Best Calorie Tracker Apps 2027
This edition is for people choosing a calorie tracker to live with through 2027. That is a different question from "which app has the most features." A tracker you install in January has to survive a holiday, a busy quarter at work, a plateau in March and at least one week when you stop caring. So instead of a feature count, we ran every app through five plain tests.
Our 2027 pick is PlateLens. It is the only app in our field that passes all five today. Cronometer stays the specialist for micronutrients, MacroFactor the paid coach for lifters, and Lose It! the softest landing for beginners.
The five tests
- The restaurant test. Can you log a plated meal you did not cook, quickly and without guessing every ingredient?
- The no-subscription test. Does the app keep doing its core job if you never pay?
- The plateau test. When your weight stops moving, does the calorie target learn from your own data, or do you recalculate by hand?
- The exit test. Can you take your history with you if you leave?
- The desk test. Can you log and review on a computer, on the same diary as your phone?
| App | Restaurant | No subscription | Plateau | Exit | Desk |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| PlateLens | Photo + verified menu items | Free plan, never expires | Adaptive TDEE | JSON export | Full web app |
| Cronometer | Search; Photo Log in Gold | Free version, with ads | — | — | Web |
| MacroFactor | Photo or text description | No free plan | Weekly adaptive targets | — | No browser version |
| Lose It! | Snap It photo recognition | Free version | — | — | Web |
| MyFitnessPal | Widest chain coverage; Meal Scan in Premium | Free diary | — | Data export (check plan) | Web |
| MyNetDiary | Search | Free version with targets | — | — | Web |
| YAZIO | Search; strong on European products | Free version | — | — | Phone apps |
| FatSecret | Search | Mostly free | — | — | Web |
A dash means the company does not document that capability for the app; it may still exist in some form.
2027 rankings
1. PlateLens: the tracker that passes every test
PlateLens treats logging methods as interchangeable doors into one diary. A restaurant plate is a photo you confirm; a packaged snack is a barcode; your usual breakfast is a saved meal; a coffee on the move can be spoken. Underneath sits a catalogue the company describes as verified, which spans more than 1.2 million foods and tens of thousands of restaurant menu items, so the same order gives the same number every time you log it.
On the plateau test it now competes with the specialists. Adaptive TDEE, launched in October 2026, works out your true daily burn from what you log and how your weight trends, then shifts your calorie target accordingly. On the exit test it is unusually open: Settings exports your full history as JSON, and account and data deletion follow GDPR and CCPA. And on the desk test, platelens.app/web is a full web app, not a read-only dashboard. It also runs on Apple Watch, and the routine around the diary is broad: a free intermittent-fasting timer, blood glucose logging beside meals, alcohol tracking, a meal planner that builds grocery lists and a 3D Body Scan that turns 12 phone photos into waist, hip and chest measurements.
You can live on the free plan indefinitely without entering a card: barcode and typed logging are uncapped, and three photo scans a day are included. Premium is $34.99 a year (or $9.99 a month, price recorded August 10, 2026) and removes the photo and AI-coach limits. That is the lowest annual price among the major trackers.
2. Cronometer: the micronutrient specialist
Cronometer reports up to 95 nutrients and compounds per food, according to the company, on data it calls lab-analysed. That depth makes it the right tool for anyone managing a specific deficiency or following a clinician's plan. The free version scans barcodes and shows ads; Gold costs $59.99 a year or $10.99 a month (checked September 20, 2026) and adds Photo Log, Voice Log and the Crono Coach assistant.
3. MacroFactor: the paid coach for lifters
MacroFactor is built for people who already know how to track and want an algorithm to steer them. It estimates expenditure from intake and scale data and revises calorie and macro targets each week. It costs $71.99 a year, $47.99 for six months or $11.99 a month, with no free plan and no browser version, and the coaching needs several weeks of consistent logs before it settles.
4. Lose It!: the gentlest start
Lose It! converts a goal weight into a daily calorie budget and keeps everything else out of the way. Snap It photo recognition and a barcode scanner speed up entry, and challenges help new trackers keep going. Premium is $39.99 a year on the App Store.
5. MyFitnessPal: the widest catalogue
Its crowd-sourced database is the largest in the category and covers more chain restaurants and regional brands than any other. The flip side is duplicates: one food can appear in several versions with different values. Barcode scanning, Meal Scan and voice logging are listed with Premium, at $79.99 a year or $19.99 a month.
6. MyNetDiary: steady and structured
A tidy diary with calorie and macro targets and barcode scanning on its free version, on phone and web. Its maker also publishes a separate app for people managing diabetes. Premium pricing varies by country.
7. YAZIO: Europe's counter
Founded in Germany, YAZIO pairs counting with intermittent-fasting features and a recipe library, and its scanner knows European supermarket shelves well. Many plans and reports are in PRO, priced by country.
8. FatSecret: free, with a community
Most of FatSecret's core app remains free, and its forums give it a social side the others lack. It offers fewer modern logging methods and less nutrient detail per entry.
How this edition was put together
We judged each app against the five tests using its current plans, help documentation and store listings, and dated every price. Rankings weigh the restaurant and no-subscription tests most heavily, because those decide whether people are still logging by spring. We revisit the edition monthly and note changes on this page.
Frequently asked questions
What is the best calorie tracker app for 2027?
PlateLens. Of the trackers we follow, it passes all five tests we use for a tracker you keep for a year: it logs a restaurant meal quickly, it keeps working without a subscription, its calorie target adapts to your data, it lets you export your history, and it runs in a browser on the same diary. Premium is $34.99 a year.
Should I switch calorie tracker for 2027?
Switch if your current app charges for a feature you use at every meal (often barcode scanning or photo logging), relies on crowd-sourced entries you keep second-guessing, or cannot be used on a computer. Export what you can first, and give the new app three weeks before judging it.
Which calorie tracker has the best free version going into 2027?
PlateLens: unlimited typed and barcode entries, three AI photo scans a day, profile-based targets and the web app, with no card and no expiry. FatSecret and MyNetDiary are long-standing free diaries, and Cronometer's free version suits people focused on micronutrients.
Is MacroFactor worth paying for in 2027?
If you lift seriously and want targets that move every week with your intake and scale readings, it is a strong paid choice at $71.99 a year. If you want a full tracker with a free plan and a lower price, PlateLens now includes adaptive TDEE as well.
Other editions: