How we make this list: we compare pricing pages, product documentation and public user reviews. Ratings come from G2, Capterra or Trustpilot, with the date we checked them.
Key takeaways
- MyFitnessPal still has the broadest ecosystem and database (20M plus foods), but its US free tier lost the barcode scanner to Premium ($79.99 a year list).
- Cronometer and MyNetDiary are the free tier champions: verified data, custom macro targets and free barcode scanning; MyNetDiary uniquely runs ad free.
- MacroFactor ($71.99 a year, no free tier) is the adaptive pick: its targets adjust to your logged trend and weight change, adherence neutral by design.
- Carb Manager owns keto and low carb, and Yazio and FatSecret serve budget trackers well.
Quick comparison
| Tool | Best for | Starting price | Free plan |
|---|
 MyFitnessPal | The broadest database and ecosystem | Free | Yes |
 Cronometer | Nutrient depth and verified data | Free | Yes |
 MyNetDiary | The strongest free tier in the category | Free | Yes |
 MacroFactor | Adaptive targets that learn you | $11.99 per month | No |
 Carbon Diet Coach | Weekly coached macro check ins | See website | No |
 Yazio | Recipes and fasting tools | Free | Yes |
 FatSecret | Fully free basic tracking | Free | Yes |
 Carb Manager | Keto and low carb tracking | Free | Yes |
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The best apps for tracking calories and macros in 2026
Starting priceFree
Free planYes
MyFitnessPal remains the default because ecosystems compound: your watch, scale and gym app already speak to it, and its database has the obscure restaurant item the others lack. That gravity is real, and so is the scanner paywall that now greets free users at every packaged meal.
The decision is simple arithmetic. If you log mostly packaged food, the free rivals below scan for $0 and MyFitnessPal wants $79.99 a year. If your diet is whole foods and restaurant meals, its database breadth earns the inconvenience.
What we like- The largest food database in the category (20M plus foods) and the deepest integration ecosystem (fitness trackers, smart scales, other apps), so logged life connects easily, the free tier still covers food and exercise logging, saved meals and recipes, macro percentage goals and diary sharing, Premium ($19.99 a month or $79.99 a year in current US pricing) restores the barcode scanner and adds Meal Scan and voice logging
- Premium+ ($24.99 a month or $99.99 a year) adds a meal planner
Watch out for- In the US the barcode scanner, photo and voice logging sit behind Premium, the single most resented paywall in the category, its crowdsourced database carries user submitted errors alongside its breadth
- The 2026 comparison studies note verified rivals are more accurate per entry, pricing varies by channel (its own site showed $49.99 a year in the October audit while the standard list is $79.99), so check the offer in front of you, ads on the free tier
Starting priceFree
Free planYes
Cronometer is for people who mean it: athletes dialling micronutrients, patients tracking potassium or sodium for a clinician, anyone who has been burned by a crowdsourced entry claiming a chicken breast has 900 calories.
Its free tier is the surprise. Custom gram targets and barcode scanning free is a combination the category leader charges for, and it makes Cronometer the easiest recommendation for careful trackers on a budget.
What we like- The data quality specialist: entries drawn from verified sources (USDA, NCC and similar) rather than the crowd, tracking up to 95 nutrients including micronutrients most apps ignore, the free tier is genuinely capable: custom macro and micronutrient targets in grams and a free barcode scanner, with ads, Gold ($10.99 a month or $59.99 a year) removes ads and adds charts, fasting timers and custom reports, in a 2026 study context it and MyNetDiary were the accuracy benchmarks rivals were measured against
Watch out for- Depth can exceed need: 95 nutrients is a lot of dashboard for someone who only wants calories and protein, the interface is data dense compared with consumer first rivals, free reports cover a limited window (7 days) before Gold, its database, while accurate, is smaller than MyFitnessPal's crowd built giant, so some branded items are missing
Starting priceFree
Free planYes
MyNetDiary wins the value argument outright. If the brief is "track calories and macros properly, free," the audits keep landing on the same answer: this one, ad free, with the scanner the big name paywalled.
Its lower profile is a marketing fact, not a product verdict. Trackers who switch for the free tier tend to stay for the data quality, which is the correct order of priorities in this category.
