The 7 Best Calorie Counter Apps in 2024

The left hand uses a calculator to calculate caloric intake, while the right hand uses a fork to eat pasta

If you don’t count your calories well, you may fail to account for your most valuable asset: your health.

Calories from food become either a source of energy or extra fat in your body. Excess fat leads to obesity, which leads to around 3 million deaths worldwide every year. And it doesn’t help that delicious high-fat meals are readily available almost anywhere.

Thankfully, there are many applications available to help you curb your calories in this fast-food, fast-paced world. To assist you in finding the most valuable applications for this purpose, we’ve compiled a selection of the 7 best calorie-counter apps (remember to consult your trusted health professional to get the best results).

Read on to learn more about the pros, cons, pricing, and unique value propositions of the following innovative calorie counters (click on any app below to go directly to our review):

The 7 best calorie counter apps for a more balanced lifestyle

Our list is meticulously crafted by our team of Silicon Valley founders, strategists, and specialists with experience developing apps with millions of users and making billions in revenue. Our selection criteria encompass factors such as app innovation, uniqueness, functionality, performance, security, practicality, ease of use, industry recognition, and overall user satisfaction.

Each of the apps here can either be an Android app or an iOS app, or both. Hence, we have also provided the Google Play and Apple App Store download links of all the reviewed apps in this article. There are also links to the web-accessible versions of the apps, when applicable.

Without further ado, here are the calorie counter apps that made it to our list:

1. My Fitness Pal: Best app for overall nutritional monitoring

BCCA: MyFitnessPal official website

Source: MyFitnessPal official website

MyFitnessPal is the best calorie-counting app if you’re into combining detailed food and hydration tracking, nutritional analysis, and calorie budgeting all at once.

It stands out for its compatibility with various third-party apps and wearables, making it convenient to synchronize your diet and fitness tracking. The app’s accessibility is notable, offering a free version with ample tools for effective weight management, including a food diary and an exercise log.

However, recent restrictions on the barcode scanner feature to the Premium version may impact the user experience for those on the free tier. Only paying users also get additional features, such as macronutrient tracking, meal scanning, and a personalized home screen.

Overall, MyFitnessPal is a powerful app for health journeys, emphasizing the importance of regular logging and realistic goal setting for positive results.

PRICING:

  • Free
  • Monthly: $19.99
  • Annual: $79.99

PROS:

  • Holistic combination of metrics involving food, hydration, and calorie budgeting
  • Compatibility with various third-party apps and devices
  • Adequate features for free version

CONS:

  • Barcode scanner and other convenient features restricted to premium users

DEVICE COMPATIBILITY:

📲 Android, iOS

RELEVANT APP LINKS:

💡 Learn More Via Official Website

👉 Download Mobile App Via Google Play

👉 Download Mobile App Via App Store

 

2. Lose It!: Best app for those seeking online communities

BCCA: Lose It! app official website

Source: Lose It! official website

Communities are particularly valuable in motivating people who want to eat healthily. The Lose It! calorie-counting app stands out because it offers simplicity, affordability, and a vibrant online community of individuals who want to lose weight.

The app has a built-in social network, fostering a positive and active community where users share experiences and provide support. This sort of accountability is crucial for keeping weight gain in check. The app’s wholesome community closely resembles the ones on social apps like EvrSo.

Additionally, Lose It! boasts a user-friendly interface and an extensive database of 34 million foods, which makes tracking daily calorie intake effortless.

While some drawbacks include less accurate exercise tracking and the absence of meal plans, user reviews on both the App Store and Google Play overwhelmingly applaud the app’s effectiveness, ease of use, and supportive community.

PRICING:

  • Free
  • Premium (Annual): $39.99
  • Lifetime Membership (For Premium Members): $149.99
  • Lifetime Membership (For Non-Premium Members): $189.99

PROS:

  • Vibrant online community for motivation and support
  • Affordable and cost-effective rates
  • User-friendly interface
  • Extensive food database

CONS:

  • Less accurate exercise tracking
  • Absence of meal plans as a feature

DEVICE COMPATIBILITY:

📲 Android, iOS

RELEVANT APP LINKS:

💡 Learn More Via Official Website

👉 Download Mobile App Via Google Play

👉 Download Mobile App Via App Store

3. FatSecret: Best balance of credibility and realistic weight-loss strategies

BCCA: FatSecret official website

Source: FatSecret official website

FatSecret’s Calorie Counter app offers comprehensively free features and more sustainable weight-loss approaches compared to other calorie-counting apps. The ability to involve healthcare professionals in the calorie-tracking process also lends credibility to the app.

