Cronometer vs. MyNetDiary: Which is Better in 2025?

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Since I personally just recently reviewed MyNetDiary and Cronometer in 2025 as part of Feastgood’s ongoing nutrition app reviews, I’m excited to share with you how these apps stack up against each other.

I’m using our tried and true review process & guidelines to compare my personal favorite macro tracking app (Cronometer) with the app I consider to be the best free calorie counter (MyNetDiary).  I rank the apps in ten key categories so that you can pick the one that is best for you and your goals.

Key Takeaways

• Cronometer is the overall winner, besting MyNetDiary in 7 out of 10 categories reviewed.

• Cronometer is best for clients who love data.  It’s my recommendation for serious athletes, competitive bodybuilders and intermediate to advanced macro-trackers.

• MyNetDiary is the right choice if you’re looking for a reliable free app that focuses on tracking calories for weight loss, while still allowing you to track macronutrients.

What is Cronometer?

Here’s a great video on the pros and cons of Cronometer:

Cronometer earned the distinction of being my favorite macro-tracking app because it has so much data!  In addition to the main macronutrients (protein, carbohydrates and fat), it also tracks alcohol separately, and breaks down the macronutrients (for example, it tracks individual amino acids within protein).  It also tracks over 80 micronutrients, water intake, and exercise.  And that’s just in terms of inputs to your body!

On the output side, Cronometer has nearly unlimited options for body measurements (weight, circumference measurements, body fat percentage, and more) as well as blood and lab tests, and subjective ratings like mood and sleep quality. A very literal output that it tracks is stool, which is a key indicator of your digestive health and is very closely linked to your nutrition.

As an athlete and coach, I also think it’s great because users can export reports to share with coaches, doctors, and other healthcare professionals.  You can even design custom reports in the paid Gold version. 

Cronometer comes up with a suggested calorie intake spread across the three main macronutrients based on its detailed intake process (learn more in Beginner’s Guide to Using Cronometer). You have the freedom to adjust these targets however you would like.

With so many ways to track your progress, and link your results to your intake with custom charts and reports, you can easily adjust your targets to keep you on track with your goals.

Pros

• The calorie and macronutrient targets can be customized
• The food database is verified
• The micronutrient information is very detailed
• The options for biometric markers are very comprehensive
• The charts and reports are customizable
• The recipes can be shared with other users
• The community support is excellent

Cons

• There are multiple entries for the same food so you have to check against the label
• Several of the customization options are only available in the paid version

What Is MyNetDiary?

Here’s a great video on the pros and cons of MyNetDiary:

MyNetDiary does have more of a focus on tracking calories than on tracking macronutrients but it does show the main macronutrients (including a breakdown of saturated fat and trans fat, and fiber as a subset of carbs), and  sodium and calcium.  You can see the macros per meal, and overall for the day in the My Nutrients screen. One downside: you can’t set custom macro targets unless you upgrade to Premium.

Like other apps, MyNetDiary has a basic intake process that calculates a suggested calorie intake for your goals.  The estimates are reasonable unless you have higher-than-average muscle mass for your age and/or sex.  In that case, you can manually select a higher calorie target (you have to pay to set custom macro targets, as I mentioned above).

Once you have your targets set, it’s time to start logging your food, and MyNetDiary ranks really highly on ease of input. The barcode scanner is free (unlike MyFitnessPal), and I really liked that I could switch between different types of units (ounces versus grams, for example) on the main logging screen without needing to click into additional screens.  It was also the first app I tried with an AI meal scanning function, and so far it’s got the second-best AI functionality of the apps we’ve tested for this feature.

MyNetDiary makes it easy to visually “see” your progress through a weight graph that shows an expected weight loss trend into the future based on your progress, and the ability to upload progress photos and view them side-by-side to see body changes over time.

Overall, MyNetDiary is a more basic nutrition tracking app, with a focus on weight loss.  Its “calorie meter” is an apple graphic that changes color, going to red if you exceed your calorie target for the day.  This wouldn’t be helpful for someone with a goal of maintaining or gaining weight.

