Best Weight Loss Apps UK: Which One Is Right for You?
There are so many weight loss apps now that choosing one can almost feel like another job to add to your to-do list.
Some count calories. Some track nutrients. Some are attached to weight-loss programmes. Some are free until you discover that the one feature you actually wanted requires a subscription!
I’ve tried various ways of tracking my food and weight over the years, from slimming clubs and food diaries to apps, and I don’t think there is one best weight loss app for everybody.
It depends on what you actually want the app to do.
Do you want to count calories? Track protein and fibre? Follow a complete weight-loss programme? Scan UK supermarket foods quickly? Or do you just want somewhere to record your weight without logging every bite you eat?
I’ve looked at some of the most useful weight loss apps available in the UK and what I’d choose them for.
Best weight loss apps UK: my quick picks
If you don’t want to read the whole guide, these are the apps I’d look at first depending on what you need.
Best free structured weight-loss app: NHS Weight Loss Plan
Best for UK calorie counting: Nutracheck
Best for detailed nutrition tracking: Cronometer
Best straightforward free food tracker: MyNetDiary
Best-known general calorie tracker: MyFitnessPal
Best if you follow WeightWatchers: WW
Best if you follow Slimming World: Slimming World
There isn’t a winner that is automatically best for everybody. I’d choose based on which features you’ll genuinely use rather than which app has the longest feature list.
Weight loss app comparison
| App | Best for | Free option? | Food tracking | Barcode scanning |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| NHS Weight Loss Plan | Free structured plan | Yes | Yes | — |
| Nutracheck | UK calorie counting | Limited Lite | Yes | Paid/full membership features |
| Cronometer | Nutrients & macros | Yes | Yes | Free |
| MyNetDiary | Simple tracking | Yes | Yes | Free tier available |
| MyFitnessPal | General tracking | Yes | Yes | Premium |
| WW | Following WeightWatchers | Membership | Yes | Programme dependent |
| Slimming World | Following Slimming World | Membership | Yes | Programme dependent |
I’ll go through each option below because the limitations of the free versions can make quite a difference.
NHS Weight Loss Plan – best free structured weight-loss app
If you want something completely free and would prefer an actual programme rather than simply a calorie counter, I’d start with the NHS Weight Loss Plan app.
It’s a 12-week programme designed to help you work towards healthier habits and weight loss.
You can set a weight-loss goal, track food and drinks and receive a daily calorie target.
I particularly like the fact that there’s no subscription decision to make. You’re not starting a “free” app and discovering three days later that all the useful bits are locked behind Premium.
It won’t have every clever feature found in commercial tracking apps, but if your priority is simply getting started without spending money, it’s well worth considering.
Nutracheck – best UK calorie-counting app
If you live in the UK and want to count calories, Nutracheck has an obvious advantage: it is designed specifically around UK foods.
Its database contains hundreds of thousands of UK food products with photographs, and it also has an extensive exercise database.
That can make food logging considerably less annoying when you’re scanning things from Tesco, Aldi or Sainsbury’s rather than trying to work out which American database entry vaguely resembles what you’ve eaten.
Nutracheck isn’t completely free if you want unlimited use. There is currently a free trial, after which the free Lite membership limits how many foods you can add to your diary each day.
So I wouldn’t choose it if your number-one requirement is never paying anything.
If you’re happy to pay for an app you’ll use regularly, however, its UK focus makes it one I’d seriously consider.
Cronometer – best for tracking nutrients
Cronometer is the app I’d look at if you’re interested in more than simply calories.
Its free Basic account tracks calories and macronutrients alongside a huge range of vitamins, minerals and other nutrients.
That’s particularly useful if you’re trying to pay more attention to things such as:
protein
fibre
iron
calcium
vitamin D
rather than simply trying to hit the lowest possible calorie number.
The free account also includes barcode scanning, exercise and health-metric tracking and the ability to create meals and recipes.
For somebody interested in the nutritional quality of their diet as well as weight loss, I think Cronometer is one of the more interesting options.
The downside is that all that information can be more than you actually want.
If you want something very simple, you may prefer another app.
MyNetDiary – best for straightforward tracking
MyNetDiary is another useful option if you want to track food without immediately paying for a premium subscription.
I like that the basic experience is relatively straightforward.
You can log food, monitor your progress and use it as a digital food diary without needing to turn tracking into a full-time hobby.
It also makes a useful alternative for people who used to rely heavily on MyFitnessPal but don’t necessarily want to pay for some of its Premium features.
If what you want is simply:
What did I eat today, roughly how many calories was it and how am I progressing?
This type of app may suit you better than one presenting you with dozens of different nutritional graphs.
MyFitnessPal – best-known general food tracker
MyFitnessPal is probably one of the first names most people think of when talking about calorie-counting apps.
Its free version still lets you log food and exercise, monitor measurements and progress, create foods, meals and recipes, view macronutrients and connect with partner apps.
However, some features that used to make the free version particularly attractive are now Premium features.
For example, barcode scanning currently requires Premium.
That’s worth knowing before downloading it because if scanning packaged foods matters to you, another app may offer that feature without paying.
If you mainly want manual food logging and already know and like MyFitnessPal, the free version may still do everything you need.
WeightWatchers app – best if you want the WW programme
The WW app is different from something like Cronometer or Nutracheck because you’re not simply buying a food diary.
