10 Best Calorie Counting Apps of 2026

Cronometer is the pick for anyone whose main worry is whether the numbers are right. Instead of an open, user-submitted list, it is built on a curated database of more than 1.1 million verified foods, including analyzed entries, and it tracks calories, protein, carbs, fat, fiber and more than 95 vitamins and minerals. The free Basic plan covers food, exercise and biometric logging, and barcode scanning is free, which is not the case in MyFitnessPal or Lose It. Gold adds photo and voice logging, a fasting tracker, a recipe importer, Crono Coach and removes ads, at $10.99 a month or $59.99 a year in the US App Store. It syncs with Apple Health, Apple Watch, Fitbit, Garmin, Oura and Whoop, and can import sleep data to show how caffeine or alcohol relate to it. The trade-off is density: the diary shows a lot of nutrient detail, so it takes longer to learn than Lose It or Yazio. Free users also see ads.

MyNetDiary comes closest to Cronometer on data quality while being quicker to use. Its database holds more than 2 million staff-verified foods built on USDA and NCC research sources, with up to 108 nutrients per entry, and the company says its team reviews 2,500 to 3,500 foods every day. The free version is generous for this category: an unlimited food diary, a free barcode scanner, voice logging, macro and protein tracking, water and exercise tracking, charts without caps and an Apple Watch app. It has no ads and does not require an account. Premium adds Meal Scan for photographing a plate, intermittent fasting, calorie and macro cycling, health tracking for blood pressure, glucose and A1C, and Advanced Autopilot, which estimates your energy expenditure from your logs and weight trend and updates targets weekly. A separate Premium Plus tier adds an AI Coach and restaurant menu scanning. The US App Store lists several Premium prices, so we mark the price as pending.

MacroFactor is the strongest tool here for people who want their targets to adjust as they go. Each week it compares your calorie and macro intake with your weight trend to estimate your actual energy expenditure, then adjusts calorie, protein and macro targets for the week ahead. You can let it coach you, collaborate on targets, or set your own macros in Manual mode, including different macros on different days. Logging is quick, with AI photo logging, written meal descriptions, speech, barcode scanning and nutrition label scanning, and the food database has more than 1.36 million verified entries. The developer calls the algorithm adherence neutral: if you go over or skip a day, the check-in still works and the app shows no warnings or red numbers. The catch is price. There is a free trial but no free tier, and US pricing is $11.99 a month, $47.99 a half year or $71.99 a year. That is a clean deal with no ad-supported tier to upsell from, but it costs more than Cronometer Gold.

Lose It is the easiest app here to start with. You complete a profile, and it calculates a personalized daily calorie budget and weight loss schedule, then you log food, exercise and weight against that number. FitNow says the app has helped over 57 million users since it launched in 2008, and its food database holds 56+ million items and recipes, including popular restaurant meals. The free plan covers calorie tracking, a weight loss plan and community support groups. The limit is what sits behind Premium: the barcode scanner, photo meal logging, AI voice logging, macro and nutrient tracking, intermittent fasting, meal targets and device syncs with Fitbit, Garmin and Withings. FitNow does not describe the database as verified, unlike Cronometer's and MyNetDiary's curated sets. Lose It has also added GLP-1 support, with medication logging and estimated levels. The US App Store lists many different Premium prices, so we mark pricing as pending.

Carb Manager is the best choice if net carbs matter more to you than total calories. It tracks net carbs and sugar alcohols for free, gives unlimited free barcode scans, and searches a database of 1M+ foods, so the free Basic account already works as a keto calorie counter with exercise and weight logging. Premium costs $3.33 a month billed annually on the vendor's site, the lowest paid price in this list, and adds micronutrient tracking, blood glucose, ketone and insulin logging, carb cycling, Smart Macros that adjust goals as you lose weight, an intermittent fasting tracker, meal plans and more than 5,000 keto recipes. Advanced reports cover streaks, meal analysis, correlations and projections, and Premium syncs with Fitbit and Garmin. The narrow focus is the main limit: if you follow a balanced or high-carb plan, a general tracker such as Cronometer or MyNetDiary fits better. Its database also includes member-submitted recipes, so check entries for homemade dishes.

