Calorie Counter by fatsecret

FatSecret is a calorie and macronutrient tracker. It is one of the older apps in the category and its main advantage over newer competitors is straightforward: the core functionality is free.

Where it stands against MyFitnessPal

The obvious comparison. MyFitnessPal has a larger food database, but it moved barcode scanning behind a subscription — a change that pushed a lot of people to alternatives. FatSecret keeps scanning free.

The trade-off is database quality. Both rely heavily on user-submitted entries, which means duplicate foods with different values and occasional entries that are simply wrong. Verified entries are marked; preferring them takes a moment and improves the numbers you get out.

What the numbers are worth

Any tracker’s accuracy is limited by two things it cannot fix: whether the database entry matches what you actually ate, and whether you weighed it. Logging “one chicken breast” carries an error range wide enough to swamp the precision the app displays. Used as a rough trend over weeks it is informative; read as a daily total to the calorie it is not.

Features beyond logging

Weight and exercise tracking, a food diary that can be shared with a dietitian, and recipe import. There is a premium tier, but the free version is not crippled in the way that has become normal in this category.

Note

Calorie tracking is not appropriate for everyone, and for people with a history of disordered eating it can be actively harmful. Worth naming, since app stores do not.