This calorie counter stands out with comprehensive and accessible features like personalized meal planning and the ability to customize calorie and macronutrient targets. Some users comment this flexibility in caloric targets makes healthy eating more attainable and realistic, given that required calories vary according to different daily activities.

Another noteworthy feature of the app is its Exercise Diary, which enables the tracking of the amount of calories burned based on the intensity of users’ physical activities.

Meanwhile, the option to collaborate with health professionals for free enhances user engagement and allows for a more medically sound approach to achieving fitness goals.

However, the app faces a significant drawback in the lack of clarity regarding the accuracy of its food database. This ambiguity may affect the app’s reliability for users who depend on precise data. While the premium version introduces advanced meal planning, some users may find it lacking substantial additional benefits, potentially raising questions about the value of upgrading.

Despite these concerns, the app boasts a positive user rating of 4.6/5 from over 490,000 Google Play reviews and has garnered over 50 million downloads in the same app store. These figures indicate widespread user satisfaction with its features.

PRICING:

  • Totally free

PROS:

  • Comprehensive free features for sustainable weight loss
  • Option for users to work with healthcare professionals
  • Customizable calorie/macronutrient targets

CONS:

  • Lack of clarity regarding the accuracy of the food database
  • Premium version may not offer substantial additional benefits

DEVICE COMPATIBILITY:

📲 Android, iOS

RELEVANT APP LINKS:

💡 Learn More Via Official Website

👉 Download Mobile App Via Google Play

👉 Download Mobile App Via App Store

 

4. MyNetDiary: Best free version app in terms of feature diversity

BCCA: MyNetDiary official website

Source: MyNetDiary official website

MyNetDiary is a comprehensive and user-friendly calorie counter app, offering a free version with diverse features.

Among the app’s free bells and whistles are barcode scanner-capable calorie tracking, activity tracking, a database of over a million approved foods, and basic charts and visualizations.

Beyond the paywall of Premium membership lies enhanced benefits like priority in technical support, more customized meal plans, and accommodations for diverse diets such as vegetarian, low-fat, or keto diet.

Despite the app’s capacity to cater to diverse weight management goals, its limitations include a pricier subscription for premium features and the absence of a virtual coach in the free version. Another key feature beyond the reach of free users is the “My Weight Plan,” which estimates how many calories are burned during physical activities.

Some users also indicate that the app could enhance engagement by incorporating more motivational and educational features that address the psychological aspect of weight management.

Though MyNetDiary may have limitations, it is a good app to use overall if you’re looking for a variety of features in a free calorie-counter app.

PRICING:

  • Free
  • Monthly: $18.95
  • Annual: $60.00

PROS:

  • Comprehensive and user-friendly features
  • Barcode scanner included in free version
  • Diverse diet plans

CONS:

  • Premium features pricier than average
  • No diet coach in the free version
  • Insignificant amount of motivational and educational content

DEVICE COMPATIBILITY:

🖥️ 💻 Desktop, laptop

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📲 Android, iOS

RELEVANT APP LINKS:

💡 ⚙️ Learn More and Access the App Via Official Website

👉 Download Mobile App Via Google Play

👉 Download Mobile App Via App Store

 

5. Lifesum: Best app for customizing diets

BCCA: Lifesum official website

Source: Lifesum official website

Lifesum is a versatile mobile app that showcases above-average flexibility in coming up with diets, a personalized approach, and affordable premium features.

The app has a user-friendly interface and highly customizable plans, providing excellent support for diverse dietary restrictions. Lifesum’s premium version, which could cost around $14.99 per month, offers advanced features such as personalized meal plans, macronutrient goal customization, and a diverse range of diet options, including ketogenic and intermittent fasting plans.

However, Lifesum does have limitations. First, it does not have community and personal coaching features. And while it excels in catering to specific dietary needs and provides a comprehensive food database, it falls short compared to some competitors in terms of the number of compatible fitness apps.

But what Lifesum lacks in coaching and third-party compatibility, it makes up for in affordability and diet-design flexibility.

PRICING:

  • Free
  • Monthly: $14.99
  • Quarterly (Three-month Period): $29.99
  • Annual: $99.99

PROS:

  • Highly customizable plans supporting diverse diets
  • Premium packages offer high value for money

CONS:

  • Lack of community and personal coaching features
  • Compatibility with a relatively smaller number of fitness apps

DEVICE COMPATIBILITY:

📲 Android, iOS

RELEVANT APP LINKS:

💡 Learn More Via Official Website

👉 Download Mobile App Via Google Play

👉 Download Mobile App Via App Store

 

6. Nutritionix Track: Best app for professional credibility

BCCA: Nutritionix Track official website

Source: Nutritionix Track official website

The main strengths of the Nutritionix Track calorie counter are its credibility and cutting-edge communication tools.

