Halera vs Cronometer
Cronometer derives micronutrients from food and is the more precise tracker. Halera is built for speed: type or photograph a meal and get an estimate in seconds, with no ads on any tier. Pick Cronometer for precision, Halera for logging a day without effort.
Last updated September 2, 2026
Cronometer is the most precise nutrition tracker most people can name. Halera is built for speed and quiet. Which is right depends on how much detail you actually want.
Side by side
| Halera | Cronometer | |
|---|---|---|
| Micronutrient detail | Macros through to sodium from food; vitamins and minerals from supplements, against reference intakes | Extensive — vitamins and minerals derived from food |
| Database | USDA FoodData Central, plus AI estimates | Curated and verified entries |
| Ads in the free version | None, ever | Free tier carries ads |
| Speed of logging | Type it or snap it — estimate back in seconds | More precise, more input |
| Intermittent fasting timer | Built in — 16:8, 18:6, 20:4, OMAD, custom | Fasting timer available |
| Blood pressure, mood, sleep, symptoms | Built in, all optional | Some biometric tracking |
| Full data export | CSV, any date range, free | Available, depending on tier |
| Paid tier | $4.99/mo or $29.99/yr — lifts the photo cap only | Gold subscription unlocks additional features |
| Made by | One developer in Kentucky | A company |
Where your data goes
Halera shows no ads and never sells your data. We use one product-analytics tool, but it is deliberately walled off from your log: the signed-in part of the app is marked so it cannot record what you tap or see, and the only things sent are five named events like "signed in" and "subscription started". Nothing you log — food, weight, blood pressure, mood, symptoms — ever reaches it. Your log is stored in a US Azure region over encrypted connections, and you can delete your account and everything in it from inside the app, no email required. The details are in the Privacy Policy and the Consumer Health Data Privacy Policy.
We won't characterise anyone else's data practices for them — read Cronometer's own privacy policy and decide. That is the honest comparison, and it's the one worth making for an app you'll hand your health data to.
Which one should you use?
Use Cronometer if…
- You want micronutrients derived from what you eat. Halera tracks vitamins and minerals from supplements against reference intakes, but it does not calculate them from food — Cronometer does, and that is the whole point of it.
- You're working with a dietitian or managing a condition where exact nutrient intake matters.
- You'd rather weigh and verify than estimate.
Use Halera if…
- You want logging to take seconds, and an estimate you can correct is good enough.
- You want fasting, blood pressure, sleep and mood in the same place as your food.
- You don't want ads in an app you open several times a day.
Switching
If you've been tracking micronutrients in Cronometer, Halera will feel less precise — that's a deliberate trade for speed, not an oversight. Halera exports free CSV for any date range, so trying it costs you nothing but the time to log a few days.
Checking this yourself
Everything above about Cronometer comes from what Cronometer publishes about itself — pricing, tiers and feature lists change, so check cronometer.com for the current position rather than trusting a comparison page written by a competitor. Halera's own food lookups come from the U.S. Department of Agriculture's FoodData Central database, with an AI estimate as the fallback for anything not in it.
Common questions
Does Halera scan barcodes?
Yes. Scanning a packaged food fills in the label data without typing, which covers the everyday case Cronometer handles through its verified database. For anything without a barcode, Halera falls back to a USDA lookup or an AI estimate you correct before saving, where Cronometer would have you search its curated entries. Both routes get you a logged meal; one optimises for speed and the other for verification.
Can I weigh food and enter exact numbers instead of estimating?
Yes. Manual entry takes calories, protein, carbs, fat, fiber, sugar and sodium as typed numbers, so a weighed portion read off a label goes in exactly as measured with no estimate involved. Saving it as a reusable meal means weighing it once rather than every time. What Halera will not do is derive micronutrients from that entry the way Cronometer does — the numbers you type are the numbers it keeps.
Does Halera track vitamins and minerals?
From supplements, yes. Log what you take and Halera shows each one against its reference intake for your age and sex, with upper limits flagged where they exist. What it does not do is derive micronutrients from the food you log. Cronometer does exactly that, and it is why that app is the more precise instrument.
How accurate are the AI estimates?
They are estimates, and the app says so. Typing what a thing is first — even roughly, like "large bowl" — makes them noticeably better than a photo alone, and every estimate is shown for you to correct before it is saved. If you need verified entries and weighed portions, that is the trade you are making by choosing speed.
Is there an ad-free free tier?
Yes. Halera shows no ads on any tier and never has. The paid upgrade lifts the monthly cap on photo estimates, which cost real money to run; everything else stays free either way.
🤖 Get Halera free on Google Play