MacrosFirst vs Progression
Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both apps, side by side — with what reviewers say about each.
MacrosFirst
This app intelligently tracks your metabolism to adjust calorie and macro targets weekly, helping you progress towards your goals. Log meals quickly with AI, barcode scanning, and a vast food database, while also monitoring over 50 nutrients.
- Adaptive calorie and macro targets
- AI-powered meal logging
- Barcode scanner for food entry
- Track 57 nutrients
- Sync with Apple Health
- Apple Watch app and widgets
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MacrosFirst is the macro tracker that learns your metabolism. It calculates how many calories you really burn from your food log and weight trend, then updates your calorie and macro targets every week so you keep making progress toward your goal. Log meals in seconds with AI, a barcode scanner, and 4+ million verified foods. [ TARGETS THAT ADAPT TO YOU ] • Autopilot: MacrosFirst sets your calories, protein, carbs, and fat, then updates them in weekly check-ins. • Copilot: MacrosFirst sets your weekly calorie budget and you set the macros for each day of the week. • Manual: set your own targets for each day of the week, great for carb cycling or training and rest days. • Your pace is a percentage of body weight per week, so targets stay realistic as your weight changes. Built on validated, peer-reviewed models with guidance from a metabolism scientist formerly at the National Institutes of Health (NIH). [ LOG FOODS & MEALS IN SECONDS ] • Search 4+ million verified foods or scan a barcode. • Scan a nutrition label to add a new food without typing. • Daily Meals: set up your meal schedule once, including recurring foods, and it appears in your Journal every day. • Copy meals or whole days, save meals and recipes, or quick-add calories and macros. • Auto-calculate serving sizes to hit an exact macro target. • Count alcohol as carbs, fat, or both so calories and macros always line up. [ AI FOOD SEARCH ] • Describe a meal by voice or text, paste a recipe, or snap a photo. AI finds each food, even the cooking oil you can't see, and matches it to our verified database. [ 57 NUTRIENTS, NOT JUST MACROS ] • 28,000+ lab-tested Core Foods from the USDA and research databases, with data for up to 57 nutrients. • Track vitamins, minerals, fiber, and more against automatic targets based on your calorie target, age, and sex. • See which foods drive each nutrient with Top Sources. [ SEE YOUR REAL PROGRESS ] • Trend weight smooths out daily swings to show where you're really heading. • Track steps and water alongside your nutrition. [ LOG FROM ANYWHERE ] • Apple Watch app, Home and Lock Screen widgets, and Siri Shortcuts for hands-free logging. • Sync food, water, weight, and steps with Apple Health. [ SHARE & STAY CONNECTED ] • Follow friends and family to see their logs, or let your coach follow you. Share foods, meals, and recipes in a tap. ▶ GET EVEN MORE WITH MACROSFIRST PLUS ◀ • Autopilot, Copilot, weekly check-ins, and Expenditure charts. • AI Food Search by voice, text, or photo. • Different Daily Meals for each weekday, plus recurring foods. • Custom nutrient targets, plus nutrient trends and reports for any date range. • Macro Math: calories that always match your macros, even when labels don't. • Import recipes from any website. • Export to Excel or sync daily totals to Google Sheets. • Personal API access to build your own apps and dashboards. • Meal and day notes, unlimited friends, and priority VIP support. ▶ SUBSCRIPTION PRICING & TERMS ◀ MacrosFirst is free to download and use. MacrosFirst Plus is an optional auto-renewing subscription you can cancel anytime in your App Store account settings. Privacy & Security Policy: https://www.macrosfirst.com/privacy-policy.html Terms of Use: https://www.macrosfirst.com/terms.html
Progression
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Progression helps you build lasting habits by focusing on who you're becoming — not just what you're doing. Most habit apps track your behavior. Progression goes deeper. It starts with one powerful question: Who do you want to become? That answer shapes everything — your daily affirmation, your coaching, your goals, and the habits you build along the way. IDENTITY-DRIVEN HABITS Define who you're becoming — a healthy person, a focused worker, a lifelong learner — and every feature in the app reinforces that identity. Your personalized affirmation appears every morning as a reminder of the person you're building through your daily actions. GOAL-CONNECTED HABITS Set meaningful goals and link your habits directly to them. Watch your progress update in real time as your daily actions move you closer to what matters most. Progression makes the connection between what you do today and what you achieve tomorrow impossible to ignore. HABIT STACKING