8 Best Apps for Tracking Calories and Macros in 2026
Compare the 8 best apps for tracking calories and macros on price, free plans and macro tools, with every price checked on November 4, 2026.
Shamim Mia, Founder, SerpAstraLast verified November 4, 202614 min readWe compare pricing pages, documentation and public reviews. We never accept payment for rankings.
Key takeaways
- MyFitnessPal leads for most people at $19.99/month, Cronometer follows at $10.99/month with the most accurate data, and Carb Manager is the cheapest paid plan at $39.99 a year.
- Seven of the eight apps have genuinely free plans — only MacroFactor is paid-only — so you can log calories and macros at $0 before paying anything.
- The single most important buying factor is what the free plan actually locks away: barcode scanning is free in Cronometer and MyNetDiary but paid in MyFitnessPal and Yazio.
- Watch the billing term: annual plans cost 40–60% less than paying monthly, and two apps — Lose It! and Yazio — sell no monthly plan at all.
On this page
Quick comparison
| Tool | Best for | Starting price | Free plan |
|---|---|---|---|
| MyFitnessPal | People who want the largest food database and a web diary alongside the app | $19.99/mo | Yes (free plan) |
| Cronometer | Trackers who care about nutrient accuracy and want micronutrients, not just calories | $10.99/mo | Yes (free plan) |
| MacroFactor | Lifters and dieters who want calorie and macro targets that adjust weekly from their own data | $11.99/mo | No (7-day trial) |
| Lose It! | Weight-loss beginners who want a simple daily calorie budget and nothing else | $79.99/yr | Yes (free plan) |
| MyNetDiary | Budget trackers who want the strongest free plan, with barcode scanning and no ads | $8.99/mo | Yes (free plan) |
| Carb Manager | Low-carb and keto eaters who need net carbs tracked properly | $8.49/mo | Yes (free plan) |
| Yazio | Fasters and meal planners who want recipes, fasting timers and a low annual price | $47.90/yr | Yes (free plan) |
| Lifesum | People who want structured diet programmes and meal plans picked for them | $14.99/mo | Yes (free plan) |
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Request a listingThe best calorie and macro tracking apps
MyFitnessPal
Best for: People who want the largest food database and a web diary alongside the app
MyFitnessPal is the default pick for a reason: its food database is the largest in this list, so the barcode on an obscure snack usually scans on the first try, and the diary works on the web as well as on your phone. The free plan covers food and exercise logging, macro totals and custom foods and recipes. Premium costs $19.99 a month or $79.99 a year, and buying on the website is cheaper — $9.99 a month or $49.99 a year.
The catch is what the free plan withholds. Barcode scanning, Meal Scan, voice logging and custom macro goals all need Premium, and the database is largely user-submitted, so the same food can appear with several different calorie counts. Pick MyFitnessPal when you want the biggest database and a web diary; pick Cronometer when accuracy matters more than size.
What we like
- The largest food database in this list, so obscure packaged foods usually scan on the first try
- The diary works on the web as well as on your phone, with exercise logging included
- Free plan covers food and exercise logging, macro totals and custom foods and recipes
- Buying Premium on the website costs $9.99 a month or $49.99 a year, half the in-app price
Watch out for
- Barcode scanning, Meal Scan, voice logging and custom macro goals all need Premium
- The database is largely user-submitted, so the same food can appear with several different calorie counts
- Premium is the most expensive monthly plan here at $19.99 a month
Cronometer
Best for: Trackers who care about nutrient accuracy and want micronutrients, not just calories
Cronometer is the accuracy pick. Its database of over 1 million foods is lab-analysed or verified rather than crowdsourced, and the free plan tracks up to 95 nutrients — vitamins, minerals and amino acids alongside calories and macros — with the barcode scanner included. Gold costs $10.99 a month or $59.99 a year, and the free plan stays genuinely useful: logging, the barcode scanner and the full nutrient breakdown cost nothing.
