Cronometer vs macros.gg
One is built for precision. The other is built to keep you logging. They solve different problems.
Quick verdict
The short version.
- Your doctor or dietitian wants micronutrient data
- You want every database entry verified
- You export your data for someone else to read
- You've started and abandoned trackers before
- You want the scanner and AI logging without paying
- You don't want ads in your food diary
- You want to track with friends
Feature comparison
Both apps, feature by feature — July 2026.
Pricing
Full prices, July 2026.
Cronometer
- Shows ads
- Full 84-nutrient tracking
- Barcode scanner
- No ads
- Photo & voice AI logging
- Custom charts, fasting timer
Macros.gg
- No ads, ever
- Barcode scanner
- 10 AI logs a week
- Quests, XP, and ranked seasons
- Unlimited AI logging
- 365-day trends
- Streak shields
Gold and Pro cost the same $59.99 a year. The bigger difference is in the free versions: Cronometer's shows ads and holds back AI logging; Macros.gg's is ad-free with ten AI logs a week.
Pros & cons
Where each app is strong, and where it isn't.
Cronometer
- Tracks 84 micronutrients — free
- Verified database, no user-submitted entries
- Clean data exports for professionals
- Trusted for medical and clinical use
- Ads in the free version
- No groups, parties, or friend features
- Feels like lab software
- AI logging requires Gold
- Medical and clinical tracking
- People who weigh their food anyway
- Anyone whose dietitian reads the export
Macros.gg
- Free with no time limit, no ads, no card required
- Log a meal by typing a sentence or snapping a photo
- Barcode scanner included free
- XP, daily quests, and ranked seasons
- Parties and a Discord server
- Recurring meals — set up once, log in one tap
- Imports your Cronometer history
- No micronutrient tracking
- No adaptive coaching algorithm
- No health app sync yet (Apple Health, Garmin)
- No voice logging
- Newer app with a shorter track record
- People who've quit other trackers
- Anyone motivated by streaks, levels, and ranked seasons
- Friends tracking together
Where they differ
Micronutrients
Cronometer tracks 84 micronutrients against lab-sourced data, free. For medical tracking it has no real competition.
Macros.gg tracks calories, protein, carbs, and fat. If you need vitamin and mineral data, this is the wrong app.
Staying motivated
Cronometer gives you accurate data and stays out of your way. There are no quests, parties, or shared progress.
Quests, XP, ranks, and friends who can see your progress. The data only helps if you keep logging, and this is the part that keeps people logging.
Logging speed
Entries are precise, usually weighed in grams. Gold adds photo and voice AI logging; the free tier is search and scan.
Describe the meal in a sentence and adjust if it's off. Ten AI logs a week on the free plan.
Why people switch
Logging stops feeling like homework
Cronometer rewards precision. If weighing food to the gram wore you out, typing a sentence is the opposite.
Built-in motivation
Streaks, quests, and ranks do the job that discipline was doing.
Other people
Parties, ranked seasons, and a Discord where people post their meals. Cronometer is quiet by comparison.
Your history comes with you
Macros.gg imports your Cronometer diary, weigh-ins, and custom foods — with an undo button.
Sign in with Discord or Apple and log your first meal. Setup takes about a minute.
Questions people actually ask
Yes. The free plan includes food and weight tracking, the barcode scanner, ten AI logs a week, quests, XP, streaks, and the Discord. There are no ads and you don't enter a card. Pro costs $59.99 a year — or $9.99 a month — and adds unlimited AI logging, 365-day trends, and streak shields.
No. Macros.gg tracks calories, protein, carbs, fat, and long-term trends. If you need micronutrient tracking for medical reasons, Cronometer is the better tool for that.
You type what you ate — "chipotle bowl, double chicken, no rice" — or snap a photo, and the AI works out the macros. Free users get ten logs a week. Pro removes the limit.
No — this is the one competitor Macros.gg imports from directly. Your daily nutrition history, weight entries, and recreatable custom foods come across in about ten minutes, and the whole batch can be undone from Settings. See the step-by-step migration guide. Migration guide →