MyNetDiary is also good for providing nutrition education through its Daily Analysis and Food Grade.  In the Daily Analysis, it comments on fiber, saturated and trans fat, and sodium intake compared to recommended government guidelines.  The Food Grade gives each food a letter “grade” (A-D) to help guide users to healthier choices.

Similar to LoseIt, MyNetDiary has a free community built into the app.  There is no need to go to an outside forum or social media platform to get support.

Pros

• The calorie and macronutrient* targets can be customized (*macronutrient targets in paid version)
• The community is built in
• The Food Grade and Daily Analysis are good for nutrition education
• The progress indicators are motivating

Cons

• The calorie recommendations are too low for muscular individuals
• The app recommends exercising more to “make up for” calories above the daily target

1. Food Database

Cronometer

Cronometer’s verified food database allows for user-submitted entries, which are verified by Cronometer staff based on photos of the nutrition labels.  These entries are identifiable as CRDB (Cronometer User Database).  

However, since manufacturer labels often only show basic information and can have errors, the most reliable entries are NCCDB(Nutrition Coordinating Center Food & Nutrient Database) and USDA (United States Department of Agriculture National Nutrient Database for Standard Reference).

I’ve been really impressed that Cronometer will automatically populate detailed micronutrient information for foods based on the more detailed databases.  For example, a packet of oatmeal might only have basic nutrition information on the label, but Cronometer will automatically fill in detailed micronutrient information based on the NCCDB and/or USDA reference information for oatmeal.

MyNetDiary

MyNetDiary also has a fully verified food database, and it does not have user-submitted entries.  I found that my regular food entries had the exact same basic information (calories & macronutrients) in Cronometer & MyNetDiary.

2. Tracking Capabilities

Cronometer

Cronometer has some of the most detailed tracking capabilities in all of the apps we’ve reviewed.  With over 80 micronutrients, sub-components for all macronutrients (and a separate category for alcohol), body measurements, and the ability to create custom metrics (in the paid version), there is virtually nothing you can’t track.  Had a bad dream after eating sushi?  Record it!

Then, once you’ve tracked it, you can produce charts and reports, and plot variables against each other to see if there is a connection, and share your reports with healthcare professionals.

MyNetDiary

MyNetDiary has less detailed tracking capabilities than Cronometer.  I do like, however, that I can quickly log my food, and upload progress photos.

3. Calorie Recommendations

Cronometer

Cronometer provides scientifically-based realistic, sustainable calorie recommendations for goals. I’ve had success using Cronometer personally for weight loss, weight maintenance, and weight gain.

You get a lot of insight into what inputs and formulas Cronometer is using to calculate its targets, and you can adjust whatever you need, or just override the targets with your own or your coach’s recommendations.

MyNetDiary

MyNetDiary makes some generalizations about muscle mass (expecting it to be less for women and or people as they age) that result in a calorie target that is too low for people with above-average muscle mass for their sex and/or age.  

The risk is that more of the weight loss will be lean muscle mass instead of body fat, leading to a less favorable body composition at the new lower body weight.

That said, you can override the calorie target in MyNetDiary, but you have to pay for the premium version to set custom macro targets.  In particular,  my protein target was much too low, so I had to ignore the app and reach the protein number I knew it should be from our TDEE calculator.

4. Level of Customization

Cronometer

I love all of the customizations available in Cronometer.  Beyond just tweaking the macronutrient recommendations (as I mentioned above), I also use a different “template” on different days for different macronutrient targets (e.g. my rest day targets are lower than my training day targets, which are lower than my competition day targets).  In Cronometer Gold, I can use the Target Scheduler feature to schedule my templates in advance.

I also make custom charts to plot variables of interest to me.  For example, does high carbohydrate intake lead to better or worse sleep scores for me?  Is there a link between my fiber intake and my stool quality ratings?  

Finally, I toggle “on” or “off” the key nutrients I want to see on the dashboard, depending on my focus at the time.  It’s easy for me to focus on the data that matters most to me so that I don’t get overwhelmed with all the detail available.

MyNetDiary

MyNetDiary is very limited in terms of customization.  Pretty much the only area where I felt had control beyond the standard options was with setting a different calorie (but not macronutrient) target.