Gold adds the quality-of-life extras: Photo Log and Voice Log, a fasting timer, the recipe importer, custom charts, the Macro Scheduler for different targets on different days, and the Crono Coach. The trade-offs are a smaller recipe library than MyFitnessPal, no community feed, and a friends feature that needs Gold. Pick Cronometer when you want to trust every number you log; pick MyFitnessPal when you want the biggest catalogue.
What we like
- Database of over 1 million lab-analysed or verified foods, not crowdsourced entries
- Free plan tracks up to 95 nutrients, including vitamins, minerals and amino acids
- Barcode scanner is included on the free plan
- Macro Scheduler sets different macro targets for different days of the week on Gold
Watch out for
- Smaller recipe library than MyFitnessPal, and no community feed
- The friends feature needs Gold, and the interface is plainer than the big names
- Photo Log, Voice Log and the fasting timer are Gold-only
MacroFactor
Best for: Lifters and dieters who want calorie and macro targets that adjust weekly from their own data
MacroFactor is the only app here with no free plan at all — a 7-day trial, then $11.99 a month, $47.99 for six months or $71.99 a year, with every feature in the one subscription and no ads anywhere. What you pay for is the algorithm: each week you check in with your weight and your logged food, and the app recalculates your calorie and macro targets from your own expenditure instead of a generic formula.
That adaptive target is the whole point, and it is why lifters and serious dieters rate it so highly. There are no tiers to climb, no add-ons and no lifetime option, and the company says there will never be a free version. Pick MacroFactor when you want your targets to move with your body.
What we like
- Weekly check-ins recalculate your calorie and macro targets from your own logged intake and weight trend
- One plan with every feature included — no tiers, no add-ons, no ads anywhere in the app
- Photo, barcode and AI logging are all included in the single subscription
- Annual plan works out to $5.99 a month, half the monthly rate
Watch out for
- No free plan at all — after the 7-day trial you pay or you stop using it
- Seven days is a short trial for an app whose value shows over weeks of check-ins
- No lifetime option and no sales, so the price never drops
Lose It!
Best for: Weight-loss beginners who want a simple daily calorie budget and nothing else
Lose It! is the simplest app in this list, and that is its selling point. You get a daily calorie budget based on the weight you want to lose each week, a food database, weight tracking and a clean diary — and Premium, at $79.99 a year, adds the barcode scanner, macro tracking and future meal logging. There is no monthly plan: Premium is annual or the $299.99 one-time Lifetime option.
The free Basic plan is more limited: macro tracking and the barcode scanner now sit behind Premium, and the app tracks far fewer micronutrients than Cronometer. In-app discounts are common, so the $79.99 list price is often not what new users pay. Pick Lose It! when you want the simplest possible calorie budget; pick MyNetDiary when you want the same simplicity with a stronger free plan.
What we like
- The simplest diary in this list: one daily calorie budget based on your weekly weight-loss goal
- Clean, uncluttered interface with future meal logging on Premium
- In-app discounts are common, so the $79.99 list price is often not what new users pay
- Lifetime option at $299.99 suits people who know they will track for years
Watch out for
- No monthly plan — Premium is annual only, or the $299.99 one-time Lifetime option
- Macro tracking and the barcode scanner moved behind Premium
- Tracks far fewer micronutrients than Cronometer, even on Premium
MyNetDiary
Best for: Budget trackers who want the strongest free plan, with barcode scanning and no ads
MyNetDiary has the strongest free plan in this list. It costs nothing, shows no ads, needs no account to start, and still includes barcode scanning, voice logging and tracking for up to 108 nutrients — the features MyFitnessPal and Yazio charge for. Premium costs $8.99 a month or $59.99 a year and adds Meal Scan photo logging, Advanced Autopilot, a GLP-1 companion and a fasting timer.
The food database is staff-verified rather than crowdsourced, which is why its entries are more consistent than MyFitnessPal's, and Good Housekeeping named it the best free food tracking app in June 2026. The catches are modest: the AI Coach waits for Premium Plus at $14.99 a month, and the recipe library is smaller than the big names. Pick MyNetDiary when you want the best free tracker; pick Cronometer when micronutrients are the priority.
