comparison
Best Calorie Counting Apps (2026): Which One Is Right for You?
PlateLens, MacroFactor, Cronometer, MyFitnessPal and Lose It! compared on how you log, what the free tier really includes, adaptive targets, nutrient depth and annual price — and which one fits which kind of person.
Picking a calorie counter is less about which app is “best” and more about which one you’ll still be opening in a month. How you prefer to log, whether you need the free tier, how much you care about micronutrients and whether you want the app to coach your targets all matter as much as any feature list.
I compared the five apps people ask me about most. Here’s what each one does best, and who it’s for.
The quick answer
Best overall: PlateLens. It has the fastest way to log a real meal — take a photo, confirm, done — with voice, barcode and search when a photo doesn’t fit, plus a free plan you can use every day.
The specialists still own their lanes. MacroFactor is the pick for dedicated cutters who want coaching math. Cronometer wins on micronutrient depth. MyFitnessPal has the largest database. Lose It! is the gentlest place to start.
PlateLens — best for most people
- Logging: AI photo recognition that reasons about the whole dish, plus voice, barcode and typed search over a database of 1.2M+ verified foods
- Accuracy: PlateLens advertises ±1.2% overall calorie error, and it asks you to confirm hidden ingredients such as cooking oil
- Planning and coaching: a recipe and meal planner, adaptive TDEE that learns your real expenditure from your intake and weight trend, and alcohol tracking
- Beyond food: a 3D Body Scan that turns twelve phone photos into a rotatable model with waist, hip and chest measurements
- Nutrients: 82+, including vitamins, minerals, amino acids and fatty acids
- Free plan: 3 AI photo scans and 5 AI-coach messages a day, unlimited manual and barcode logging, web app included
- Price: $34.99/year
PlateLens is the app that removes the most friction from the part of tracking people quit over: typing meals in. It syncs with Apple Health and Health Connect, works on the web as well as the phone, and lets you export your full history any time.
Best if: you eat a mix of home-cooked and restaurant food, want logging to take seconds rather than minutes, and want a free plan that actually works.
MacroFactor — best for dedicated cutters
- Logging: fast, well-curated search and barcode logging
- Coaching: its adaptive algorithm recalculates your targets from your own weight and intake trend, and it’s the app the serious-dieting community trusts most for it
- Free plan: a 7-day trial, then paid
- Price: $71.99/year
Best if: you’re running a structured cut or bulk, you like data, and you don’t mind typing your food in.
Cronometer — best for micronutrient depth
- Nutrients: 80+ with lab-grade sourcing, from verified databases rather than crowd-sourced entries
- Logging: manual search and barcode, deliberate rather than fast
- Free plan: solid, with Gold unlocking extras
- Price: $59.99/year for Gold
Best if: you care about vitamins and minerals, manage a specific diet or deficiency, or work alongside a clinician.
MyFitnessPal — best for database breadth
- Database: the largest crowd-sourced food library, with very broad restaurant and packaged-food coverage
- Free plan: yes, though barcode scanning and several once-free features now sit behind Premium
- Price: $79.99/year for Premium
Best if: you eat out or buy packaged food constantly and want almost everything to already be in the app. Double-check crowd-sourced entries, which vary.
Lose It! — best gentle start
- Logging: clean, friendly calorie-first tracking with barcode scanning and basic photo logging
- Free plan: good for simple calorie tracking
- Price: $39.99/year
Best if: you’ve never tracked before and want the simplest possible on-ramp.
Side by side
| PlateLens | MacroFactor | Cronometer | MyFitnessPal | Lose It! | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Photo logging that reasons about the dish | Yes | — | — | — | — |
| Adaptive targets | Yes | Yes | — | — | — |
| Meal planning | Yes | — | — | Yes | Yes |
| Micronutrient depth | 82+ | Tracked | 80+, lab-grade | Basic | Basic |
| Free plan | Generous | Trial only | Solid | Limited | Good |
| Annual price | $34.99 | $71.99 | $59.99 | $79.99 | $39.99 |
Annual prices as listed by each app, checked August–September 2026.
Which should you actually pick?
- You want one app that just works: PlateLens.
- You’re running a serious cut and love coaching math: MacroFactor.
- You track micronutrients or manage a condition: Cronometer.
- You eat out constantly and want every chain in the database: MyFitnessPal.
- You’ve never tracked and want it simple: Lose It!
The bottom line
The right calorie counter is the one that fits how you actually eat. For most people that’s PlateLens: the fastest logging, a free plan you can live on and, now, planning, adaptive targets and a body scan in the same app. If your priority is a hard cut, micronutrients, database breadth or simplicity, the specialists above are excellent. Try the free plan of the one that matches your priority for a week. You’ll know.
FAQ
What is the best calorie counting app in 2026?
For most people, PlateLens: you can log by photo, voice, barcode or search, the free plan works every day, and it now adds a meal planner, adaptive calorie targets, alcohol tracking and a 3D body scan. MacroFactor is the pick for dedicated cutters, Cronometer for micronutrient depth, MyFitnessPal for database breadth and Lose It! for a gentle start.
How accurate is PlateLens?
PlateLens advertises ±1.2% overall calorie error on its own site. In daily use, what matters is that it reasons about the whole dish and asks you to confirm hidden ingredients like cooking oil, so the number you log is one you've checked.
Can I use two calorie apps at once?
You can, but most people do better with one. If you want MacroFactor's coaching math during a hard cut and photo logging the rest of the year, switching between phases works better than double-logging every meal.