Comparison

macro vs Cortex

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

Head to head
About

macro

This app helps you manage your nutrition by quickly logging meals. It offers features like AI-powered tracking, photo scanning of food, and barcode scanning for packaged items. The app prioritizes user privacy with all data stored locally on your device.

Highlights
  • AI-powered calorie tracking
  • Log meals in seconds
  • Scan food with camera
  • Scan barcodes
  • 100% private data storage
  • Fast and responsive
Features
Read full description

Spend time eating, not tracking. macro makes calorie counting feel effortless. No endless searching through confusing databases-just snap a photo, describe your meal, or scan the nutrition label, and let macro do the work for you. Experience a simpler way to stay on top of your nutrition. Whether you want a healthier body, to lose weight, build muscle, or practice intermittent fasting, macro gives you total control over your health with zero friction and complete privacy. Why macro is Different: - Snap & Log: Take a quick photo of your meal or nutrition label for maximum accuracy. You can also type a quick description of your food or scan nutrition labels. macro estimates your calories and macros in seconds. -Built-in Fasting & Water Tracker: No need for multiple apps. Track intermittent fasts, monitor your fasting stages, and log your daily water intake right alongside your meals. - Visual Progress & Photo Comparisons: See your real-world transformation as it happens. Update your weight, log progress photos to create side-by-side before-and-after collages, and share your milestones to stay motivated. - Complete Progress Dashboard: See the full picture of your health journey. Track weight trends, goal timelines, BMI history, daily calorie deficits, and active calories burned in clean, easy-to-read charts. -Fast, Clean & Privacy-Focused: Designed to keep your health journey simple and secure, with lightning-fast logging, no intrusive ads, and seamless cloud backup options. Download now— pay once, use forever. Track your calories, hit your macros, and reach your fitness goals without the headache. Terms of Use: https://www.apple.com/legal/internet-services/itunes/dev/stdeula/

About

Cortex

Features
Read full description

Most apps guess. Cortex measures. A 60-second reaction time test every morning gives you a focus score against your own baseline. Then one-habit experiments show whether sleep, caffeine or a new routine actually changed it: real effect, no effect, or inconclusive. YOUR MORNING SCORE - A 60-second reaction-time test, taken in your own morning window - Scored against your personal baseline — never someone else's average - Streaks, shields, and ranks that reward showing up REAL EXPERIMENTS - Change one variable: caffeine cutoff, phone-free first hour, shorts curfew, cold finish, and more - Cortex compares your baseline days against intervention days - Verdicts are graded by evidence strength — A, B, or C HONEST BY DESIGN - If the result is noise, Cortex says so: "no meaningful effect" is a real answer - No made-up insights, no dressed-up randomness - Correlations are labeled as hints, not verdicts TRENDS AND CONTEXT - 14-, 30- and 90-day trend charts around your personal noise band - Optional Apple Health context: sleep, heart-rate variability, resting heart rate and steps alongside your scores - Your data stays on your iPhone — no account, no cloud; full CSV export any time SUBSCRIPTION REQUIRED Cortex is a paid app: a subscription (or the one-time Lifetime purchase) is required to use it — there is no free plan. Every plan includes the whole app — the morning test, unlimited experiments, correlations, trends and full history export. - Cortex Annual — US$34.99 per year (auto-renewing) - Cortex Monthly — US$4.99 per month (auto-renewing) - Cortex Lifetime — US$79.99 one-time purchase (not a subscription) Subscriptions renew automatically unless cancelled at least 24 hours before the end of the current period. Your Apple Account is charged for renewal within 24 hours before the current period ends. You can manage or cancel a subscription in your Apple Account settings after purchase. There is no free trial. Terms of Use (EULA): https://www.apple.com/legal/internet-services/itunes/dev/stdeula/ Privacy Policy: https://cortex-attentionlab.netlify.app/privacy.html Support: https://cortex-attentionlab.netlify.app/support.html Cortex is a general-wellness app. It does not diagnose, treat, cure or prevent any disease or condition, and it is not a medical or psychological assessment. Cortex doesn't promise to fix your focus. It gives you the instrument to find out what actually helps. Eligible new subscribers can get the Annual plan for US$19.99 for the first year, then US$34.99/year, automatically renewing until cancelled. Apple’s localized prices and introductory-offer eligibility apply. No free trial.

Screenshots

macro4 screens
Cortex4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is device support: macro at 4 against Cortex's 1. macro also leads on iOS requirement (15.1 vs 17.0). On price, update cadence, 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. macro sells 5 in-app purchases, starting at $0.99 per month and Cortex sells 3 in-app purchases, starting at $4.99 per month. Whichever you choose, the download price is not the number that matters.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

macro ships an update every 2 days, Cortex daily. The most recent releases landed on October 5, 2026 and October 6, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard2 real differences · 8 level
macro versus Cortex: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParametermacroCortex
PriceFreeFree
Rating5.0 (48 ratings) — better—
Positive reviews100.0% of reviews—
Number of ratings48 — better—
Update frequencyEvery 2 daysDaily — better
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesYesYes
MonetizationFree with in-app purchases—
DevicesiPhone, iPad, iPod, Apple Watch — betteriPhone
Requires iOS15.1 — better17.0
Further details — not scored
Size70 MB11 MB
Age rating4+4+
DeveloperCarl Angel RosalesHendrik Alastair Kung

In-app purchases

5 purchases

macro

Subscriptions4
  • macro Cloud$0.991 Month
  • macro Plus7 Days trial$2.991 Month
  • macro Cloud$7.991 Year
Show 1 more
  • macro Plus7 Days trial$29.991 Year
One-time1
  • macro Lifetime$4.99
3 purchases

Cortex

Subscriptions2
  • Cortex Pro Monthly$4.991 Month
  • Cortex Pro Annual$34.991 Year
One-time1
  • Cortex Pro Lifetime$79.99

Questions

Is macro free?
macro is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Is Cortex free?
Cortex is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Do macro or Cortex have ads?
Neither macro nor Cortex shows ads.
Which is updated more often, macro or Cortex?
macro ships an update every 2 days, and Cortex daily. Most recently, macro was updated on October 5, 2026 and Cortex on October 6, 2026.

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