What we like
- Free plan has no ads, needs no account, and still includes barcode scanning and voice logging
- Food database of 2 million foods is staff-verified rather than crowdsourced
- Free plan tracks up to 108 nutrients
- Good Housekeeping named it the best free food tracking app in June 2026
Watch out for
- The AI Coach and AI meal suggestions wait for Premium Plus at $14.99 a month
- Recipe library is smaller than MyFitnessPal's
- Advanced Autopilot, Meal Scan and fasting are Premium-only
Carb Manager
Best for: Low-carb and keto eaters who need net carbs tracked properly
Carb Manager is the keto and low-carb specialist. The free Basic plan already covers net-carb tracking, the barcode scanner and basic recipes, so a keto eater can log properly without paying. Premium costs $8.49 a month or $39.99 a year — the cheapest annual plan in this list — and adds micronutrient tracking, advanced reports, a diabetes tracker and custom calorie goals.
Outside keto it is less compelling: the interface is built around carbs first, so a balanced-diet tracker will find the macro tools thinner than MyFitnessPal's, and the pre-made meal plans are sold separately rather than included. The free plan also shows ads, which the paid plan removes. Pick Carb Manager when net carbs are the number you care about; pick MyFitnessPal or Cronometer when your diet is not low-carb.
What we like
- Net-carb tracking is built in from the free plan, not bolted on
- Cheapest annual plan in this list at $39.99 a year
- Barcode scanner works on the free plan
- Premium adds micronutrient tracking, advanced reports and a diabetes tracker
Watch out for
- Built around carbs first, so the macro tools feel thinner for a balanced diet
- Pre-made meal plans are sold separately, not included in Premium
- Free plan shows ads, which only the paid plan removes
Yazio
Best for: Fasters and meal planners who want recipes, fasting timers and a low annual price
Yazio is the cheapest annual plan for a general tracker that also does fasting and meal plans. The free version covers calorie and macro logging and basic recipes; PRO costs $47.90 a year at the standard rate, with a 3-month plan at $23.99 and promotional annual offers as low as $23.90. PRO adds the barcode scanner, AI photo logging, full nutrition data and fasting programmes.
The trade-off is the paywall shuffle: the barcode scanner used to be free and now needs PRO, and the price you are offered depends on the deal in front of you, so check the paywall before starting a trial. The yearly plan starts with a 3-day free trial. Pick Yazio when you want fasting and meal plans at the lowest annual price; pick Lifesum when you want programmes picked for you.
What we like
- Lowest standard annual price for a general tracker at $47.90 a year, with promos as low as $23.90
- PRO adds AI photo logging, fasting programmes and a large recipe library
- Over 50 million downloads, with strong adoption in Europe
- Free plan covers calorie and macro logging without a trial or card
Watch out for
- The barcode scanner used to be free and now needs PRO
- The price you are offered depends on the deal in front of you, so the paywall varies
- No monthly plan — PRO is sold by the year or by the quarter
Lifesum
Best for: People who want structured diet programmes and meal plans picked for them
Lifesum is the guided option: instead of handing you a blank diary, it offers structured diet programmes — keto, Scandinavian, Climatarian and more — with meal plans and recipes matched to your goal. Premium costs $14.99 a month or $99.99 a year, and it is the only way to get the full programme library, custom calorie and macro targets, nutrient overviews and fasting programmes.
The free plan is the most limited here: one default programme, Lifesum Standard, and basic logging, with every other programme and all meal plans behind Premium. That makes it the most expensive annual plan in this list, and the programmes offer little flexibility for allergies or unpredictable schedules. Pick Lifesum when you want a plan chosen for you; pick Yazio when you want similar features at half the annual price.
