MacroLog is a macro-first calorie tracking app for iPhone, iPad, and Android that logs a meal from a photo, a barcode, your voice, or a search and needs no account. Choose Cronometer if you want the 95+ nutrients and compounds and the staff-reviewed 1.1M-food database its Google Play listing describes, because micronutrient depth is the reason Cronometer exists and MacroLog stops at 12 micronutrients.
Disclosure: MacroLog is our app, so this comparison has an obvious commercial interest. Cronometer facts below are taken from its public Google Play listing, checked August 12, 2026; the judgements about fit are ours. MacroLog claims are checked against our internal product-facts ledger.
This is not a speed-versus-quality comparison. Both apps let you log by photo, voice, barcode, or search, and both put the result in front of you before it saves. The real split is how much nutritional detail you want to look at afterwards, and whether you want to create an account to get it.
MacroLog vs Cronometer at a glance
| If you care most about… | Better fit | Why |
|---|---|---|
| Vitamins, minerals, amino acids | Cronometer | Its listing describes 95+ nutrients and compounds. MacroLog tracks 12 micronutrients. |
| Data you can trust to be curated | Cronometer | Its listing describes a staff-reviewed database of 1.1M+ foods with NCC-analysed entries and no direct user edits. |
| Starting without an account | MacroLog | MacroLog has no sign-up screen at all. |
| Protein, carbs, and fat at a glance | MacroLog | The diary is built around macro goals and progress bars rather than a nutrient report. |
| Intermittent fasting windows | Cronometer | Its listing includes a fasting tracker (Gold). MacroLog has no fasting timer. |
| Fitbit, Garmin, Oura, WHOOP, Dexcom | Cronometer | All are named in its listing. MacroLog syncs with Apple Health and Health Connect only. |
Feature comparison
| MacroLog | Cronometer (per its Play listing) | |
|---|---|---|
| Ways to log a meal | Photo, barcode, voice, typed description, or search | Search, barcode scan, and AI photo or voice logging (Gold) |
| Account required | None — there is no sign-up screen | Yes |
| Free tier | Manual search, unlimited barcode scanning, macro tracking, streaks, local storage, plus a limited number of AI trials | Free logging with ads and free barcode scanning; AI photo and voice logging, fasting tracker, custom charts, and reports are Gold |
| Micronutrients | 12 micronutrients, on Pro | 95+ nutrients and compounds, including vitamins, minerals, and amino acids |
| Food database | 10,000+ foods in in-app search; barcode data from OpenFoodFacts | 1.1M+ curated foods, including NCC-analysed entries; corrections go through staff review |
| How calorie goals are set | Mifflin-St Jeor BMR and TDEE, adjusted for activity level and a lose, maintain, or gain goal, and editable by you | Personalised nutrition targets you compare intake against |
| Fasting tracking | Not a feature | Fasting tracker with windows and eating periods (Gold) |
| Integrations | Two-way Apple Health and Health Connect. Steps and active energy are read for display only and never change your calorie budget | Health Connect, Wear OS, Fitbit, Garmin, Oura, WHOOP, Dexcom, and more |
| Offline use | The diary, your history, and the on-device food list work offline. AI photo, voice, and barcode lookups need a connection | Not described in the listing |
| Platforms | iPhone, iPad, Android | Android and iOS |
| Pricing | Free tier plus a Pro subscription — check the current store listing for terms | Free tier plus Cronometer Gold — check the store for current terms |
What Cronometer genuinely does better
Nutrient coverage, and the provenance of the numbers behind it. Its listing claims 95+ nutrients and compounds and a curated database of 1.1M+ foods with analysed entries from the NCC database; corrections are reviewed by staff rather than applied by users directly. If you are watching iron, B12, potassium, or an amino-acid profile — or a dietitian is watching them for you — that is a category of question MacroLog cannot answer. MacroLog's extended nutrition model covers 12 micronutrients on Pro, which is enough to see a fiber or sodium pattern and not enough to audit a diet.
Cronometer also owns two things MacroLog simply lacks: a fasting tracker, and wearable breadth. Fitbit, Garmin, Oura, WHOOP, and Dexcom all appear in its listing. MacroLog writes calories, macros, micronutrients, water, and weight to Apple Health or Health Connect and reads weight, steps, and active energy back, and that is the whole integration story.
What MacroLog does differently
No account, and the diary is local. MacroLog has no sign-up screen. The diary sits in a local SQLite database on the phone; cloud backup and multi-device sync are optional and use an anonymous device identity. Cronometer's model is an account and a cloud profile.
Macros are the front page. Protein, carbs, and fat have daily goals and progress bars in the main diary view, with 12 micronutrients, water, and weight alongside them. Cronometer's strength — a dense nutrient report — is also what you have to read past when the only question is whether you hit your protein.
Four input methods, all with a review step. Photo, barcode, voice, typed description, or search. The AI proposes the food and the portion; you confirm or edit the grams before it saves. Treat a photo estimate as an informed guess rather than a measurement.
Steps stay informational. Active energy and steps are read for display only and never raise your calorie budget.
When to choose which
Choose Cronometer if:
- You want vitamins, minerals, and amino acids tracked, not just macros.
- You care where each food entry's numbers came from and want a curated database.
- You track intermittent fasting windows in the same app as your food.
- You wear a Garmin, Oura, WHOOP, or Fitbit, or use a Dexcom.
Choose MacroLog if:
- Protein, carbs, and fat are the numbers you actually act on.
- You do not want to create an account to start a diary.
- You want to switch between a photo, a barcode, your voice, and a search depending on the meal.
- You want the diary and history to keep working with no connection.
If you want the micronutrient background before deciding, our guides on how fiber affects your macros and tracking fiber and net carbs cover what the 12-micronutrient view is good for.
Sources checked August 12, 2026
- Cronometer, official Google Play listing — nutrient count, database size and review process, Gold feature gating, integrations.
- MacroLog claims: internal product-facts ledger and the live store listings.