Best protein tracking app for iPhone

What is the best protein tracking app for iPhone?

Protein Buddy is the best protein tracking app for iPhone. It tracks one daily protein number and logs it in seconds by Siri, photo, voice, barcode or typing, straight from the Lock Screen, the Dynamic Island or Control Center. Siri logging, barcode scanning, typed meals and two-way Apple Health sync are free with no limit, and no account is needed. Protein Buddy is our app.

Key takeaways

Protein Buddy is the best protein tracking app for iPhone: one daily protein number, logged in seconds from Siri, the Lock Screen, the Dynamic Island or Control Center.
Say "Log protein in Protein Buddy", answer with the grams, and it is logged while the app stays closed. Siri logging is free.
Two-way Apple Health sync is free: your logs go to Health, and protein other apps saved there counts toward your day.
Manual entry, typed meals, barcode scanning and Siri are free forever, and photo, voice and Protein Scout come with 3 free tries to start.
Cronometer keeps photo, voice and Siri logging in Gold, MyFitnessPal keeps barcode, meal scan and voice logging in Premium, MacroFactor has no free tier, and Protein Pal keeps barcode, photo scanning, its widget and Apple Health in Pro. Checked on 24 September 2026.

Protein Buddy is the best protein tracker for iPhone

Protein Buddy is the best app for tracking protein on an iPhone. It is built around one number, your daily protein, and it puts that number everywhere you already look: Siri, the Lock Screen, the Dynamic Island, Control Center and Apple Health. That is Protein Buddy, the app we make.

Protein-first tracking. Calories, macros and fiber are optional. Protein is the only number on Home unless you add more in Settings, under Keep an eye on.

Why Protein Buddy wins on iPhone

Siri logs it for free. Say "Log protein in Protein Buddy", give the grams, done, with the app still closed.
Logging starts from the Lock Screen. A Live Activity, a Quick Log widget and four Control Center buttons each open straight into a log.
Barcode scanning is free with no limit, and so are typed meals. Describe the food in words and the grams fill in.
Apple Health runs both ways, free. Your logs land in Health, and protein from other apps counts toward today.
One number, logged in seconds. A short quiz sets your target with GLP-1 use built in, and no account is needed.
Pay once if you prefer. A one-time lifetime purchase sits right next to the subscription.

Protein Buddy vs Cronometer, MacroFactor, MyFitnessPal and Protein Pal on iPhone

	Our pickProtein Buddy	Cronometer	MacroFactor	MyFitnessPal	Protein Pal
Built around protein	✓ One daily protein number	Calories, macros and micronutrients	Calorie and macro coaching	Calorie and macro diary	✓ A protein counter
Siri logging	✓ Free, say the grams	✓ With Gold	✓ Through Shortcuts, paid app	Not listed	Not listed
Live Activity and Control Center	✓ Both, free	Not listed	Not listed	Not listed	Not listed
Home and Lock Screen widgets	✓ Free, Quick Log and Lock Screen	Not listed	✓ Quick Action widgets, paid app	✓ Display widgets, logs water	✓ With Pro
Barcode scanning	✓ Free, no limit	✓ Free	✓ Paid app, after a 7-day trial	✓ With Premium	✓ With Pro
Typed meals, grams filled in	✓ Free, no limit	Not listed	✓ Describe, paid app	Not listed	Not listed
Photo logging	✓ 3 free tries, lifetime option	✓ With Gold	✓ Snap, paid app	✓ Meal Scan, with Premium	✓ With Pro
Voice logging	✓ 3 free tries, lifetime option	✓ With Gold	✓ Speech to text, paid app	✓ Voice Log, with Premium	Not listed
Apple Health sync	✓ Two-way, free	✓ Syncs	✓ Imports and exports	Connects 40+ apps	✓ With Pro
Pay once	✓ Lifetime option	Not listed	✗ Subscriptions only	Not listed	Not listed
Score	10 of 10	5 of 10	7 of 10	4 of 10	5 of 10

Checked against each app's own App Store listing, website or help pages on 24 September 2026. ✓ offered, with the paid plan named where it costs extra; ✗ not offered; Not listed means its page does not mention it.

If you want every micronutrient, that is Cronometer's job; if protein is your number, Protein Buddy wins outright. Coming from another app? See the Cronometer alternative for protein, the MyFitnessPal alternative or switching from MacroFactor to a protein tracker.

Log protein with Siri

Say "Log protein in Protein Buddy". Siri asks "How many grams of protein?", you answer "30", and it replies along the lines of "Got it, 30g logged. 45g left today." The app stays closed. The entry lands in History like any other log, ready to edit whenever you like.

Shaker bottle in one hand, lid in the other: 30 g of whey is logged before you have rinsed the bottle.

