Best Calorie Counter App in 2026: 9 Apps Compared

MyFitnessPal is still the default pick for many people, mainly because you can find almost any food, brand, or restaurant item in its database. It links to many fitness trackers and apps, and its diary, weight log, and macro view are familiar to long-time users. Premium adds barcode scanning, meal scanning, recipe import, and a meal planner.

The free tier is weaker than it used to be. Barcode and meal scanning sit behind Premium, which costs $19.99 per month or $79.99 per year in the sources we checked. If you scan most foods, that paywall matters, and you should check the free tier on your phone before you commit to logging here.

Lose It is the easiest app here to start with if calorie counting feels new. Setup asks for your goal, activity, and weight plan, then gives a daily calorie budget and a simple diary. Logging a meal takes a few taps once you save frequent foods, and the weight chart makes progress easy to see without extra charts.

Premium is where the faster logging tools live. New accounts need Premium for barcode, photo, and voice logging, and Premium costs about $79.99 per year in recent sources. If you log mainly by searching foods, the free tier may be enough, but barcode users should budget for Premium or pick FatSecret.

Cronometer is our pick if you care about nutrients, not just calories. Its free tier tracks calories and macros plus many vitamins and minerals, using verified sources where possible, which helps people who want to check protein, fiber, sodium, or iron. Barcode scanning is available on the free tier, which is a clear advantage over MyFitnessPal and Lose It.

The detail is also the drawback. A user who only wants a daily calorie total may find the nutrient panels, targets, and charts more than needed. Gold costs about $54.95 per year in recent sources and adds fasting, custom charts, and more, but most basic users can stay free.

Yazio suits people who want recipes and a fasting timer alongside calorie counting. The free tier covers basic logging, while Pro adds barcode scanning, meal plans, and deeper nutrition analysis for about $47.90 per year in recent sources. Its recipe section helps when you cook at home and want ideas that fit your calorie budget.

The free tier is limited for scanners. If you scan packaged foods daily, you will hit the Pro paywall quickly. Yazio also lacks a full web app, so phone-first users will be happier than people who prefer logging on a computer.

Lifesum is the most polished app in this list, with clean onboarding, meal plans, and a visual score for food choices. Premium adds meal planning, fasting tools, and deeper tracking, which makes it a good fit if you want guidance rather than a bare diary. The design makes daily logging feel less like admin work.

Free users should test it first. Many planning and analysis tools need Premium, and the free tier works best as a preview rather than a long-term tracker. If you plan to pay, Lifesum is pleasant, but free users will get more from Cronometer or FatSecret.

FatSecret is the best free option for basic calorie and macro tracking. Its free tier includes barcode scanning, the full food database, and macro tracking, without pushing you to a subscription for the core diary. That makes it a strong pick if MyFitnessPal or Lose It paywalls frustrate you.

The trade-off is polish. Ads appear on the free tier, and the design feels older than Lifesum or Yazio. Premium Plus costs about $19.99 per year in recent sources and mainly removes ads and adds extras, so most users can stay free and still log well.

MyNetDiary is a strong middle ground between a simple diary and a nutrient tool. Its free tier offers detailed tracking, and its verified search filter helps you avoid the duplicate or wrong entries that plague large user databases. Health tracking options, including diabetes-related views, make it useful for people who track more than weight.

Premium adds an AI coach and advanced planning, but the core diary works well free. If you want a clean, accurate food search without paying for Cronometer Gold or MyFitnessPal Premium, MyNetDiary deserves a trial week.

MacroFactor is built for lifters and people running a structured cut or bulk, rather than casual logging. It adjusts your calorie and macro targets over time based on your weight trend and logged intake, instead of fixing one number at signup. That adaptive approach helps when your activity or weight changes during a training block.

It is not a free app, and that is the main barrier. It costs $11.99 per month or $71.99 per year in recent sources, with a trial but no permanent free tier. It also works best if you log most days, so inconsistent loggers will get less value from the adaptive engine.

Carb Manager is the clear pick for low carb and keto tracking, because net carbs are central, not an afterthought. It shows net carbs alongside calories and macros, offers keto recipes and meal plans, and includes a food database geared to low carb eating. That focus saves keto users from doing net carb math by hand.

General calorie counters may find the keto framing distracting, and some premium features cost about $39.99 per year. If you do not follow a low carb plan, Cronometer or FatSecret will be simpler, but for keto, Carb Manager is hard to beat.