quick answer
Best overall on iPhone: EXO, if you want calories from a photo plus vitamins, minerals, supplements, sleep and activity in one app.
Simplest: Cal AI. Best adaptive targets: MacroFactor. Most nutrients for free: Cronometer. Biggest database: MyFitnessPal.
The ranking at a glance
| App | Best for | Photo logging | Free plan | US yearly price | App Store rating |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| EXO | Food, supplements and health together | Included | No, free trial | $79.99 | 5.0 (1) |
| Cal AI | Simplest photo logging | Included | No, free trial | About $29.99* | 4.8 (372,681) |
| MacroFactor | Adaptive targets | Beta | No, free trial | $71.99 | 4.8 (23,545) |
| Cronometer | Detailed nutrients | Gold | Yes | $59.99 Gold | 4.8 (99,948) |
| MyFitnessPal | Food database | Premium | Yes | $79.99 Premium | 4.7 (2,384,064) |
| Lose It! | Low cost Premium | Premium | Yes | $39.99 Premium* | 4.8 (782,488) |
| SnapCalorie | LiDAR portion sizing | Included | Yes, core features | Varies* | 4.7 (6,917) |
| Foodvisor | 20 languages | Included | Yes, with ads | Varies* | 4.6 (18,159) |
Ratings and prices from each app's US App Store listing and own pages, read October 26, 2026. *Apple does not label every plan length; Cal AI's price comes from third party guides, Lose It! lists several Premium prices, and SnapCalorie and Foodvisor list several yearly prices that change by offer.
How we picked
We looked for apps where a photo, not a search box, does most of the work, and compared what each app's own listing and website say on three things:
- What it tracks: calories and macros only, or vitamins, minerals and more.
- What is free: whether photo logging sits behind a paywall.
- Platforms and price: iPhone, Android, web, and the US yearly price.
We did not run our own accuracy test, and we left out accuracy claims that come only from an app maker's own study.
The 8 best AI calorie counters, app by app
1EXO
Best for tracking food, supplements and health in one app
EXO counts calories, macros, 13 vitamins and 11 minerals from one photo of your plate. It also logs by barcode, nutrition label, typed or dictated description, and a USDA based food database. Supplements go in the same log, so vitamins from food and pills add up. It reads sleep, steps, workouts and heart data from Apple Health, and builds AI meal and workout plans.
- Keep in mind: iPhone only, no free plan, and a new app with few ratings so far.
- Price: $79.99 a year with a free trial; weekly and 3 month plans too.
2Cal AI
Best for the simplest photo logging
Cal AI made photo calorie counting mainstream. Snap a meal, scan a barcode or describe it, and get calories and macros. Its site says it uses the depth sensor on newer iPhones to estimate volume, and MyFitnessPal bought it in March 2026.
- Keep in mind: scan results need a subscription, and its listing does not mention vitamins, minerals or supplements.
- Price: about $29.99 a year according to third party guides, with a 3 day trial.
3MacroFactor
Best for targets that adjust to your progress
MacroFactor is known for its adaptive algorithm: it checks your weight trend each week and adjusts your calorie target. AI photo logging arrived in an open beta, next to a barcode and label scanner and a verified food database.
- Keep in mind: no free tier, and photo logging is still labeled beta.
- Price: $71.99 a year, $47.99 for 6 months or $11.99 a month.
4Cronometer
Best for detailed nutrients on a free plan
Cronometer tracks up to 95 nutrients on its free plan, with unlimited barcode scans and a curated food database. It runs on iPhone, Android and the web.
- Keep in mind: photo and voice logging need Gold, and the app is English only.
- Price: free, or Gold at $59.99 a year.
5MyFitnessPal
Best food database
MyFitnessPal has over 20 million foods, including restaurant dishes, and connects to 40+ apps and devices. Meal Scan adds photo logging.
- Keep in mind: Meal Scan, barcode scanning and voice logging are Premium.
- Price: free, or Premium at $79.99 a year or $19.99 a month.
6Lose It!
Best low cost Premium
Lose It! has been around since 2008, with a 56 million item database and a free basic plan. Premium adds photo meal logging, AI voice, barcode scanning and fasting.
- Keep in mind: photo logging is Premium.
- Price: free, with Premium listed at $39.99 a year and a lifetime option.
7SnapCalorie
Best for portion sizing with LiDAR
SnapCalorie uses the LiDAR sensor on iPhone Pro models to measure portions, and logs by photo, nutrition label or voice note against a USDA based database.
- Keep in mind: English only, and its yearly price varies by offer.
- Price: core features free; Premium Annual listed at $149, with lower offers in the App Store.
8Foodvisor
Best for languages
Foodvisor recognizes food from photos and is available in 20 languages, with barcode, voice and text logging. Premium adds full micronutrient analysis, a program and recipes.
- Keep in mind: the free version has ads, and plan prices vary a lot.
- Price: free with ads; Premium plans listed between $59.99 and $83.99.
How accurate are AI calorie counters?
Good enough to be useful, not good enough to trust blindly. In a preliminary NIH study presented at NUTRITION 2026, researchers ran photos of 102 weighed meals through MyFitnessPal, Lose It!, Cal AI and Appediet. All four came in about 250 to 345 calories low on average, and about 30 g low on fat. Older research on database apps found errors too: a 2018 Public Health Nutrition study found MyFitnessPal and Lose It! came out significantly lower than research software for protein, fat and sodium, among other nutrients.
Three habits fix most of the gap:
- Check the portion on every scan, especially rice, pasta and meat.
- Add cooking oil, butter and dressings, which cameras cannot see.
- Use the barcode or label scan for packaged food.
How to choose
- You take supplements or care about vitamins and minerals: EXO or Cronometer.
- You want the fewest taps: Cal AI or EXO.
- You want your target to adjust each week: MacroFactor.
- You need a free plan: Cronometer, MyFitnessPal or Lose It!, without photo logging.
- You use Android: Cal AI, MacroFactor, Cronometer, MyFitnessPal, Lose It!, SnapCalorie or Foodvisor. EXO is iPhone only.
Not sure how many calories to aim for? Start with our TDEE calculator and protein calculator.
Sources
- Apple App Store US listings, ratings and in-app purchase lists for EXO, Cal AI, MacroFactor, Cronometer, MyFitnessPal, Lose It!, SnapCalorie and Foodvisor, read October 26, 2026.
- Each app's own pages, read October 26, 2026: calai.app; MacroFactor AI food logging, version 5.0 open beta and label scanner; Cronometer free plan and Gold; MyFitnessPal Premium; Lose It! Premium; snapcalorie.com; Foodvisor terms.
- Google Play listings for Cal AI, MacroFactor, Lose It!, SnapCalorie and Foodvisor.
- American Society for Nutrition. Photo-based calorie-tracking apps may underestimate energy in meals, NUTRITION 2026 abstract from NIH NIDDK researchers, July 25, 2026. Preliminary, not peer reviewed.
- Griffiths C, Harnack L, Pereira MA. Assessment of the accuracy of nutrient calculations of five popular nutrition tracking applications. Public Health Nutrition, 2018;21(8):1495-1502. doi:10.1017/S1368980018000393
- Harvey J, Krukowski R, Priest J, West D. Log often, lose more: electronic dietary self-monitoring for weight loss. Obesity, 2019;27(3):380-384. doi:10.1002/oby.22382
- TechCrunch. MyFitnessPal has acquired Cal AI, March 2, 2026.
EXO makes this list and ranks its own app first; every other entry is based on the sources above. We are not affiliated with any other app here and were not paid for placement. Tell us at [email protected] if something is out of date.
