Comparison

Carbon vs Calorie Counter

Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both apps, side by side — with what reviewers say about each.

Head to head
About

Carbon

This app provides personalized nutrition plans for weight loss, muscle gain, or maintenance. It adapts your plan as you progress and offers a comprehensive food tracker with a large database and barcode scanner. It supports various diet preferences and allows for custom meal planning.

Highlights
  • Personalized nutrition plans
  • Adaptive plan adjustments
  • Comprehensive food logging
  • Barcode scanner
  • Diet preference customization
  • Diet planner for flexible eating
Features
Read full description

Carbon Diet Coach is your nutrition solution for results that LAST. Whether your goal is to lose fat, build muscle, improve your metabolism, or simply maintain your weight, Carbon Diet Coach removes the guesswork. Carbon Diet Coach is a science-based nutrition app designed by renowned nutrition coaches Dr. Layne Norton (Ph.D. Nutritional Sciences) and Registered Dietitian Keith Kraker (BS Dietetics). It does everything a normal nutrition coach would but at a fraction of the cost. Simply select your goal, answer a few short questions, and it does the rest! You will get a customized nutrition plan based on YOUR goals and metabolism. What's more, Carbon will adjust the plan as you progress to optimize your results. If you hit a plateau or stall, Carbon will make adjustments to keep you progressing towards your goal, just like any good coach would. Our coaching system uses the latest techniques in nutrition science to make sure you get the best results possible. All you need to do is follow these simple steps: ∙ Log your food using the built-in food tracker ∙ Log your body weight ∙ Check-in each week Do that and Carbon does the rest! Carbon Diet Coach can do things other nutrition coaching apps can’t do. For example, your nutrition plan can be tailored to your diet preference: ∙ Balanced ∙ Low Carb ∙ Low Fat ∙ Ketogenic ∙ Plant-Based Each setting is completely customizable so that you receive a plan that is sustainable for YOU! Another feature that makes Carbon unique is the diet planner. Want high and low-calorie days rather than eating the same foods every day? Use the diet planner to set up your week and stay on track. Overate on one day and not sure what to do with your nutrition plan for the rest of the week? Adjust the diet planner to account for what you overate and Carbon does the rest! Other coaching features include: ∙ Adjustable check-in days ∙ Check-in explanations so you're never left wondering why the app did or didn’t make a change ∙ Check-in history so you can look back and see why the app made various adjustments ∙ Charts showing your weight, body fat, lean body mass, calorie intake, protein intake, carbohydrate intake, fat intake, and metabolic rate ∙ Early check-in feature for those who can’t always check in on their specified day ∙ Goal tracker so you can see the progress you’ve made and how close you are to your goal ∙ Recommendations after you reach a goal so you can plan for what's next and KEEP your results ∙ Integrates with Apple Health to automatically read Body Weight and Body Fat values Already know what you are doing with nutrition and don’t need Carbon to coach you? No problem, you can enter your nutrition targets and simply use the food tracker. Beyond the amazing coaching features of this app is a food tracker that's excellent in its own right. Its features include: ∙ A huge food database ∙ Barcode scanner ∙ Quick add macros ∙ Copy meals ∙ Favorite foods ∙ Create custom foods ∙ Create custom recipes No matter what your goal is, Carbon Diet Coach is your solution. Simple. Scientific. Sustainable. App Subscriptions: ∙ Monthly ∙ 6 Months ∙ Yearly The subscription period will automatically renew unless auto-renew is turned off at least 24 hours before the end of the current subscription period. To turn this function off, simply go to your iTunes account and turn off auto-renew. Renewal payments will differ depending on subscription and pricing at the time of renewal. Your iTunes account will be charged when the purchase is confirmed. Food database powered by FatSecret: https://fatsecret.com Terms and Conditions: https://joincarbon.com/terms-and-conditions/ Privacy Policy: https://joincarbon.com/privacy-policy/

About

Calorie Counter

This app helps you manage your diet by tracking calories, protein, carbs, and fats. It features a large food database, custom food logging, and personalized daily goals. Your data is stored privately on your device.