Build powerful routines using the proven habit stacking method. Chain your habits together — "After I make my morning coffee, I will read for 10 minutes" — so your new behaviors attach to things you already do automatically. YOUR DAILY AI COACH Every day your personal coach analyzes your habits, streaks, and progress and delivers a tailored message to keep you focused and motivated. It knows your identity goal, your current momentum, and exactly what you need to hear — whether that's encouragement, a gentle nudge, or a reminder of how far you've come. SMART NUDGES & REMINDERS Context-aware reminders arrive at the right moment — morning, afternoon, or evening — referencing the specific habit you need to act on. No generic alerts. Just the right message at the right time. STREAK PROTECTION Life happens. Use your monthly Streak Freeze to protect a streak when you need a day off without losing your hard-earned momentum. Because one missed day shouldn't erase weeks of progress. PROGRESS YOU CAN SEE Track your consistency with a full year heatmap, 7-day completion rates, per-habit streaks, and milestone badges at 7, 21, and 66 days — the science-backed point where habits become automatic. MILESTONE CELEBRATIONS Hit 7 days and you're building momentum. Hit 21 days and you're forming a habit. Hit 66 days and it's simply who you are. Each milestone triggers a personalized celebration that reminds you exactly how far you've come. WEEKLY REVIEW Every Sunday, receive an AI-generated weekly review — your completion rate, your best habit, what needs attention, and one honest insight tied to your identity goal. A few minutes of reflection to set up a stronger week ahead. DESIGNED FOR REAL LIFE - Clean, calm design built for daily use - Works beautifully on any iPhone - Dark mode support - Pull to refresh - Smooth animations that make checking off habits genuinely satisfying WHAT THE SCIENCE SAYS Progression is built on behavioral science — the same research that shows identity-based habits outlast motivation-based ones, that environment design beats willpower, and that consistency over time is the only thing that actually works. No gimmicks. No gamification. Just a clear path forward, one small step at a time. PRICING Progression is free to download with a 7-day free trial. After your trial, a subscription unlocks your AI daily coach, weekly reviews, unlimited goals, and streak freezes. Basic habit tracking is always free. Start small. Stay consistent. Become who you want to be. Download Progression today.
Screenshots
Verdict
The clearest difference is in-app purchases: Progression at none against MacrosFirst's 9. Progression also leads on ads (none vs shown). MacrosFirst's advantage is chart position (#111 vs unranked). On price, device support and iOS requirement there is nothing between them.
Scored on Price · Rating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings · Update frequency · Ads · In-app purchases · Monetization · Best chart rank · Devices · Requires iOS
Both are free to download. MacrosFirst sells 7 in-app purchases, starting at $11.99 per month. Progression asks for nothing beyond the download.
| Parameter | MacrosFirst | Progression |
|---|---|---|
| Price | Free | Free |
| Rating | 4.9 (24K ratings) — better | — |
| Positive reviews | 73.3% of reviews | — |
| Number of ratings | 24K — better | — |
| Update frequency | Every 5 days | — |
| Ads | Yes | No — better |
| In-app purchases | Yes | No — better |
| Monetization | Free with in-app purchases | — |
| Best chart rank | #111 — better | — |
| Devices | iPhone, iPad, Apple Watch | iPhone, iPad, iPod |
| Requires iOS | 16.0 | 15.1 — better |
| Further details — not scored | ||
| Size | 222 MB | 189 MB |
| Age rating | 12+ | 4+ |
| Developer | MacrosFirst, Inc. | MATTHEW JAMES DONAGHUE |
Bugs and requests
MacrosFirst
Reported bugs
3 issues- Search function not working properly
- Time zone issues causing date discrepancies
- Scanning feature recording incorrect nutrition info
Requested features
5 requests- Integration with Apple Health
- Ability to share meals/recipes with friends
- Customizable macro goals (e.g., carb cycling)
- Improved reporting and progress tracking
- Option to submit food data corrections
Progression
Not enough reviews yet to summarise bugs or requests.
In-app purchases
MacrosFirst
- MacrosFirst Premium7 Days trial2 variants$11.991 Month
- MacrosFirst Premium14 Days trial2 variants$11.991 Month
- MacrosFirst Premium7 Days trial$41.991 Year
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- MacrosFirst Premium7 Days trial$71.991 Year
- MacrosFirst Premium14 Days trial$71.991 Year
- MacrosFirst Premium7 Days trial$79.991 Year
- MacrosFirst Premium14 Days trial$79.991 Year
Progression
No in-app purchases
Questions
Is MacrosFirst free?
Is Progression free?
Do MacrosFirst or Progression have ads?
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