Snap a Picture of Your Meal and This App Will Calculate the Calories

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Think of food tracking apps as your digitally upgraded food journal. These user-friendly apps offer a convenient solution for those looking to prioritize their nutrition, whether you’re trying to lose weight, cut back on sugar, improve your hydration and more.

“Food tracking apps are digital tools that help you log and track your food intake,” explains Arizona-based registered dietitian Gillean Barkyoumb, M.S., R.D.N., owner of the What’s for Dinner Club. “You can usually add foods either by searching their database, inputting food details manually or some apps allow you to scan barcodes of packaged goods.”

Like the best calorie counting apps, these apps can provide insight into how the foods you are eating are impacting your energy levels, workouts and sleep. But food tracking apps go beyond just helping you determine how many calories you should eat in a day – they’re a learning tool for discovering patterns in your eating habits that you can improve upon.

Our registered dietitians in the Good Housekeeping Institute Nutrition Lab share their favorite food tracking apps below to help you cook better, shop smarter and become a more mindful eater. For a well-rounded approach to health and wellness, check out our top picks for the best sleep apps and best workout apps too.

Take note that weight loss, health and body image are complex subjects. Before deciding to go on a diet, we invite you to gain a broader perspective with our exploration of the hazards of diet culture.

MyFitnessPal

With more than 250 million downloads, MyFitnessPal remains one of the reigning champions among food and fitness tracking apps. “As a dietitian, I recommend MyFitnessPal because they have an extensive database,” Barkyoumb says. You can track calories for over 18 million foods, which is one of the largest food databases we have seen. One thing to note is that since the app is so popular, there can be some inaccuracies when logging because many foods are added by users (look for items with a checkmark symbol next to them that indicates the nutrition information has been verified).

You’ll notice that when using the app, you can easily copy and paste meals that you’ve previously logged so you don’t have to waste time re-entering everything. Another huge benefit is the ability to import recipes from other websites, and the app will calculate the calories. If you eat out often, you’re in luck: MyFitnessPal contains menu information from many popular restaurants making it easier to keep track when you dine out. But you can also track macronutrients, micronutrients, water, exercise, steps and more in the app.

There is a free version that provides a variety of useful functions as well as a premium membership that offers extras such as VIP support, an ad-free experience and a barcode scanner (a function that was free in the past), which pulls in food data from packaged goods. “The barcode scanner makes it easy to input foods and have an accurate analysis of your dietary intake,” Barkyoumb adds.

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MyNetDiary

MyNetDiary offers a large database of foods with an easy-to-navigate interface that scores big points with users. The app, which has over 25 million users worldwide, assigns you a weekly weight goal or target date after assessing for weight, height and age. We found the app very helpful for creating more balanced meals and helping regulate portion sizes, while also keeping sodium and saturated fat intake in check.

You’ll be able to take advantage of a ton of features on the free version, including full access to its food tracker, barcode scanner, calorie planning, weight tracker, water tracker and step tracker. Between all the special features, this is one of the best free food tracking apps in terms of the amount of features it offers on the unpaid plan. If you choose to upgrade to ad-free premium, you’ll get access to custom nutrient tracking (think macro tracking) and an AI meal scanner where you can snap a photo of your plate and the app’s AI identifies everything from toppings to sauces for easy logging.

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WeightWatchers

WeightWatchers is new and improved with their next-gen program. You’ll now find over 150 new ZeroPoint Foods (foods you don’t have to weigh, track or measure on the program), access to dietitians for personalized nutrition counseling (covered by insurance) and detailed insights on macronutrients in the app. What’s most noteworthy is the use of AI – you can now utilize a special food scanner that uses photos and AI to track Points, making it easier than ever to stay on track. There’s also an AI recipe importer that helps calculate Points for dishes from any website.

On top of these new special features, you’ll get the huge database of food on the WeightWatchers app that makes tracking easy (including specific brand names and meals from popular restaurants). It saves your favorite meal items and go-to recipes too, plus tracking for activity, water intake and sleep. Don’t forget the supportive WeightWatchers community, which makes this platform a true standout. But take note that WW requires a subscription to join, though the app itself is free to download.

