The best calorie tracking apps in 2026, and who each one suits

What is the best calorie tracking app?

The best calorie tracking app is the one you will still be using in three months, which depends on how you log, what you want to track and what you want to pay. For most people who want fast logging, meal planning and recipes in one place without paying for several tiers, we recommend BiteTracker. If micronutrient detail matters most, Cronometer is stronger. If you want your targets adjusted automatically every week, look at MacroFactor.

A note on fairness: we make BiteTracker, so we are not neutral. To keep this useful, every price and feature listed for another app comes from its own website, help center or App Store listing, checked on October 1, 2026. Prices are US list prices before promotions, and they change, so confirm them before you subscribe.

Our picks at a glance

Each of these is the best choice for someone. The prices are for the plan you would need to get the feature that earns the pick.

• Best value for logging, planning and cooking in one app: BiteTracker, $42 a year.
• Best for micronutrients: Cronometer, free, or $59.99 a year for Gold.
• Best for keto and low-carb: Carb Manager, $39.99 a year for Premium.
• Most generous free tier: MyNetDiary, with no ads, free barcode scanning and a web version.
• Best for adaptive calorie targets: MacroFactor, $71.99 a year.
• Biggest food database and most integrations: MyFitnessPal, free, or $79.99 a year for Premium.
• Simplest weight-loss calorie budget: Lose It!, free, or $79.99 a year for Premium.
• Photo-first logging: Cal AI, subscription required, with prices shown only in the app.

BiteTracker: best value for logging, planning and cooking

BiteTracker costs $42 a year or $8.99 a month, and there is only one plan, so every feature is included. You can describe a meal in a sentence, snap a photo, scan a barcode or search, and copy meals from earlier days. A meal calendar lets you plan the week, with calories and protein adding up for each day, and the planned ingredients can go straight to Instacart. The recipe book lists macros for every dish, you can import your own recipes from a link, and the weekly report compares your weight trend with what your log predicted, then suggests an updated target.

It runs on iPhone, Android and the web, syncs with Apple Health and Health Connect, and on iPhone a Live Activity puts calories, protein and one-tap meal buttons on the lock screen. Discounts make it cheaper still: seasonal promotions and some account offers take 20 percent off, and people aged 24 and under get 50 percent off the first year, which is $21 for an annual plan.

• Best for: people who want fast logging plus meal planning and recipes, at one of the lowest annual prices.
• Limits: there is no free tier after the trial, there is no automatic import from MyFitnessPal, and it tracks the main label nutrients (fiber, sodium, sugar, saturated fat and cholesterol) rather than dozens of vitamins and minerals.

MyFitnessPal: the biggest database, with features spread across tiers

MyFitnessPal's free tier, which shows ads, covers food and exercise logging, saved meals, copying meals and importing recipes from the web. Barcode scanning has needed Premium since 2022, as do Meal Scan photo logging and voice logging, all in the mobile apps only. Premium is $79.99 a year or $19.99 a month. Meal plans with grocery lists that connect to delivery services need Premium+, at $99.99 a year.

Its strengths are scale and connections. The database is community-built, with entries MyFitnessPal has reviewed marked by a check, and it lists millions of foods. It also connects with more than 40 fitness apps and devices. In March 2026 it announced it had bought Cal AI.

• Best for: people who want the largest food database and lots of device integrations.
• Limits: the fastest logging methods are paid, and meal planning is in the top tier.

Cronometer: best for micronutrients

Cronometer's free tier is unusually generous: it tracks up to 95 nutrients, includes unlimited barcode scanning, and runs on the web as well as iOS and Android, though it shows ads and limits charts to the last seven days. Gold, at $59.99 a year or $10.99 a month, removes ads and adds photo logging, typed or spoken meal descriptions and recipe import from a link.

Its food data is the main draw. Cronometer says its nutrition information comes from lab-analyzed sources such as the USDA and NCCDB, not crowdsourced entries, and that submitted foods are verified. We did not find a meal planner in its feature list.

