# Carb Manager vs MacrosFirst

The clearest difference is ads: Carb Manager at none against MacrosFirst's shown. Carb Manager also leads on ratings volume (736K vs 23K). MacrosFirst's advantage is update cadence (weekly vs monthly). On price, rating, review sentiment and in-app purchases there is nothing between them.

Both are free to download. Carb Manager sells 11 in-app purchases, starting at $8.49 per month and MacrosFirst sells 7 in-app purchases, starting at $11.99 per month. Whichever you choose, the download price is not the number that matters.

On the App Store both sit at effectively the same score — 4.8 for Carb Manager against 4.9 for MacrosFirst. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: Carb Manager has 736K ratings behind it against 23K, so its average is the more settled of the two. Written reviews are what separate them: 69% of Carb Manager's written reviews are positive against 74% of MacrosFirst's.

Carb Manager ships an update monthly, MacrosFirst weekly. Both last shipped on October 28, 2026.

## The numbers

| Metric | Carb Manager | MacrosFirst |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Price | Free | Free |
| Rating | [4.8 (736K ratings)](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/carb-manager-keto-diet-app/id410089731/reviews) | **[4.9 (23K ratings)](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/macrosfirst-macro-tracker/id1253012487/reviews)** |
| Number of ratings | **736K** | 23K |
| Positive reviews | 68.8% of reviews | **73.9% of reviews** |
| In-app purchases | Yes | Yes |
| Ads | **No** | Yes |
| Update frequency | Monthly | **Weekly** |
| Monetization | Freemium | Freemium |
| Best chart rank | #132 | **#85** |
| Size | 42 MB | 212 MB |
| Requires iOS | **15.6** | 16.0 |
| Devices | **iPhone, iPad, iPod, Apple Watch** | iPhone, iPad, Apple Watch |
| Age rating | 17+ | 12+ |
| Developer | [Wombat Apps LLC](https://appshunter.io/developer/396778360) | [MacrosFirst, Inc.](https://appshunter.io/developer/1275597328) |

## What reviewers say

### Carb Manager

[App page](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/carb-manager-keto-diet-app/id410089731)

**Currently charting:** #132 Top Grossing · Health & Fitness (US App Store)

Easily track carbs, macros, and calories for low-carb and keto diets. Features include barcode scanning, recipe access, and community support to help you achieve your health goals.

**Highlights:** Net carb tracking, Barcode scanner, Macro calculator, Calorie counter, Intermittent fasting tracker, Keto recipes, Diabetes management tools

**Features:** macOS Compatibility, Apple Watch app, Vision Pro support

**In-app purchases (11)**

| Purchase | Price | Billing |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Carb Manager Premium: 1 Month | $8.49 | per month |
| Carb Manager Premium: 3 Months | $16.49 | per 3 months |
| Premium Monthly | $19.99 | per month |
| Carb Manager Premium Annual | $24.99 | per year |
| Premium Annual Special | $24.99 | per year |
| Carb Manager Premium: 1 Year | $29.99 | per year |
| Carb Manager Premium: 1 Year | $39.99 | per year |
| Premium Annual | $49.99 | per year |
| Carb Manager Premium | $49.99 | per year |
| Carb Manager Premium: 1 Year | $59.99 | per year |
| Carb Manager Premium (One Year) | $39.99 | one-time |

**What reviewers like**

- 🚀 Easy to use
- 🔒 Comprehensive tracking
- 👍 Helpful for keto/low-carb diets
- 👍 Useful recipes and meal plans
- 👍 Syncs with fitness devices

**What reviewers complain about**

- 🐛 Inaccurate food database
- 🐛 Buggy and crashes frequently
- 🐛 Clunky interface and navigation
- 🔒 Paywall for many features
- 👎 Limited metric options (e.g. grams)

**Reported bugs**

- Incorrect macro and nutrient tracking
- Syncing issues with fitness devices
- Inconsistent behavior when editing/adding foods
- Frequent crashes and app instability

**Requested features**

- Allow custom recipe creation and saving
- Improve metric support (e.g. grams, ml)
- Add dark mode and accessibility features
- Enhance recipe filtering and search
- Improve syncing and offline functionality


### MacrosFirst

[App page](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/macrosfirst-macro-tracker/id1253012487)

**Currently charting:** #85 Top Grossing · Health & Fitness (US App Store)

This app helps users track their food intake, calories, and macronutrients to achieve health and fitness goals. It offers features like custom goal setting, automatic serving size calculation, and quick food logging via barcode scanning or label analysis. Users can also monitor progress, share meals, and even convert alcohol calories into macro equivalents.

**Highlights:** Custom macro goal setting, Automatic serving size calculation, Barcode and label scanning for food logging, Detailed macro and nutrient tracking, Progress analysis and trend reporting, Meal sharing and social support, Alcohol calorie conversion

**Features:** macOS Compatibility, Apple Watch app, Vision Pro support

**In-app purchases (7)**

| Purchase | Price | Billing |
| --- | --- | --- |
| MacrosFirst Premium | $11.99 | per month |
| MacrosFirst Premium | $11.99 | per month |
| MacrosFirst Premium | $41.99 | per year |
| MacrosFirst Premium | $71.99 | per year |
| MacrosFirst Premium | $71.99 | per year |
| MacrosFirst Premium | $79.99 | per year |
| MacrosFirst Premium | $79.99 | per year |

**What reviewers like**

- 👍 Easy to use
- 🚀 Intuitive interface
- 💯 Accurate macro tracking
- 🔍 Extensive food database
- 🔓 Free features without paywall

**What reviewers complain about**

- 🐛 Occasional bugs and glitches
- 📚 Limited food database for some users
- 🔢 Difficulty adjusting serving sizes
- 🔍 Inaccurate nutrition info for some items
- 🔧 Lacking certain customization options

**Reported bugs**

- Search function not working properly
- Time zone issues causing date discrepancies
- Scanning feature recording incorrect nutrition info

**Requested features**

- 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


## Frequently asked questions

### Is Carb Manager free?

Carb Manager is free to download, with in-app purchases available.

### Is MacrosFirst free?

MacrosFirst is free to download, with in-app purchases available.

### Which has better reviews, Carb Manager or MacrosFirst?

MacrosFirst is rated higher. Carb Manager averages 4.8 out of 5 from 736K ratings, while MacrosFirst averages 4.9 from 23K ratings.

### Do Carb Manager or MacrosFirst have ads?

MacrosFirst shows ads; Carb Manager does not.

### Which is updated more often, Carb Manager or MacrosFirst?

Carb Manager ships an update monthly, and MacrosFirst weekly. Most recently, Carb Manager was updated on October 28, 2026 and MacrosFirst on October 28, 2026.

### Which is more popular, Carb Manager or MacrosFirst?

Carb Manager currently peaks at #132 in the App Store charts, and MacrosFirst at #85. Chart position reflects recent download velocity rather than total install base.

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*Compared by [AppsHunter](https://appshunter.io/) from daily US App Store data. Review summaries are generated from verbatim App Store reviews.*