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Noom

Designed by psychologists, nutritionists and personal trainers, Noom topped our Best Diets list this year and for good reason: It’s more than a food tracker – you’ll get individualized coaching to guide you to your goals with a customized plan, with an emphasis on cognitive behavioral therapy techniques to help you understand the “why” behind your eating habits. The app’s program aims to help modify the behaviors that might have contributed to weight gain or unhealthy eating habits.

After a thorough lifestyle questionnaire, Noom will create a plan to help you meet your goals. You can log food and beverages on its database and take advantage of a barcode scanner and food photo logging feature. The daily bite-sized lessons are helpful to keep you motivated.

Noom uses a modified “traffic light” color-coded food tracking system which assigns each food a color so that all foods can fit your diet. Green means go and is assigned to foods that are less calorically dense, such as fruits and veggies. Yellow indicates foods that should be consumed in moderate portions. Orange is used for foods that should be used sparingly as well as those that are mostly processed and may be higher in saturated fats. Keep in mind that the personalized attention comes at a higher cost: While the app is free to download, Noom is useable only with a fee and is more expensive than most on our list.

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Cronometer

Data accuracy on food tracking apps can be problematic, namely because users can typically add nutrition information which can be unreliable or incomplete. But Cronometer impressed us in our tests since all food submissions on the app are verified for accuracy before being added to their database. With over 1.1 million verified food labels in their system, the app is ideal for those looking for accurate food tracking measures.

The Basic version of the app is free and offers easy tracking of calories (the barcode scanner is included!) and micro- and macronutrients, with the goal of encouraging healthier eating strategies. Signup is free and while the free version scores high points with users, you can upgrade to the Gold subscription for ad-free use, custom charts, recipe importer and fasting timers. There is a pro version for healthcare providers, so if your doctor or dietitian is a subscriber, you can easily link to them for further assistance and feedback. Users like that the app integrates easily with other fitness tracking apps such as Apple Health, Fitbit and Whoop.

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Lifesum

With a beautiful, intuitive user interface, the Lifesum app is a food tracker that you’ll look forward to using daily. The popular app has over 60 million registered users and can help you track everything from food to water, exercise, weight, measurements and more. The visuals on the app are exceptional, and the app’s barcode scanner is free. You can even set up fasting intervals in the app. But when tracking foods, be sure to look for a blue badge that indicates verified food items apart from other user-created ones.

Our experts also appreciate the app’s Life Score, which calculates a weekly score on your health based on 16 different nutrition and exercise measures. The emphasis is on more than just calories – you’ll get a score and instant overview of what you did well during the week and what could use improvement. Did you eat enough greens and omega-3s? Did you stay hydrated, and also have a good variety of workouts between low-intensity and strength training? We appreciate the app’s emphasis on a holistic approach to nutrition and health. If you upgrade to the premium, you’ll get access to curated meal plans and programs too.

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Lose It!

Lose It! not only tracks nutrients and calories, but it also provides an intermittent fasting tracker to meet a wider variety of dietary goals. This app now offers dietitian-curated strategies to support multiple types of diets including low-carb and plant-based. According to the company, it contains a large searchable database of foods, more than 50 million — the largest database on our list.

LoseIt! is unique thanks to its free Snap It feature, which allows users to snap photos of their food so the app can use image recognition to detect food in the picture and track it. For example, take and upload a picture of your hummus and carrots, confirm your food and serving size and let the app track it. Upgrade to the premium version for the most features (including a barcode scanner) and to integrate with other health and fitness devices, including Apple Health and Fitbit.

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Yazio

Founded in Germany, the Yazio app is fairly new to the U.S. It’s a great choice for travelers because it offers a large selection of international choices in its food and recipe database. With a simple and easy-to-use interface, the app strives to improve nutrition goals with realistic and sustainable nutrition habits.

It’s free to download and includes calorie-counting functions, and the paid pro version comes with features including more than 2,000 recipes that have been cooked, tested and photographed by the Yazio team. You can easily find recipes that fit into your desired daily intake range — even no-bake mini blueberry vegan cakes — with options starting at 50 calories and going up to over 700. The app also offers information on intermittent fasting with fasting trackers, as well as motivational success stories. Yazio connects easily to other health and fitness trackers including Apple Health, Fitbit and Garmin, and is available in over 20 languages and more than 150 countries.

