Cronometer review: three weeks tracking the small stuff
Official site: cronometer.com
What we liked
- Micronutrient tracking with a depth no other app here matches
- Curated, verified food entries rather than a free-for-all database
- Ten dollars a month undercuts the bigger-name trackers
- A free plan that already does more than most paid rivals
What we didn't
- Logging branded and restaurant food takes a little more effort
- The dense dashboard can feel like a lot on first open
- It rewards precision, so casual loggers may find it fussy
The case for it
Cronometer asks slightly more of you than the headline trackers and gives a great deal back. The verified database means entries are trustworthy, though a packaged snack sometimes needed a manual search where MyFitnessPal would have scanned it. Once we settled in, the daily routine took a couple of minutes, and the payoff was a view of our diet far richer than calories alone.
The micronutrient edge
This is where it pulls clear of the field. Beyond protein, carbs and fat, it charts dozens of vitamins and minerals against your targets, flagging where you ran short on, say, magnesium or vitamin D across the week. For anyone eating with a specific deficiency or goal in mind, that level of detail is the reason to choose this over anything else on the list.
Where it frustrates
The strength has a flip side. Because entries are curated, the convenience of scanning a random supermarket item is hit and miss, and you may add the odd food by hand. The interface, packed with data, is busier than Lifesum or MyFitnessPal, which is fine if you came for the numbers and a little daunting if you did not.
Value and plans
At roughly ten dollars a month for Gold, it is the cheapest paid tier of the six and still the most generous on data. The free plan is genuinely usable on its own, covering full nutrient tracking, so the upgrade buys conveniences like custom targets and timestamps rather than the core feature. For pure tracking value, nothing here beats it.
Score, point by point
| Criterion | Score |
|---|---|
| Micronutrient detail | 10/10 |
| Data accuracy | 9/10 |
| Value for money | 10/10 |
| Free tier usefulness | 9/10 |
| Speed of logging | 7/10 |
| Database coverage | 8/10 |
| Habit stickiness | 8/10 |
| Interface | 6/10 |
| Privacy controls | 8/10 |
| Beginner friendliness | 6/10 |
| Stability | 9/10 |
Alternatives
MyFitnessPal
Faster to log everyday and branded food, thanks to a far wider database. Less depth on micronutrients.
Visit MyFitnessPal
Levels
If you want feedback on how food affects your body rather than what is in it, Levels goes further.
Visit Levels