The 12 Best Weight Loss Apps of 2023

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Some of the best weight loss apps are completely free — including MyFitnessPal, Lose It!, and FatSecret.

Weight loss apps are programs you can download to your mobile device that provide an easy and quick way to track your lifestyle habits, such as calorie intake and exercise.

Some apps have extra features, such as support forums, barcode scanners, and the ability to sync with other health and fitness apps or devices. These features aim to keep you motivated toward your weight loss goal.

Many apps also provide specific support for people who follow diets like:

Here are 12 of the best weight loss apps available in 2023 to help support your goals.

Best meal planning weight loss app: PlateJoy
Best weight loss app with coaching: Noom
Best weight loss app for community: WW
Best weight loss app for activity tracking: Fitbit
Best user-friendly weight loss app: MyFitnessPal
Best weight loss app for logging meals: Lose It!
Best free weight loss app: FatSecret
Best no-diet weight loss app: Way
Best weight loss app for nutrient tracking: Cronometer
Best weight loss app for grocery shopping: Fooducate
Best weight loss app for diabetes: MyNetDiary
Best habit tracker app: Strides

We chose the weight loss apps below based on the following criteria:

Vetting: All the apps on our list have been vetted to ensure that they meet Healthline’s medical and business standards.
Ratings: We chose apps with mostly positive ratings for both Apple and Android devices.
Features: We recognize that weight loss is a highly personalized process. The apps included on our list have a range of features to suit a variety of needs, such as community challenges, food tracking, and personal coaching.
Weight loss approach: It’s important to have realistic expectations and maintain (or foster) a healthy relationship with food and your body. We chose apps that support realistic weight loss goals and encourage a whole-body approach.
Expert recommended: All the apps below have been recommended by nutrition experts.

Best meal planning weight loss app

Subscription cost: $13 per month
iPhone rating: 4.7

Healthline‘s review

PlateJoy is a meal-planning app designed by dietitians.

It’s one of the most customizable meal planning apps, allowing you to set goals, such as weight loss, and even choose from several dietary patterns like:

It also allows you to filter out ingredients that you prefer to avoid and offers the option to set different portion sizes for each person in your household.

Using your responses from a brief questionnaire, the app creates a custom meal plan for you each week, including a curated grocery list.

You can replace recipes on the meal plan with others and can even enter your own recipes into the app to keep everything in one place.

The app also integrates with several grocery delivery services, allowing you to order your groceries online. What’s more, the app’s digital pantry lets you keep track of ingredients you already have on hand.

While the app typically costs $13 per month, Healthline readers can access PlateJoy for $5 per month. There’s also a free 7-day trial for new members.

PlateJoy is suitable for a variety of dietary needs.
It focuses on meal planning and healthy cooking.
It features customizable portion sizes.
It’s suitable for families.

PlateJoy requires a subscription.

Best weight loss app with coaching

Subscription cost: $59 per month or $199 per year
iPhone rating: 4.7
Android rating::

Healthline‘s review

Noom is a popular weight loss app that helps users lose weight by making sustainable lifestyle changes.

The app assigns a daily calorie budget based on answers to lifestyle- and health-related questions. It also factors in your current weight, height, sex, and weight loss goals.

While the initial calorie recommendation tends to be low, you can adjust it to a more appropriate and realistic number.

The Noom app allows users to track food intake using a database that includes more than 3.5 million foods. Users can also log:

One of the key features of Noom is virtual health coaching. Noom coaches can provide accountability and help users set realistic weekly goals to keep them on track.

Of note: The coaching feature works more like email than a live chat, so coaches may take a day or two to get back to you. Also, Noom coach training is not as rigorous as that of:

a registered dietitian
a psychologist
other licensed healthcare professionals

Noom’s effectiveness is also supported by research. One study of more than 500 adults found that food and exercise logging, along with coaching, through Noom was more effective for weight loss over 6 months than food logging or personalized coaching alone (1).

However, keep in mind that Noom is still a calorie-counting tool. Because calorie counting can increase the risk of disordered eating in some people, Noom may not be the right fit for everyone (2, 3).

Noom costs range from $70 per month to $209 per year.

It offers one-on-one coaching.
There’s community group support.
The curriculum offers educational resources.
It focuses on behavior modification.
It features food and exercise logging.
The color-coded system helps users choose low energy density foods.

