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Best macro tracking app, compared on free goals, grams and day targets

By Eric Parker, founder of TrueCal. Updated October 17, 2026.

The free-plan pages for MyFitnessPal, Cronometer and Carb Manager include macro targets. Lose It, MacroFactor and TrueCal put them in paid plans. MyNetDiary's free-tier page says free, but its home page says paid.

MyFitnessPal's free goals use percentages. Its Premium page disagrees with its free-version help about custom macro goals. Each cell in the table below links the company page it came from.

What does each app include for macro goals?

FeatureMyFitnessPalCronometerLose ItMacroFactorMyNetDiaryCarb ManagerTrueCal
Free version sets a calorie target Yes, a customizable calorie goal. Free-version help, read October 17, 2026. Yes, an energy target calculated at setup or entered by hand. Web quick start and energy target help, read October 17, 2026. Yes, Basic includes a personalized daily calorie budget. Tiers and pricing, read October 17, 2026. No free version. MacroFactor product page, read October 17, 2026. Yes, a calorie budget with custom targets. Free-tier page, read October 17, 2026. Yes, Basic includes the setup calorie budget, which the Macros Calculator can change. Plans, setup and calculator help, read October 17, 2026. Not stated
Free version sets macro targets Yes according to the help center, percentages in 5% steps totaling 100%. Its pages disagree, the Premium page excludes custom macro goals from Free. Free-version help and Premium page, read October 17, 2026. Yes, Basic includes custom macro targets. Basic and Gold comparison, read October 17, 2026. No, custom nutrient goals require Premium. Nutrient goal help, read October 17, 2026. No free version. The paid app offers Coached, Collaborative and Manual programs. Product page and program styles, read October 17, 2026. Its pages disagree. The free-tier page includes custom macro targets, while the home page puts them in Premium and Premium Plus. Free-tier page and home page, read October 17, 2026. Yes according to the macro tracker page. An older article instead implies macro goals require Premium, so its pages disagree. Macro tracker page and 2022 article, read October 17, 2026. Its product information says macros require Pro, and its FAQ says custom goals require Pro. Product information and FAQ, read October 17, 2026.
Grams or percent Free uses percentages in 5% steps. Premium and Premium+ offer grams or percentages. Free's Today card shows percentages only. Free-version help, plan comparison and Today tab help, read October 17, 2026. Both on Basic. Fixed Targets use grams, while Macro Ratios use percentages of the energy target. Plan comparison, Fixed Targets and Macro Ratios, read October 17, 2026. Percentages or grams on Premium. Nutrient goal help, read October 17, 2026. Not stated Both grams and calorie percentages. The free-tier page says free, while the home page puts custom targets in paid plans. Free-tier page and home page, read October 17, 2026. Both. Presets use percentages and produce gram goals. Custom entry is described as grams in calculator help and percentages in older diet help, neither labels it Premium. Calculator help, diet options and goal calculations, read October 17, 2026. Not stated
Different targets by day or by meal Weekday macro targets require Premium or Premium+. Premium also has meal calorie targets. Macros by Meal only displays a breakdown. Plan comparison, Macros by Meal and meal calorie targets, read October 17, 2026. Gold's Macro Scheduler sets weekday targets and allows single-day edits. Per-meal targets are Not stated. Gold comparison and Macro Scheduler help, read October 17, 2026. Macro goals cannot vary by day. Premium can vary calorie budgets by day and set meal targets. Meal help describes calorie suggestions, iOS also offers nutrients, and store listings include macros. Nutrient goals, Calorie Schedule, meal settings, Log Header and store listing, read October 17, 2026. Paid Collaborative and Manual programs allow day-to-day macro targets. Coached programs can shift calories across days. Per-meal targets are Not stated. Day targets and Coached options, read October 17, 2026. Premium includes calorie and macro cycling by weekday. Per-meal targets are Not stated. Plan comparison and FAQ, read October 17, 2026. Premium includes weekday goals and customized meal goals. Meal goals use calorie percentages. Free access to the default meal split is Not stated. Premium comparison and meal goal help, read October 17, 2026. Not stated
Protein goal or protein-first view Editable protein goal, initially 20% of calories. Free uses percent, Premium adds grams. A protein-first view is Not stated. Protein help and goal settings, read October 17, 2026. Protein can have its own nutrient target. Mobile has a Protein tab and a Remaining view in grams. A protein-first view is Not stated. Protein targets and mobile breakdown, read October 17, 2026. Premium includes protein goals in grams or percent and a High Protein Nutrition Strategy. A protein-first default screen is Not stated. Nutrient goals and Nutrition Strategies, read October 17, 2026. Coached programs assign protein targets from preferences and exercise habits. The dashboard places protein after calories. Coached program and dashboard help, read October 17, 2026. Protein is a macro target. Subscribers can make protein the primary nutrient throughout the mobile app. Target settings and subscriber display settings, read October 17, 2026. Protein is a macro goal and can be a detailed nutrient goal. Presets include High Protein. A protein-first view is Not stated. Calculator help, detailed goals and presets, read October 17, 2026. Not stated
