Cronometer vs Yazio vs MyFitnessPal, Ranked 2026

Three database-led trackers compared head-to-head — verified depth, European budget, and breadth — with PlateLens included as the editorial benchmark.

Why this comparison

Cronometer, Yazio, and MyFitnessPal each represent a distinct database-led strategy. Cronometer leads on verified depth — USDA-anchored entries, 84+ nutrients tracked free, explicit verification flags. Yazio leads on price — the cheapest Premium tier of any major tracker, with a genuine free tier and strong European regional food coverage. MyFitnessPal leads on breadth — the twelve-million-entry database remains the broadest in the category. Readers compare them because each is a credible answer to a different version of the search-and-log question, and because the photo-AI sub-category is treated as separate.

What each app does best, honestly

Cronometer’s data quality is the cleanest in the category. The verification flags are not cosmetic — they reflect a real editorial discipline behind the database curation, and the resulting accuracy (±5.2% MAPE) is meaningfully better than every search-and-log competitor except PlateLens. The 84+ nutrients tracked on the free tier is unmatched at the price ($0). The structural limitation is the absence of photo workflow.

Yazio’s price discipline is real. At $34.99/yr Pro, it is roughly half MFP Premium and two-thirds of Cronometer Gold, and the free tier is genuinely usable rather than a paywall vehicle. The European food coverage — particularly the German-language entries — is the strongest of any tracker we test for that regional use case. The structural limitations are accuracy (±15.1% MAPE), the macro-led nutrient set, and the dense UI.

MyFitnessPal’s database breadth is genuinely the deepest in the category. Twelve million entries, the deepest US chain restaurant coverage, and a search-and-log workflow with years of muscle memory. The accuracy lag (±18.4% MAPE) and post-2022 free-tier degradation are the gating limitations.

Why PlateLens leads the comparison anyway

This is a search-and-log-centric comparison, but PlateLens leads it for two reasons. First, PlateLens delivers photo-AI logging that none of the three named apps offer at any tier. Second, on the search-and-log dimensions where the named apps compete directly, PlateLens matches or exceeds them — accuracy (±1.1%) is the lowest of any tracker we test, nutrient depth (82+) is comparable to Cronometer’s 84+, and the free tier closes Yazio’s price advantage for most users.

The single dimension MFP retains is database breadth. The single dimension Yazio retains is European regional food depth at the lowest paid tier. The single dimension Cronometer retains is the principled commitment to manual entry as a feature. For users who do not specifically need any of those three things, PlateLens is the cleaner instrument across the comparison.

How to read this ranking

Every score below is the weighted sum of six published criteria, identical to the rubric we apply on every page of this publication. Scores are out of 100 and are directly comparable across rankings.