Best Calorie Counting Apps for 2027

A calorie counting app does one job: it adds up the energy in what you eat so you can compare it with what your body needs. Every app here can do that arithmetic. What separates them for 2027 is how much effort each meal takes, how much you can use without paying, and what a year of the paid tier costs. On all three, PlateLens comes out ahead for most people.

This is our list for the year ahead. New to counting? Start with what a calorie is and how portion sizes work.

The 2027 shortlist at a glance

PlateLens prices were recorded on 10 August 2026, Cronometer’s on 20 September 2026, and Lose It!’s come from its App Store listing. We re-check all of them monthly.

What we looked for

• Seconds per meal. The fewer searches a meal needs, the more likely it gets logged. Snapping, scanning, speaking and reusing a saved meal all shorten the job.
• A free version you can live with. Building a habit shouldn’t require a credit card.
• A fair yearly price for the paid tier, if you ever want it.
• Detail beyond calories, so the same diary can answer questions about protein, fiber or salt later on.

1. PlateLens: our top calorie counter for 2027

Most counting apps were designed around a search box. PlateLens was designed around the plate in front of you. Point the camera at a bowl of chili and it lists what it sees, estimates each portion and leaves every line open for you to adjust, so a home-cooked meal takes seconds instead of a dozen searches. Packaged food goes in through the barcode scanner, a quick snack through a short typed search, and when your hands are full you can describe the meal out loud. Favourite recipes and repeat breakfasts can be saved and re-logged in a moment.

Behind each entry sits a detailed profile of more than 80 nutrients, so fiber, sodium, calcium and iron accumulate in the background while you watch calories. Net carbs are calculated automatically, and the macro screen shows protein, carbs and fat both in grams and as shares of the day.

Your starting calorie goal and macro split come from your profile. As weigh-ins build up, adaptive TDEE compares what you eat with how your weight is moving and refines that goal. The same app holds a fasting timer, a glucose log beside your meals, alcohol tracking, a meal planner that turns chosen recipes into a shopping list, and a 3D Body Scan that estimates waist, hip and chest measurements from about a dozen phone photos. It runs on iPhone, Android and Apple Watch, opens as a full web app at platelens.app/web, syncs with Apple Health and Health Connect in both directions, and lets you download your records as a JSON file whenever you like.

What it costs: the free version keeps going indefinitely, and signing up takes no payment details. Barcode scans and typed entries are unlimited, photo logging covers three meals a day and the built-in coach answers five questions a day. Premium removes those two daily limits for $34.99 a year or $9.99 a month, the lowest yearly figure in our table.

2. FatSecret: the long-running free diary

FatSecret has offered free calorie counting for years. The food diary, barcode scanner, exercise log and weight journal cost nothing, and it works in a browser as well as on phones. Its forums are an unusual extra: members post meals, recipes and progress, and some counters find that keeps them going. Logging relies on search and scanning rather than photos, and each food shows less nutrient detail than our top pick. Paid extras are priced by region.

3. MyNetDiary: structured and calm

MyNetDiary has a tidy, orderly feel. Its free version sets calorie and macro targets and reads barcodes, on a phone or in a web browser, and the same company makes a separate app for people managing diabetes. Planning and deeper analysis tools sit in its paid tier, priced by country.

4. MacroFactor: paid coaching for lifters

MacroFactor is less a counter than a coach that keeps a food log. Each week it looks at what you ate and how your weight moved, estimates your real energy use and sets new calorie and macro targets, an approach many lifters like during a planned cut or bulk. There is no free plan: it costs $71.99 a year, $47.99 for six months or $11.99 a month. It lives on phones only and needs a few weeks of consistent entries before its estimates settle.

5. Lose It!: one simple budget

Lose It! turns your goal weight and timeline into a single daily calorie budget and keeps the screen cheerful and uncluttered, which suits people who find numbers intimidating. Snap It recognises photographed food, the scanner handles packaging, and streaks and challenges reward consistency. Each food shows fewer nutrients than in the leaders, and many insights need Premium, listed at $39.99 a year on the App Store.

6. Cronometer: for micronutrient detail

Cronometer is built for people who want their vitamins and minerals as visible as their calories. The company says one food can carry up to 95 nutrients and compounds, based on data it describes as lab-analysed, which makes it a favourite for vegan diets or when a clinician has asked you to watch a particular nutrient. The free version scans barcodes and shows ads; Gold ($59.99 a year or $10.99 a month) adds photo and voice logging and the Crono Coach assistant. Expect more searching and weighing than with a photo-first app.

7. MyFitnessPal: the biggest catalogue

MyFitnessPal’s members have built the largest food catalogue of any counter, with deep coverage of chain restaurants and regional brands. That breadth cuts both ways: because anyone can add entries, a single dish can appear several times with different numbers. Barcode scanning, Meal Scan and voice logging are Premium benefits, at $79.99 a year or $19.99 a month.

Three habits that make any counter work

1. Log at the table, not at bedtime. Memory is generous to snacks. A photo or a scan as you sit down takes less effort than rebuilding the day later.
2. Count the extras. Cooking oil, butter, dressings, milk in coffee and drinks are where daily totals quietly go missing. A tablespoon of oil is roughly 120 calories.
3. Judge by the week. Daily totals bounce around. A seven-day average set against your weight trend tells you far more. Our guides to TDEE and calorie deficits explain what to compare it with.

Our recommendation

If you want one app that makes counting quick and keeps rich nutrition data in the background, start with PlateLens on its free plan and upgrade only if you want unlimited photo logging. Pick FatSecret or MyNetDiary for a no-cost diary, MacroFactor for paid coaching, Lose It! for the simplest screen, Cronometer for micronutrients and MyFitnessPal if chain restaurants fill your week.

Counting is a tool, not a test. If tracking numbers starts to make eating feel stressful, step back and speak with a doctor or registered dietitian.