Cronometer alternatives: another nutrition diary, or dinners to shop
Stay with Cronometer if verified micronutrients are the point. MyNetDiary, MacroFactor, MyFitnessPal and FatSecret are other logs. Carby is the alternative if you wanted a week of dinners under a grocery cap instead of a 95-nutrient diary.
Pricing comparison
Cronometer Basic free; Gold $59.99 a year. MyNetDiary Premium $59.99 a year. MacroFactor $71.99 a year. MyFitnessPal Premium $79.99 a year. FatSecret core free. Carby $39.99 a year after a 3-day trial.
| App | Starter price | If you stay a year | Trial | Refunds |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Cronometer | Free Basic. Gold $4.99 a month billed annually at $59.99, or $10.99 a month billed monthly, on cronometer.com/gold. | $59.99 on Gold yearly. $131.88 if you stay on Gold monthly at $10.99. $0 on Basic. Grocery is extra. | Basic is free with no time limit. Gold checkout is on the Gold page and in the apps. | Web Gold: set Do Not Auto-Renew in Account Settings and access continues to the end of the term. App Store or Google Play Gold follows those stores. |
| Carby | $39.99/year after a 3-day trial on web yearly checkout | $39.99 if you stay on the web yearly plan after the 3-day trial | 3-day trial on the web yearly offer visitors actually see. Monthly ($9.99) and weekly ($4.99) plans also exist. Read the checkout. | Web Stripe charges: email within 30 days of the charge for a refund. App Store charges go through Apple. Cancel during the trial and you are not charged. |
| MyNetDiary | Free. Premium $8.99 a month or $59.99 a year. Premium Plus $14.99 a month or $99.99 a year, on MyNetDiary’s about and AI scanner pages. | $0 on Free. $59.99 on Premium yearly. $99.99 on Premium Plus yearly. A $179.99 lifetime option is listed on the free-tracker page. | Free tier needs no trial. Premium trial on iOS is documented in MyNetDiary’s FAQ index; length is shown in the store checkout. | Premium can be bought on MyNetDiary.com (Paddle) or as an in-app purchase. App Store and Google Play refunds follow those stores. |
| MacroFactor | $11.99 a month, $47.99 per half year, or $71.99 a year, US prices on the App Store listing. | $71.99 on the yearly nutrition plan. $143.88 if you stay on monthly at $11.99. Nutrition + Workouts bundle $89.99 a year for new users on or after January 1, 2026, per MacroFactor help. | 7-day trial of the premium ad-free app. No free subscription tier. | Auto-renews unless you cancel at least 24 hours before the period ends. Manage from Apple or Google account settings. App Store purchases follow Apple. |
| MyFitnessPal | Free food diary. Premium $79.99 a year or $19.99 a month. Premium+ $99.99 a year or $24.99 a month, on MyFitnessPal’s Premium+ page. | $79.99 on Premium yearly. $99.99 on Premium+ yearly. $0 if you stay on the free diary. Grocery is extra. | 7-day Premium or Premium+ trial if you have never upgraded or redeemed a trial. First charge is after the trial unless you cancel. Auto-renews. | Cancel at least 24 hours before renewal to avoid the next charge. Premium features stay until the paid period ends. App Store or Google Play purchases follow those stores. |
| FatSecret | Free core app. Premium is a paid in-app upgrade; fatsecret.com says pricing varies by region and is viewed in the app. | $0 if you stay on the free tracker. Premium yearly cost is the in-app price in your region. Grocery is extra. | Free core needs no trial. Premium trial, if any, is shown in the store checkout. | App Store or Google Play purchases follow those stores. This page does not invent a web refund window, because the public FAQ does not state one. |
Grocery purchases are extra on every row. Read the checkout you actually see.
What each tool is best for
- Family dinners under a grocery budget, not a food diary: Carby
- Carby does not count calories or carbs. It plans five dinners and one aisle list around a store and a spending limit. Use it when the next job is shopping, not logging last night’s plate. Compare
- A staff-verified diary with more branded foods: MyNetDiary
- Up to 108 nutrients, free barcode, no ads. Still a diary. Compare
- Targets that move with your weight: MacroFactor
- Paid adaptive coach. Weaker if you wanted Cronometer’s micronutrient depth for $0. Compare
- Restaurant logging in a huge crowd-sourced database: MyFitnessPal
- Larger database, less of Cronometer’s lab-analyzed positioning. Compare
- A free log if Gold feels like too much: FatSecret
- Free barcode and macros. Not 95 lab-analyzed nutrients. Compare
Verdict
Keep Cronometer for a science-backed diary. MyNetDiary is the closest free-barcode peer. MacroFactor is the adaptive coach. MyFitnessPal is the restaurant database. FatSecret is the simple free log. Carby is only the dinner-planner fork.
Carby vs Cronometer in one tableFrequently asked questions
What is the best Cronometer alternative?
MyNetDiary if you want another verified diary. MacroFactor if you want adaptive calories. Carby if you wanted shopping, not tracking.
Does Carby use lab-analyzed foods?
Carby uses its own dinner catalog with estimated grocery costs. It does not track 95 nutrients.
Is Cronometer Gold worth it vs Carby?
They buy different jobs. Gold is $59.99 a year for diary features. Carby is $39.99 a year for budget dinners. Paying for both is reasonable if you do both jobs.
Sources checked October 20, 2026: Cronometer homepage · Cronometer Gold · Cronometer subscription types · App Store listing · iTunes Lookup id 1145935738 · App Store listing · iTunes Lookup id 6779585429 · Carby billing policy · Carby refund help · MyNetDiary homepage · MyNetDiary about · MyNetDiary free tracker page · App Store listing · iTunes Lookup id 287529757 · MacroFactor site · MacroFactor App Store listing · MacroFactor subscriptions help · iTunes Lookup id 1553503471 · MyFitnessPal homepage · MyFitnessPal Premium · MyFitnessPal Premium+ · App Store listing · iTunes Lookup id 341232718 · FatSecret homepage · App Store listing · iTunes Lookup id 347184248. Competitor facts come from those public pages and US iTunes Lookup. Missing cells were omitted, not guessed.