What we like
- Structured diet programmes by goal and diet — keto, Scandinavian, Climatarian and more
- Meal plans and recipes are matched to your programme, not left to you to build
- Custom calorie and macro targets on Premium, with nutrient overviews and fasting programmes
- Clean, guided interface that suits people who want a plan chosen for them
Watch out for
- Most expensive annual plan in this list at $99.99 a year
- Free plan is limited to one default programme and basic logging
- Programmes offer little flexibility for allergies or unpredictable schedules
The best apps for tracking calories and macros are the ones you will still be logging in three months from now, not the ones with the longest feature list. The eight apps below are ranked by fit for the most common buyer — someone who wants to lose, gain or hold weight and needs calories plus a protein, carb and fat split they can trust — and every price was verified on November 4, 2026.
Most of these apps are free to start, and the free plan is often enough: seven of the eight let you log calories and macros at $0. What you pay for is usually the barcode scanner, custom macro targets, photo logging and meal plans. The cards below show the real starting price for each app, what the free plan actually covers, and where the price changes depending on where you buy.
How to choose the best apps for tracking calories and macros
- Check what the free plan locks away. Barcode scanning is free in Cronometer, MyNetDiary and Carb Manager but paid in MyFitnessPal and Yazio. Custom macro goals are free in Cronometer and MyNetDiary but paid in MyFitnessPal, Lose It! and Lifesum.
- Judge the database, not the download count. A big crowdsourced database finds obscure foods fast but disagrees with itself; a verified database is slower to grow but the numbers are consistent. Cronometer and MyNetDiary verify their entries; MyFitnessPal mostly does not.
- Match the app to the diet. Keto needs net carbs (Carb Manager), fasting needs a timer (Cronometer, Yazio, Lifesum), and a structured plan needs programmes picked for you (Lifesum). A general tracker forced onto a special diet is the wrong buy.
- Decide whether targets should move. Most apps set your calorie and macro targets once from a formula. MacroFactor and MyNetDiary's Advanced Autopilot move them as your weight and intake change — worth paying for if you have stalled before.
- Try the free plan for two real weeks first. Log every meal, scan your usual groceries and check the macro split at night. Two weeks of real logging tells you whether the database, the scanner and the diary fit your life.
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Whatever you shortlist, start free and pay only for the feature you actually miss. The free plans in this list are long enough to run a genuine two-week test — your food, your schedule, your goals — and that test tells you more than any review can. Check two things in the trial: that the barcode scanner reads your usual groceries, and that the macro split at the end of the day matches what you ate.
Calorie and macro tracking app pricing: what you will actually pay
Take one person tracking every day for a year. On annual billing, the subscription costs $39.99 on Carb Manager, $47.90 on Yazio PRO, $59.99 on Cronometer Gold and MyNetDiary Premium, $71.99 on MacroFactor, $79.99 on Lose It! Premium and MyFitnessPal Premium, and $99.99 on Lifesum Premium. MyFitnessPal is cheaper bought on its website — $49.99 a year instead of $79.99 — and both Lose It! and Yazio run in-app promotions that can cut the annual price well below list.
On monthly billing, the same year costs $101.88 on Carb Manager, $107.88 on MyNetDiary, $131.88 on Cronometer, $143.88 on MacroFactor, $179.88 on Lifesum and $239.88 on MyFitnessPal. The gap between monthly and annual billing is the single biggest saving in this list: MyFitnessPal costs three times as much month-to-month as it does annually, and Cronometer costs more than twice as much. Lose It! and Yazio have no monthly plan at all, so the annual price is the only price.
Three costs sit outside every number above. First, the higher tier: MyFitnessPal Premium+ adds a meal planner for $99.99 a year, and MyNetDiary Premium Plus adds an AI Coach for $99.99 a year. Second, the one-time option: Lose It! Lifetime is $299.99 and MyNetDiary Lifetime is $179.99, which pay for themselves after about four and three years of annual Premium. Third, the platform: prices vary by where you buy — MyFitnessPal's website price is half the in-app price, and Yazio's price depends on the offer shown at sign-up. If you run a store rather than tracking your own food, the app that converts best is the one tied to your catalog — see our guide to AI chatbots for small business.