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Simple

If you are new to intermittent fasting (IF), this is the app for you. Simple provides a guide to IF along with different fasting periods catered to your needs and lifestyle. It’s pretty user friendly, and easily tracks everything from meals and steps to hydration and sleep.

One great standout feature on the free version is the app’s AI photo scanner. Simply snap a picture of your meal and the app will calculate a nutrition “score,” as well as provide instant feedback on how to amp up the quality and flavor of your next meal. The app doesn’t place an emphasis on calories or cutting out food groups, but rather on improving meal quality. It’s compatible with Apple Health and Fitbit too, and offers motivational resources including videos from dietitians, educational articles, recipes and information on topics such as mindful eating. A premium version includes a customized plan and expert guidance.

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How we chose the best food tracking apps

The registered dietitians in the Good Housekeeping Institute Nutrition Lab test and review all types of nutrition, wellness and health apps year-round. When researching and evaluating food tracking apps specifically, we look for ease of use, robust food databases, community support and up-to-date and effective information. We also consider cost, special features that make it easy to log meals, calories and nutrients, and whether or not the apps have the ability to sync to other health-tracking apps and devices to measure physical activity, sleep and hydration. Availability for both Android and iOS devices is important as well. We downloaded and used the apps ourselves in order to experience them firsthand, and also reached out to avid food tracker users for their feedback.

How to select the best food tracking app for you

Most food tracking apps are free to download or offer a free trial when you sign up, so you can test out a few for yourself to see which format meets your needs. But a few factors to consider include:

✔️ Personal health goals: Determine why you want to use a food tracking app: Are you trying to lose, maintain or gain weight? Do you want to find foods that make you feel more energized? Do you want to learn more about sodium or portion sizes?

✔️ User interface: An inviting, intuitive interface will make the app easier for you to use and may increase compliance with food tracking. “In my experience, if it’s complicated or time consuming, most people find it difficult to make it a habit they can stick to for the long haul,” Barkyoumb says.

✔️ Large database: “I think the most important feature is that it is easy to use and has a large database of foods so you are not having to spend a lot of time inputting nutritional facts of the foods you eat,” Barkyoumb shares. “If it’s hard to do, it will be hard to stick to the habit!” Looking for apps with verified nutrition information is also important.

✔️ Special features: If you dine out a lot, look for apps that include menu items at popular restaurants; if you cook often, you might prefer one with a recipe conversion function. If you consume a fair number of packaged goods, opt for an app with a barcode scanner. Many apps also offer AI capabilities.

✔️ Community support: Consider whether an app that offers strong community support is important to you, and whether the app provides a solid platform for free or requires a fee to be the most useful.

✔️ Credible expertise: Look for an app with access to a registered dietitian or healthcare professional that can further support your health goals.

What are food tracking apps?

“Food tracking apps are a tool for consumers that can help them meet a variety of health, nutrition and body composition goals,” explains California-based registered dietitian Yasi Ansari, M.S., R.D.N., C.S.S.D., spokesperson for the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics. Upon signing up for a food tracking app, Ansari says that you may be asked about your goals, as well as if you have a specific medical condition and want to meet a particular nutrient need or decrease weight, maintain weight or gain weight. “It may, for example, ask about muscle gain, increasing one’s step count, increasing hydration and more.”

Barkyoumb adds that a food tracking app will calculate the nutritional content of a meal so users can see their daily intake of calories, macronutrients (protein, carbs and fats) as well as micronutrients (vitamins and minerals). “This information can be very helpful when working toward specific health goals.”

Food trackers remain important tools for keeping tabs on what you are eating for health, wellness and weight benefits. But our experts stress that it can be hard to accurately capture food when you are dining out and that not all foods in every database are vetted, so treat the app as one tool in assessing your eating habits.

What are the benefits of food tracking apps?

Since most food tracking apps are free to download, there is little downside to trying them out. A few key benefits include:

• Increased awareness: Barkyoumb explains that you can become much more aware of the foods you are consuming and your personal eating habits when using a food tracking app. “It can be really easy to grab a handful of candy or snack on a cookie a coworker brought into the office without really accounting for how that can impact your health and your success in achieving health goals,” she says.

• Behavior change: This increased awareness that comes when tracking your food can also help you identify and modify unhealthy eating behaviors and encourage more nutritious eating habits.

