Calorie Tape vs Cronometer
Cronometer is the deeper nutrition tracker: up to 95 nutrients and compounds from lab-analyzed sources, recipes, charts, and apps for iPhone, Android and the web, all tied to an account. Calorie Tape does less, privately. It’s a food and nutrient log that needs no account, works offline and keeps everything on your iPhone. Every feature is free.
Where Calorie Tape leads
- No adsCronometer’s free plan shows ads; Gold removes them.
- Every feature freeCronometer keeps photo logging, recipe import and more for Gold.
- Works offlineSearch and scanning need no signal. Cronometer needs one.
- Stays on your iPhoneNo account and no server, and nothing used to track you.
Which one fits you
Choose Calorie Tape if
- You don’t want an account, or a copy of your food diary on anyone’s server.
- You log in places without signal. Search, barcode scanning and label reading all work offline.
- You want to see which foods each nutrient came from, without paying for it.
- You’d rather not see ads.
Choose Cronometer if
- You want the most nutrient data, from databases such as the lab-analyzed NCCDB.
- You cook from recipes, or want charts of your nutrition over time.
- You use Android or the web, or want one diary on several devices.
- You track weight, exercise or biometrics too, or sync wearables.
At a glance
| Calorie Tape | Cronometer | |
|---|---|---|
| Price | Calorie TapeCalorie Tape leads: Free. Every feature. | CronometerBasic is free. Gold is $10.99 a month or $59.99 a year. |
| Ads | Calorie TapeCalorie Tape leads: None | CronometerAds in the free Basic plan, in the app and on its website. Gold removes them. |
| Features that need a subscription | Calorie TapeCalorie Tape leads: None. Every feature is free. | CronometerGold ($10.99 a month or $59.99 a year): photo and voice logging, recipe importer, fasting timer, macro scheduler, repeat items, custom charts, nutrition scores, Oracle Nutrient Search, charts beyond seven days, PDF reports and no ads |
| Account | Calorie TapeCalorie Tape leads: None | CronometerRequired (free) |
| Where your log is kept | Calorie TapeCalorie Tape leads: Only on your iPhone | CronometerIn your account, on servers in the US |
| Data used to track you | Calorie TapeCalorie Tape leads: None. The app collects no data. | CronometerContact info, identifiers and usage data, per its App Privacy label |
| Works offline | Calorie TapeCalorie Tape leads: Search, scanning, label reading and logging all work offline | CronometerNeeds a connection to search and log |
| Barcode scanning | Calorie TapeCalorie Tape leads: Free, and works offline | CronometerFree; needs a connection |
| Nutrients | Calorie TapeEvery nutrient a food reports: 65 for USDA generic foods, the label’s for packaged foods | CronometerCronometer leads: Up to 95 nutrients and compounds |
| Foods | Calorie TapeMore than a million, from USDA and Open Food Facts, stored on your iPhone | CronometerMore than 1.1 million verified foods, from sources including NCCDB and USDA |
| Recipes | Calorie TapeNo | CronometerCronometer leads: Yes, free. Importing a recipe from a link needs Gold. |
| Charts over time | Calorie TapeNo | CronometerCronometer leads: Seven days free; any range with Gold |
| Weight and exercise | Calorie TapeNo | CronometerCronometer leads: Yes |
| Apple Health | Calorie TapeOptional: writes food, reads active energy | CronometerYes |
| Notes | Calorie TapeA note on any food, and one for each day, for things like symptoms or allergens | CronometerNotes in your diary, in any meal group; photos and timestamps on notes need Gold |
| Devices | Calorie TapeiPhone, with iOS 27 or later | CronometerCronometer leads: iPhone, iPad, Apple Watch, Android and the web |
| Export | Calorie TapeCalorie Tape leads: From the app: chosen days as text to copy or share, or a spreadsheet (CSV) | CronometerCSV from the web version’s account settings; the phone app’s account settings have none. PDF reports with Gold. |
Cronometer’s details are from its App Store listing (US), website, help center, privacy policy and staff replies on its forum, checked September 29, 2026.
Privacy: an account, or just your phone
Cronometer keeps your diary in your account. Its privacy policy says it stores that information on servers in the United States, and its site pledges never to sell your personal data. Free accounts see ads, and Cronometer shares limited information with advertising partners to target them, though not your health information. Its App Privacy label on the App Store lists contact info, identifiers and usage data as data that may be used to track you.
Calorie Tape has no account and no server, and it makes no network calls of its own. Your log stays in the app on your iPhone, and in the iPhone’s own backups if you use them. The cost is sync: with no account, your log can’t follow you to a second device.
Nutrients: how deep each one goes
Cronometer leads here. It draws on more than ten food databases, including the lab-analyzed NCCDB, and tracks up to 95 nutrients and compounds. For most foods, it has more nutrient data.
Calorie Tape keeps every nutrient its sources report, and invents none. USDA’s generic foods (FNDDS) carry 65 nutrients each; a packaged food carries what its label lists. When a food doesn’t report a nutrient, it shows “—”, not zero, and a day’s total says how many foods reported it: “Magnesium ≥ 212 mg · 3 of 7 foods”. Tap any nutrient to see which foods it came from. Cronometer’s version of that, Oracle Nutrient Search, is part of Gold.
Foods and barcode scanning
Both apps have about a million foods and scan barcodes for free. Cronometer’s come from sources including NCCDB, USDA and Nutritionix, and it verifies branded foods before adding them. Calorie Tape’s come from USDA FoodData Central and Open Food Facts, and each food shows its source under its name.
