Most Nutrition APIs Hide 80% of the Data Behind Paywalls. Mine Doesn't.

Source: Dev.to

API Free‑Tier Nutrients Comparison

*Number of distinct nutrients returned in the free tier response.

Why I Chose the Open Approach

When building the Nutrition Tracker API I faced two options:

I chose Option B because:

• Many apps need specific micronutrients (e.g., B12 for vegans, iron for women’s health, electrolytes for athletes).
• The USDA already publishes this data free of charge; charging extra adds no real value.
• A generous free tier encourages more developers to build innovative nutrition solutions.

Typical Use‑Case Nutrient Requirements

Locking these behind paywalls forces only well‑funded products to offer complete solutions.

Value Proposition of Nutrition Tracker API

• Natural‑language parsing (e.g., “100 g spinach”).
• Globally distributed edge network for minimal latency.
• Clean, validated data with global redundancy (requests routed to the nearest healthy data center).
• Accurate macronutrient breakdowns (see previous posts).
• Free tier includes all 30+ nutrients; paid tier adds higher rate limits, priority support, and larger batch sizes.

Example Request & Response

POST /v1/calculate/natural HTTP/1.1
Host: nutrition-tracker-api.p.rapidapi.com
Content-Type: application/json
X-RapidAPI-Key: YOUR_KEY

{
  "text": "100g spinach"
}

{
  "totalNutrients": {
    "Energy": { "value": 23, "unit": "kcal" },
    "Protein": { "value": 2.86, "unit": "g" },
    "Fat": { "value": 0.39, "unit": "g" },
    "Carbohydrate, by difference": { "value": 3.63, "unit": "g" },
    "Fiber, total dietary": { "value": 2.2, "unit": "g" },
    "Sugars, total": { "value": 0.42, "unit": "g" },
    "Calcium, Ca": { "value": 99, "unit": "mg" },
    "Iron, Fe": { "value": 2.71, "unit": "mg" },
    "Magnesium, Mg": { "value": 79, "unit": "mg" },
    "Phosphorus, P": { "value": 49, "unit": "mg" },
    "Potassium, K": { "value": 558, "unit": "mg" },
    "Sodium, Na": { "value": 79, "unit": "mg" },
    "Zinc, Zn": { "value": 0.53, "unit": "mg" },
    "Vitamin C, total ascorbic acid": { "value": 28.1, "unit": "mg" },
    "Vitamin A, IU": { "value": 9377, "unit": "IU" },
    "Vitamin A, RAE": { "value": 469, "unit": "µg" },
    "Vitamin E (alpha-tocopherol)": { "value": 2.03, "unit": "mg" },
    "Vitamin K (phylloquinone)": { "value": 482.9, "unit": "µg" },
    "Thiamin": { "value": 0.078, "unit": "mg" },
    "Riboflavin": { "value": 0.189, "unit": "mg" },
    "Niacin": { "value": 0.724, "unit": "mg" },
    "Vitamin B‑6": { "value": 0.195, "unit": "mg" },
    "Folate, total": { "value": 194, "unit": "µg" },
    "Vitamin B‑12": { "value": 0, "unit": "µg" },
    "Choline, total": { "value": 19.3, "unit": "mg" },
    "Selenium, Se": { "value": 1, "unit": "µg" },
    "Copper, Cu": { "value": 0.13, "unit": "mg" },
    "Manganese, Mn": { "value": 0.897, "unit": "mg" }
  }
}

All 30+ nutrients are returned without any cost.

Pricing Scenario

Most hobby projects abandon full‑nutrient tracking because the cost quickly becomes prohibitive. With the free tier of Nutrition Tracker API you can launch a complete MVP at zero cost and only pay when you outgrow the free limits.

When a Paid Tier Makes Sense

• Processing ≥ 3 items per request (free tier caps at 2 items).
• Need priority support.
• Higher rate limits for production workloads.

The paid tier is therefore about scale and support, not about unlocking additional nutrients.

How to Try the API

curl -X POST "https://nutrition-tracker-api.p.rapidapi.com/v1/calculate/natural" \
  -H "X-RapidAPI-Key: YOUR_KEY" \
  -H "Content-Type: application/json" \
  -d '{"text": "1 banana and 2 tablespoons peanut butter"}'

• RapidAPI portal: 🚀 [Try the API on RapidAPI]
• SDKs: Python, JavaScript, Java (link in documentation).
• Documentation: 🌐 [Official docs]

Feel free to share any projects built with complete nutrient data in the comments!