It can get expensive depending on which subscription you choose.
The initial calorie budgets may be too low.
It may take a day or two to get a response from a coach.
Noom’s color coding seems to discourage high calorie foods regardless of nutrient density.
Calorie counting has a potential to lead to a disordered relationship with food and body image in some people.

Best weight loss app for community

Subscription cost: approximately $15–$65 per month
iPhone rating: 4.8
Android rating::

Healthline‘s review

WW, formerly known as Weight Watchers, is a weight loss program that has been shown to be effective for weight loss (4, 5).

WW uses a points system in which foods and drinks are assigned point values based on their nutrient content and calorie density. Most importantly, no foods are off-limits.

Based on the results of an online quiz, customers receive a daily PersonalPoints allotment and a customized list of zero-point foods.

WW offers three plans, all of which provide access to the WW app. Depending on which plan you choose, WW costs $11.50–$43 per month, though the company frequently offers monthly discounts to new customers.

Using the app, customers can easily keep track of points, monitor weight trends, and log workout sessions. There’s also a barcode scanner that makes it easy to enter foods.

The WW app offers:

weekly workshops
social networking
a rewards system
24/7 live coaching

Another benefit of the WW app is its large collection of more than 8,000 WW-approved recipes that you can search based on meal type and dietary requirements.

It offers 24/7 live coaching.
You can do social networking with fellow WW members.
It offers food and exercise logging.
There’s weekly in-person workshops on some plans.
It has a barcode scanner.
It tracks points rather than calories.

It can be difficult for some to track points.
There’s no free version.

Best weight loss app for activity tracking

Subscription cost: free, optional subscription for $9.99 per month or $79.99 per year
iPhone rating: 4.2
Android rating: 3.9

Healthline‘s review

Wearable activity trackers offer a convenient way to keep tabs on your exercise habits and stay motivated to move more (6, 7, 8).

Fitbit is a wearable technology company that offers a variety of fitness trackers and smartwatches to suit a wide range of budgets, style preferences, and health goals.

While some offer more high tech features than others, Fitbit products are designed to be used alongside the Fitbit app.

In the app, Fitbit users can view their daily health and fitness data, including their:

The app also allows you to manually log your:

One of the strengths of the app is its community features, which allow you to connect with friends and family members and participate in community challenges.

To help you stay motivated, you’ll receive awards for achieving specific goals. There’s also the option to set a reminder to get up and walk every hour.

For those who are interested in more detailed health insights, Fitbit Premium helps make your health data more actionable by providing:

daily readiness scores
sleep scores
stress scores

To get the most out of this app, you’ll need to own a Fitbit, which can be costly. The app itself is free, with an option to upgrade to Fitbit Premium for $9.99 per month or $79.99 per year.

It features automatic activity syncing from your wearable device.
It has food and water logging.
The app provides detailed data on your activity levels.
It may allow you to track additional health data, such as heart rate and sleep.
You have ability to connect with friends and compete in challenges.

You need a Fitbit device to access certain data, such as exercise, sleep, and heart rate.
A subscription is required to access more detailed health insights.

Best user-friendly weight loss app

Subscription cost: free, optional subscription for $9.99 per month or $49.99 per year
iPhone rating: 4.7
Android rating: 4.0

Healthline‘s review

Calorie counting may help some people lose weight (9, 10).

MyFitnessPal is a popular app that integrates calorie counting and tracking macronutrients into its strategy for supporting weight loss.

MyFitnessPal calculates your daily calorie needs and allows you to log what you eat throughout the day using a nutrition database of more than 11 million foods — including many restaurant foods, which aren’t always easy to track.

After you enter your food intake, MyFitnessPal provides a breakdown of the calories and nutrients you consumed throughout the day.

The app offers several reports for viewing your data, including a pie chart that gives you a percentage breakdown of each of the three macronutrients you’ve consumed:

MyFitnessPal also has a barcode scanner with the premium subscription, which makes it easy to enter the nutrition information of packaged foods.

You can also track your weight, search for healthy recipes, and connect with other users to share tips and success stories.

The app is free to download. You can access some premium features, such as setting your own nutrient goals, for $10 per month or $50 per year.

