When selecting a nutrition app to download, it’s important to consider your goals and which features are most important to you.

For example, many apps focus on calorie counting or weight loss, while others focus on mindful eating or nutrition education.

There are also options created specifically for pregnant women, people with food allergies, or people with certain dietary restrictions or food preferences.

Ideally, look for apps that are highly rated and backed by healthcare professionals, such as doctors or dietitians.

Also consider the cost of using the app. While some apps are free to download and use, others may require a subscription or offer in-app purchases.

Best Overall Nutrition App

MyPlate calorie counter

• iPhone ranking: 4.7 stars
• Android Ranking: 4.6 stars
• Price: free with in-app purchases

Whether you’re a health enthusiast or a nutrition newbie, Livestrong’s MyPlate Calorie Counter app is well worth the download.

Besides tracking your nutrient intake and exercise, the app also offers a range of recipes, meal plans and workouts. Additionally, there is a community section, which provides peer support, motivation, and tips and tricks from members.

Although the app is free, for $3.75 per month you can upgrade your account to access premium features, including personalized nutrition labels, daily averages, and advanced statistics on your nutrient intake and your overall progress.

Best Meal Planning App

PlateJoy

• iPhone ranking: 4.7 stars
• Android Ranking: 4.5 stars
• Price: $4.99 per year for Healthline readers; otherwise $12.99 per month, $69 for 6 months or $99 for 1 year.

Highly recommended by my sister, a new mom and full-time grad student who’s always on the go, PlateJoy is an app designed to help you save time while eating healthy.

It uses a questionnaire to collect details about your lifestyle, cooking habits, and food preferences, then creates a personalized meal plan and shopping list for your household.

Along with choosing your meal plan, you can also select specific ingredients you want to avoid, the amount of variety you prefer, and desired portion sizes.

To access all meal planning features, PlateJoy offers a monthly subscription for $12.99, a 6-month subscription for $69, or an annual subscription for $99.

However, Healthline readers can access the app for just $4.99 per month.

Best Food Tracking App

MyFitnessPal

• iPhone ranking: 4.7 stars
• Android Ranking: 4.5 stars
• Price: free with in-app purchases

MyFitnessPal is a powerful app, with a huge food database, barcode scanner, recipe importer, restaurant logger, food info, calorie counter and more.

Whether you’re monitoring your nutrition to lose weight, change your eating habits, or simply empower yourself, MyFitnessPal makes it easy.

Although the app is free, you can purchase a premium subscription for $9.99 per month or $49.99 per year to unlock additional features including detailed food analytics, workout routines and more. customization options.

Best healthy recipes app

Delicious recipes and kitchen tools

• iPhone ranking: 4.7 stars
• Android Ranking: 4.5 stars
• Price: free with in-app purchases

With over 2 million recipes to choose from and a variety of options to suit your tastes, needs and preferences, Yummly is my go-to app for healthy cooking.

Recipes are sorted and organized by cuisine, course, diet, and required ingredients, making it easy to find something that suits you.

You can also add ingredients to your shopping list, connect smart devices to the app, and create custom collections with your favorite recipes.

Although the app is free, for $4.99 per month you can access premium features including step-by-step cooking guides, nutritional information for each recipe, recommended recipes based on your goals, and additional tools to streamline meal planning.

best weight loss app

Lifesum: healthy eating

• iPhone ranking: 4.7 stars
• Android Ranking: 4.4 stars
• Price: free with in-app purchases

Lifesum is a popular app that helps simplify weight loss with tools like a recipe library, food diary, and calorie counter.

During sign-up, the app collects information about your height, weight, age, and specific goals to provide you with a personalized plan based on your needs.

It also offers a weekly health test, which includes information about your habits and identifies potential areas for improvement.

The food and exercise diary is free, but the app also offers a premium subscription starting at $4.17 per month to access body composition tracking, macro counting, and personalized diet plans and recipes.

Best App for Mindful Eating

I ate a food diary

• iPhone ranking: 4.8 stars
• Android Ranking: 3.5 stars
• Price: $9.99 per month or $49.99 per year

Advertised as a mindful food journaling app that doesn’t count calories, Ate Food Journal aims to help you understand why you eat certain foods and how they make you feel.

The app lets you take photos of your meals and activities to create a visual timeline of your day.

It also lets you participate in experiences, such as eating with your non-dominant hand, and add details about each meal, including who you ate with, how it was prepared, and how it tasted.

The app offers a 7-day free trial to see if it’s right for you. After that, subscriptions cost $9.99 per month or $49.99 per year.

Best Macro Counting App

MyNet Diary Calorie Counter

• iPhone ranking: 4.8 stars
• Android Ranking: 4.6 stars
• Price: free with in-app purchases

Whether you’re trying to cut carbs, increase your protein intake, or better understand the macronutrient breakdown of your diet, MyNet Diary Calorie Counter is a great tool for food logging on the go.

The app helps you set goals, monitor your weight trends, and track your intake based on the specific diet you select. It also offers detailed nutrient information for each ingredient in your food diary and daily analysis to help you stay on track.

Although many of the features are free, you can also purchase a premium subscription for $8.99 per month or $59.99 per year.

A premium subscription provides access to specific diet plans, recipes and tracking tools, as well as more in-depth nutritional analyzes for foods.

Better nutrition education app

Name

Price: $60 per month or $199 per year

Offering personalized meal plans, weekly challenges and access to a virtual coaching team, Noom is popular among dieters around the world, including my mom, who notes that the short and simple lesson plans l helped her understand how her food choices affected her health. .

In addition to providing educational information, Noom also includes tools to track your progress and training plans to add more activity to your daily routine.

Noom usually offers a free trial when you sign up, but you need a subscription to use the app, which costs $60 per month or $199 per year.

Best app for food allergies

spokin

• iPhone ranking: 4.7 stars
• Price: free

For families with food allergies, Spokin can be a handy tool to have on hand.

It allows you to select specific ingredients that you should avoid and provides information on the safety and allergen-freeness of food products.

You can also check other users’ reviews of restaurants and hotels around the world to find allergy-safe options.

Although the app can currently only be downloaded from the App Store for iPhone, the developers note that it will soon be available for Android devices as well.

Best pregnancy nutrition app

Ovia Pregnancy Tracker

Nutritional needs change quite a bit during pregnancy, which can be overwhelming when you’re pregnant. Fortunately, Ovia makes it easier than ever to make sure you’re getting the nourishment you need for a healthy pregnancy.

Specifically, the app includes a food and activity diary, recipe collection, medication reminders, and food safety guide.

It also provides useful resources, advice and detailed information on the progress of your pregnancy.

Best of all, it’s completely free.