Head to head · verified September 2026
Cronometer vs MyNetDiary
Which one is better, where they differ, what each costs, and whether a third app beats both. Every answer below comes from feature and pricing data we checked in September 2026.
Which is better, Cronometer or MyNetDiary?
MyNetDiary covers more of what we track: two things Cronometer either lacks or keeps behind its paywall, including meal planning and no ads. Cronometer is still the better pick for health enthusiasts wanting detailed micronutrient data.
What is the difference between Cronometer and MyNetDiary?
On the features we verified for both, meal planning (MyNetDiary has it, Cronometer does not); no ads (MyNetDiary has it, Cronometer does not). Everything else on the list, they both do.
How do I get my food log out of Cronometer or MyNetDiary?
Both let you export to CSV, though some gate it behind their paid tier. What moves to another app is narrower than people expect: weight and workouts carry over through Apple Health or Health Connect, but the food diary does not. No tracker in this category can import another's, Nutrify included. You can still read your own export: our export viewer parses it in your browser, with nothing uploaded, and shows your logging consistency, macro split and most-logged foods.
Open the export viewerIs there a better alternative to Cronometer and MyNetDiary?
Depends what is missing for you. Nutrify logs six ways (photo, barcode, nutrition label, voice, text, or in the aisle) and keeps fasting, water, supplements and measurements on one timeline, for $34.99 a year on a single tier. It is also younger than both, with far fewer reviews behind it.
Try the third option free
The short version
Where Cronometer wins
Nothing on the tracked feature list that MyNetDiary does not also do. The difference between these two is price, data quality and how they feel to use rather than a feature gap.
Where MyNetDiary wins
- Meal planning - MyNetDiary has it, Cronometer does not
- No ads - MyNetDiary has it, Cronometer does not
Feature by feature
Nutrify is in the third column because this is our site and it would be odd to pretend otherwise. Judge it on the same rows.
| Feature | Cronometer | MyNetDiary | Nutrify |
|---|---|---|---|
| AI photo logging | Gold only | Premium only | |
| Voice logging | Gold only | Basic free, AI Premium Plus | |
| Barcode scanner | |||
| Micronutrient tracking | Up to 108 | 37, opt-in (BETA) | |
| Intermittent fasting | Not verified | ||
| Water tracking | |||
| Meal planning | |||
| Recipes | |||
| Exercise tracking | |||
| Progress analytics | |||
| Apple Health sync | |||
| No ads | |||
| Price per year | $59.99 | $59.99 | $34.99 |
A dash means we have not verified that cell for that app rather than that the feature is missing. Checked September 2026.
The pitch and the reports
What each one claims, and what people say after living with it.
Cronometer
What Cronometer says
- Research-grade data from USDA and NCC rather than crowd-sourced entries
- Up to 80-odd nutrients per entry, more than any mainstream tracker
- Built for people who want precision over speed
What users praise
- The database quality is the single most cited reason people stay
- Micronutrient depth nothing else in the category matches
- Barcode scanner is reliable and auto-fills label data
What users complain about
- Slow app startup and sync problems
- No offline mode
- Photo Log and Voice Log both require Gold
What independent research found
The same study that found poor validity in MyFitnessPal found good reliability and validity in Cronometer across every nutrient except fibre, vitamin A and vitamin D. Agreement between two people entering the same records reached 0.966 for energy and 0.977 for carbohydrates. It is one study on 43 Canadian endurance athletes, so it does not settle the question, but it is the closest thing to independent measurement this category has.
Morello et al., Journal of Human Nutrition and Dietetics, October 2025Our read
Cronometer tracks far more nutrients than we do, against better-sourced data. If micronutrient precision is why you track at all, it is the right tool. Where it struggles is speed. It is built for someone weighing an ingredient at home, not someone photographing a plate in a restaurant.
Vendor claims from their own marketing; user themes from store reviews and community discussion, weighted to 2025–2026. Verified September 2026.
MyNetDiary
What MyNetDiary says
- "The Best Free Calorie Tracker for Most People" - a genuinely capable free tier with no ads and no account required
- Up to 108 nutrients per entry from a staff-verified database, with thousands of foods reviewed daily
- A dedicated GLP-1 companion covering medication, symptoms and trends
What users praise
- 4.6/5 on Trustpilot with 85% five-star, and reviews that are detailed and from multi-year users
- Strong international food and barcode coverage
- The free tier is genuinely useful rather than a demo
What users complain about
- The interface is dense and visually dated next to newer apps
- Sync gaps with Apple Health and partner platforms
- Auto-renewal surprises, with no in-app subscription management
Our read
The closest thing to a direct answer to us, and it beats us on the things it claims: a real free tier, 108 nutrients against our 37, and verified data. We are better on speed of logging, on interface, and on covering 15 languages with Ramadan, Navratri and Lent modes. Its AI sits on a second paid tier above the one you already bought; ours does not.
Vendor claims from their own marketing; user themes from store reviews and community discussion, weighted to 2025–2026. Verified September 2026.
What each is actually like
Cronometer
Track Your Nutrition with Scientific Precision
Strengths
- • Most comprehensive micronutrient tracking
- • Highly accurate, verified nutrition data
- • Excellent for specific diets (keto, paleo, vegan)
- • Detailed biometric tracking
Trade-offs
- • Photo Log and Voice Log require Gold
- • Steep learning curve
- • Interface feels technical/clinical
- • Manual entry required
MyNetDiary
Staff-Verified Food Data with a Genuinely Free Tier
Strengths
- • The strongest free tier in the category - barcode scanning, macros and water tracking with no ads and no account required
- • Up to 108 nutrients per entry, more than any mainstream tracker
- • Staff-verified database rather than crowd-sourced, with 2,500-3,500 foods reviewed daily
- • Dedicated GLP-1 companion: medication and injection logging, symptom tracking, meal plans and trend charts
Trade-offs
- • AI features are split across two paid tiers - Meal Scan, AI Coach, Menu Scan and full voice logging need Premium Plus
- • Interface is dense and dated next to newer apps
- • No intermittent fasting timer surfaced in its own marketing
- • English-first; nothing like Nutrify's 15-language coverage or Ramadan/Navratri/Lent eating modes
Leaving either one
How do you actually get your data out?
The question that keeps people on an app they have stopped liking is what happens to their history. Short version: your weight and workouts move with you through Apple Health or Health Connect, your food diary does not, and no tracker in this category can import another's. Nutrify included. You can still read your own export, though, and that is worth doing either way.
Leaving Cronometer
Use servings.csv. The richest export in the category: one row per food you logged, with the amount, the meal group, and up to eighty-odd nutrient columns per entry. Almost all of our 37-nutrient catalog maps straight across.
Leaving MyNetDiary
MyNetDiary gates export behind its paid tier. Use The food diary CSV. Your logged foods with dates, meals and nutrient columns. MyNetDiary tracks up to 108 nutrients, so exports can be wide. Anything matching our catalog is mapped and the rest is listed as unmapped.
The export viewer runs entirely in your browser. Nothing is uploaded and no account is needed. It shows your logging consistency, macro split, weekday-versus-weekend pattern and most-logged foods, which is more than either app shows you about your own data.
A third option
If neither one is quite it
Nutrify logs a meal six ways (photo, barcode, nutrition label, voice, text, or Shop Mode in the aisle) and keeps fasting, water, supplements, a photo journal and body measurements on the same timeline. One subscription at $34.99 a year covers all of it, with nothing gated feature by feature. It is newer than both of these and has far fewer reviews, which is the honest trade.