Best Food Tracker for Micronutrients 2027

Why Cronometer won

Some people track food to manage weight; others track it to answer a question about nutrition. Am I getting enough iron on a plant-based diet? Where does my sodium come from? Is my magnesium low? For that second group, Cronometer is the best tool in the field. The company says it reports up to 95 nutrients and compounds, and describes its food data as lab-analysed and verified. Its reports turn a day of eating into something close to a nutrition label for your whole diet.

How the shortlist compares

PlateLens is the only other finalist with nutrient depth on the same scale: 82+ nutrients per entry, including fiber, sodium, potassium, iron and magnesium, with net carbs calculated automatically. The difference is in the logging. Cronometer is exacting and rewards weighing; its Photo Log and Voice Log are part of Gold at $59.99 a year. PlateLens shows its nutrients inside a diary built for speed, with photo, voice, barcode and typed search. If you want detail as a by-product of everyday tracking, PlateLens is the better fit.

Getting a useful nutrient picture

• Log for at least a week before drawing conclusions; single days vary a lot.
• Use weighed or clearly measured portions for the foods you eat most.
• Look at weekly averages for nutrients you are watching.
• Talk to a clinician or registered dietitian before supplementing on the strength of an app report.

Our guide to what makes good food data explains why the source of an entry matters for nutrients even more than for calories.

The bottom line

For the deepest report, Cronometer. For deep data inside a fast daily diary, PlateLens.