The app features user-friendly features and a barcode scanner (with paid version) that makes logging quick and easy.
It syncs with fitness tracking apps, including Fitbit, Jawbone UP, Garmin, and Strava.
It provides detailed feedback on your intake.
It offers graphs and charts of your macronutrient intake.
The app allows you to input entire recipes and log one serving.

It contains user-generated nutrition information in a database that may not be entirely accurate.
The app often includes multiple options for one food item, meaning you may have to spend some time to find the “correct” option to log.
It may be time consuming to adjust serving sizes and enter recipes in the app.
There’s a potential for calorie counting to lead to a disordered relationship with food and body image in some people.

Best weight loss app for logging meals

Subscription cost: free, optional subscription for $9.99 per month or $39.99 per year
iPhone rating: 4.8
Android rating: 4.4

Healthline‘s review

Lose It! is a user-friendly weight loss app focused on calorie counting and weight tracking.

Lose It! generates your daily calorie needs and a personalized weight loss plan through an analysis of your:

Once your plan is established, you can easily log your food intake in the app, which pulls from a database of more than 33 million foods, restaurant items, and brands.

The app offers several features to make logging your intake even easier, including a barcode scanner and a customer recipe builder. It also saves foods that you frequently enter, so you can quickly select them from a personalized list.

One unique aspect of Lose It! in comparison with many other weight loss apps is its Snap It feature, which allows you to track your food intake and portion sizes simply by taking pictures of your meals.

Some research has shown that taking pictures of meals may help people keep track of portion sizes more accurately and observe trends in their dietary intake, both of which help promote weight loss, though overall, the research is mixed (11, 12).

Like some other apps on this list, Lose It! offers a community component, including challenges and forums. The company also encourages focusing on nonscale victories, such as lowering your cholesterol levels and feeling more energized.

The nutrition information in the database is expert verified.
It features a huge food database.
The app syncs with other weight loss and fitness apps, including Apple Health and Google Fit.
You can find a community and the option to participate in challenges.
The Snap It feature allows you to take photos to track food and portion sizes.

It doesn’t keep track of the vitamins and minerals you consume, but it explains why.
Some complaints say that the food database is missing a few popular brands.
There’s a potential for calorie counting to lead to a disordered relationship with food and body image in some people.

Best free weight loss app

Subscription cost: free, optional premium subscription for $6.99 per month, $19.99 per quarter, or $38.99 per year
iPhone rating: 4.8
Android rating: 4.6

Healthline‘s review

Whether you’re trying to lose a few pounds or maintain your current weight, having a support system is incredibly helpful.

In fact, research suggests that people who have social support tend to be more successful at losing weight and maintaining weight loss than those who do not (13).

FatSecret understands the importance of community, offering a unique community chat feature. You can also join groups to connect with people who have similar goals.

What’s more, the free version of FatSecret gives you access to most of the app’s features, including food tracking, exercise logs, a personal journal, and a large collection of healthy recipes. This is not the case with some other apps.

The app is also unique in that it offers a professional tool that allows you to easily share your food, exercise, and weight data with a healthcare professional.

For those who want even more resources, FatSecret’s premium subscription includes a water tracker, a meal planner, and custom meal headings.

The vast food database includes many popular restaurant and supermarket foods.
The app features monthly calorie averages that are helpful for monitoring progress.
The professional tool allows users to share data with healthcare professionals.
It features a journal for keeping tracking of your experience.
It syncs with other health apps and trackers.

It can be difficult to navigate because it has many components.
There’s a potential for calorie counting to lead to a disordered relationship with food and body image in some people.

Best no-diet weight loss app

Subscription cost: $6.99 per month or $49.99 per year
iPhone rating: 3.5
Android rating: N/A

Healthline‘s review

Way is a unique app that takes an antidiet approach to health, which may be best suited for individuals who find calorie counting and other common approaches to interfere with their relationship with food.

The app asks new users questions designed to help them reflect on how eating foods make them feel. The goal is to foster a healthy relationship with those foods. There are more than 60 different activities that are broken down into three pathways:

The Emotional Eats Pathway: This pathway reflects on how our emotions can affect our eating habits in a nonjudgmental way.
The Body Feels Pathway: It observes body image as well as physical health overall.
The Mindful Shifts Pathway: It asks questions about how we talk about ourselves when it comes to our lifestyle habits.

Overall, the reviews on the app are positive, with some calling it a safe space and a refreshing change to the traditional health apps out there. However, some have written reviews that mention the format of the app can be a bit buggy at times.

