Yes, Cronometer is free: its Basic account costs nothing, has no time limit, and includes food logging, up to 95 nutrients, custom macro targets and an unlimited barcode scanner. What you do not get for free is photo and voice logging, the fasting timer, Crono Coach, history beyond 7 days and an ad-free app, which all need Cronometer Gold at $10.99 a month or $59.99 a year in the US.
Disclosure: this page is written by the Calo AI Team. Calo AI is our own app, and we have no link to Cronometer or Cronometer Software Inc. Every Cronometer fact below comes from its own website, App Store and Google Play listings, checked on 13 November 2026. Prices and plans change, so treat them as a snapshot.
What does Cronometer Basic include for free?
Cronometer’s free version page opens with a clear promise: “Everything you need to track your food, track your macros and track your vitamins and minerals is included in a Cronometer Basic account, which is completely free of charge.” It also says, “Continue to use a Basic account for as long as you need, we’ll never force you to upgrade.”
The comparison table on Cronometer’s Gold page ticks these features for Basic:
- Log foods, exercise, biometrics and notes.
- Track up to 95 nutrients and other compounds.
- Custom macro and micronutrient targets.
- Sync with apps and devices (every integration except the ChatGPT plugin).
- Barcode scanner, with “unlimited use” on Basic.
- Manually create custom foods, meals and recipes.
- Reports and charts within a 7-day window.
- A database of over 1 million lab-analysed or verified foods.
- Encrypted personal data and diary groups.
That is a generous free plan, especially the unlimited barcode scanner and custom macro targets. If you want to see how that compares, our Is Lose It free? and Is MyFitnessPal free? pages walk through their free plans in the same way.
Which Cronometer features need Gold?
Everything in the “Customization & Scheduling” and “Insights & Sharing” sections of Cronometer’s comparison table is ticked for Gold only. Here is how the two plans line up:
| Feature | Basic (free) | Gold |
|---|---|---|
| Food, exercise and biometric logging | Yes | Yes |
| Up to 95 nutrients and compounds | Yes | Yes |
| Custom macro and micronutrient targets | Yes | Yes |
| Barcode scanner | Yes, unlimited | Yes |
| App and device syncing | Yes (not ChatGPT) | Yes, plus ChatGPT plugin |
| Custom foods, meals and recipes | Yes | Yes |
| Reports and charts | 7-day window | Any time frame |
| Photo Log | No | Yes |
| Voice Log | No | Yes |
| Fasting Timer | No | Yes |
| Macro Scheduler (different targets by day) | No | Yes |
| Recipe Importer from a URL | No | Yes |
| Repeat Items and Timestamps | No | Yes |
| Nutrition Scores, Custom Charts, Oracle Nutrient Search | No | Yes |
| Print Reports for health professionals | No | Yes |
| Crono Coach (AI coaching) | No | Yes |
| Ads | Yes | Ad-free |
One thing can confuse people. Cronometer’s App Store description lists “Four easy ways to log food”, including photo and voice logging, next to “Scan barcodes for free”. Only the barcode scanner and database search are free. The same listing puts “Photo & Voice Logging” under “Upgrade to Cronometer Gold”, and the Gold page agrees.
How much is Cronometer Gold in the US, Canada and Australia?
Cronometer’s own Gold page lists US prices: $10.99 a month billed monthly, or $59.99 billed yearly, which it shows as $4.99 a month and “Save 54%”. Its store listings show the in-app purchase items for each country:
| Store | Gold monthly | Gold yearly |
|---|---|---|
| cronometer.com (US) | $10.99 | $59.99 |
| App Store, USA | $10.99 | $59.99 |
| App Store, Canada | CA$13.99 to CA$14.99 | CA$69.99 to CA$79.99 |
| App Store, Australia | A$17.99 to A$19.99 | A$99.99 |
| Google Play, USA | $2.99 to $89.99 per item (not itemised) | - |
The Canadian and Australian App Store pages list more than one price for some items with the same name, which usually means offers or older prices. The price on your own upgrade screen is the one you pay. Cronometer’s Gold page does not mention a free trial, so we have not listed one.
The US App Store listing says Gold is charged to your Apple ID and that “Subscriptions automatically renew unless canceled at least 24 hours before the end of the current period.” To cancel, use the store you paid through: on iPhone go to Settings, your name, then Subscriptions; on Android go to Google Play, then Payments and subscriptions.
Does the free version of Cronometer have ads?
Yes. Cronometer’s US Google Play listing carries the labels “Contains ads” and “In-app purchases”, and both its Gold page and App Store listing name an “Ad-free experience” as a Gold feature. If ads are the only thing that bothers you, that is the clearest single reason to pay.
Is Cronometer Gold worth it?
Gold is likely worth it if one of these describes you:
- You cook mixed meals and hate typing ingredients. Photo Log and Voice Log are Gold only, so on Basic each ingredient goes in by search or barcode.
- You fast. The Fasting Timer is a Gold feature.
- Your targets change by day, for example more carbs on training days. That is the Macro Scheduler, also Gold.
- You want long-term trends or reports for a dietitian. Basic charts and reports stop at 7 days, while Gold shows any time frame and can print a PDF report.
Basic is probably enough if you mainly want a calorie and macro diary, you eat a lot of packaged food you can scan, and you can live with ads. Cronometer does this well. It is rated 4.8 stars from 101K ratings on the US App Store and 4.5 stars from 60.1K reviews on Google Play, where it has 5M+ downloads. For micronutrient detail on a free plan, few apps come close. Use our macro calculator to get gram targets to enter in either plan.
What are the free options for Cronometer’s Gold features?
If the feature you want sits behind Gold, another app may include it free:
| You want | Cronometer | A free option |
|---|---|---|
| Photo meal logging | Gold | Calo AI photo scanning is free, with an ad before each scan |
| Voice logging | Gold | Calo AI voice and text logging is free |
| Intermittent fasting timer | Gold | Calo AI fasting timer is free, with 12:12 to 20:4 plans |
| AI coaching | Crono Coach is Gold | Calo AI nutrition coach is free, with a short timer between messages |
There is a trade-off in the other direction too. Calo AI has no barcode scanner, does not track 95 nutrients, and has no fitness device syncs, so Cronometer Basic is the better free choice if those matter most. Our free Cronometer alternatives page and our Cronometer vs MyFitnessPal comparison go into more depth.
Where does Calo AI fit?
Calo AI is a free calorie tracker for Android, with a web app at caloai.fit/app that works in the browser on iPhone, iPad, Mac and PC. Every feature is free: AI photo meal scanning, voice and text logging, personalised meal plans using dishes from your own country’s cuisine, an AI nutrition coach, an intermittent fasting timer, step tracking, and weight and macro analytics.
To be fair about the trade-offs: the free version shows ads, including an ad before each meal scan, and there is a short timer between AI coach messages. Optional Premium removes the ads and waiting but adds no extra features. Photo results are estimates, and portion size is the hardest part for any photo tracker, so describing the dish or correcting the result by voice or text gives a closer number. Our guide on how accurate AI calorie trackers are explains why.
Calo AI sets your calorie target with the revised Harris-Benedict equation and a relaxed, steady or aggressive deficit, never below 1,200 kcal for women or 1,500 kcal for men. You can check the maths with our calorie deficit calculator.
You can try the Calo AI web app free or get it on Google Play.
A note on safety: if you are pregnant or breastfeeding, under 18, or have diabetes, PCOS, kidney disease or a history of eating disorders, speak to a doctor or registered dietitian before following a calorie target from any app. Real results vary from person to person.