• Best for: people who want vitamins, minerals and other detail beyond the main label nutrients.
• Limits: no meal planning, and the faster logging methods need Gold.

MacroFactor: best for adaptive calorie targets

MacroFactor costs $71.99 a year, $47.99 for six months or $11.99 a month, with a seven-day trial and no free tier or ads. Its standout feature is an expenditure estimate that updates from your weight trend and intake, adjusting your targets each week. Logging is fast and fully included: photo, typed or spoken descriptions, barcode and label scanning, quick add and copying whole days.

It is a mobile app, available on iPhone, iPad, Apple Silicon Macs, Apple Watch and Android, but it says there is no desktop or web version right now. We did not find a meal planner in its feature list.

• Best for: data-minded people who want weekly target changes done for them.
• Limits: no web app, no meal planning, and a higher price than BiteTracker or Cronometer Gold.

Lose It!: the simplest calorie budget

Lose It! Basic is free and shows ads, which a one-time purchase can remove. It gives you a personal daily calorie budget and a large food database, and there is a web diary as well as the apps. Premium, at $79.99 a year before in-app offers, adds Snap It photo logging, Say It voice logging, logging food ahead of time and custom goals. Lose It! says barcode scanning is moving into Premium, so some free members still have it and others do not. A lifetime plan costs $299.99.

Its strength is simplicity: a clear calorie budget for weight loss, without much else to set up.

• Best for: people who want a straightforward weight-loss budget.
• Limits: photo, voice and, increasingly, barcode logging are paid, and there are no built-in meal plans.

Cal AI: photo-first logging

Cal AI is built around one action: take a photo of your food. It also scans barcodes and accepts descriptions. You need a subscription to see results, there is a three-day trial, and its prices are shown only in the app rather than on its website. Its own FAQ describes it as about 80 percent accurate. MyFitnessPal announced in March 2026 that it had bought Cal AI, which still runs as a separate app.

It suits people who want the lightest possible logging habit and are happy to check portions themselves. Our guide to AI photo calorie tracking accuracy covers what a photo misses.

• Best for: photo-only logging with minimal setup.
• Limits: prices are not published, and we found no meal planning.

Other calorie trackers worth a look

Five more apps that come up often, with what sets each apart:

• MyNetDiary: an ad-free free tier with barcode scanning, a shopping list and a web version, and a staff-verified food database. Premium is $59.99 a year and adds photo logging and a meal planner.
• Carb Manager: built for keto, with net carbs and ketone tracking. Barcode scanning is free; Premium, at $39.99 a year, adds photo and voice logging, recipe import and meal plans.
• FatSecret: a free core app with barcode scanning and a database it says is entirely human-verified. Photo logging, voice logging and the meal planner are Premium, priced in the app.
• Yazio: intermittent fasting tools and a large recipe library. Photo logging and meal planning are in Yazio Pro, priced in the app, and there is no web version.
• Lifesum: guided programs and meal plans with shopping lists, plus chat-style logging by photo, voice or text in Premium. There is no web diary, and Premium is priced in the app.

How to choose the right calorie tracker

Start with what you will use every day, not with the longest feature list:

• You only want to log, and you do not want to pay: MyNetDiary's free tier has no ads and includes barcode scanning, as do Cronometer's and FatSecret's. MyFitnessPal's and Lose It!'s free tiers rely more on search.
• You want detailed nutrients: Cronometer.
• You want targets that adjust themselves: MacroFactor.
• You eat keto or low-carb: Carb Manager.
• You want fast logging, meal planning, recipes and grocery ordering in one plan at a low price: BiteTracker.
• You are 24 or under: BiteTracker's young-user offer makes the first year $21.
• Then run a short test. Our guide to the fastest calorie tracking apps has a one-day speed test, and the cheapest calorie tracking apps compares every plan by price.