Keep in mind that while this app is about mindful eating, not weight loss, it’s not designed to help individuals cut calories or implement new exercise habits. That being said, some research has found that actively dieting may actually make it difficult to lose weight due to changes in the body’s metabolism, hunger, and fullness cues (14).

So it’s possible that using an app like Way may help certain people lose weight, but the app isn’t designed for this purpose.

This app features an antidiet approach to health.
It has 60+ different activities for users to work through.
There’s no tracking, which may be beneficial for individuals who find tracking to be triggering.
The short sessions are designed to help users reflect without being too time consuming.
It’s based on cognitive behavioral therapy and mindfulness.

The app is not available on Android.
The format can be buggy.
It’s not designed for weight loss, which may be a drawback for some people.

Best weight loss app for nutrient tracking

Subscription cost: free, optional premium subscription for $4.16 per month
iPhone rating: 4.7
Android rating: 4.6

Healthline‘s review

When you’re trying to lose weight, it’s not uncommon to focus only on calories. However, when it comes to eating for optimal health, it’s important to consume an overall balanced diet that helps you meet your nutrient needs.

Cronometer focuses on helping you obtain optimal nutrient intake while meeting your calorie goals. It tracks up to 82 micronutrients, so you can make sure you’re meeting your daily vitamin and mineral needs.

Like some other apps on this list, Cronometer features an extensive food database and a barcode scanner to make logging your meals a breeze.

As a bonus, there’s a pro version of the app that allows you to share your data with a registered dietitian or another health professional.

The app is free to download, but you’ll need to upgrade to Gold membership if you want to access certain features, such as:

progress charts
data trends
a recipe importer

Cronometer tracks significantly more nutrients than other apps.
It tracks biometric data, including cholesterol levels and blood pressure.
The app offers blog and forum to allow users to ask questions and find answers about the app.
It syncs with other apps and devices, including Fitbit and Garmin.

A subscription is required to access the recipe importer, remove ads, and access more in-depth analysis tools.
There’s a potential for calorie counting to lead to a disordered relationship with food and body image in some people.

Best weight loss app for grocery shopping

Subscription cost: free, optional in-app purchases costing $9.99–$89.99
iPhone rating: 4.6
Android rating: 4.2

Healthline‘s review

Deciphering nutrition labels and ingredient lists while grocery shopping can be overwhelming.

Using an app like Fooducate may help you better navigate all the different products at the grocery store.

Fooducate is a nutrition scanner that allows you to scan a food’s barcode and receive detailed information about the food, including ingredients and nutrient composition. It lets you scan more than 250,000 product barcodes.

One unique aspect of Fooducate’s nutrition scanner is that it notifies you of less healthy ingredients that are commonly hidden in products, such as trans fats and high fructose corn syrup.

Fooducate not only brings certain characteristics of foods to your attention but also gives you a list of healthier alternatives to purchase.

For example, if you scan a specific type of yogurt that contains a high amount of added sugar, the app will show you lower sugar options to look for instead.

The app is free to download, but keep in mind that certain features, such as micronutrient tracking and potential food allergy warnings, require in-app purchases.

The app has a grading system to help you make choices according to your goals.
It tracks exercise and calories.
It can scan some products for allergens.

Many features — including support for keto, paleo, and low carb diets and allergen tracking — are available only with a paid upgrade.

Best weight loss app for diabetes

Subscription cost: free, optional premium subscription for $8.99 per month or $59.99 per year

Healthline‘s review

Known for its original user-friendly calorie counter, MyNetDiary also offers Diabetes Tracker, an app specifically designed for people with diabetes and prediabetes.

The app includes access to MyNetDiary’s extensive food database and barcode scanner. It also provides total carbs and net carbs for each item logged, plus a running total of carb counts for the day, making it even easier to keep tabs on your carb intake.

Other notable features include:

blood glucose tracking, including custom pre- and postmeal target ranges
reminders to test blood sugar levels
insulin and medication tracking
A1C tracking (a measure of blood sugar control over 3 months)
exercise tracking
weight tracking

The app also offers detailed charts and reports to help identify trends in your blood sugar levels.

Just keep in mind that a subscription is required to access most of these features.