Know the difference: calories vs macros
The confusion in this category is between a total and a split. Calories are the total: how much energy the food contains, and the number that decides whether you lose, gain or hold weight. Macros are the split: how those calories divide between protein, carbohydrate and fat. Two meals can have the same 600 calories and completely different macros — one high in protein, one mostly carbohydrate — and your body treats them differently.
That split is why tracking calories alone is not enough for most buyers here. A calorie budget tells you how much to eat; a macro target tells you what to eat it as. Protein keeps you full and protects muscle while you lose weight, so most dieters set a protein target in grams and let carbs and fat flex around it. Every app in this list tracks both, but they differ on which half is free: MyFitnessPal shows macro totals free and charges for custom macro goals, while Cronometer and MyNetDiary let you set gram targets without paying.
A third distinction worth knowing is total carbs versus net carbs. Net carbs subtract fibre (and some sugar alcohols) from total carbs, and keto dieters track net carbs because fibre does not raise blood sugar the way other carbs do. Only Carb Manager treats net carbs as a first-class number; the other apps show total carbs and leave the subtraction to you. If keto is the diet, that one difference decides the app.
Quick comparison: tool type by need
| Buyer | Best pick | Why |
|---|---|---|
| Most people starting out | MyFitnessPal | Biggest food database, free plan, Premium $19.99/month |
| Accuracy matters most | Cronometer | Verified database, 95 nutrients, Gold $10.99/month |
| Serious macro tracking | MacroFactor | Targets adjust weekly, $11.99/month, no free plan |
| Simplest weight loss | Lose It! | One daily calorie budget, Premium $79.99/year |
| Best free plan | MyNetDiary | Barcode scanner and 108 nutrients free, Premium $8.99/month |
| Keto or low-carb | Carb Manager | Net carbs tracked free, Premium $39.99/year |
| Fasting and meal plans | Yazio | PRO $47.90/year, fasting programmes and recipes |
| Guided diet programmes | Lifesum | Programmes picked for you, Premium $14.99/month |
Mistakes to avoid
- Paying monthly when you will track all year. Annual billing is 40–60% cheaper on every app here that offers both. MyFitnessPal is $19.99 a month but $79.99 a year; Cronometer is $10.99 a month but $59.99 a year. Buy the month only to test, then switch to annual.
- Buying in the app when the website is cheaper. MyFitnessPal Premium is $49.99 a year on its website and $79.99 in the app. Check the vendor's own site before you subscribe through Apple or Google.
- Assuming the barcode scanner is free. It is free in Cronometer, MyNetDiary and Carb Manager, but it needs Premium in MyFitnessPal and PRO in Yazio. If scanning is your main way of logging, the free plan that includes it is worth more than the cheapest paid plan.
- Trusting crowdsourced numbers blindly. MyFitnessPal's database is huge because users submit entries, and the same food can list several different calorie counts. When a number looks wrong, check it against the label or a verified entry before you log it.
- Picking the app before the diet. A keto dieter on a general tracker has to subtract fibre by hand; a faster on an app with no timer has to track fasts elsewhere. Choose the diet first, then the app that tracks it natively.
How we chose
We checked each vendor's own pricing page on November 4, 2026 and recorded the starting price exactly as shown, including the annual-billing figure where the page lists one, and we ranked the apps by fit for the most common buyer — someone tracking calories and macros to manage their weight — not by brand size. Two prices needed a workaround: MyFitnessPal's own Premium page shows no prices today, so its $19.99 monthly and $79.99 annual figures were confirmed from several independent October 2026 pages quoting the vendor's own pricing page and App Store listings, which also agree on the $9.99 monthly and $49.99 annual website price; Lifesum publishes no price list, so its $14.99 monthly and $99.99 annual figures were confirmed the same way, against App Store listings and independent checks from October 2026. Cronometer's Gold price was verified on the vendor's own page today, and MacroFactor's on the vendor's own help centre. Lose It! and Yazio sell no monthly plan, so their annual prices are the starting prices. Ratings are omitted for every app: these consumer apps have no meaningful G2 or Capterra pages — Cronometer's only G2 listing is for its professional Pro product with a single review — and app-store ratings are not used in this list. No vendor paid for a place in this list, and none of the links here are affiliate links.
