Compare apps and access
| App and developer | Platforms | Entry style | Ongoing free use | AI and paid limits | Protein-only view |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 123 Cal, our app | iPhone | Photos, descriptions, labels, barcodes | No ongoing free scan allowance established | Three-day trial; Pro for continued scans | Displays calories and macros |
| Protein Pal, Ten Labs Ltd | iOS, Android | Manual protein; paid search and scans | Manual log, goal, streaks and some stats | Pro: photo AI, barcodes, widget, expanded history | Calories optional |
| Protein Tracker Pro, Cemal Sfenjeh / JamalTek | iOS, Android | Manual input, database; iOS barcode | Exact limits unresolved | Optional iOS AI; entitlement unclear | Protein-focused; calorie-hiding unverified |
| Cronometer, Cronometer Software Inc | iOS, Android, web | Database, barcodes, recipes | Basic diary and barcode scanning | Gold for photo AI | Calorie-free display unverified |
| Foodnoms, Algebraic Labs, LLC | iPhone, iPad, Mac, Apple Watch | Database, barcodes, recipes | Unlimited diary and macro goals | Plus for photo/text AI and favorites | Calorie-free display unverified |
1. 123 Cal: photo entry with protein remaining in view
123 Cal suits someone who wants to record lunch from a photo, check the result and see how much protein remains for the day. Its App Store description places that remaining amount on the home screen, widget and Apple Watch. You can also type a meal description, photograph a nutrition label or scan a packaged-food barcode.
The correction step matters for a protein log. A photo may suggest the right dish while getting the amount of its main ingredient wrong. 123 Cal documents portion adjustments and voice or text corrections before confirmation. If the serving looks wrong, change it before that estimate enters your daily total.
123 Cal: daily calories and macros. US App Store.
Fit and trial access
Choose it if that mix of photo entry, corrections and visible daily progress solves your logging problem. Choose Protein Pal instead if you want to type protein amounts without maintaining a broader calorie diary. 123 Cal is an iPhone recommendation, and its three-day trial is not an ongoing free plan. Continued meal scanning needs 123 Cal Pro.
If the remaining-protein view on your wrist is decisive, compare the documented actions in our iPhone and Apple Watch tracker guide before subscribing.
2. Protein Pal: a free protein counter with optional paid AI
The Protein Pal app, from Ten Labs Ltd, is the clearest starting point here for someone replacing a running total in a notes app. Set a daily protein goal, add protein during the day and check your progress. Its listing also describes changing the target for a particular day. You do not need to choose a full calorie-and-macro diary just to keep this one total.
The developer's website says manual logging, personal goals, streaks and stats are free on iOS and Android, without account sign-up. That supports a useful routine: read the amount on your food label, enter the protein for the portion you ate and return later to see the day's tally.
Protein Pal has AI photo scanning too. It belongs to the optional Pro tier, alongside barcode scanning and the home-screen widget. The iOS release history documents photo estimates and an update allowing users to tweak metrics on the photo-result screen. Calling it a manual-only app would miss that option.
Protein Pal: a daily protein goal and intake log. US App Store.
Pro access and history limits
Pay attention to repeat-food and history limits before deciding whether you need Pro. The App Store description puts database search, unlimited favorites, unlimited meals and complete history and stats in Pro. The website's free-stats wording therefore should not be read as unlimited historical reporting. Optional calorie tracking is also described as a Pro feature.
Protein Pal is a good fit when you already know the protein amounts you want to enter. If you expect to search a food database or scan most packages for free, Cronometer or Foodnoms is a better starting point. Protein Pal's site also gives conflicting barcode-region coverage, so check support for your region before paying for that feature.
3. Protein Tracker Pro: protein logging with meal-planning extras
Protein Tracker Pro is not Protein Pal Pro. The separate app is published by Cemal Sfenjeh on Apple's store and JamalTek on Google Play. Check the developer name when searching, because the similar names describe different products and subscriptions.
Its iOS description covers manual food input, a protein-food database, barcode scanning, high-protein recipes, reminders, shopping lists and meal preparation. That makes it worth considering if your protein routine includes planning groceries as well as recording what you ate. A person who only needs a daily tally may have little use for those extras.
There is also optional AI on iOS. The release notes explicitly name an AI food analyzer, and the supplied artwork shows a typed food description in an Auto tab. The screen includes an Analysis action and a protein result. This supports description-based analysis in the illustrated interface; it does not establish meal-photo input.
Protein Tracker Pro: analyzing a typed meal description. US App Store.
