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    How to choose a calorie-counting app for iPhone

    Vivos compared with MyFitnessPal, YAZIO, FatSecret, Cronometer and Cal AI

    Every app below counts calories. The difference is how much effort each log takes, which languages that works well in, what happens to your goal when you train, and how transparent the numbers are. This page lists the criteria worth comparing and what Vivos offers on each.

    What to compare

    Ways to log
    Photo, voice, text and barcode. Fewer taps per meal means more days logged — and logging every day is what makes a calorie counter work.
    Language that actually works
    Recognizing local dishes by voice and photo, not just a translated interface. Local products in the barcode scanner.
    Apple Watch and Apple Health
    Workouts imported from the watch and calories burned that change the day's goal, with nothing to type.
    Goal transparency
    Which formula, which activity factor, which safety floor. If the app doesn't say, you don't know whether the goal is safe.
    Protein and macros
    Protein set per kilo of body weight rather than a fixed percentage, and adjustable macros.
    Consistency
    Community, weekly ranking and gamification exist for a reason: most people stop logging in week two.
    Beyond food
    Weight, measurements, body-fat percentage, blood tests, mental health — what the app tracks besides calories.
    Price
    Whether there is a trial, what stays free, and what the subscription costs in your country.

    What Vivos offers

    • Logging by photo, voice, text and barcode, with calories, protein, carbs, fat and fiber worked out by AI. Earlier meals repeated with one tap and custom foods with your own macros.
    • Built in Brazil, in Portuguese: recognizes Brazilian dishes and local products. Interface also in English, Spanish, French, Italian, Japanese, Hindi, Turkish and Russian.
    • Its own Apple Watch app, calorie, macro and water widgets, and Apple Health integration: workout calories add to the day's goal.
    • Open formula: Mifflin–St Jeor, METs from the 2024 Compendium, a 1,200/1,500 kcal floor, a maximum 25% cut and a maximum gain of 0.5% of body weight per week. All described on the "How Vivos calculates" page.
    • Protein per kg of body weight (1.8 g/kg to lose weight, 1.6 g/kg to gain muscle, 1.4 g/kg to maintain), fat around 30% of calories and a fiber goal by sex and age.
    • Community, weekly ranking and coins for every log, workout and like.
    • Charts for weight, BMI and macros, body measurements, body-fat percentage (guided caliper, bioimpedance or DEXA), automatic reading of blood-test PDFs, validated mental-health scales (GAD-7, PHQ-9, WHO-5, PSS, Rosenberg, GSE, AUDIT) and intermittent fasting.
    • Free download and a 3-day trial for new accounts; then an App Store subscription priced per country. iPhone only (iOS 18 or later).

    How we calculate

    The other apps, in their own words

    A summary of how each app positions itself in the description it publishes on the Brazilian App Store. Features and prices change often; check the store before deciding.

    MyFitnessPalAll-in-one nutrition and fitness tracker, known for the size of its food database and workout integration.
    YAZIOAI calorie counter with an intermittent-fasting timer (16:8, 5:2), aimed at losing weight without dieting.
    FatSecretFree calorie counter focused on simple nutrition information, with Apple Health sync.
    CronometerFocus on accuracy: calories, macros, fasting and more than 95 vitamins and minerals.
    Cal AIPhoto logging as the core feature, with a plan built from a few opening questions; English interface.

    Vivos is not affiliated with any of the apps mentioned. The names belong to their owners and the descriptions above summarize what each app publishes about itself on the App Store as of September 2026.

    Try Vivos for 3 days

    Download it on the App Store, log a meal by photo and see the goal calculated with the open formula.

    AppleDownload on the App Store