The best free calorie tracking apps in November 2026, and what each free tier leaves out

What is the best free calorie tracking app?

As of November 2026, MyNetDiary has the best free tier for most people: no ads, free barcode scanning, a shopping list and a web version. Cronometer is the better free choice if you want vitamins and minerals, because it tracks up to 95 nutrients, though it shows ads. If you use a Galaxy phone, Samsung Health is entirely free, with no paid tier for food logging at all.

We make BiteTracker, which has a trial but no free tier, so it is not one of the picks here. Everything below comes from each company's own website, help center or US App Store listing, checked on November 12, 2026. Free tiers change more often than prices do, so check the app before you settle in.

Our free picks for November 2026

Each of these is the best free option for someone:

• Best free tier overall: MyNetDiary. No ads, free barcode scanning, a shopping list and a web version.
• Best free app for nutrients: Cronometer. Up to 95 nutrients and unlimited barcode scanning, with ads and charts limited to the last seven days.
• Best if you have a Galaxy phone or watch: Samsung Health. Entirely free, with barcode scanning in the US and parts of Europe.
• Best if you wear a Fitbit or Pixel Watch: Google Health. Food search and barcode scanning are free and sit next to your sleep and activity data.
• Best free app with a web diary and no listed ads: FatSecret, with free barcode scanning and a database it says is human-verified.
• Best free app for keto and low-carb: Carb Manager, with free barcode scanning and net carbs.
• Best free photo logging: SnapCalorie, which allows a few AI photo logs a day.

Free tiers compared

Here are the twelve apps with a free tier, and what each keeps for paying users. On a phone, scroll the table sideways.

• Noom also has a limited free version with lessons, step counting and some food logging in the US. It is a coaching program rather than a tracker, so we left it out of the table.
• MacroFactor, Carbon Diet Coach, WeightWatchers, Cal AI and BiteTracker have no free tier.

Which free calorie trackers include a barcode scanner?

Seven do: Samsung Health, Google Health, MyNetDiary, Cronometer, FatSecret, Carb Manager and Lifesum. SnapCalorie scans barcodes for free as well.

The two best-known apps are the exceptions. In MyFitnessPal, barcode scanning has needed Premium since 2022. Lose It! says it is moving barcode scanning into Premium, so some free members still have it and others do not. If scanning is the reason you are looking for a new app, MyFitnessPal alternatives covers the switch.

What free tiers usually leave out

The pattern is consistent. Searching a database, saving meals and copying days are free nearly everywhere. The newer, faster logging methods are where the paywalls sit.

• AI photo logging: paid in MyNetDiary, Cronometer, FatSecret, Carb Manager, Lifesum, MyFitnessPal, Lose It!, Yazio and Foodvisor. SnapCalorie is the exception, with a few free photo logs a day, and MyNetDiary offers a free test-drive.
• Logging by voice or typed description: mostly paid. MyNetDiary includes basic voice logging free.
• Meal planning: paid in every app here that offers it. MyNetDiary's shopping list is free.
• History and charts: Cronometer's free charts cover the last seven days.
• A quiet screen: most free tiers show ads. MyNetDiary and Samsung Health do not.

A free trial is not a free tier

Several popular trackers are free only for a few days. MyFitnessPal Premium, Lose It! Premium, MacroFactor, Carbon Diet Coach and MyNetDiary Premium on iOS offer seven-day trials, Cal AI offers three days, and BiteTracker offers a trial before you subscribe. A trial becomes a paid subscription unless you cancel, so set a reminder for the day before it ends.

Trials are still worth using. A week with every feature unlocked tells you whether the paid extras would save you time, and you can drop back to a free tier, or to a different app, if they would not.

How to get the most from a free app

The free features are the ones that matter most once you set them up. Most people eat the same few breakfasts and lunches, and most households rotate 10 to 15 dinners, so a small library of saved meals removes most of the searching.

• Save your regular meals the first time you log them, and add them in one tap after that.
• Copy yesterday when today looks the same.
• Scan anything with a label instead of searching for it.
• Count a homemade recipe once and save it; counting calories in homemade meals shows how.
• Keep it simple. Our guide to simple food logging covers a routine that works in any app.

When is it worth paying?

Pay when a paid feature saves you time every day, or replaces something else you would buy. If mixed meals are slowing you down, photo or text logging cuts them to a few seconds. If you plan your week and shop from the plan, a meal calendar replaces a separate planning app.

If you do decide to pay, price varies a lot for similar features. BiteTracker is $33.60 a year with AI logging, barcode scanning, a meal calendar and Instacart ordering in one plan, and Carb Manager Premium is $39.99. Most other paid plans cost $59.99 to $99.99. The cheapest calorie tracking apps ranks every plan by annual price, and the best calorie tracking apps covers what each app does best.