Awards › Finalists › MacroFactor
7th in the 2027 standings · Adaptive macro coaching for committed lifters
MacroFactor: 2027 finalist scorecard
MacroFactor wins the 2027 award for macro coaching. It estimates your energy expenditure from your logs and weigh-ins and adjusts your targets each week. There is no free plan: it costs $71.99 a year, $47.99 for six months or $11.99 a month. It places seventh overall.
2027 award winner
Scorecard
Every finalist is marked on the same eight criteria. How we judge explains each one and what the marks mean.
| Criterion | Mark | What we look at |
|---|---|---|
| Ways to log | Good | How many fast, reliable ways in: photo, voice, barcode, typed search, saved meals and recipes. |
| Food data | Not confirmed | Whether entries are verified or crowd-sourced, and how well the catalogue covers branded, restaurant and home foods. |
| Free plan | Not offered | What you can do without paying, and whether the free plan expires. |
| Paid plan value | Basic | What the paid tier costs per year and what it adds. |
| Nutrient depth | Not confirmed | How many nutrients each entry carries beyond calories and macros. |
| Goal tools | Strong | Targets, adaptive adjustments, fasting, meal planning and coaching. |
| Platforms | Basic | Phone, web and watch, and whether they share one diary. |
| Data control | Not confirmed | Export, health-platform sync, deletion and privacy controls. |
Plans and price
| Plan | What it costs and includes |
|---|---|
| Free | No free plan (trial only) |
| Paid | $71.99 a year, $47.99 for 6 months or $11.99 a month |
Platforms: iPhone, Android
What it does well
- An expenditure estimate built from your own logs and weight trend
- Calorie and macro targets adjusted every week
- A fast, dense logging workflow for experienced trackers
- Barcode and nutrition-label scanning, recipe import, and describing a meal by photo or text
Worth knowing
- No free plan: you pay before logging a single meal
- No browser or desktop version, per the company's FAQ
- The coaching needs several weeks of consistent logs and weigh-ins to settle
The case for it
MacroFactor is a coach as much as a diary. Instead of fixing your calorie target on day one and leaving it there, it watches what you log and what the scale does, estimates how much energy you really burn, and moves your targets every week. For people with a specific body-composition goal, such as a lean bulk or a slow cut, that feedback loop is the whole appeal, and it is why MacroFactor wins our macro coaching award.
How logging works
Logging is built for speed once you know the app: dense screens, quick search, barcode and nutrition-label scanning, recipe import and the option to describe a meal by photo or text. It assumes you will log every day, which is also what its coaching needs.
Where it sits in the field
MacroFactor is seventh overall. It is the specialist’s specialist, and its weekly coaching is the most developed of any finalist. Two things hold it back in the overall standings: there is no free plan, so you pay before you log a single meal, and there is no browser version. PlateLens now has an adaptive TDEE of its own alongside photo, voice and barcode logging, a web app and a free plan that never expires.
Who should pick it
- Lifters and athletes with a body-composition target.
- People who already log consistently and weigh in often.
- People who want an app to adjust their targets for them each week, and are happy to pay from the start.
What to know before you choose
The coaching takes several weeks to settle, so judge it after a month rather than after a week. If you are not sure you will log every day, start on a free plan elsewhere.
See the comparison: Cronometer vs MacroFactor.
Shortlisted in 2027
Questions readers ask
Does MacroFactor have a free version?
No. MacroFactor has a trial but no free plan. It costs $71.99 a year, $47.99 for six months or $11.99 a month.
How does MacroFactor adjust my macros?
It compares the calories you log with your weight trend and infers how much energy you actually burn, then adjusts your calorie and macro targets each week. The estimate needs several weeks of consistent logging and weigh-ins to settle.
Is MacroFactor good for beginners?
It can work for committed beginners, but its coaching depends on daily logging and frequent weigh-ins, and you pay from the start. Many people build the habit on a free plan first.