Calorie Tape’s whole catalog lives on your iPhone, so search and scanning need no connection. Cronometer needs one: its staff have said on its forum that it can’t offer an offline mode, because the databases are large and their licences don’t allow storing them on your phone. In our own test on iPhone in September 2026, it needed a connection to search and log. When a barcode isn’t in Calorie Tape’s catalog, photograph the Nutrition Facts label and the app fills in a new food for you to check. It reads the label on your iPhone, too.
Price
Cronometer Basic is free, with ads in the app and on its website. Gold costs $10.99 a month or $59.99 a year in the US. It removes the ads and adds photo and voice logging, recipe importing, a fasting timer, custom charts, nutrition scores and PDF reports.
Every Calorie Tape feature is free, and there are no ads.
What Cronometer has that Calorie Tape doesn’t
- Recipes and saved meals, free, plus recipe importing with Gold.
- Charts and reports over time.
- Weight, exercise and biometrics, with Apple Health, Fitbit, Garmin, Oura and Whoop.
- Apps for Android, the web, iPad and Apple Watch, synced through your account.
- Photo and voice logging, with Gold.
- More nutrients for most foods.
Switching from Cronometer
Calorie Tape can’t import another app’s diary, so you’d start a fresh log. Cronometer exports your data as a CSV file from its website’s account settings, so your history stays yours; in our test on iPhone in September 2026, its phone app had no export. Your targets take a minute to set again: energy, protein, carbs and fat in grams or as a percentage of energy, with vitamins and minerals measured against the FDA’s Daily Values.
Questions
Is there a Cronometer alternative that doesn’t need an account?
Calorie Tape needs no account and makes no network calls of its own. It searches more than a million foods from USDA and Open Food Facts on your iPhone, scans barcodes offline, and keeps your log on the phone. It’s coming soon to the App Store in the US, Canada, the UK, Australia and New Zealand.
Does Calorie Tape track as many nutrients as Cronometer?
No. Cronometer tracks up to 95 nutrients and compounds from sources that include lab-analyzed data. Calorie Tape keeps every nutrient its sources report: 65 for USDA’s generic foods, and what the label lists for packaged foods. A nutrient a food doesn’t report shows as unknown, not zero.
Which is more accurate, Calorie Tape or Cronometer?
For most foods, Cronometer. It draws on lab-analyzed data and verifies what users submit. Calorie Tape uses USDA data and Open Food Facts, whose volunteers copy values from packages. When both have a barcode, Calorie Tape keeps USDA’s values, and it leaves out products whose numbers contradict themselves. Every food shows its source.
Does Cronometer work offline?
No. Cronometer’s staff have said it can’t offer an offline mode, because its databases are large and licences don’t allow storing them on your phone, and in our own test on iPhone in September 2026 it needed a connection to search and log. Calorie Tape keeps its whole catalog on your iPhone, so search, scanning and logging work without a connection.
Does Calorie Tape work with Apple Health?
Yes, if you turn it on. Calorie Tape can save each food you log, with its nutrients, to Apple Health, and read your active energy to show beside what you ate. Both are off until you turn them on, and Calorie Tape doesn’t track weight or exercise itself. Cronometer syncs with Apple Health and with devices such as Fitbit, Garmin, Oura and Whoop.
Get Calorie Tape
For iPhone, in the US, Canada, the UK, Australia and New Zealand.
More comparisons
- Cronometer alternativesOffline, private, bigger or coached
- MyFitnessPal vs CronometerDatabase size or nutrient depth
- Cronometer vs MacroFactorDeep nutrients, or weekly coaching
- Lose It! vs CronometerA weight-loss plan, or nutrient detail
- Calorie Tape vs MyFitnessPalA huge database and Premium tools, or a free scanner and no account
- Calorie Tape vs MacroFactorA paid coach that adjusts your macros, or a free log
- Calorie Tape vs Lose It!A weight-loss plan, or a nutrient log
- Calorie Tape vs fatsecretTwo free barcode scanners, one with an account
- All comparisonsSix apps side by side
Sources
All checked September 29, 2026. Prices are US prices. Apps change; if something here is out of date, email hellochillcreatures@gmail.com and we’ll fix it.
- Cronometer: Calorie Counter, App Store (US): in-app prices, App Privacy label, devices, Apple Health and wearables.
- Cronometer Gold: plans, prices, and what Basic and Gold include.
- Cronometer, Free Version: What’s Included: free barcode scanner, recipes, charts, web and Android.
- Cronometer, Accurate Database: data sources, including NCCDB.
- Cronometer, Data Security: never selling personal data; export and delete.
- Cronometer Privacy Policy: storage in the US, advertising on free accounts.
- Cronometer Support, Account Settings (web): CSV export from the web version; personalized in-app ads setting.
- Cronometer Support, Mobile - Account: the phone app’s account data settings list bulk delete and account deletion, no export.
- Cronometer Support, Mobile - Add a Note: diary notes; photos and timestamps on notes with Gold.
- Cronometer Community, “strategy for offline use”: a Cronometer staff reply (July 2019): no offline mode, because the databases are large and licences don’t allow storing them on your device.
- Cronometer Community, “Add offline functionality”: staff calling offline a feature request (2018); users still asking in September 2025.
- Cronometer on Google Play: the Android app.
- Calorie Tape Privacy Policy and Food Data.
Cronometer is a trademark of its owner, used here only to name the app. Calorie Tape and Chill Creatures aren’t affiliated with or endorsed by Cronometer Software Inc.