The app supports carb counting.
It includes customized blood glucose tracking.
It provides optional reminders to test blood sugar levels.
The app offers insulin and medication tracking.
It can sync with other health apps, including Garmin, Apple Watch, Fitbit, and Google Fit.
It contains a built-in GPS tracker for running and walking.

A subscription is required to access most features.
There’s a potential for calorie counting to lead to a disordered relationship with food and body image in some people.

iPhone rating: 4.8 stars
Subscription: free, with in-app purchases costing $4.99–$39.99

Healthline‘s review

Strides is a customizable habit tracker that allows you to track any specific habit you’d like, such as drinking water or getting to bed earlier.

You can even set up an ideal daily routine and tag certain habits or tasks to keep yourself organized and moving toward your goals.

To check in on your progress, Strides offers weekly, monthly, and yearly reports.

Unlike other apps on our list, Strides isn’t specific to weight loss and doesn’t focus on food or exercise logging. As a result, it’s a good fit if you prefer to focus on lifestyle habits rather than calorie counting.

The free version of the app allows you to track up to three habits. To track more habits, make notes, or analyze more data, you can make in-app purchases of $4.99–$39.99.

It focuses on habit tracking rather than calorie counting.
The app offers weekly, monthly, and yearly progress reports.
It features customizable goals and habits.
It can be used to track other life goals, such as financial or career goals.

The app is not available on Android.
A subscription is required to unlock all features.

Here’s a quick look at how our top picks compare:

When deciding which weight loss app is right for you, there are a few factors to keep in mind, such as:

Budget: Many weight loss apps have a free version as well as the option to access premium features for an additional cost. Others require a subscription or a one-time purchase for use.
Special features: It’s important to consider the features you want an app to have, such as one-on-one coaching, meal planning and recipes, food and activity logs, barcode scanners, or macro counting. Some apps can also sync to a wearable device, such as a fitness watch, to make activity tracking seamless and convenient.
Weight and wellness goals: Certain apps may be better suited for certain goals. For example, if your goal is to lose weight by increasing your activity level, it’s helpful to choose an app that offers recommended workouts and integrates with an activity tracker.
Your experience level: If you’re new to exercising and healthy eating, you’ll want an app that includes plenty of beginner-level resources or even one-on-one coaching.

While research shows calorie counting is effective for weight loss, it’s important to note that it has also been linked to an increased risk of disordered eating in certain people. Therefore, it may not be appropriate for some people (2, 3).

What is the best free weight loss app?

Several of the apps on our list offer a free version as well as an option to subscribe for access to premium features.

FatSecret’s free version is one of the best, as it allows users to access nearly all of the app’s available features. Currently, the only tools that require a subscription are the meal planner, custom meal headings, and water tracker.

If you’re primarily interested in logging your food intake and exercise habits, the free versions of Lose It! and MyFitnessPal are also worth considering.

What are motivating factors to lose weight?

There are many reasons you might want to lose weight, and research suggests that these factors can change throughout your weight loss journey (15).

That being said, research has found that physical appearance and self-esteem are two of the biggest driving factors for wanting to lose weight (15, 16).

One small study also found that acknowledgment from a healthcare professional and comfort speaking with a doctor played a key role in participants’ desire to lose weight (17).

Other motivating factors supported by research include:

health-related concerns
illnesses
societal pressure
body dissatisfaction (18)

Do weight loss apps really work?

Research suggests that weight loss apps can be effective for weight loss and may even help improve lab values, such as triglyceride levels (9, 19).

Still, keep in mind that the research is limited and inconclusive, with some studies showing no benefit of mobile apps for weight loss (20).

Furthermore, several studies note that the effectiveness of weight loss apps largely depends on the individual’s level of engagement with the app, which appears to be low in many instances (21, 22).

For example, some factors have been shown to affect users’ level of engagement, such as:

age
health literacy
socioeconomic status
other disparities

In turn, these factors could make weight loss apps less effective for certain populations (22).

Finally, keep in mind that while calorie counting can be effective for weight loss, it can also increase the risk for disordered eating in some individuals (2, 3).

If you’re looking to lose weight, these apps can help support your diet and weight goals, offering tools in the palm of your hand, such as:

nutrient tracking
goal setting
meal planning

Still, keep in mind that while they have several possible benefits, weight loss apps can be:

Many apps offer a free version or free trial, and we recommend experimenting with a few to see which one, if any, works best for you.

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