Plan that includes macro goals, and its listed price Free for percentage goals. Premium for grams and weekday targets, $79.99 a year or $19.99 a month. Free-version help and Premium pricing, read October 17, 2026. Basic, $0, includes custom macro targets. Gold adds weekday targets at $10.99 a month billed monthly, or $4.99 a month billed annually at $59.99. Basic and Gold pricing, read October 17, 2026. Premium, $79.99 USD a year with annual renewal. Lifetime costs $299.99, or $229.99 for active Premium members. Monthly price is Not stated. Tiers and pricing, read October 17, 2026. One paid subscription, $11.99 month to month, $47.99 every 6 months or $71.99 a year. Product pricing, read October 17, 2026. Free versus paid macro access is disputed by its own pages. The free-tier page lists Premium at $8.99 a month or $59.99 a year, Premium Plus at $14.99 a month or $99.99 a year, and Lifetime Premium at $179.99 once. Free-tier pricing and home page, read October 17, 2026. Basic macro goals are free. Premium adds weekday and meal goals, listed at $3.33 a month billed annually. Macro tracker and Premium pricing, read October 17, 2026. TrueCal Pro, $29.99 a year or $9.99 a month. TrueCal pricing, read October 17, 2026.
Barcode and AI logging, and their plan Barcode, Meal Scan photos and Voice Log require Premium and run in the phone apps, not the website. Typed AI descriptions and label scanning are Not stated. Barcode help, Meal Scan and Voice Log, read October 17, 2026. Basic includes unlimited barcode scans. Gold includes AI photos and spoken or typed descriptions. Label autofill's plan is Not stated. Basic features, photo help, voice help and label autofill, read October 17, 2026. Its barcode pages disagree, About says free and Tiers and Pricing says Premium. Premium includes photo, AI voice and label scanning. Typed AI descriptions are Not stated. About, Tiers and Pricing, store listing and label help, read October 17, 2026. The paid subscription includes barcode, photo AI, Describe for typed meals or keyboard dictation, and label scanning. Describe searches common foods rather than branded foods. Subscription, logging features, photo help, Describe and label scanner, read October 17, 2026. Barcode is free. Its pages disagree on Meal Scan, the free-tier table says Premium and the home FAQ says Premium Plus. AI whole-meal voice is Premium Plus, single-food voice is free. The Android description FAQ says Premium Plus in its title and Premium in its body. Android label scanning is free. Plan table, home FAQ, description FAQ and Android page, read October 17, 2026. Its barcode pages disagree, help says free and the Premium page lists it as Premium. Photo, voice and natural language logging are Premium. Nutrition-label scanning is Not stated. Barcode help, Premium page, photo feature and voice help, read October 17, 2026. Pro includes typed meal descriptions, voice, food photos, barcode scans and nutrition-label photos. Product information and pricing, read October 17, 2026.
Platforms Web, iPhone, iPad, Android, Apple Watch and Wear OS. Barcode, Meal Scan and Voice Log are app-only. Platform help, App Store listing, Wear OS and Voice Log help, read October 17, 2026. Web, iOS and Android. The App Store lists iPhone, iPad, Apple Watch, compatible Macs and Apple Vision. Apple Watch and Wear OS show summaries. Home page, App Store, Apple Watch and Wear OS, read October 17, 2026. iPhone, iPad, Android, Apple Watch, compatible Macs and Apple Vision, plus web logging. Some Premium tools are app-only. About, App Store, logging help, meal settings and Nutrition Strategies, read October 17, 2026. iPhone, iPad, Apple Watch and Android. Apple silicon Macs use the iPad app. No desktop or web version. App Store, store descriptions and Google Play description, Annual Report and product FAQ, read October 17, 2026. iPhone, iPad, Apple Watch, Android, Wear OS and web. The App Store also lists Apple Vision. Web access needs a free account. iPhone page, Android page, App Store, web access and Google Play, read October 17, 2026. iPhone, iPad, Apple Watch, Android and web. Apple silicon Macs use the iPad app. Web access needs an account. App Store, mobile platforms and web setup, read October 17, 2026. iPhone, Android and web. Product information and FAQ, read October 17, 2026.

Which free accounts let you choose macro targets?

Cronometer's plan comparison includes custom macro targets in Basic. Carb Manager's macro page calls its goals free, although its older article describes a narrower free plan. MyFitnessPal's help center includes percentage goals in Free, despite the paid-only wording on its Premium page.