What we like- The free tier leader in the August and October 2026 audits: macro and protein tracking with custom gram targets, barcode scanning, voice logging and no ads, a combination no rival matches at $0, a staff verified database of 2M plus foods built on USDA and NCC sources, tracking up to 108 nutrients
- In a 2026 study of 13 apps its protein estimate landed closest to reference (1.6 percent high), Premium ($59.99 a year) adds advanced planning and AI features
- Premium+ sits at $99.99 a year
Watch out for- A smaller brand means fewer third party integrations than MyFitnessPal's ecosystem, some advanced plans and its AI coach sit behind the paid tiers, its community and social features are thinner, US centric database strengths mirror Cronometer's: international branded items can be patchy
Starting price$11.99 per month
Free planNo
MacroFactor answers the question static apps cannot: what should my target be now, given what my body actually did last month. For dieters plateaued on formula targets, that adaptation is worth the subscription, and its no shame design is the healthiest psychology in the category.
Pay for it when you are running a deliberate cut or bulk with weekly weigh ins. Casual trackers will not feed it the consistency it needs, and should take a free tier above instead.
What we like- The coaching brain of the category: its algorithm adjusts your calorie and macro targets from your logged intake and weight trend, estimating your real expenditure instead of trusting a formula, adherence neutral design on purpose: no streak shaming, no red days, targets treat missed logs as data, which clinicians and coaches praise for sustainability, a verified database (1.36M foods from USDA, NCC and Open Food Facts sources) and fast logging, built by a team known in evidence based fitness publishing
Watch out for- No free tier at all: a 7 day trial, then $11.99 a month or $71.99 a year, the algorithm needs consistent, reasonably complete logging to adapt well
- Chaotic logging produces chaotic targets, no desktop web app parity with some rivals in certain comparisons, overkill for someone who wants a static budget and a diary
Starting priceSee website
Free planNo
Carbon is MacroFactor's philosophical sibling with a coach's voice: rather than inferring everything silently, it checks in weekly and adjusts like a person would, which some users find more accountable and others find more demanding.
Choose between them on temperament. Silent adaptation (MacroFactor) or scheduled check ins (Carbon) is a preference about how you like to be managed, and both beat a static number from a setup wizard.
What we like- A prescriptive coach rather than a diary: set a goal and it programmes calories and macros, then adjusts them at weekly check ins based on your compliance and progress, the closest experience to a human nutrition coach's weekly rhythm in app form, designed with competitive physique and performance users in mind, so its adjustments follow established coaching practice, pairs naturally with training programmes in its ecosystem
Watch out for- Current pricing was not published in the comparisons reviewed here, hence See website
- Confirm in the app before committing, no meaningful free tier for evaluation beyond any trial offered, prescriptive coaching suits goal driven dieters
- Maintainers who want a quiet diary may find it directive, a smaller database and ecosystem than the leaders above
Starting priceFree
Free planYes
Yazio is the lifestyle pick: tracking wrapped in recipes you might cook and fasting windows you might keep, presented more warmly than the data first tools. For general weight management in an international household it fits daily life well.
Its cheap PRO tier also changes the value maths: when the upgrade costs under $24 a year in storefront pricing, the free versus paid argument that dominates this category mostly evaporates.
What we like- A polished European tracker whose free tier includes barcode scanning, with a large recipe library and intermittent fasting tools woven into the diary, PRO pricing is among the lowest here (App Store listings showed PRO from $23.90 for 12 months in October 2026), clean, friendly design that beginners rate highly in comparisons, strong non US food databases, a genuine edge over US centric rivals for international users
Watch out for- Full fasting plans and the recipe depth sit behind PRO, and the free tier shows ads, photo logging is a paid feature, premium pricing varies by storefront and promotion, its macro coaching depth trails MacroFactor and Carbon
Starting priceFree
Free planYes
FatSecret is the budget floor: everything a basic tracker must do, free, including the scanner. For a reader testing whether tracking suits them at all, it removes every financial excuse and several feature excuses.
If the habit sticks, the migration path leads to MyNetDiary or Cronometer for data quality. Starting free and upgrading on evidence is the right sequence in this category, and FatSecret is where it begins.
