A Cronometer alternative for people who want logging to be quick

Cronometer vs MyFoodBuddy, feature by feature

Cronometer is built for detail. It tracks dozens of nutrients against a curated database. MyFoodBuddy is built for speed. You text or say what you ate and an AI coach named Fiona logs it. Both track calories, protein, carbs, fat and vitamins and minerals.

Two rows matter most. Vitamins and minerals lean toward Cronometer, which tracks up to 95 nutrients for free, against 20+ vitamins and minerals in MyFoodBuddy. Logging by sentence leans toward MyFoodBuddy, where it is the whole app, while Cronometer keeps voice logging on Gold and starts from search.

How Cronometer works day to day

Cronometer started in 2005 with its founder Aaron Davidson and is based in Revelstoke, British Columbia. Here is the daily flow from its own pages.

1. Set targets. Calories and macros, plus custom targets for vitamins and minerals, all on the free plan.
2. Log each food. Search the database of more than 1.1 million foods or scan a barcode for free. Cronometer shows where each food’s data comes from.
3. Use photo or voice on Gold. Photo Logging matches a picture to database entries, and Voice Logging takes a sentence like “I ate two eggs and a slice of toast,” including hands-free through Siri.
4. Review your nutrients. See how your day lines up against up to 95 nutrient targets, with charts and reports.
5. Sync your devices. Apple Health, Apple Watch, Fitbit, Garmin, Oura and Whoop.
6. Add Gold extras. No ads, a fasting timer, per-day macro targets, a recipe importer, nutrition scores and Crono Coach.

How MyFoodBuddy works day to day

MyFoodBuddy trades some depth for a much shorter daily routine.

1. Say what you ate. Type or speak a normal sentence, like “two eggs, toast with butter and a coffee with oat milk.”
2. Fiona logs it. She splits it into foods and amounts, looks each one up and shows a card with calories, protein, carbs and fat. Tap Log it.
3. Scan packaged food with the barcode scanner.
4. Fix anything by chatting. Tell Fiona the portion was bigger and she updates the entry.
5. Ask questions about what is left today or how your week went.
6. See 20+ vitamins and minerals, plus fiber, sugar and sodium, and sync weight, sleep, steps and workouts with Apple Health.

How much does Cronometer cost compared to MyFoodBuddy

Cronometer has a free Basic plan and Gold at $59.99 a year (shown as $4.99 a month billed yearly) or $10.99 a month. MyFoodBuddy has one plan at $39.99 a year or $7.99 a month after a 7-day free trial.

What you would actually pay

Put simply, Cronometer’s free plan does more for free than MyFoodBuddy, which has no free tier. If you would pay to remove ads and log by voice, MyFoodBuddy costs $20 a year less than Gold, and less per month too.

Is Cronometer free, and is Cronometer Gold worth it

Yes, Cronometer has a real free plan. According to its Gold page it lets you log food, exercise, biometrics and notes, set custom macro and micronutrient targets, sync apps and devices, use the barcode scanner, and create custom foods, meals and recipes. Reports are limited to a 7-day window, and the free plan shows ads.

Is Cronometer Gold worth it? If you want photo logging, a fasting timer, per-day macro targets or reports over any time frame, Gold is how you get them, and MyFoodBuddy has none of the first three. If you mainly want no ads and faster logging, MyFoodBuddy does that for less.

Cronometer voice logging and Crono Coach vs Fiona

Cronometer has added AI features recently, so it is worth being exact about what they do.

• Voice Logging (Gold) takes a sentence like “I ate two eggs and a slice of toast” and matches it to its database. It also works hands-free through Siri.
• Photo Logging (Gold, launched September 2025) identifies foods in a picture and pulls nutrition from its databases. You can edit the result.
• Crono Coach (Gold, announced July 2026) sits on the Dashboard. You choose what you want insight on and it gives one concise, personalized response. Cronometer says it will not change your diary or targets.

In MyFoodBuddy, Fiona is the way you use the app. You type or say the meal, she logs it, and you keep talking to her to fix an entry (“the rice was a bigger bowl”) or ask what is left for today. If you state a number yourself, like “300 calories of chicken nuggets,” your number is used.

Where do Cronometer and MyFoodBuddy get their nutrition data

Cronometer is known for its data. It pulls from more than 10 sources, including NCCDB, the Canadian Nutrient File and USDA data, and says its foods are “sourced from lab-analyzed data, not crowd-sourced guesses,” with every submitted item going through verification. Each food shows where its numbers came from.

MyFoodBuddy matches everyday foods in USDA FoodData Central, branded foods in the Edamam food database and barcode scans in Open Food Facts. AI reads your sentence and works out portion weights. When nothing matches, the AI estimates and shows the card before saving, so you can check it.

We have not tested either app for accuracy and will not claim MyFoodBuddy is more accurate. If you need to see the source of every nutrient value, Cronometer is built for that. MyFoodBuddy is built so that you log at all on a busy day.

Is Cronometer worth it, and what do reviews say

When we checked on October 18, 2026, the US App Store showed about 100,000 ratings averaging 4.8.

Fortune’s review (updated August 2026) rated it 4 out of 5, listing its verified, lab-analyzed data and the free barcode scanner as pros, and the lack of accountability features and of targeted guidance such as a diet plan as cons. Garage Gym Reviews listed ads in the free version, a pricier subscription and the number of things to track feeling overwhelming as cons.

The pattern is clear. People who like Cronometer like its depth and data. People who leave it often want something lighter to use every day.

When Cronometer is the better pick

• You track specific vitamins, minerals or other nutrients closely, up to 95 of them, for free.
• You want to see the source of every nutrient value.
• You want a free barcode scanner and can live with ads.
• You use Android or the web. MyFoodBuddy is iPhone only.
• You want photo logging, a fasting timer or per-day macro targets.
• You work with a dietitian who uses Cronometer Pro.

When MyFoodBuddy is the better pick

• You found detailed tracking too much work and want to log a meal in one sentence, typed or spoken.
• You want an AI coach you can chat with, who also logs and edits your food.
• You want no ads and voice logging for $39.99 a year instead of $59.99.
• You want a free trial of everything before paying.
• You like streaks, friends and leaderboards to keep you going.

Still comparing? See MyFoodBuddy vs MyNetDiary, MyFoodBuddy vs MyFitnessPal and MyFoodBuddy vs Lose It, or browse every comparison.

Frequently asked questions

Sources and how we checked