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Eating healthy isn’t always easy.
But there are many apps available with tools and resources to make achieving your nutrition goals easier than ever.
To save you time, we gathered the year’s 10 best nutrition apps worth downloading. Between their impressive reviews, quality content, and reliability, these apps are designed to make eating healthier as simple as tapping a few buttons.
A quick look at the best nutrition apps
- Best overall nutrition app: MyPlate Calorie Counter
- Best meal planning app: PlateJoy
- Best food tracking app: MyFitnessPal
- Best healthy recipe app: Yummly Recipes & Cooking Tools
- Best weight loss app: Lifesum: Healthy Eating
- Best mindful eating app: Ate Food Journal
- Best macro counting app: MyNet Diary Calorie Counter
- Best nutrition education app: Noom
- Best food allergy app: Spokin
- Best pregnancy nutrition app: Ovia Pregnancy Tracker
How to choose a nutrition app
When selecting a nutrition app to download, it’s important to consider your goals and which features are most important to you.
For example, many apps focus on calorie counting or weight loss, while others prioritize mindful eating or nutrition education.
There are also options created specifically for people who are pregnant, those with food allergies, or people with certain dietary restrictions or food preferences.
Ideally, look for apps that are highly rated and backed by healthcare professionals, such as doctors or dietitians.
Also, consider the cost to use the app. While some apps may be free to download and use, others may require a subscription or offer in-app purchases.
How we chose the best nutrition apps
- Quality of information: We looked for apps that offer reliable and helpful nutrition information, ideally from an expert source, such as a registered dietitian.
- User interface: We looked for apps that are easy to use and intuitive to navigate.
- Nutritional needs: We included apps to suit a variety of nutritional needs, from meal planning and food tracking to pregnancy and weight loss.
- Customer reviews: We asked friends, family members, and colleagues for their recommendations, as well as read through countless user reviews to find highly rated apps.
- Vetting: All the apps included have been vetted to ensure that they meet Healthline’s medical and business standards. Read more about our vetting process.
Healthline’s picks for the best nutrition apps
Best overall nutrition app
MyPlate Calorie Counter
- iPhone rating: 4.7 stars
- Android rating: 4.6 stars
- Price: free, with in-app purchases
Whether you’re a health enthusiast or a nutrition newbie, the MyPlate Calorie Counter app from Livestrong is well worth the download.
Besides tracking your nutrient intake and exercise, the app also offers a range of recipes, meal plans, and workouts. Plus, there’s a community section that provides peer support, motivation, and tips and tricks from members.
Although the app is free, you can upgrade to a paid account for access to premium features, including custom nutrition labels, daily averages, and advanced statistics on your nutrient intake and overall progress.
Pros
- simple and straightforward user interface
- offers nutrition tracking, meal plans, recipes, and workouts
- includes a community forum for support and motivation
Cons
- limited customization options
- unable to filter recipes based on certain dietary restrictions or food allergies
Best meal planning app
PlateJoy
- iPhone rating: 4.7 stars
- Android rating: 4.1 stars
- Price: $4.99 per year for Healthline readers; otherwise $12.99 per month, $69 for 6 months, or $99 for 1 year
Highly recommended by my sister, a new mom and full-time grad student who is always on the go, PlateJoy is an app designed to help you save time while still eating healthy.
It uses a questionnaire to collect details about your lifestyle, cooking habits, and dietary preferences and then creates a custom meal plan and shopping list for your household.
In addition to choosing your meal plan, you can also select specific ingredients that you’d like to avoid, the amount of variety you prefer, and your desired portion sizes.
To access all of the meal planning features, PlateJoy offers a monthly subscription for $12.99, a 6-month membership for $69, or an annual membership for $99.
However, Healthline readers can access the app for just $4.99 per month. PlateJoy is owned by the same parent company as Healthline.
