Free Calorie Counter: The Apps That Are Genuinely Free (2026)
Published: · Updated: · Furkan Mert Fındıklı · 7 min read
Short answer: No popular calorie app gives everything away free; the difference is in what stays free. Cronometer offers the most detailed micronutrient breakdown on its free tier and FatSecret the fewest restrictions. In Suu, water and sparkling water tracking, exercise tracking and 3 AI analyses per day are permanently free — photo analysis, unlimited AI use and the full 91-drink list sit behind Premium.
The word "free" is used very loosely in this category. Every app is free to download, but whether the feature you actually came for is on the free tier is a completely different question.
The most common disappointment is the barcode scanner: MyFitnessPal offered it on the free plan for years, then moved it to Premium. Plenty of people who downloaded the app specifically for that feature found out at the paywall.
Below we compared what actually remains on five apps' free tiers.
What's in the free tiers, and what isn't
| On the free plan | Suu | MyFitnessPal | Lose It! | Cronometer | FatSecret |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Calorie logging | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ |
| Macro tracking (protein/carbs/fat) | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ |
| Barcode scanner | Limited | Moved to Premium | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ |
| Micronutrient breakdown | Partial | Limited | Limited | ✓ Most detailed | Partial |
| AI analysis (voice/text) | ✓ 3 per day | ✗ | ✗ | ✗ | ✗ |
| Photo calorie analysis | Premium | Premium | Premium | ✗ | ✗ |
| Exercise tracking | ✓ ~50 activities | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ |
| Water tracking (per beverage) | ✓ Water + sparkling water (full 91-drink list on Premium) | Simple counter | Simple counter | Simple counter | Simple counter |
| Workout → water goal update | ✓ | ✗ | ✗ | ✗ | ✗ |
| Apple Health / Health Connect sync | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ |
| Ad-free | Premium | Premium | Premium | Premium | Premium |
| Free trial for Premium | ✓ 3 days | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | Partial |
Where competitors' free tiers win
Skipping this would make the article useless:
- Cronometer — the most detailed vitamin and mineral breakdown even on the free tier. If you genuinely track micronutrients, it's the one to pick from this list.
- FatSecret — one of the least restricted free tiers around. Barcode scanning and community recipes are included.
- Lose It! — the barcode scanner is still on the free plan; it's where most people migrating from MyFitnessPal end up.
- MyFitnessPal — even with barcode behind Premium, the food database reachable on the free tier is still the largest in the category.
What's on Suu's free plan
Suu's free tier is a permanent plan, not a timed trial. It includes:
- Core water and hydration tracking — water and sparkling water logged directly, other drinks by telling Suu AI (within the 3 daily AI analyses)
- Exercise tracking — ~50 sport activities, with detailed running and cycling metrics
- Automatic water goal updates from your workouts and your meals
- 3 AI analyses per day — voice or text meal logging
- Two-way Apple Health / Google Health Connect sync
- Suu Index (0–100 hydration score), virtual pet, weekly friends leaderboard (up to 4 friends on a free account)
What Premium adds: photo calorie analysis, unlimited AI use, the full 91-drink list, private friend leagues, advanced nutrition analysis, premium statistics, PDF/CSV export and an ad-free experience. Premium can be tried free for 3 days.
Three things to check when picking a free plan
The "free" badge on a store page tells you nothing. Check these three:
- Which tier holds the feature you came for? If you're downloading for barcode scanning, confirm barcode is on the free plan. If you're downloading for photo analysis, expect it to be paid in nearly every app.
- Is there a daily or monthly cap? Some apps show a feature as free but limit it to a couple of uses a day. Suu states its cap openly: 3 AI analyses per day.
- Can you export your data? If you switch apps months later, getting your history out matters. Picking an app that syncs with Apple Health / Health Connect largely solves this.
How far can a free plan actually take you?
The honest answer: what determines success in weight management is not feature count, it is continuing to log. Months of consistent logging on a free plan beats two weeks on a paid one, every time.
So the question to ask while testing a free tier isn't "how many features are there" but "does this flow fit my daily routine". A week of use answers it.
Verdict
If you want micronutrient tracking: Cronometer — the strongest of the apps compared here, even on the free tier.
If barcode scanning is essential: Lose It! or FatSecret; MyFitnessPal moved it to Premium.
For the widest food database: MyFitnessPal, despite the barcode restriction.
If you want water and exercise tracked free alongside calories: Suu. Its free tier logs water and sparkling water directly, updates the water goal from your workouts and includes 3 AI analyses per day; the full 91-drink list is part of Premium.
Start on the free plan, decide later
Water + exercise + 3 AI analyses a day, free forever · Premium free for 3 days
Frequently asked questions
Is there a calorie app that is genuinely completely free?
No popular app gives every feature away forever; they all have a Premium tier. FatSecret and Cronometer are among the least restrictive on their free plans. In Suu, water and sparkling water tracking, exercise tracking and 3 AI analyses per day are permanently free; the full 91-drink list is part of Premium.
Is MyFitnessPal free?
MyFitnessPal is free to download and calorie plus macro logging is on the free plan, but the barcode scanner was moved to Premium. The breadth of its food database is still reachable on the free tier.
Can photo calorie counting be free?
Photo analysis costs money on every call, so it sits behind a paywall in nearly every app. In Suu photo analysis is part of Premium; the free plan gives you 3 voice or text AI analyses per day, and Premium can be tried free for 3 days.
Which calorie app tracks water on the free plan?
In most calorie apps water tracking is a simple glass counter. On Suu's free plan you log water and sparkling water directly and other drinks by telling Suu AI (within your 3 AI analyses a day); the exercise you log and the meals you eat update your daily water goal automatically. The full 91-drink list is part of Premium.
Will my data transfer if I switch apps?
If you pick an app that syncs with Apple Health (iOS) or Google Health Connect (Android), your calorie, macro and water data stays in the system and a new app can read it. Suu syncs two-way and this is enabled on the free plan.
Does Suu work on Apple Watch, with Siri and with widgets?
Yes. With Suu's Apple Watch app you add water from your wrist, log a meal by voice (the calorie analysis finishes in Suu on your iPhone) and record walks, runs, hikes and rides with the watch's GPS and live heart rate. Water and workouts are saved on the watch even when your iPhone isn't nearby and sync later. On iPhone there are Home Screen widgets in three sizes (small, medium, large) and Lock Screen widgets — on iOS 17 and later you add water from the Home Screen widget with one tap — plus Live Activities and Dynamic Island. Adding water by voice with Siri (up to 3 custom phrases) is part of Premium. Android has a home-screen widget. There are no watch-face complications.
References
Related articles
Best calorie counting app
A detailed five-app comparison.
Best photo calorie app
Who does what in photo-based analysis.
How to calculate a calorie deficit
Setting the target from your own data.
Macro calculation guide
Protein, carb and fat split.
Keep quitting calorie counting?
7 ways to stick with it without burning out.
Suu is not intended for medical diagnosis or treatment. Consult a healthcare professional for health-related decisions.