An honest comparison.

§ 01 · TL;DR

Pick Cronometer if micronutrient precision is the point — you want vitamin- and mineral-level detail from a verified database, or you need Android and web alongside iPhone.

Pick BiteDeck if you want your data on your phone with no account, refuse ads in every tier, log a lot of restaurant meals, or want fasting, body-fat tracking, and an on-device weight forecast in the same iPhone-native app.

You probably don't need both.

§ 02 · The comparison

Verify Cronometer's pricing and feature gating directly on their site before relying on this table — values change.

§ 03 · Where Cronometer wins

Micronutrient depth.This is Cronometer's signature. It is built on a carefully curated, verified database and tracks 80-plus nutrients — vitamins, minerals, amino acids, the lot. If you track to hit micronutrient targets, nothing here matches it, and BiteDeck doesn't try to.

Cross-platform.iPhone, Android, and the web. BiteDeck is iPhone-only — if you split devices, that's a real cost.

Data quality.Cronometer's entries lean on vetted sources rather than open community submissions, so the numbers are unusually trustworthy row to row.

Biometrics & longevity tracking. Broad custom biometric logging suits people optimizing more than just calories.

§ 04 · Where BiteDeck wins

Local-first, no account. Your meals, weights, fasts, and Coach history live in SwiftData on your phone — no BiteDeck server, no sign-up. Read what local-first means for the full account.

No ads in any tier. BiteDeck has a free tier and a paid tier ($14.99/mo or $69.99/yr), and neither shows ads.

Restaurant menus that work. 282 chains with section-sorted menus, scoped in-menu search, and multi-add for build-your-own bowls. See the restaurant coverage.

Fasting + body-fat + forecast. 16:8 through OMAD timers with streak protection, four body-fat methods, and an on-device weight forecast — all in one app.

Apple Health depth. 5 reads, 10 writes, per-metric toggles. See Apple Health & HealthKit Sync.

§ 05 · Pricing

Cronometer: Free tier with ads. A Gold subscription removes ads and adds features. Verify the current Gold price on their site.

BiteDeck: Free tier and paid tier ($14.99/month or $69.99/year). The paid tier covers only the AI features — everything else, including no ads, is free. See full pricing.

§ 06 · Privacy

Cronometer stores your log on its servers behind an account, under its own privacy policy. That enables its sync across devices and the web.

BiteDeck has no servers and no account. The marketing site ships zero analytics, zero trackers, zero cookie banner. Off-device traffic is limited to a few narrowly scoped AI flows (photo scan, parsing, Coach), routed through BiteDeck's proxy and never retained. See BiteDeck's privacy policy.

§ 07 · FAQ

• Is BiteDeck a good Cronometer alternative?

  If you want Cronometer's clean tracking without an account or a server, yes. BiteDeck keeps everything local on your iPhone, has no ads in any tier, and adds restaurant menus, a fasting timer, and an on-device weight forecast. What you trade away is Cronometer's exhaustive micronutrient database and its Android and web apps.

• Does BiteDeck track micronutrients like Cronometer?

  BiteDeck tracks the macros plus the micros most people act on — fiber, sugar, sodium, and more — and syncs them to Apple Health. Cronometer goes deeper here: it is built around an unusually complete micronutrient database covering 80-plus nutrients. If vitamin- and mineral-level precision is the whole reason you track, Cronometer still leads on that one axis.

• Does BiteDeck need an account like Cronometer?

  No. Cronometer requires an account and stores your log on its servers. BiteDeck has no account and no BiteDeck server — your data lives in SwiftData on your phone, included in your normal iCloud device backup if you have one.

• How much does BiteDeck cost compared to Cronometer?

  Both have a free tier. BiteDeck's paid tier is $14.99/month or $69.99/year, and it covers only the AI features — the rest of the app, including no ads, is free. Cronometer's paid tier (Gold) removes ads and unlocks extras. Check Cronometer's current pricing on their site before comparing.