and about 40 nutrient range filters (20 of 20). An error schema with errorCode, message and params, but the codes are not enumerated (10 of 20). Every recipe operation is a read and safe to repeat; the shopping-list POST aggregates quantities and stores nothing; the MCP tools' annotations were not read (12 of 20). `type` and `q` are the only required search parameters, with no official SDK in any language (7 of 15). 22 + 20 + 10 + 12 + 7 = 71. - LogMeal (54): Recognition responses carry polygons, bounding boxes and recursive subclasses for every segment with no field selection; the language parameter is the only shaping control (10 of 25). History by date range, daily and weekly summaries, a batch endpoint for up to five users, no pagination on lists (12 of 20). Numeric codes with messages, such as 708 naming the valid languages, and troubleshooting guidance per status (15 of 20). Reads are safe to repeat; each recognition POST logs a new intake and spends a credit with no idempotency key (8 of 20). One required field (the image) with defaults from the user's profile, but no official SDK; the 'ready-to-use code in 35+ languages' is generated snippets (9 of 15). 10 + 12 + 15 + 8 + 9 = 54. ### Reliability: LogMeal +12 - Edamam (30): Read with the hosted lines. No status page was found on the developer portal, the docs, the OpenAPI documents or the MCP page, and a search found none (0), so there is no incident history to read (5). Per-minute throttles and monthly call allowances are published for every plan, 10, 100 and 300 a minute on Recipe Search and 50 to 1,200 on the Food Database (15). No 429, Retry-After or backoff guidance was found; the OpenAPI file lists only 400, 403 and 404 (0 of 15). No SLA was found (0). The v2 APIs are generally available, with beta marked on individual fields (10). 0 + 5 + 15 + 0 + 0 + 10 = 30. - LogMeal (42): Read with the hosted lines. No status page was found on logmeal.com, the docs or llms.txt, and a search found none (0), so there is no incident history to read (5). Limits are published with numbers, 20 images a day and 1 a second per APIUser on standard plans, monthly credits per company, and 200 queries on the trial (15). HTTP 429 is documented with RateLimit-Reset, troubleshooting says to back off exponentially and respect Retry-After, but intake writes have no idempotency key (12 of 15). No SLA; the pricing page promises email answers within 24 to 48 hours on weekdays (0 of 10). The v2 API is generally available (10). 0 + 5 + 15 + 12 + 0 + 10 = 42. ### Schema & documentation: LogMeal +5 - Edamam (66): Public OpenAPI 3.0.3 documents for Recipe Search v2 (four operations) and the Food Database, and the Food MCP's two tools take typed arguments (25). No llms.txt (404) and no Markdown docs (0 of 10). Operation and parameter descriptions state purpose, and the by-uri description warns that missing recipes are not flagged, but there is little on when not to use an operation (12 of 20). Enums for type, diet, health, cuisineType, mealType, dishType, imageSize, co2EmissionsClass and 31 field names, required flags, a 1 to 20 bound on uris, and the MCP arguments are required lists and strings (14 of 15). Examples on the docs page, an `Errors` schema of errorCode, message and params, but no example error body and no code list (9 of 15). v2 in the path and retired versions marked, but no changelog and a Shopping List V1 end date with no year (6 of 15). 25 + 0 + 12 + 14 + 9 + 6 = 66. - LogMeal (71): The reference is generated from an OpenAPI specification and each endpoint page shows its schema, but no specification file is linked or served at a known path (15 of 25). llms.txt with a Markdown twin of every page (10). Endpoint descriptions state purpose, token type, limits and plan, with recommendations such as using the quantity variant on a Recommend plan (15 of 20). Enums for language codes and Nutri-Score categories, required flags, but coordinates are described two ways and the plan needed for nutri_score fields is stated inconsistently (11 of 15). Examples on every endpoint, error codes per endpoint and a numeric code with message in the 400 body (12 of 15). v2 in the path, deprecated endpoints marked with replacements, version endpoints for live APIs and models, but no dated changelog (8 of 15). 15 + 10 + 15 + 11 + 12 + 8 = 71. ### Payments & pricing: Edamam +5 - Edamam (25): No x402, MPP or L402 (0 of 40). Monthly plan prices and call allowances are public for all three APIs, with per-call prices only for Vision ($0.015) and the Site Parser ($0.06 to $0.01), so plan-priced with some per-unit rates (15 of 20). No free tier; 10-day trials on Recipe Search Basic and Plus, a 30-day trial on Food Database Basic, and the pages do not say whether a card is needed (10 of 20). A person signs up in the developer portal and picks a plan in a browser (0 of 20). 0 + 15 + 10 + 0 = 25. - LogMeal (20): No x402, MPP or L402 (0 of 40). No price is published; the pricing pages name the plans and describe credits, and the figures sit in the account (0 of 20). A 30-day trial of every endpoint with no card, capped at 200 queries and 5 users (20 of 20). A person signs up in a browser and chooses a plan there (0 of 20). 