5. Education Opportunities

Cronometer

In the Gold version of Cronometer, there is a feature called “Ask the Oracle” that recommends food items to help get more of a particular micronutrient in your intake. For example, I wanted to naturally increase my magnesium intake without supplements, so I asked the Oracle for food recommendations naturally high in magnesium.

Cronometer’s detailed information allows you to learn on your own, but it doesn’t offer formal lessons like Noom.  It does, however, have a Nutrition Scores section in the Daily Report to see if you met the RDA (recommended daily allowance) for various targets.  

MyNetDiary

MyNetDiary’s Food Grade system and Daily Analysis help users learn more about healthy eating.  It doesn’t have lessons either, but I think it does a better job of spelling out why certain intake levels of certain nutrients are good for you.

6. Coaching

Cronometer

Cronometer does not have built-in coaching features.

However, Cronometer Pro is an account that a nutrition coach or other healthcare professional can use to enrol clients into Cronometer.  The coach can monitor a client’s food logs, reports and progress, and provide coaching via in-app messages.  

MyNetDiary

MyNetDiary does not have built-in coaching features and it does not have functionality for coaches to work with clients in the app like Cronometer.

7. Recipe Database

Cronometer

Cronometer does not have a recipe database.  On the other hand, users can input their own recipes, import recipes using a URL, or share recipes with other users (or their coach) in the app.

MyNetDiary

MyNetDiary has a recipe database in the premium version of the app. Users can input their own recipes (quickly and easily based on my experience) in the free version of the app.

8. Exercise Calories

Cronometer

Users can decide whether “exercise calories” (estimated calories burned during exercise) should be added to their daily calorie target or not in Cronometer. I personally don’t log exercises in Cronometer, and I don’t adjust my intake based on the specific exercises I do or don’t do on any given training day.

Users can also use a built-in “activity multiplier” in Cronometer to estimate their calorie burn from exercise above and beyond their base metabolic rate.  The other option is to import “activity calories” from wearable trackers.  These trackers are notoriously inaccurate, so I stick to the activity multiplier.

MyNetDiary

Similar to Cronometer, users can decide whether exercise calories are added to their daily calorie target in MyNetDiary.  However, the default setting is ON, and I disliked that MyNetDiary would recommend doing more exercise to “make up for” times I went over my calorie budget in the app.

This is not a coaching recommendation that I would make as a nutrition coach because it can create an unhealthy relationship between diet, exercise and body image.  It suggests that calories can be ‘earned” or that exercise is a “punishment” for overeating.

9. Price

Cronometer

Cronometer makes a ton of valuable features available in its free version.  The only exceptions I’ve mentioned are: the template Target Scheduler, custom biometrics, custom reports and recipe sharing.

Right now, Cronometer Gold is $4.99 US/month for a yearly subscription ($59.88 US) or $10.99 US/month monthly. 

But, as I shared in my review of Cronometer Gold, I think the free version of Cronometer is so good that almost every user can get what they need without upgrading to Gold.

Use this link to get 10% off Cronometer Gold.

MyNetDiary

Right now, MyNetDiary Premium is $59.99 US annually or $8.99 US/month monthly.

Given that you cannot set macro targets in the free version, I’d be inclined to recommend that users who are interested in tracking macros to upgrade.  

On the other hand, I do consider MyNetDiary to be a great free tracker if your main focus is on calories and weight loss.

10. Reviews

Cronometer

Cronometer is rated #18 in Health & Fitness in the Apple App Store, with a rating of 4.8/5 on almost 75k ratings.

MyNetDiary

MyNetDiary is rated #12 in Health & Fitness in the Apple App Store, with a rating of 4.8/5 on 116k ratings.

Conclusion

Based on our review for serious athletes and health enthusiasts (Feastgood readers, that’s you!): Cronometer is the winner in our books in 2025, with wins in 7/10 categories reviewed.

Other Diet App Comparisons

• Cronometer vs MyFitnessPal
• MacroFactor vs Cronometer
• MacroFactor vs Lose It
• Noom vs Lose It