Highlights
  • Comprehensive food database
  • Custom food logging
  • Macro nutrient tracking (calories, protein, carbs, fats)
  • Personalized daily goals
  • PDF progress reports
  • On-device data privacy
  • Dark and light mode options
Features
Read full description

Take control of your nutrition with BiteSync, the simple and private way to log meals and hit your daily targets. - Track calories, protein, carbs, fat and sodium - Search a large food database or add your own foods - Scan barcodes and identify meals from a photo with AI - See progress with clear daily and weekly charts - Export PDF reports for yourself or your coach - All data stays private on your device Reach your health goals one bite at a time. Privacy Policy: https://macro.ardasen.com/privacy.html Terms of Use: https://macro.ardasen.com/terms.html

Screenshots

Carbon4 screens
Calorie Counter4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is update cadence: Carbon at weekly against Calorie Counter's every 21 months. Carbon also leads on ratings volume (8.1K vs 7) and chart position (#100 vs unranked). Calorie Counter's advantage is review sentiment (100% vs 79%). On price, rating, ads and in-app purchases 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

CostPrice · In-app purchases · Ads · Monetization

Both are free to download. Carbon sells 9 in-app purchases, starting at $11.99 per month and Calorie Counter sells 2 in-app purchases, starting at $4.99 per month. Whichever you choose, the download price is not the number that matters.

ReceptionRating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings

On the App Store both sit at effectively the same score — 4.8 for Carbon against 4.7 for Calorie Counter. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: Carbon has 8.1K ratings behind it against 7, so its average is the more settled of the two. Written reviews are what separate them: 79% of Carbon's written reviews are positive against 100% of Calorie Counter's.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

Carbon ships an update weekly, Calorie Counter every 21 months. The most recent releases landed on October 31, 2026 and October 24, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard4 real differences · 7 level
Carbon versus Calorie Counter: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterCarbonCalorie Counter
PriceFreeFree
Rating4.8 (8.1K ratings) — better4.7 (7 ratings)
Positive reviews79.4% of reviews100.0% of reviews — better
Number of ratings8.1K — better7
Update frequencyWeekly — betterEvery 21 months
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesYesYes
MonetizationFree with in-app purchasesFreemium
Best chart rank#100 — better—
DevicesiPhoneiPhone, iPad — better
Requires iOS16.616.0 — better
Further details — not scored
Size106 MB5 MB
Age rating17+4+
DeveloperReform LLCArda Sen

Customer experience

Carbon

All ratings8,002 ratings
Positive95.9%
Neutral1.4%
Negative2.6%
Written reviews452 reviews
Positive79.4%
Neutral6.4%
Negative14.2%

Calorie Counter

All ratings6 ratings
Positive100.0%
Neutral0.0%
Negative0.0%
Written reviews2 reviews
Positive100.0%
Neutral0.0%
Negative0.0%

Bugs and requests

Carbon

Reported bugs

2 issues
  • Occasional app crashes or freezes
  • Issues with resetting account data

Requested features

4 requests
  • Add water intake tracking
  • Improve barcode scanning functionality
  • Allow more flexibility in macro adjustments
  • Integrate with fitness trackers

Calorie Counter

Not enough reviews yet to summarise bugs or requests.

In-app purchases

9 purchases

Carbon

Subscriptions9
  • Monthly Subscription$11.991 Month
  • Monthly Subscription7 Days trial$11.991 Month
  • Monthly Subscription14 Days trial$11.991 Month
Show 6 more
  • Six Month Subscription$59.996 Months
  • Six Month Subscription7 Days trial$59.996 Months
  • Six Month Subscription14 Days trial$59.996 Months
  • Yearly Subscription$99.991 Year
  • Yearly Subscription7 Days trial$99.991 Year
  • Yearly Subscription14 Days trial$99.991 Year
2 purchases

Calorie Counter

Subscriptions2
  • Monthly Subscription$4.991 Month
  • Yearly Subscription3 Days trial$29.991 Year

Questions

Is Carbon free?
Carbon is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Is Calorie Counter free?
Calorie Counter is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Which has better reviews, Carbon or Calorie Counter?
Carbon is rated higher. Carbon averages 4.8 out of 5 from 8.1K ratings, while Calorie Counter averages 4.7 from 7 ratings.
Do Carbon or Calorie Counter have ads?
Neither Carbon nor Calorie Counter shows ads.
Which is updated more often, Carbon or Calorie Counter?
Carbon ships an update weekly, and Calorie Counter every 21 months. Most recently, Carbon was updated on October 31, 2026 and Calorie Counter on October 24, 2026.

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