0 + 0 + 20 + 0 = 20. ## Score by category | Category | Weight | Edamam | LogMeal | Edge | | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | | Reliability | 16% (20 this run) | 30 | 42 | LogMeal +12 | | Performance | 10%, pending | pending | pending | not scored in this run | | Schema & documentation | 13% (16.2 this run) | 66 | 71 | LogMeal +5 | | Agent ergonomics | 13% (16.2 this run) | 71 | 54 | Edamam +17 | | Security & auth | 14% (17.5 this run) | 30 | 58 | LogMeal +28 | | Payments & pricing | 10% (12.5 this run) | 25 | 20 | Edamam +5 | | Task success | 10%, pending | pending | pending | not scored in this run | | Maintenance & community | 7% (8.8 this run) | 33 | 31 | Edamam +2 | | Transparency & trust | 7% (8.8 this run) | 31 | 57 | LogMeal +26 | | Negative events | ≤15 | 0 | 0 | | | **Total** | | **42.2 · E** | **49.1 · D** | | ## Facts side by side | Fact | Edamam | LogMeal | | --- | --- | --- | | Kind | HTTP API | HTTP API | | Vendor | Edamam | AIGecko Technologies S.L. | | Hosted endpoint | `https://mcp.edamam.com/mcp/food` | no (local only) | | Transports | Streamable HTTP | | | Auth | API key | API key | | Pricing | Paid | Paid | | Price for cooking recipes | $9 per month (plan) | not published | | x402 | no | no | | Tools exposed | 2 | 0 | | Read-only variant documented | no | no | | llms.txt | no | yes | | Last release | none | 2026-10-07 | | Terms last updated | couldn't be read | no date given | | Privacy policy last updated | couldn't be read | no date given | | Customer content may train models | couldn't be read | yes | | Terms restrict automated access | couldn't be read | not found in the text | | Terms restrict benchmarking | couldn't be read | not found in the text | | Terms or service can change without notice | couldn't be read | not found in the text | | Arbitration or class-action waiver | couldn't be read | not found in the text | ## Verdicts **Edamam.** Recipe search with 36 health labels, nutrient range filters and field selection, documented in a public OpenAPI file, with a two-tool hosted MCP server for food nutrition and images. Web recipes carry no instructions, every plan is prepaid with human-only requests and tight caching rules, and the terms, privacy policy and any status page could not be read. **LogMeal.** Photo recognition that returns dishes, ingredients, grams and nutrients, with per-user tokens, rate-limit headers, backoff guidance and a 30-day trial with no card. No price is published, there is no status page, SLA or security programme, and submitted images are kept indefinitely and used to develop models unless the user asks for deletion. ## Before you call either ### Edamam 1. Send `app_id` and `app_key` as HTTP Basic or, for the MCP server, as `Authorization: Bearer :`, rather than in the query string 2. Expect no instructions on web recipes; return the `url` of the source to the person, and ask for the Plus plan's Edamam-owned set when steps are needed 3. Pass `field` to pick the response fields you need and follow `_links.next.href` for the next page; `type=public` is required on every search 4. Keep each call tied to a person's request and cache only the fields the plan allows, since the plan pages forbid automated collection and end access without refund 5. Show the 'Powered by Edamam' attribution with every result, as every plan requires ### LogMeal 1. Create one APIUser per person with the company token, set the user's country and language first, and call recognition with that user's token only 2. Send JPEG images resized before upload; a 429 may mean the per-second, daily or, on the trial, monthly limit, so wait for RateLimit-Reset or Retry-After and back off exponentially 3. Read GET /v2/info/limitations before a batch, since it reports credits and daily limits without spending any 4. Do not retry a recognition call blindly; each successful POST to /v2/image/segmentation/complete logs an intake and uses a credit, so check for the imageId first 5. Tell the person that uploaded photos are kept and used to develop LogMeal's models unless deletion is requested ## Questions ### Which is better for AI agents, Edamam or LogMeal? LogMeal scores 49.1 (D) on agent readiness against Edamam's 42.2 (E), and leads in 4 of 7 scored categories. Edamam leads on agent ergonomics and payments & pricing. ### Do Edamam and LogMeal need an API key? Both need an API key. ### Can an agent call Edamam and LogMeal without installing anything? Edamam has a hosted endpoint at https://mcp.edamam.com/mcp/food. No hosted endpoint is listed for LogMeal. ## For agents - This comparison as JSON: https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/edamam-vs-logmeal.json, and with the fewest tokens: https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/edamam-vs-logmeal.min.md - Over MCP at https://www.anchorterminal.com/mcp (no key): `compare_tools {"a": "edamam", "b": "logmeal"}`. From a terminal: `anchor compare edamam logmeal` - Each listing in full: https://www.anchorterminal.com/api/v1/tools/edamam.json and https://www.anchorterminal.com/api/v1/tools/logmeal.json ## Other comparisons with Edamam or LogMeal - [Edamam vs Nutritionix API](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/edamam-vs-nutritionix.md) - [fatsecret Platform API vs LogMeal](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/fatsecret-vs-logmeal.md) - [LogMeal vs Nutritionix API](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/logmeal-vs-nutritionix.md) - [Eat This Much Partner API vs Edamam](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/eat-this-much-vs-edamam.md) - [Edamam vs fatsecret Platform API](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/edamam-vs-fatsecret.md) - [Edamam vs spoonacular](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/edamam-vs-spoonacular.md) - [Eat This Much Partner API vs LogMeal](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/eat-this-much-vs-logmeal.md) - [LogMeal vs spoonacular](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/logmeal-vs-spoonacular.md) --- Query this catalogue directly over MCP: https://www.anchorterminal.com/mcp (Streamable HTTP, no key). How: https://www.anchorterminal.com/agents/#mcp