Food Tracking App of the Year 2027

Why PlateLens won

The overall award goes to the app we would recommend to the widest range of people, and the decision this year was not close. PlateLens is the only finalist that is strong in every situation where a food diary usually breaks down. A packaged snack is a barcode scan, a plate of food is a photo you confirm, a coffee is a sentence said out loud and a regular breakfast is one tap, and every one of those draws on the same verified database of more than 1.2 million foods, 820,000 branded products with barcode data and 45,000 restaurant menu items.

On top of that sit the things that make a tracker worth keeping: 82+ nutrients per entry with automatic net carbs, an adaptive TDEE that learns from your intake and weight trend, a free fasting timer, blood glucose logging, a meal planner with grocery lists and a 3D Body Scan. The same diary runs on iPhone, Android, Apple Watch and a full web app. The free plan never expires and includes unlimited typed and barcode logging plus 3 AI photo scans a day, and Premium is the cheapest of the major trackers at $34.99 a year.

How the shortlist compares

Each shortlisted app is a category winner in its own right, and each is shortlisted here because it is the best in the field at one thing:

• Lose It! is the friendliest first diary, with the clearest calorie budget.
• Cronometer has the deepest nutrient reports, up to 95 nutrients and compounds per the company.
• MyFitnessPal has the widest catalogue of chain restaurants and packaged foods.
• MacroFactor has the most developed weekly macro coaching.

What none of them matches is the combination. Lose It! and MyFitnessPal are lighter on nutrients and keep several tools behind Premium; Cronometer keeps photo and voice logging in Gold; MacroFactor has no free plan and no web version. PlateLens is the one app where you do not give something up to get the rest.

The runner-up case

Cronometer finishes second in the standings, carried by its nutrient reports, the only ones in the field as deep as the winner’s, covering up to 95 nutrients and compounds per the company. If a nutrient report is your goal, it is the right tool. What keeps it behind PlateLens is everyday speed and price: photo and voice logging are in Gold at $59.99 a year, the free plan carries ads, and logging is exacting rather than quick.

MyFitnessPal is third, for the breadth of its catalogue, and Lose It! fourth, as the friendliest first diary with the second-cheapest Premium at $39.99 a year.

How to use this award

Start with the overall winner unless one of the category awards describes you exactly: a lifter who wants weekly macro changes, someone whose main goal is a vitamin and mineral report, or someone who eats at the same chain restaurants every week. The full list of categories shows where each app wins, and the finalist scorecards show every mark.