Luminelle vs Olive
Luminelle vs Olive: which is right for you?
Both scan food and cosmetics. Olive wraps scanning in a subscription health companion, with lab-tested data and a weight-loss programme. Luminelle keeps barcode scans free and links every flag to its source.
Out now on iPhone and Android. Free to download, free to scan.
TL;DR
The 3-sentence version
Olive is an app from Giga Studios, on the App Store since 2025, that began as a food and cosmetic scanner and now describes itself as a holistic health companion: scanning, daily check-ins, an AI assistant and a clinician-run weight-loss programme. It needs a subscription after a free trial.
Luminelle is a newer, smaller app that scores food and skincare 0-100, publishes how each score is built, links every flag to the regulator or study behind it, and keeps barcode scans free.
The choice: Olive if you want the widest scan - water and household products too - with lab-tested data and coaching, and are happy to subscribe. Luminelle if you want a free scanner whose reasoning you can read, with skin and cycle alongside.
Before the comparison
What Luminelle actually is
Food and skincare scored from public sources, 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 | Olive | |
|---|---|---|
| On the App Store since | 2026 | 2025 |
| Scans food | Scored 0-100 | ✓ |
| Scans skincare and cosmetics | ✓ | ✓ |
| Scans bottled water and household products | - | ✓ |
| How a food score is built | Nutrition 60, additives 30, processing 10, published | Not set out in its listing or on its home page |
| Source behind a flag | The regulator or study, linked | Lab-tested data and recall alerts, by its listing |
| PFAS, microplastics, heavy metals | PFAS named on a skincare label; nothing that is not on a label | Lab-tested data, by its listing |
| Seed oils | Not scored; pointed out if you ask | Flagged, with a finder for seed-oil-free restaurants |
| Better alternatives | For food and skincare | ✓ |
| AI assistant | Ask Luminelle about a product (Pro) | A companion with daily check-ins |
| Weight-loss programme with prescription medication | - | ✓ if a clinician approves |
| Cycle phase noted on scans | ✓ | - |
| Daily skin selfie observations | ✓ | - |
| Price | Free barcode scans; Luminelle Pro for more | Free trial, then a subscription |
| Platforms | iOS, Android | iOS, Android |
| App Store, 5 October 2026 | UK, Ireland, US, Canada, Australia | US, Canada |
What Luminelle does
Where Luminelle differs
Free to scan. Barcode scans are unlimited without paying. Olive's listing says a subscription is required after its free trial, and that its scanner features are part of Olive Premium.
A method you can read. The food score is 60 points of nutrition, 30 of additives and 10 of processing; the skincare score comes down only for what a regulator has banned, limited or is still assessing. Both methods are public.
A source for every flag. Each additive level and each skincare flag links to the regulator entry or study behind it.
It only says what a label can show. Luminelle does not report microplastics, heavy metals or pesticide residues, because none of them is printed on a label. Olive says it adds lab-tested data for these.
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 barcode scans that stay free
- You want to read how the score is built, with a source for each flag
- You want your skin selfie and cycle phase next to what you scan
- You are outside the US and Canada
- You want a scanner, not a health programme
Olive is probably the better fit if…
- You want to scan bottled water and household products too
- You want lab-tested contaminant data and recall alerts
- You want daily check-ins and coaching
- You want a clinician-run weight-loss programme in the same app
- You want a finder for restaurants that cook without seed oils
They overlap on the scan and part ways after it: Olive goes on to coaching and a clinical programme, Luminelle to your skin, your cycle and the sources behind the score.
FAQ
Frequently asked questions
- What does Luminelle do that Olive does not?
- It keeps barcode scans free and unlimited, publishes how its food and skincare scores are built, and links every flag to the regulator or study behind it. It also notes your cycle phase on every scan and keeps a daily skin selfie.
- What does Olive do that Luminelle does not?
- It scans bottled water and household products, adds lab-tested contaminant data and recall alerts, has a finder for seed-oil-free restaurants, checks in with you every day, and offers a weight-loss programme with medication prescribed by a clinician.
- Is Olive free?
- Olive's App Store listing says "Free trial available. Subscription required." and that its scanner features are part of Olive Premium. Luminelle's barcode scans are free and unlimited with an account.
- Is Olive still a food scanner?
- It still scans. On 5 October 2026 its App Store name was "Olive: AI Health & Weight Loss" and its site described it as a holistic health companion, with scanning as one part alongside daily check-ins and a weight-loss programme.
- Is Olive available in the UK?
- On 5 October 2026 Apple listed Olive on its US and Canadian App Stores and not on the UK, Irish or Australian ones. Luminelle was listed on all five.
- 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.
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.