Alternatives
Best Cronometer Alternative With No Subscription
Why people leave Cronometer, what to look for in a replacement, and a calorie tracker that costs $3.99 once and keeps your data on your phone.
Cronometer is a capable app, known for lab-verified micronutrient data. People do not usually leave it because it stopped working. They leave for a shorter list of reasons that keep coming up.
Why people look for a Cronometer alternative
- The free tier hides anything older than seven days.
- Banner ads run while you log.
- Fasting, photo logging and long-range charts are all Gold.
The common thread is the model. Gold is $10.99 a month or $59.99 a year. That is a fair price for lab-verified micronutrient data if you use it. It is a lot for a place to write down what you ate.
What to look for in a replacement
- Pay once, or pay nothing. A subscription only makes sense for a service that costs money to run every month. A food log on your phone does not.
- Data that stays on the device. Health data is not browsing history. Ask where your weight and meals go.
- No account. If you need an email and password to log lunch, the app is collecting more than lunch.
- The features you actually use. Be honest about whether you use the photo scanner or just like that it exists.
A no-subscription alternative: Silent
Silent is a calorie, macro, habit and fasting tracker for iPhone that costs $3.99 once. There is no free tier that nags you to upgrade, no trial that converts, and no renewal. Every feature is unlocked at purchase, including future updates.
It also keeps your data on your phone. The AI coach runs on-device with Apple Intelligence, so your food log and weight history are never uploaded, because there is no server to upload them to. Steps, sleep and workouts come in from Apple Health.
To be fair about what it is not: Silent is iOS only, and it does not do barcode or photo logging. You type what you ate, or pick a saved meal. If Cronometer's lab-verified micronutrient data is the reason you use it, that is a real trade-off. If the reason you are here is the price or the privacy, it is the trade-off Silent was built to make.
See the full comparison on the Silent vs Cronometer page, or get it on the App Store.
Other Cronometer alternatives worth a look
If you need Android, a web app, or barcode scanning, Silent is not your answer. These have free tiers:
- MyFitnessPal: known for the largest crowd-sourced food database in the category. Calorie and macro logging with the full food database, supported by ads. Barcode scanning moved behind Premium in 2022. Compared with Silent.
- Lose It!: known for a friendly calorie budget and photo logging in Premium. A calorie budget, food search, basic macros and weight logging, with ads. Compared with Silent.
- Yazio: known for guided intermittent fasting programs and a large recipe library. Calorie tracking, manual food entry, water and weight logging and basic macros, with no time limit. Compared with Silent.
Quick answers
What is the cheapest alternative to Cronometer?
Silent, at $3.99 one time, costs less than a single month of most subscription trackers. It is iPhone only and has no barcode or photo logging.
Is there a Cronometer alternative that does not need an account?
Silent has no account, no sign-up and no server. Your data lives in the app on your phone and syncs through your own iCloud.
Can I move my data from Cronometer?
Most apps let you export a CSV of your history. Silent does not import it; you start fresh with your current weight and goals, which for most people is a feature.