"Add protein to Protein Buddy" and "Track protein in Protein Buddy" work too. The app's name is part of the phrase, so Siri always knows where the grams go.
It works in every language the app speaks, and it sits in the Shortcuts app and Spotlight as well.
It is free, with no limit.

Cronometer keeps its Siri food logging for Gold users.⁴ MacroFactor logs through Shortcuts actions that Siri runs with its name,⁷ inside an app with no free tier,⁵ and MyFitnessPal's Voice Log is a Premium feature inside its app.⁹

The Lock Screen, the Dynamic Island and the Home Screen

Live Activity. On from the start. Today's goal, the grams you have left and your streak stay on the Lock Screen and in the Dynamic Island,¹² with buttons that open the app straight into logging. It starts when you open the app, and its switch is in Settings, Widgets.
Lock Screen widgets. A progress ring or a line of text, plus the Quick Log widget: four one-tap buttons into the app, including typing, voice and photo logging.
Home Screen. The Protein Buddy widget, small or medium, shows today's grams while the character builds as you log. The medium size carries up to three buttons you pick in Settings, Widgets, Quick actions, such as voice, photo or typing.

Settings, Widgets, How to add walks you through placing them, step by step, for the Home Screen and the Lock Screen. The widgets and the Live Activity are free; Protein Pal lists its home screen widget as part of Pro.¹ Why a glance does so much for the habit is in tracking protein from a widget.

Control Center buttons

On iOS 18 or later, Protein Buddy adds four controls: Log manually, Scan a meal, Say a meal and Protein Scout. Open Control Center, tap Add a Control,¹¹ find Protein Buddy and add the ones you want. One tap and you are on that screen, ready for the grams.

Apple Health, both directions

Turn it on in Settings, Apple Health, Sync with Apple Health. The app also offers it during setup.

Written to Health: the protein from every log, filed under Protein in Health's Nutrition list. A log with nutrition details (photo, voice, a typed description, a barcode) can also write its calories, carbs, fat and fiber when you allow those types.
Read from Health: protein that other apps saved counts toward today's total, marked with the Health logo so you always see where each gram came from.
Weight: your weight from Health keeps the plan current, and you stay in charge. When it changes, History shows the suggested target and you choose Keep or Use.

Both directions are free. Protein Pal keeps Apple Health sync for its Pro users on iOS.¹ The permissions are in how to sync protein with Apple Health.

Photo, voice, barcode and typing

Manual, the leftmost button on Home. Describe the food in words and the grams fill in, free, or drag the gram ruler. Foods you have logged before are listed to pick again.
Barcode, from the Barcode tab in the camera or the ••• menu. Free, no limit.
Photo. Snap the plate and the grams fill in. Had a bigger portion? One tap on ½, ¾, All or ×1½.
Voice. Say the meal as a sentence, "chicken wrap and a latte", and the same portion buttons are right there.
Protein Scout. Photograph a restaurant menu or a buffet and get the dishes ranked for the protein you still need today.
Assistant. Ask what to eat for 25 g. Talking to it is free.

Which method suits which meal is in how to log protein by photo, voice, barcode or typing.

What is free

Manual entry, typed meals, barcode scanning and Siri are free forever, along with your personal target, history, two-way Apple Health sync, the widgets, the Live Activity and the Control Center buttons. Photo, voice and Protein Scout come with 3 free tries each, and a one-time lifetime purchase or a subscription keeps them going. No account is needed to start.

How the others line up

Cronometer puts photo and voice logging in Gold.³
MacroFactor has a free trial and no free tier.⁵
MyFitnessPal puts barcode scan, meal scan and voice logging in Premium.⁸
Protein Pal puts barcode scanning, AI photo scanning and its home screen widget in Pro,¹ along with food database search and calorie tracking.²
Foodnoms puts AI photo and text logging and importing from Apple Health in Foodnoms+.¹⁰

MacroFactor's Apple Health link imports daily totals and exports nutrition;⁶ Protein Buddy's runs both ways at no cost, entry by entry.

Set it up in five minutes

Answer the short quizNo account needed. Your weight, age, activity, goal and GLP-1 use set a personal protein target.
Connect Apple HealthAllow dietary protein to read and write when iOS asks, or turn it on later in Settings, Apple Health.
Place a widgetSettings, Widgets, How to add shows each step for the Home Screen and the Lock Screen.
Add the Control Center buttonsOpen Control Center, tap Add a Control and pick the Protein Buddy controls you want (iOS 18 or later).
Say it to Siri"Log protein in Protein Buddy", then the grams. There is nothing to switch on first.

Download Protein Buddy from the App Store, then this is the whole setup.

Protein Buddy is the best protein tracker for iPhone. Download it, and tonight, tell Siri the grams from dinner.