Unresolved pricing and access
Cost is the unresolved part of this choice. The app is free to download with in-app purchases, but the retained documentation does not establish the ongoing free logging allowance or exactly which plan unlocks AI. The US store lists monthly and yearly Premium purchases separately from two “Premium AI” offers whose billing periods are not stated. Those AI amounts cannot safely be presented as monthly and yearly prices.
Consider Protein Tracker Pro for its documented protein and planning features, then check the actual upgrade screen before committing. For a clearly documented free manual routine, Protein Pal is easier to recommend. Android availability is confirmed, but the iOS AI release notes do not prove Android AI support.
4. Cronometer: free protein tracking from foods and recipes
Cronometer is a fuller food diary for readers who want to look up what they ate and let the app total its protein. Basic includes the food database, unlimited barcode scanning, custom meals and recipes, and macro tracking. It also includes a much wider nutrient record if you later need it.
For a repeat lunch assembled from several ingredients, create a custom meal or recipe once. When you return to it in the calorie log tracker, check the ingredient amounts before reusing it: yesterday's lunch may have been a larger serving.
Cronometer: a food diary with protein and energy targets. Cronometer media resources.
Free diary and paid photo logging
Basic can be used indefinitely. Its seven-day nutrition-data outlook is a reporting limit, not a seven-day free trial. Photo logging requires Gold; the free barcode scanner does not make AI photos free. Choose Cronometer when free food lookup matters more than a protein-only screen.
5. Foodnoms: free protein goals across Apple devices
Foodnoms is an Apple-platform option for people who want a food diary with protein goals and reusable meals. Its free version includes unlimited food tracking, barcode scanning, calorie and macro goals, recipes and meals. Apple Health export and CSV export are also free, which gives you a way to keep a separate copy of your log.
Foodnoms: macro goals and breakfast entries. Foodnoms press kit.
Free recipes and Plus features
The distinction between recipes and favorites matters here. Creating recipes and meals is free, while favorites for one-tap logging and importing recipes from the web require Foodnoms+. Photo and text entry through Foodnoms AI also require Plus.
Foodnoms fits readers who want free manual or barcode protein tracking on their Apple devices and may add AI later. It is unavailable on Android. If you change phone platforms often, Cronometer offers a less restrictive platform choice.
Choose how you want to enter protein
A simple protein tracker app should match the information you already have. To track protein, you can enter a known amount or let a food diary calculate it from your meal:
- A protein figure on the label: a manual counter can record the amount for your serving directly.
- Ingredients to look up: a database diary saves you a separate search.
- A mixed meal you might otherwise skip: photo entry helps, though you still need to review the estimate.
Android availability does not establish identical features on both phones.
Try entering a packaged lunch in your calorie protein tracker before moving your food history. Can you find the serving, protein amount and energy value together, or do you have to open several screens? That small check tells you more about daily use than the number of charts advertised.
When is a paid upgrade useful?
Check the feature you would use most often before comparing subscription prices:
- Finding foods: a free manual tally can cover your whole routine when you know your serving's protein. If every entry starts with a database search, Protein Pal's paid search matters more than its free download; Cronometer and Foodnoms include lookup in their free diaries.
- Repeating meals: Foodnoms separates free recipes from paid favorites, while Protein Pal puts unlimited saved meals in Pro.
- Looking back: if you want to review months of records, inspect the reporting terms. Free daily logging does not always include the historical view you expect.
Build a protein routine you can keep using
Do you need to track all three macros?
For a daily protein log, a running count of grams may be enough. Before moving to a protein macro tracker, decide what you would do with the extra information. If you want to track the macros protein, carbohydrate and fat together, try recording a familiar meal and reviewing each total. If the extra figures would go unread, keep the smaller log.
A protein calculator suggests a target; a protein counter records what you ate. If you want a protein tracker calculator that does both, check whether you can edit the suggested goal. You need that control to log against a target you already follow.
If you are searching for “macro tracker protein target too high,” compare the app’s suggestion with your existing plan before changing your meals to reach it. A high protein diet is not a universal prescription. If a medical condition affects your needs, agree the target with a qualified clinician or dietitian.
Which grams belong in the entry?
If you searched for “macro protein,” read the field label before you log protein. Grams of food describe the portion's weight; grams of protein describe the nutrient within it. In a protein macro counter, a field labelled protein needs the nutrient amount. A food-database entry may instead ask how much yogurt you ate, then calculate its protein. Entering the yogurt's weight as protein would inflate your total.
How much of a saved recipe did you eat?