Pros
- designed to help you save time on meal prep and shopping
- creates a nutritious meal plan based on your needs and preferences
- reduces food waste by optimizing your use of ingredients
- multiple diet plans and customization options available
Cons
- requires membership to use
- cost of ingredients isn’t included in the price of the app
Best food tracking app
MyFitnessPal
- iPhone rating: 4.7 stars
- Android rating: 4.3 stars
- Price: free, with in-app purchases
MyFitnessPal is a powerhouse app, with an enormous food database, barcode scanner, recipe importer, restaurant logger, food insights, calorie counter, and so much more.
Whether you’re monitoring your nutrition to lose weight, switch up your eating habits, or simply hold yourself accountable, MyFitnessPal makes it easy.
Though the app is free, you can purchase a premium membership for $9.99 per month or $49.99 per year to unlock additional features, including detailed food analyses, workout routines, and more customization options.
Pros
- large database for easy food logging
- many free features available
- barcode scanner helps simplify nutrient tracking
Cons
- some users note that the interface can be glitchy, confusing, or difficult to use
- detailed nutrient analysis only available with premium membership
Best healthy recipe app
Yummly Recipes & Cooking Tools
- iPhone rating: 4.8 stars
- Android rating: 4.5 stars
- Price: free, with in-app purchases
With more than 2 million recipes to choose from and a variety of options tailored to your tastes, needs, and preferences, Yummly is my go-to app for healthy cooking.
Recipes are sorted and organized by cuisine, course, diet, and required ingredients, making it easy to find something that works for you.
You can also add ingredients to your shopping list, connect smart appliances to the app, and create custom collections with your favorite recipes.
While the app is free to use, for $4.99 per month, you can access premium features, including detailed cooking guides, nutritional information for each recipe, recommended recipes based on your goals, and additional tools to streamline meal planning.
Pros
- wide selection of recipes to choose from
- simple, user-friendly interface
- reviews available for each recipe
- includes helpful tools, such as shopping lists and recipe collections
Cons
- frequent ads in the free version
- some note that it takes multiple clicks to access full recipes with directions
- many features require monthly membership
Best weight loss app
Lifesum: Healthy Eating
- iPhone rating: 4.7 stars
- Android rating: 4.4 stars
- Price: free, with in-app purchases
Lifesum is a popular app that helps simplify weight loss with tools like a recipe library, food log, and calorie counter.
When signing up, the app collects information about your height, weight, age, and specific goals to provide a personalized plan based on your needs.
It also has a weekly health test, which includes insights into your habits and identifies potential areas for improvement.
The food and exercise diary is free to use, but the app also offers a premium subscription starting at $4.17 per month (billed annually) for access to body composition tracking, macro counting, and custom diet plans and recipes.
Pros
- simple, visually appealing user interface
- provides weekly health test to keep you on track
- variety of diets to choose from
- no ads on the free version
Cons
- limited customization for meal plans
- some users note that the directions for some recipes could be better
Best mindful eating app
Ate Food Journal
- iPhone rating: 4.8 stars
- Android rating: 4.2 stars
- Price: $9.99 per month or $49.99 per year
Advertised as a mindful food journaling app that doesn’t count calories, Ate Food Journal aims to help you understand why you eat certain foods and how they make you feel.
The app enables you to take photos of your meals and activities to create a visual timeline of your day.
It also allows you to participate in experiments, such as eating with your nondominant hand, and add details about each meal, including who you ate with, how it was made, and how it tasted.
The app offers a 7-day free trial to see if it’s a good fit for you. After that, subscriptions cost $9.99 per month or $49.99 per year.
Pros
- focuses on mindful eating and healthy habits rather than counting calories
- simple and easy to use
- includes extra features like experiments and personal insights
Cons
- subscription required after 7-day free trial
Best macro counting app
MyNet Diary Calorie Counter
- iPhone rating: 4.8 stars
- Android rating: 4.7 stars
- Price: free, with in-app purchases
Whether you’re trying to cut carbs, increase your protein intake, or get a better grasp of the macronutrient breakdown of your diet, MyNet Diary Calorie Counter is a great tool for on-the-go food logging.