• Improved accountability: “Using a diet tracking app can keep you accountable to your goals by encouraging you to be more mindful and intentional with your food choices,” Barkyoumb says.

• App integration: Since many of these food tracking apps integrate with other nutrition and fitness apps, you can get a more comprehensive overview of your diet and exercise habits.

Are there any limitations for food tracking apps?

“Not all apps take into account stress, sleep quality and exercise, all of which give a more holistic approach to health and wellness,” Barkyoumb says. Here are a few other limitations to consider:

• Time consuming: Barkyoumb says that it can be time consuming to track every meal and snack, leading to frustration when you can’t account for the exact food you want to log. “This can be especially difficult when tracking meals from restaurants.”

• Inaccurate data: Since some apps allow users to add foods to the app’s database, there can be some significant nutritional inaccuracies. Try to choose foods with a checkmark or other indication in the app that they have been verified in the system database.

• Overreliance: “One of the problems I see with food tracking apps is that for some people, the act of keeping track of foods, measuring foods and inputting data about food and weight can lead to a sort of obsession with monitoring intake and an unhealthy relationship with food and/or the body,” Ansari says. It’s important to be mindful of your mental health when using food tracking apps and only use them in a way that supports and does not undermine your wellbeing.

• Fees: While most of these apps are free to download, Barkyoumb explains that some require you to pay a subscription fee for premium features.

Can a food tracking app help you lose weight?

A food tracking app can be a great tool to incorporate when you have weight loss goals, according to Barkyoumb. “Using the app will help you become more aware of the nutrient composition of certain foods and help you be more mindful of your food choices, portion sizes and calorie consumption.” She also adds that many food tracking apps have features for meal planning and grocery shopping, which can help you be more prepared and make less impulsive food choices.

But remember that food tracking isn’t the only piece of the weight loss puzzle. “It’s important to remember that weight loss can also be impacted by stress, sleep, exercise, hormones and more, which is why it’s best to work with a registered dietitian to provide holistic guidance,” Barkyoumb advises.

Ansari adds that some of these apps catered toward weight loss may underestimate daily energy needs, leading to caloric goals that are too restrictive and can lead to health concerns. “If weight loss is a goal, work with a physician and registered dietitian nutritionist to ensure weight loss is appropriate for your age and medical history, and that the goals set by these apps properly take into account your age-specific needs, activity levels and are not setting a calorie goal that is too restrictive for your body.”

What else can you use food tracking apps for?

Food tracking apps are not just limited to assisting with weight loss. In fact, they can prove to be extremely useful for managing certain health conditions. Ansari says that in her work with clients, she may encourage using food tracking apps for the following purposes:

• Meet specific micronutrient needs: For someone who may be low in iron and would like to eat more iron-rich foods and track their iron intake.

• Build muscle: For someone who may like to meet a specific protein goal at each meal and snack.

• Increase fiber intake: For someone who wants to eat more fiber-rich foods and wants to monitor their intake of whole grains, fruits and vegetables.

• Improve energy levels: For someone who is struggling with their energy levels and wants to share a good example of their daily caloric intake with their healthcare professional by tracking their foods in real-time.

• Prioritize hydration: For someone who is looking to commit to their hydration and optimize their water intake.

Why trust Good Housekeeping?

As the director of the Good Housekeeping Institute Nutrition Lab, registered dietitian Stefani Sassos, M.S., R.D.N., C.D.N, NASM-CPT is committed to delivering evidence-based insights on diet and nutrition. She stays at the forefront of the latest research and trends, helping readers identify science-backed principles worth adopting for a healthy lifestyle. Stefani has successfully used food tracking apps on her own weight loss journey to assist in meal planning and more.

Gillean Barkyoumb, M.S., R.D.N., is a registered dietitian, speaker, writer, presenter and media enthusiast who is committed to taking nutrition off the to-do list of busy women. She helps make eating healthy simple and convenient through services she offers through her business, Gillean Barkyoumb Wellness LLC, like her What’s for Dinner Club membership.

Yasi Ansari, M.S., R.D.N., C.S.S.D., is a registered dietitian and spokesperson for the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics. She specializes in sports performance and eating disorders, and is based in California.

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