Luminelle vs Ivy
Luminelle vs Ivy: which is right for you?
Ivy is a food scanner built around one question: how processed is this. Luminelle scores food on nutrition, additives and processing, publishes the weights, and reads skincare too.
Out now on iPhone and Android. Free to download, free to scan.
TL;DR
The 3-sentence version
Ivy is a food-only scanner, on the App Store since 2024, built around how processed a product is. It puts its database at over three million products, and calls out seed oils, additives, pesticides, microplastics and heavy metals.
Luminelle is a newer, smaller app that scores packaged food 0-100 from its nutrition, its additives and how processed it is, publishes the weights and the source behind each additive level, and also scans skincare, counts calories from a plate photo and tracks your cycle.
The choice: Ivy if food is all you scan and you want the largest catalogue. Luminelle if you want to read how the score is built, and want skincare, calories and your cycle in the same app.
Before the comparison
What Luminelle actually is
Food and skincare in one app, with your cycle phase noted on every scan.
Product scan
Score every label
Barcode or a photo of the ingredient list. Every product is scored against EU CosIng, California AB 2762/2771/496, Prop 65 and ECHA, and every flag links to the regulator entry behind it.
Food scan
A food score, calories and macros
A food barcode gets a 0-100 score from its Nutri-Score, its additives and how processed it is, with the source behind each additive level. A plate photo names the dish, estimates calories and macros, and adds them to your daily intake.
Cycle tracking
Phase noted on every scan
Log your period; Luminelle estimates your phase and next period from the dates you give it. Every scan and selfie carries the phase you were in, so patterns can surface over weeks.
AI skin observations
A daily selfie, week over week
Up to five plain-language observations per selfie across forehead, under-eye, nose, cheeks and jaw, saved next to your products, meals and cycle. Observed without judgement.
Not a diagnostic, not a diet app, not a brand attack.
At a glance
Side-by-side
| Luminelle | Ivy | |
|---|---|---|
| On the App Store since | 2026 | 2024 |
| Scans food | Scored 0-100 | A score per product |
| Scans skincare | ✓ | Food and drink only |
| How a food score is built | Nutrition 60, additives 30, processing 10, published | Sugar, ingredients, seed oils, pesticides, microplastics, heavy metals "and more"; weights not given |
| Pesticides, microplastics, heavy metals | Not reported: none of them is on a label | A level per product, by its site |
| Seed oils | Not scored; pointed out if you ask | Part of the score |
| Source behind a flag | The regulator or study, linked | Studies per additive, by its site |
| Allergen and diet checks | ✓ | ✓ |
| Product catalogue | Growing; reads a label photo when a barcode is missing | Over 3 million, by its count; reads a label photo when a barcode is missing |
| Tracking how you feel | A daily journal, a skin selfie and your cycle | Anxiety, sleep, energy and weight |
| Calories and macros from a plate photo | ✓ | - |
| Cycle phase noted on scans | ✓ | - |
| Price | Free barcode scans; Luminelle Pro for more | Ivy Pro subscription for full access |
| Platforms | iOS, Android | iOS, Android |
What Luminelle does
Where Luminelle differs
The weights are public. A Luminelle food score is 60 points of nutrition, 30 of additives and 10 of processing, and the page that says so lists every additive level with its source. Ivy names what goes into its score without the weights.
It only says what a label can show. Pesticide residues are measured per crop and per batch, not per barcode, and microplastics and heavy metals are not printed on a pack. Luminelle says nothing about them rather than estimate.
Preferences are not findings. Seed oils are something you can ask Luminelle to point out. They never move the score: no regulator restricts them, and the American Heart Association recommends them over saturated fat.
More than food. The same app scores skincare against EU and California rules, counts calories and macros from a photo of your plate, and notes your cycle phase on every scan.
The food method, with every weight and source, is at /methodology/food.
Who each is for
Match the tool to your habit
Luminelle is best for…
- You want to read how the food score is built, with its weights
- You want the regulator or study behind an additive, linked
- You want skincare scored in the same app
- You want calories and macros from a photo of your plate
- You want your cycle phase next to what you scan
Ivy is probably the better fit if…
- Food is all you scan
- You want the largest food catalogue
- You want pesticide, microplastic and heavy-metal information per product
- You want to track anxiety, sleep, energy and weight as you cut processed food
- You want your favourites as a shopping list
Both can live on the same phone. Ivy is the bigger food catalogue with one focus; Luminelle is the smaller one that shows its working and reads your skincare too.
FAQ
Frequently asked questions
- What does Luminelle do that Ivy does not?
- It publishes how its food score is built, with the weights and the regulator or study behind each additive level. It also scans skincare, counts calories and macros from a plate photo, notes your cycle phase on every scan and keeps a daily skin selfie.
- What does Ivy do that Luminelle does not?
- By its own count Ivy has over three million food products. It gives pesticide, microplastic and heavy-metal information per product, has a tracker for anxiety, sleep, energy and weight, and turns your favourites into a shopping list.
- Why doesn't Luminelle show pesticides or microplastics?
- Because they are not on a label. Residues are measured per crop and per batch, not per barcode, so Luminelle says nothing about them rather than estimate. It scores what the label and public nutrition data can show: nutrition, additives and processing.
- Is Ivy free?
- Ivy's App Store listing says an Ivy Pro subscription is required for full access. Luminelle's barcode scans are free and unlimited with an account.
- Does Luminelle scan food?
- Yes. A food barcode gets a 0-100 score built from its Nutri-Score, its additives and how processed it is, with the regulator or study behind each additive level. A plate photo gives you the dish, calories and macros, added to your daily intake; a plate is not scored.
- Is Luminelle free?
- Barcode scans are free and unlimited, with an account. Photo-based scans (a plate, a food label, an ingredient list) are limited to five a day on the free tier. Luminelle Pro removes that limit and adds Patterns, Shelf Check and Ask Luminelle.
- Can I use Luminelle alongside Ivy?
- Yes. Nothing about the two apps conflicts.
One scan tells you what's in it. A month tells you what it does.
Free to start. Food and skincare scored, with a source behind every flag.
Out now on iPhone and Android.