The app helps you set goals, monitor your weight trends, and track your intake based on the specific diet plan you select. It also offers detailed nutrient information for each ingredient in your food log and a daily analysis to help keep you on track.
Though several of the features are free, you can also purchase a premium membership for $8.99 per month or $59.99 per year.
A premium membership provides access to specific diet plans, recipes, and tracking tools, along with more in-depth nutrient analyses for foods.
Pros
- variety of free tracking features available
- daily analysis with detailed information on overall nutrient intake
- no ads on the free version
- no sign-up required
Cons
- diet plans require paid membership
- limited customization options without subscription
- user interface can be somewhat confusing and complicated
Best nutrition education app
Noom
- iPhone rating: 4.7 stars
- Android rating: 4.3 stars
- Price: $60 per month or $159 per year
Offering custom meal plans, weekly challenges, and access to a virtual coaching team, Noom is popular among dieters all over the world — including my mom, who notes that the short, simple lesson plans helped her understand how her food choices were affecting her health.
In addition to providing educational info, Noom also includes tools to track your progress and workout plans to add more activity to your daily routine.
Noom usually offers a free trial when you sign up, but it requires a membership to use the app, which costs $60 per month or $159 per year.
Pros
- lesson plans designed to help understand your food choices
- provides tools to track progress
- includes support from virtual coaching team
Cons
- more expensive than other apps
- some users report that the coaching team offers little personalized feedback
Best food allergy app
Spokin
- iPhone rating: 4.7 stars
- Price: free
For families with food allergies, Spokin can be a convenient tool to have on hand.
It allows you to select the specific ingredients that you need to avoid and provides information on whether food products are safe and allergen-free.
You can also view reviews from other users for restaurants and hotels around the world to find allergy-safe options.
Though the app can currently only be downloaded on the App Store for iPhone, the developers note that it will be available soon for Android devices as well.
Pros
- provides information on allergy-friendly food products, hotels, and restaurants
- allows you to connect with other users with food allergies
- free to use
Cons
- some report issues with navigating through the app
- not yet available for Android devices
Best pregnancy nutrition app
Ovia Pregnancy Tracker
- iPhone rating: 4.9 stars
- Android rating: 4.7 stars
- Price: free
Nutritional needs change quite a bit during pregnancy, which can be overwhelming when you’re expecting. Ovia makes it easier than ever to ensure that you’re getting the nourishment that you need for a healthy pregnancy.
Specifically, the app includes a food and activity log, recipe collection, medication reminders, and a guide to food safety.
It also provides helpful resources, tips, and detailed information about the progress of your pregnancy.
Best of all, it’s completely free.
Pros
- provides resources and nutrition tips for pregnancy
- allows you to track food, activity, sleep, mood, and more
- free to use
Cons
- limited customization options for some features, such as medication reminders
- frequent in-app advertisements
Frequently asked questions
What is a good free nutrition tracker?
Many nutrition trackers are free, though almost all offer paid upgrades. MyPlate Calorie Counter, MyFitnessPal, Yummly, Lifesum, MyNet Diary Calorie Counter, Spokin, and Ovia Pregnancy Tracker all offer free versions.
Is there a better app than MyFitnessPal?
Our pick for the best overall nutrition app is MyPlate Calorie Counter. It has a simple, straightforward interface, and it offers nutrition tracking, meal plans, recipes, and workouts. Plus, there’s a community forum to help keep you motivated.
MyFitnessPal is also a great food tracking app, with a large food database and a convenient barcode scanner.
Are nutrition apps worth it?
Many nutrition apps are free to download and use, though some also have paid versions. If you’re not sure whether a nutrition app is the right solution for you, try one of the free options on our list. You can always upgrade later if you decide you’d like access to premium features.
The bottom line
There are a variety of nutrition apps available, each of which offers its own unique set of features and functionalities, making it easier than ever to eat healthy in real life.
Be sure to consider your goals, your budget, and the specific features that are most important to you.
You should also look for apps that are highly rated and recommended by a healthcare professional when deciding which are worth downloading.