Apps add extras like AI goal-setting or diet integration (MyFitnessPal), but may require permissions that built-ins don’t. In 2025, many apps sync with these natives, so use them as a free baseline before upgrading. Built-in trackers provide basic, no-frills counting with high accuracy (95%+) but lack social challenges (Pacer) or visual analytics (StepsApp). StepsApp uses phone accelerometers and optional GPS, with cloud syncing and wearable support via Apple Health or Google Fit. Pacer’s USP is its “Groups” functionality, allowing users to create or join challenges with friends, family, or strangers worldwide, fostering accountability through real-time updates. I tested Lifesum myself, and along with the fasting features, I like the app’s emphasis on food education and food quality, leading me to rate the features a solid 5 out of 5.
Most Accessible Walking App
The community-based step tracker Pacer lets users turn walking challenges into interactive and enjoyable activities. The platform lets users create their own walking challenges and virtual races and participate in global walking events through a single interface. Samsung Health tracks steps with high precision through its connection to Samsung smartwatches. The app allows users to create individual goals while participating in monthly walking challenges and following pre-set workout programs.
Best for Heart Health: Google Fit
It builds endurance and makes you more comfortable whenever you start training or practicing. In the same manner, when you feel tired and exhausted, walking is a good way to relieve stress and boost your energy. Experts say that walking helps increase the hormones you need to stay active and alert. For others, constant tracking and big commitments may backfire and have the opposite, undesired effect. If this is the case, a more mellow app will make you more likely to reach your goal.
- The system works together with Under Armour smart shoes and wearable devices to deliver more precise tracking.
- PUSH made it intuitive to start a workout and to follow along as the app pushed me through the program it had created for me.
- MyFitnessPal is one of the most popular calorie-counting apps that helps users eat more mindfully by tracking their meals and helping them develop good habits.
- If you’re looking to lose weight or get rid of stubborn flab, one of the most helpful things you can do is keep an eye on your daily caloric intake.
- Runkeeper makes running feel attainable, no matter what progress looks like to you.
- It does so by offering a personalized nutrition plan tailored to each user’s specific goals, whether they aim to lose weight, gain weight, or maintain their current weight.
The 8 Best Calorie Counter Apps
You can set up personalized goals and customize your calorie intake and water intake. The app also has a barcode scanner to log your food, a restaurant diary, and detailed food information to make healthier choices. It includes a water tracker to stay hydrated and tracks over 500 cardio and strength exercises with calories included. Walk Workouts & Meal Planner is a step counter app designed to cater to individuals seeking a healthier lifestyle through walking.
Walk Workouts & Meal Planner Key Features
The EasyFit calorie counter app is a useful tool for tracking your food, exercises, weight/waist progress, water consumption, and macros. It is very effective, with carefully calculated calorie estimations and tested results. You can create your own meals or choose from a selection of 1500 foods, and EasyFit will automatically calculate the total calories and macros. Privacy is guaranteed, with no shady permissions or data collecting/selling. The app provides statistics with charts for calories, exercise time, macros, weight, waist, and daily water consumption. You can personalize the app with over 40 beautiful themes and distract yourself from unhealthy eating with an integrated memory game.
It also has a food scoring system that grades foods by imitating how a nutrition expert would score their healthfulness based on the nutrition label or profile and serving size. This feature is meant to help you compare foods to choose the best option and improve your nutrition quality. Below it, you’ll find the total calories consumed for that day alongside a bar chart showing the breakdown of carbs, fat, and protein. Keeps a daily and weekly total of your intake and presents your weight changes on a graph. Research shows that people who log calories lose more weight and are more likely to keep the weight off in the long run.
Best Motivational Walking App
You can connect it to fitness trackers and smartwatches, and it offers data protection and security. The app helps you lose weight, build muscle, and achieve your health goals in an easy and healthy way. For those looking for a more specialized app for tracking calories and exercise, there is Fitbit. Fitbit is madmuscles safe is known for its line of fitness trackers and smartwatches, but the app itself is also a powerful tool for tracking your health and fitness goals.
Best Walking Apps to Count Steps, Lose Weight & Map Your Walks
However, with so many available options, choosing the right app can feel overwhelming, and testing them all yourself can be very time-consuming. Step counter apps work by utilizing the accelerometer and sometimes the gyroscope sensors in your smartphone. These sensors detect motion and orientation, allowing the app to recognize when a step is taken. As you walk or run, your body’s movement generates signals that are picked up by these sensors. The app then uses algorithms to distinguish between steps and other types of movement to provide an accurate step count.
One of the best ways to burn those unwanted calories in your body is through physical cardio activities like walking (and running). You can lose and maintain weight, depending on how many calories you have burned. Many people use it because it doesn’t drain battery and keeps things simple. A past version of this article was written by registered dietitian Amy Fischer, M.S., R.D., C.D.N., who has worked with thousands of patients to improve their health through whole foods and a nutritious diet. Amy believes that food is to be enjoyed, even on a weight-loss journey, and that although calories count, the focus should be on health and eating and living better, not just losing weight.
What should I do if step counts differ between my app and a dedicated pedometer device?
Unlike pulling an all-nighter for an exam, hitting a coveted salary goal, or writing a novel, losing weight—and keeping it off—is a lifelong endeavor. For cross-platform moves (Android to iOS), use hubs like Apple Health to bridge—enable auto-backup in settings to avoid gaps. Test a small sync first to ensure no data corruption, especially for long-term trends. Fix this by placing your phone in a pocket for better motion detection, or use a wearable like Fitbit for gyroscope-assisted accuracy. Apps like StepsApp offer treadmill-specific modes in premium tiers to adjust algorithms for indoor vibes. To minimize drain, disable background location services, limit notifications, and avoid constant syncing—opt for manual checks via widgets.
Best free features
It becomes a lasting habit when supported by the right app, turning effort into progress, structure, and control. Modern step trackers provide accurate measurements, but they produce some small measurement errors. The accuracy of the device depends on multiple elements, which include the device model and its placement between the wrist and pocket area and the speed at which the user walks, and the way their arm moves. Apple devices have a built-in tracking system that provides iPhone users with the best possible combination of privacy protection and user-friendly operation. The automatic synchronization between Apple devices allows users to keep their fitness targets active without needing to put in much work.
Version 1.3.18
Some users also prefer options with fewer barriers to entry, such as minimal onboarding or no immediate sign-up, especially when trying an app for the first time. The app provides a clean breakdown of daily calories and meals, with a layout that emphasizes planning as much as tracking. This makes it especially useful for users who prefer a sense of control and visibility throughout the day rather than logging everything at once. Users who prefer structured guidance beyond calorie planning may also be interested in approaches discussed in the MyFitCoach app review, which focuses more on coached routines. MyNetDiary is built for users who want structure without feeling constrained. Its standout feature is how it guides daily tracking through clear prompts and organized meal flows, helping users stay consistent even when routines change.
It allows you to set goals for weight loss, weight gain, macronutrients, calories, water intake, sleep time, and daily step count. The built-in calorie counter has over 2 million foods and allows you to create custom foods and meals. The app also tracks over 100 activities and exercises in real-time, records GPS-based activities, and monitors heart rate using the device’s camera and flash. It has an automatic sleep tracker, medication reminder, BMI calculator, and supports Google Fit integration.