For a macro calorie breakdown of a saved recipe, check whether the totals cover the whole batch or one serving, then record the share you ate. In a protein calorie counter, the same serving should determine both protein and energy. Recheck the recipe when you change its ingredients or serving count. Cronometer and Foodnoms offer saved recipes; Protein Pal's unlimited saved meals require Pro.
With a mixed restaurant plate, review the proposed food and portion before relying on the total. A photo cannot establish the exact weight of every ingredient. If you know that the dish contains tofu rather than chicken, that detail belongs in the entry. Our AI food tracker guide compares photo logging, corrections and free allowances in more depth.
Before moving an existing log, make a small trial of your own routine:
- Record your usual breakfast, a packaged snack and one less predictable meal in the new app. Notice where you stop to search, type or correct.
- Keep your current app if its saved meals already make those jobs easy.
- Use the general macro tracker guide if you need to choose targets and a diary for all three macros. For wrist logging, see the iPhone and Apple Watch tracker guide.
How should a high protein log handle food substitutions?
Keep the ingredient name when you replace a regular high protein food. A breakfast made with a different yogurt should not silently inherit the old yogurt's protein total. Update the food and amount before saving it as your usual meal again.
Record each meal once
Use one meal record to supply the nutrient and energy totals. In a calorie macro counter, adding lunch once for protein and again for calories would duplicate the food. When correcting a meal, open the existing record and check that the old version has not remained as a second entry.
Copy label values using the same serving
A “macros calorie” search can leave you wondering which label values to copy. In your calorie macro tracker, use the package's energy value for the calorie field and its protein, carbohydrate and fat amounts for their gram fields. Check whether the label gives values per serving or per container, and use the same basis throughout. Do not enter an energy value in a nutrient field just because both contain numbers.
Why doesn't the daily total match your meals?
Your macro tracker calorie total should reflect the food entries for that day. Before changing your target, look for a snack recorded twice, a drink you forgot, or a saved dinner still set to the whole recipe. Check that you are viewing the same day and comparing food intake with food intake; a remaining-calories figure answers a different question from calories eaten.
Frequently asked questions
What is the best app for tracking protein intake?
Choose 123 Cal for editable photo estimates on iPhone if you are willing to pay after the trial. Choose Protein Pal for a focused free manual tally. Cronometer suits free food lookup on iOS or Android; Foodnoms suits an Apple-device diary. The useful distinction is how you will enter meals, rather than a single overall winner.
Best protein tracker app free: what can you keep using?
A “protein tracker app free” search can return free downloads with paid logging. Protein Pal is the focused choice for ongoing free manual protein entry. Cronometer is more useful when free barcode scanning and a database are essential. Foodnoms offers those core diary functions on Apple devices. Their paid AI features are separate from free manual logging.
Which protein tracker should I use on Android?
Start with Protein Pal for a protein-first routine or Cronometer for a fuller diary. Protein Tracker Pro also has an Android listing, but its AI support and free limits remain unresolved here. Foodnoms has no Android app, and 123 Cal is an iPhone recommendation.
Can a tracker measure “calorie loss”?
First decide whether you mean eating fewer calories or energy expenditure. A food diary records intake; its meal entries do not measure the energy your body uses. If you searched “calorie weight” to connect the diary with weight changes, keep food intake, body-weight records and any expenditure estimates clearly labelled. A change in weight does not tell you the exact calories in a meal. Use the diary to review your records, and discuss medical or weight-management targets with a qualified professional.
Is there a free AI protein tracker?
Among the wider AI options, SnapCalorie's official FAQ documents up to three free AI logs per day. Read the free AI tracking comparison for its limits and alternatives. That recurring allowance differs from 123 Cal's three-day trial.
If editable photo logging fits your routine, check 123 Cal's App Store listing and use the trial to try your usual meals.
References
Official product documentation checked 30 September 2026. Press-kit screenshots were sourced on 18 September; App Store artwork on 30 September.
- 123 Cal: US App Store description, workflow and trial.
- Protein Pal: official website, free features, Pro scanning and platforms.
- Protein Pal: US App Store description and photo-scanning release history.
- Protein Tracker Pro: US App Store description, optional AI release notes and purchase labels.
- Cronometer Basic: ongoing free features, barcode scanning, recipes and platforms.
- Cronometer: Photo-Logging help, retained through the official help API.
- Foodnoms: free features versus Foodnoms+.
- Protein Tracker Pro by JamalTek: US Google Play listing.
- Apple's official US lookup: retained app descriptions and identities, including Foodnoms.
- Foodnoms: Android availability.
- SnapCalorie: official FAQ and free AI allowance.