The calorie tracking app, created and maintained by registered dietitians, features a database with over one million food items. The professionally vetted food database adds credibility to the nutritional information, and many users appreciate its transparency. And with an upgrade to Track Pro, you can share your food logs with trainers or nutritionists in the Coach Portal.

Nutritionix also has highly innovative features like voice recognition and accommodations for logging mixed meals. For instance, you can record the food you eat by simply speaking into the app. As for tracking various meal types, the app allows you to easily combine takeout leftovers with home-cooked items in your food log.

While Nutritionix Track has garnered positive reviews for its straightforward calorie tracking and nutritional transparency, it’s not without its drawbacks. Some users have reported glitches with the dictation feature, highlighting a potential area for improvement.

Overall, with a vast food database, user-friendly features, and the backing of registered dietitians, Nutritionix Track emerges as a valuable tool for individuals aiming to count calories more accurately for better health outcomes.

PRICING:

  • Free
  • Track Pro (Annual): $29.00
  • Track Pro (Monthly): $6.00

PROS:

  • Professionally vetted food database
  • Cutting-edge communication technology
  • Upgrade to Track Pro allows sharing food logs with trainers or nutritionists

CONS:

  • Some users report glitches with the dictation feature
  • Potential areas for improvement in terms of user experience

DEVICE COMPATIBILITY:

🖥️ 💻 Desktop, laptop (web version),

📲 Android, iOS

RELEVANT APP LINKS:

💡⚙️ Access the Web Version and Learn More Via Official Website

👉 Download Mobile App Via Google Play

👉 Download Mobile App Via App Store

 

7. YAZIO: Best app for baby steps into weight management

BCCA: YAZIO official website

Source: YAZIO official website

YAZIO stands out as a simple and engaging calorie tracker that makes it easier for users to start their journey toward healthy eating.

The app, with over 80 million downloads and positive reviews (4.2/5 on Google Play Store and 4.7/5 on Apple App Store), is praised for its intuitive design and ease of use. For instance, the app allows you to come up with a personalized nutrition plan based on a short quiz. The barcode scanner feature also lets you effortlessly put information into the app’s food log, whether or not you pay for the YAZIO PRO package.

YAZIO also gives you an enhanced user experience through access to a vast recipe database, detailed nutritional information, a smart food rating system, and automatic fitness tracking.

However, the degree to which you can access the app’s unique features varies depending on what side of the paywall you’re on. For example, tracking certain nutrients and accessing recipe guides are reserved for paying customers.

Some users also find minor issues regarding the intermittent fasting tracker and desire more transparency on how calorie and macronutrient goals are calculated.

But overall, the app is a good and fun way to ease yourself into eating right and keeping healthy.

Eating healthy is the mission of another closely related app called Grill’d. The healthy food company’s interesting story shows the power of finding the right app development partner to deal with technical issues.

BCCA: Grill'd app crash statistics

BCCA: Grill'd app screenshot

PRICING:

  • Free
  • YAZIO PRO (Annual): $39.99

PROS:

  • Intuitive design and ease of use
  • Quick and simple setup of personalized nutrition plan
  • Barcode scanner for effortless food logging
  • Automatic fitness tracking

CONS:

  • Some users report minor issues with the intermittent fasting tracker
  • Lack of transparency on how nutritional metrics are calculated
  • Some nifty features are reserved for paying customers

DEVICE COMPATIBILITY:

📲 Android, iOS

RELEVANT APP LINKS:

💡 Learn More Via Official Website

👉 Download Mobile App Via Google Play

👉 Download Mobile App Via App Store

Eat what’s good for you

In choosing the best calorie-counter app for your needs, don’t forget to do the following:

  1. Dig deep into your personal health goals. What are some attainable goals you can aim for to help you eat better? What calorie-tracking apps best suit these goals?
  2. Digest all the information you can from competent physicians and dietitians to enjoy optimum results.

Calorie-tracking apps also teach one important lesson: watch what you eat. This applies to both food and ideas. You have to make sure the knowledge you devour will yield the best possible results for your life, for this will ultimately lead to your health and prosperity.

Now, since we’re talking ideas, have you ever wondered about starting an app business? Before dismissing this seemingly random question, please hear me out. You may be shocked to hear that this space is not just for techies like Bill Gates. In fact, any person with a big idea has a fighting chance at creating the next big app that will generate revenue while making the world a better place.

Feed your mind with fresh possibilities for success. Book a free consultation with us and learn how to get started on setting up your own app-driven business.

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