MyNetDiary gives conflicting answers. Its free-tier page includes custom macro planning, while its home FAQ calls customizable targets a paid addition. Lose It's custom nutrient goals require Premium. MacroFactor has no free version, and TrueCal's FAQ puts macros and custom goals in Pro.

Can you enter grams instead of calorie percentages?

Cronometer's Fixed Targets accept grams for each macro. Its Macro Ratios change gram targets when the energy target changes. MyFitnessPal reserves gram entry for Premium, while Lose It Premium supports both units. MacroFactor's pages do not say whether targets are entered in grams or percent.

Carb Manager's calculator help describes custom grams, while its diet options help describes custom percentages. MyNetDiary's free-tier page offers both units, subject to its conflicting plan information. The macro counting guide explains the terms, and the carb counter comparison focuses on carb settings.

Can targets change by weekday or by meal?

MyFitnessPal Premium and Cronometer Gold support weekday macro targets. MyNetDiary Premium includes macro cycling. MacroFactor's Collaborative and Manual programs let daily macro targets differ. Lose It's nutrient help says macro goals cannot change by day, even though Calorie Schedule can change calorie budgets.

Meal breakdowns do not necessarily mean meal targets. MyFitnessPal's Macros by Meal only changes the display, and its meal targets are for calories. Carb Manager's meal goals divide calories by percentage and require Premium to customize. Our Cronometer review covers its settings, and the MacroFactor review covers its program options.

Can protein be the main number on screen?

MyNetDiary's FAQ describes replacing calories with protein as the primary nutrient across the mobile app. Its subscriber guidance makes that a subscription feature. MacroFactor's dashboard places protein after calories. Cronometer's mobile breakdown has a Protein tab with a Remaining view. The protein tracker comparison looks more closely at protein displays.

What prices do the macro-goal plans list?

MyFitnessPal Premium lists $79.99 a year or $19.99 a month. Lose It Premium lists $79.99 USD a year. MacroFactor lists $11.99 monthly, $47.99 every 6 months or $71.99 annually.

Cronometer Gold lists $10.99 monthly or $4.99 a month billed annually at $59.99. MyNetDiary Premium lists $8.99 monthly or $59.99 annually. Carb Manager Premium displays $3.33 a month billed annually, without a yearly total. TrueCal pricing lists Pro at $29.99 a year or $9.99 a month.

Does a barcode scanner come with AI logging?

Cronometer Basic includes unlimited barcode scanning, while Gold adds photo and voice logging. MyNetDiary also lists barcode scanning as free. Its plan table puts Meal Scan in Premium, but its home FAQ calls it a Premium Plus addition.

Lose It's About page calls barcode scanning free, while its pricing article lists it in Premium. Carb Manager's barcode help says Basic includes scans, while its Premium page lists the scanner among paid features. Each company's pages still give both answers.

Which features match the way you want to track?

For a reader who wants to set percentage goals, MyFitnessPal's free help describes that option. For fixed gram targets on a free account, Cronometer Basic includes custom targets and Fixed Targets provides gram entry. Lose It Premium describes a High Protein Nutrition Strategy for readers who want that preset.

MacroFactor's check-ins suggest target changes that users can decline, which suits a reader who wants regular adjustments to review. MyNetDiary's primary nutrient setting fits a reader who wants protein across the mobile screens. Carb Manager Premium lists both weekday and meal goals for readers who want those settings. The app comparison hub covers other feature questions.

What does TrueCal say about its targets?

TrueCal's App Store listing, version 1.27, read October 17, 2026, has release notes that say Set your own calorie and macro targets, plus a fiber goal and daily limits for sodium and caffeine. Its description says Choose your target weight and review your daily calorie and macro plan before saving it. It also says Pro includes photo, voice, barcode, and typed food logging, plus macro and caffeine tracking.

TrueCal's free plan keeps manual calorie logging. Macros, and logging from a typed description, voice, a photo or a barcode, are in Pro, and its FAQ says custom goals require Pro too. Target units and targets that differ by day are Not stated in these sources. Pro's meal description logging fits readers who want to type or speak a meal.

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What else do readers ask about macro targets?

Is a free download the same as free macro goals?

No. Lose It's Basic plan includes a calorie budget, but its nutrient goal help reserves custom macro goals for Premium.

Does MacroFactor have a permanent free plan?

No. MacroFactor's product page says there is no free version. Macro targets are part of its paid subscription.

Does a meal macro breakdown let me set a meal target?

MyFitnessPal's help says Macros by Meal changes what you see. Its separate meal goal feature sets calorie targets.

Are TrueCal's macro target units published?

Not stated. TrueCal's FAQ, pricing page and App Store listing describe custom goals and Pro macro access without saying whether targets are entered as grams or percentages.

Which company pages were read?