What is the best free calorie tracker?

What is the best free calorie tracker? Many people ask this when deciding which app or website can realistically support their weight loss or maintenance goals without added cost.

The best free calorie tracker is the one you will consistently use and can customize to your goals. Look for an app or website with a large verified food database, easy barcode scanning, and the ability to save meals and recipes you eat often. Automatic calorie-goal settings based on your height, weight, age, sex, and activity are helpful, especially when they show estimated rate of weight loss for different deficits. Syncing with activity trackers and step counters can simplify logging exercise, though it is wise not to “eat back” every exercise calorie if those estimates are high. Choose an interface you like, keep logging simple, and treat numbers as estimates rather than rigid rules.

Before you pick a tracker, use our calorie goal calculator to estimate your maintenance calories so you can set a realistic daily target inside any app.

Browse more questions in our Calorie Calculator FAQs.