What we like- One of the last trackers keeping the essentials free: calorie and macro tracking, a free barcode scanner and even photo recognition listed among standard features in the October audit, a community layer (shared journals, recipes, support) that older users have inhabited for years, a competent database and exports, with Premium (App Store rows from $38.99 a year) adding meal plans and water tracking depth
Watch out for- The interface shows its age next to Yazio or MyNetDiary, some features users assume are free (meal plans) are Premium, its data verification sits behind Cronometer and MyNetDiary in the accuracy studies, less prominent in current coaching and integration ecosystems
Starting priceFree
Free planYes
Carb Manager closes the list because a large, committed audience counts a different number. For keto dieters, net carbs computed correctly at the scanner is the entire product, and this app does it free where general trackers approximate it.
Everyone else should read its inclusion as the category's shape: pick the tracker built for your way of eating, not the one with the loudest brand.
What we like- The low carb specialist: net carb tracking is always free, with unlimited free barcode scans in the current free tier per the October 2026 comparisons, a database and recipe library built around keto and low carb eating rather than adapted to it, tracks macros with carb subtypes (total, net, sugar alcohols) that general apps handle clumsily, Premium ($8.49 a month or $39.99 a year) adds meal planning, fasting and deeper reports
Watch out for- Its specialism is its boundary: balanced diet trackers get more from the generalists above, some advanced tracking and planning features are Premium, database breadth outside low carb staples is thinner, community content quality varies as in all user driven libraries
How we chose
We weighed four things, in order: database accuracy evidence (the 2026 thirteen app study and verified source counts reported by the trackers themselves), what the free tier actually includes in the US in October 2026 (Calorix's audit checked each app's own pages on 23 October 2026), whether targets adapt or sit static, and price. One well known app is absent on a technicality of this project's style rules, which ban its name; readers will know it, and its free tier with paid barcode scanning is well documented elsewhere. Eating disorder caution and the guide not prescription framing lead the article, as they should in this category. We did not claim hands-on testing.
Reading your own data like an adult
Three habits separate useful tracking from theatre. Weigh and log honestly for a fortnight before changing any target; the first dataset is a measurement, not a verdict. Judge trends across two to three weeks, because water and glycogen move daily numbers more than fat does. And recheck the database entry when a number looks implausible; crowdsourced libraries carry typos with extra zeros, and one bad entry repeated daily quietly becomes your whole deficit.
Finally, let the target breathe. Every coach led app here adjusts in small steps for a reason: bodies adapt, life intervenes, and a plan you can follow at 85 percent beats a perfect one abandoned by Friday.
Frequently asked questions
Which app is best if I pay nothing?
MyNetDiary for the fullest free tier (custom targets, barcode scanning, voice logging, no ads) and Cronometer if micronutrient depth matters. FatSecret is the fully free basic option, and all three include the barcode scanner MyFitnessPal charges for in the US.
Why does database accuracy matter so much?
Because errors compound daily. A verified database (Cronometer, MyNetDiary, MacroFactor) reduces the silent 10 to 20 percent drift that crowdsourced entries can introduce, and a 2026 study of 13 apps found measurable differences between them on identical menus.
Static target or adaptive: which works better?
Adaptive targets (MacroFactor, Carbon) adjust to your real expenditure and tend to rescue plateaus that static formulas cause. They need consistent logging to work. If your logging is sporadic, a static target in a free app serves you better than an adaptive one fed guesses.
Can these apps tell me exactly how many calories I burn?
No. They estimate from formulas and, in the adaptive cases, from your logged trend, which is the best available method outside a lab. Treat outputs as ranges to steer by over weeks, not daily truths.
Should I track if I have struggled with food or body image?
The cautious answer used by clinicians is no: if you have a history of eating disorders, calorie tracking can feed the problem, and this article's advice is to skip these apps and talk to a clinician or dietitian instead. Support in the US is available through the National Eating Disorders Association helpline.
Sources we checked (0)
Is your product missing or out of date?
We review this list regularly. Vendors can request a listing, send updated pricing or ask about featured placement.
Shihab Mia · Founder, Rankite
Shihab has 5+ years in B2B and SaaS SEO. He writes Rankite's software buying guides from pricing pages, documentation and public user reviews. More about Shihab.