What to do next
Start with the free plan of your top pick and log two real weeks — your food, your schedule, your usual groceries. Check that the barcode scanner reads what you actually buy, that the macro split at the end of the day matches what you ate, and that you are still logging on day fourteen. If the free plan covers all three, keep it; if you keep hitting the same locked feature, that is the one worth paying for. If the tracking is sorted but new customers are not finding you, our monthly SEO service handles the visibility side — or compare AI helpers in our guide to AI chatbots for small business. Once your tools are in place, find out what's holding your rankings back.
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Get a free audit→Sources we checked (13)
- MyFitnessPal Premium — myfitnesspal.com/premium (checked November 4, 2026)
- Cronometer Gold — cronometer.com/gold (checked November 4, 2026)
- MacroFactor subscriptions and bundles — help.macrofactorapp.com (checked November 4, 2026)
- Lose It! — loseit.com (checked November 4, 2026)
- MyNetDiary — mynetdiary.com (checked November 4, 2026)
- Carb Manager Free vs Premium — carbmanager.com (checked November 4, 2026)
- YAZIO international pricing — filecontent.yazio.com (checked November 4, 2026)
- Lifesum — lifesum.com (checked November 4, 2026)
- Calorie app prices in 2026 — calorix.ai (checked November 4, 2026)
- MyFitnessPal Premium cost 2026 — calorix.ai (checked November 4, 2026)
- YAZIO PRO pricing — nutriscan.app (checked November 4, 2026)
- Best value fitness apps 2026 — blog.myfitnesspal.com (checked November 4, 2026)
- Best food tracker apps 2026 — platelens.app (checked November 4, 2026)
Shamim
Founder of SerpAstra
A full-stack SEO and digital marketer who spends most days on Local SEO for dental practices, AI search visibility and lead generation.
Frequently asked questions
What is the best app for tracking calories and macros?
MyFitnessPal is the best fit for most people: the largest food database, a free plan that covers logging and macro totals, and Premium at $19.99 a month. Cronometer is better when you want verified data and micronutrients, and MacroFactor is better when you want targets that adjust weekly from your own weight and intake.
How much do calorie tracking apps cost?
Entry prices run from $0 to $19.99 a month. Annual plans cost $39.99 to $99.99 a year across this list. Paying monthly instead of annually costs far more: MyFitnessPal is $239.88 a year on monthly billing against $79.99 annually, and Cronometer is $131.88 against $59.99.
Is there a free calorie and macro tracking app?
Yes, seven of the eight apps here have free plans. MyNetDiary's is the strongest: no ads, no account needed, barcode scanning and 108 nutrients tracked free. Cronometer's free plan includes the barcode scanner and 95 nutrients. Only MacroFactor has no free plan, just a 7-day trial.
MyFitnessPal vs Cronometer: which is better?
MyFitnessPal wins on database size and has a web diary, but much of its data is user-submitted, so entries can disagree. Cronometer wins on accuracy: its foods are lab-analysed or verified, and the free plan tracks 95 nutrients with the barcode scanner included. Choose MyFitnessPal for coverage, Cronometer for numbers you can trust.
Can I track macros on a free plan?
Yes, on most of these apps. MyFitnessPal, Cronometer, MyNetDiary, Carb Manager and Yazio all show macro totals free, and Cronometer and MyNetDiary include custom macro targets in the free plan. Lose It! and Lifesum keep custom macro goals behind Premium, and MacroFactor has no free plan at all.
Do calorie tracking apps work for keto diets?
Yes, but pick one built for it. Carb Manager tracks net carbs from the free plan and is the best keto pick at $39.99 a year. MyFitnessPal and Cronometer also work for keto if you set custom macro targets, though MyFitnessPal needs Premium for that. Lifesum's keto programme is Premium-only.
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