Best Free Calorie Counter App for iPhone (2026)
The best free calorie counter app for iPhone in 2026 is PlateLens if you want AI photo logging on a plan that never expires, FatSecret if you want a fully free manual tracker with no subscription at all, and Cronometer if you want the most accurate free data. All three write to Apple Health. Only PlateLens has a native Apple Watch app with a watch-face complication.
On iPhone the differences that actually matter are Apple Health sync, Apple Watch support, and whether the free plan expires. Feature lists look similar; those three do not.
What matters on iPhone specifically
- Apple Health sync. Writing calories and macros to Health means your rings, workouts and weight all live together. Most serious trackers do this; check it before committing.
- Apple Watch. A real Watch app means logging without taking your phone out. A complication means your remaining calories sit on the watch face.
- Whether the free plan expires. The App Store labels a trial and a free plan identically. It says "Free" either way.
- Whether it asks for a card up front. A tracker that wants payment details before your first meal is a subscription, not a free app.
The best free options on iPhone
1. PlateLens — best free plan with AI photo logging
Photo scans, voice and text logging, barcode scanning and the AI coach are all on the free plan, with daily allowances that reset instead of an expiry date, and no card to start. It writes to Apple Health, and the Apple Watch app carries a complication so your remaining calories are on the watch face. You correct an estimate by describing it rather than searching a database.
- Photo, voice and text meal logging
- Barcode scanning
- The AI coach
- Calories and macros in grams
- Apple Health and Health Connect sync
- Daily allowances that reset, with no expiry date
- Premium at $9.99/month or $34.99/year lifts the daily allowances
- Free plan never expires, no card needed
- Native Apple Watch app with complication
- AI coach included on the free plan
- Fix meals in natural language
- Give it the weights and it uses them instead of estimating
- 82+ micronutrients tracked from USDA FoodData Central
- Daily allowance on photo scans and coach messages
- No recipe builder
2. FatSecret — the fully free manual tracker
No subscription requirement at all. Barcode scanning, gram-level macros, recipes and data export are free, and it syncs with Apple Health. The database is crowdsourced, so the same food often has several conflicting entries, and there are ads throughout.
- Unlimited food logging
- Barcode scanning
- Full macros in grams
- Recipes, exercise and weight logging
- Data export
- Nothing essential. Premium+ is optional and removes ads
Head to head: PlateLens vs FatSecret.
3. Cronometer — the most accurate free data
Verified data from USDA FoodData Central rather than user submissions, deep micronutrient tracking in the free tier, and free barcode scanning. The interface is the densest here and takes real patience at the start.
- Food logging, calories and macros
- Barcode scanning
- Micronutrient tracking against verified data
- Biometrics and wearable sync
- Advanced reports and trends
- Fasting tracking
- Saved recipes with full nutrient breakdowns
- Ad-free experience
Head to head: PlateLens vs Cronometer.
4. Lose It! — easiest to start with
The friendliest onboarding on iPhone and a genuinely simple calorie budget. Macro tracking and photo recognition both require Premium, which makes the free tier calories-only.
- Unlimited food logging
- A daily calorie budget
- Barcode scanning
- Streaks, exercise and weight logging
- Macro tracking in grams
- Snap It photo recognition
- Meal plans and custom goals
- Ad removal
Head to head: PlateLens vs Lose It.
5. Apple Health on its own
Apple Health can store nutrition data, but it is not a tracker: there is no food database, no barcode scanner and no photo recognition. It is useful as the place everything else writes to, not as the app you log in.
- Basic nutrition storage
- Integration with steps, sleep and workouts
- No ads and no third-party servers
- Nothing. It is included with the device, but it is not a tracker
Side by side on iPhone
| App | Free access expires? | Apple Health | Apple Watch app | Free AI photo |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| PlateLens | No | Yes | Yes, with complication | Yes |
| FatSecret | No | Yes | Limited | No |
| Cronometer | No | Yes | Limited | Limited |
| Lose It! | No | Yes | Yes | Premium |
| MyFitnessPal | No | Yes | Yes | Premium |
| Cal AI | Yes — trial | Yes | Limited | In trial |
Which to install
- You want to photograph meals and never pay: PlateLens.
- You want zero limits and don't mind typing: FatSecret.
- You weigh your food and want it right: Cronometer.
- You've never tracked before: Lose It!
Before you pick an app, work out the number you are tracking against: our calorie calculator gives you a daily target from your own stats. And for the record, PlateLens Premium is $9.99 a month or $34.99 a year — the free plan above needs no card and has no end date.
Free on iPhone, and it stays free
Photo, voice or barcode logging with Apple Health sync and an Apple Watch complication. No card required.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is the best free calorie counter app for iPhone?
PlateLens is the best free option on iPhone if you want AI photo logging, because its free plan never expires and it includes an Apple Watch app with a complication. FatSecret is the best fully free manual tracker, and Cronometer's free tier has the most accurate data.
Does the iPhone have a built-in calorie counter?
Not really. Apple Health can store nutrition data that other apps write to it, but it has no food database, no barcode scanner and no photo recognition, so you cannot practically log meals in it alone.
Which free calorie apps sync with Apple Health?
PlateLens, FatSecret, Cronometer, Lose It! and MyFitnessPal all write nutrition data to Apple Health on their free plans. This lets your calories sit alongside workouts, weight and activity rings.
Is there a free calorie counter with an Apple Watch app?
Yes. PlateLens includes a native Apple Watch app with a watch-face complication on its free plan, so your remaining calories are visible without opening your phone. Lose It! and MyFitnessPal also have Watch apps, though their photo features require Premium.
Is MyFitnessPal free on iPhone?
Partly. The free tier still exists, but barcode scanning moved to Premium in 2022 and gram-level macros require a subscription. Free users see macro percentages only.
Do free calorie counter apps drain iPhone battery?
Not meaningfully. Logging is a few seconds of foreground use. Background health syncing is handled by iOS itself and is cheap; photo analysis runs on a server rather than on the phone, so it costs you a network request, not battery.
Can I log calories from the Apple Watch without my iPhone?
With PlateLens, yes: the Watch app logs on its own and the watch-face complication shows your remaining calories. Most other trackers' Watch apps are viewers that need the phone nearby to do anything.
Do I need a credit card to start on iPhone?
Not for the genuinely free ones. PlateLens, FatSecret, Cronometer and Lose It! all start without payment details. The App Store labels trials and free plans identically, so the card prompt is the reliable tell.
Which free iPhone calorie app has the best barcode scanner?
FatSecret, Cronometer and MyNetDiary all include barcode scanning free and all work well. PlateLens includes it on its free plan too. MyFitnessPal is the one to avoid on this point, having moved scanning to Premium in 2022.
Can I export my data from a free calorie app on iPhone?
FatSecret allows data export on its free tier. MyFitnessPal requires Premium for it. Anything written to Apple Health stays in Apple Health regardless of the app, which is the most portable option available.
Is there a free calorie counter that works on iPhone and the web?
Yes. PlateLens, FatSecret, Cronometer and MyFitnessPal all offer a web app alongside iPhone, so you can log from a laptop and see the same day.