FatSecret is a straightforward free calorie counter with less upselling than most. The free app includes a food diary, a barcode scanner, photo recognition for foods and meals, an exercise diary, a diet calendar, a weight tracker, reminders and reports with goals for calories and macros. It runs on Apple Watch with complications and syncs calories burned, steps, foods and weight with Apple Health, plus Fitbit exercise data. Premium is narrow: dietitian-built meal plans for styles such as keto, Mediterranean and high protein low carb, advanced meal planning, six extra meal headings and water tracking. That means you can count calories well without paying. The weak points are depth and transparency. FatSecret calls its database the world's highest quality but does not publish its size or how entries are checked, and it tracks fewer nutrients than Cronometer or MyNetDiary. The US App Store lists several monthly, quarterly and annual prices, so we mark pricing as pending.

MyFitnessPal has the biggest food list in this category, with 20.5M+ foods including restaurant dishes, so you rarely fail to find an item. It tracks calories, macros and water, logs workouts and steps, and connects with more than 40 trackers, smartwatches and health apps. A built-in AI Coach answers questions about your nutrition and workouts based on your logs, and GLP-1 users can log doses and symptoms. For this list's angle, though, it scores lower on value. The barcode scanner, meal scan, voice logging, custom macro goals and ad-free logging all sit in Premium, at $19.99 a month or $79.99 a year in the US App Store, and Premium Plus adds meal plans on top. MyFitnessPal also does not describe its database as verified, unlike Cronometer and MyNetDiary, so check entries before you rely on them. The website offers a free 7-day Premium pass to try it.

Yazio pairs a calorie counter with an intermittent fasting tracker, which suits people who want both in one place. The free app includes a food diary with custom calorie goals, a barcode scanner, macro and nutrition analysis, a water tracker with reminders, step and workout tracking and a database of 4 million+ searchable items. You can start without signing up. The fasting tracker supports plans such as 16:8 and 5:2, and the recipe section has more than 2,900 goal-friendly recipes with filters for low-carb, vegetarian and vegan, a grocery list and a cooking mode. Pro adds in-depth food analysis, custom meal plans, mood and body tracking, long-term trends, Fitbit and Garmin sync, and removes ads. Yazio does not describe how its database entries are verified, so it trails Cronometer and MyNetDiary on accuracy. The US App Store lists many Pro prices across 3, 6 and 12 month terms, so we mark pricing as pending.

Lifesum leans toward guided healthy eating rather than precise counting. You can log meals by photo, voice, typed text or barcode scan, and it tracks calories, macros, water and fruit, vegetable and fish intake. The app builds nutrition plans from your goals, preferences and restrictions, with styles such as keto, paleo and high protein, and offers meal plans with grocery lists and a library of thousands of recipes. A weekly Life Score rates your eating, hydration and activity to point at what to change next. It syncs with Apple Health for exercise, steps and weight, and exports food, nutrition and water data back. Lifesum is free to download and use with limited features, and the full experience needs a 1-month, 3-month or annual Premium plan. It does not publish its database size or how entries are checked, which is why it ranks below the verified trackers for this list. The US App Store shows Premium prices from $21.99 to $119.99 without a clear current plan, so pricing is marked pending.

Noom is a weight loss program first and a calorie counter second. Noom Weight combines daily lessons on habits and behavior change with AI food logging across 1M+ food items, protein and calorie tracking, meal plans, recipes, communities and optional one-to-one coaching. It also includes more than 1,000 fitness, stretching and meditation classes and syncs with Apple Health, Fitbit and Garmin. Noom Med adds online access to clinicians and, if you are eligible, GLP-1 medication, with plans from $39 a month, with pricing that varies by dosage. Noom states Noom Weight plans as low as $17 a month, based on a $209 annual web plan. For someone who only wants to count calories accurately, that is expensive next to Cronometer or MyNetDiary, and there is no free plan. The food database is also smaller than the dedicated trackers'. Pick Noom if the lessons and coaching are what you are paying for.