You’re using the app as part of the WeightWatchers programme.
It allows you to follow your Points Budget, track foods and use the tools that form part of your membership.
If you already want to follow WeightWatchers, this obviously makes sense.
I wouldn’t join WW purely because I wanted an app for recording calories, though. There are cheaper and free ways of doing that.
You’re paying for the programme, not merely the tracking screen.
I’ve followed both WW and Slimming World, and I’ve written separately about how the two programmes compare if you’re trying to choose between them.
Slimming World vs Weight Watchers
Slimming World app – best if you follow Slimming World
The same applies to Slimming World.
Its app is designed to help members follow Food Optimising, including tracking and looking up foods within the Slimming World system.
If you’re already a member, having the official information in the app is obviously useful.
But I wouldn’t describe it as a general-purpose calorie-counting app because that isn’t what Slimming World is based around.
If you want to count calories, choose an app designed to count calories.
If you want to follow Slimming World, use the tools designed for Slimming World.
Trying to make one programme behave like another usually makes everything unnecessarily complicated.
What is the best completely free weight loss app?
If spending nothing is your main priority, I’d look first at the NHS Weight Loss Plan and the genuinely useful free tiers of apps such as Cronometer and MyNetDiary.
But there are more options than I can sensibly compare here without this article becoming entirely about free apps.
I’ve therefore tested and compared them separately in my guide to the Best Free Weight Loss Tracking Apps.
That includes which apps offer free barcode scanning, nutrition tracking and food logging without requiring you to upgrade.
What is the best calorie-counting app in the UK?
For UK-specific food tracking, I’d seriously consider Nutracheck because its database is built around foods you’ll actually encounter in UK supermarkets.
That matters more than it might sound.
Food logging becomes irritating very quickly if you’re constantly creating products yourself or trying to decide whether an American version of something has the same nutritional information as yours.
If you want a free alternative, I’d compare Cronometer and MyNetDiary too.
Which app is best for tracking protein?
If protein and other nutrients matter to you, I’d favour Cronometer over a basic calorie counter.
Being able to see calories alongside protein, fibre, vitamins and minerals gives you a much more complete picture of what you’re eating.
This can be particularly useful if your appetite is reduced or you’re deliberately trying to increase your protein intake.
Which weight loss app is easiest for beginners?
I’d resist choosing an app based on which one has the most features.
Choose the one that feels easiest to use.
If entering breakfast takes fifteen taps and makes you swear at your phone before 9am, you’re probably not going to keep doing it.
For somebody wanting a structured free starting point, the NHS Weight Loss Plan is nice because it gives you a programme to follow.
For straightforward food logging, I’d look at MyNetDiary.
If you’re comfortable paying and mainly eat UK foods, Nutracheck is very easy to understand.
Try an app before committing to a long subscription whenever possible.
Do I actually need a weight loss app?
No. People successfully lost weight long before smartphones existed. An app is simply a tool.
It can help you understand portions, notice patterns in what you’re eating, monitor nutrients or keep a record of your progress. For some people, that information is really helpful. For others, constantly logging food makes them think about food even more.
I’ve experienced times when numbers around weight loss became far too important to me, so these days I don’t automatically think more tracking = better. Pay attention to how using the app makes you feel as well as what the graphs say.
Do you have to track every mouthful?
If you’re using an app specifically to understand your calorie intake, your results will obviously be more useful if what you enter broadly reflects what you actually eat.
But that doesn’t mean you need to spend the rest of your life weighing lettuce. Some people track for a period because it teaches them about portions and the nutritional content of foods they regularly eat.
Others like the structure and continue tracking longer term. And some people hate it. All three are perfectly possible.
Are weight loss apps accurate?
The app can only work with the information available to it. Packaged foods with verified nutritional information tend to be straightforward. Homemade meals, restaurant dishes and user-created database entries can involve much more estimation.
Exercise calorie figures are estimates too. I wouldn’t treat an app saying you’ve burned 483 calories as proof that your body has used precisely 483 calories. Use the numbers as useful information, not unquestionable facts.
What should I look for before choosing an app?
Think about what you actually want to achieve. If you simply want to record your weight, you don’t need an enormous nutrition app. If you’re interested in micronutrients, a basic calorie diary may frustrate you.
If you eat mostly UK supermarket foods, a strong UK database will save time. And if you want coaching or a complete programme rather than DIY tracking, WW or Slimming World may make more sense.
I’d also check:
- whether the features you want are actually free
- whether it works with your phone/watch
- whether you can export your data
- how easy food entry feels
- whether you can create recipes
- what happens to your information if you cancel
- the privacy settings you’re agreeing to
Then choose the one you’re actually likely to use.
My choice of weight loss app
If I wanted a free structured programme, I’d start with the NHS app.
If I wanted a UK-focused calorie counter and didn’t mind paying, I’d look closely at Nutracheck.
If I wanted to understand my overall nutrition, not just calories, I’d choose Cronometer.
If I wanted a straightforward free food diary, I’d consider MyNetDiary.
And if I’d already decided to follow WW or Slimming World, I’d use the relevant programme’s official app.
I don’t have one app I’d recommend to everyone trying to lose weight.
The best one gives you the information you need without turning weight loss into a full-time job.
And if your priority is simply not paying, don’t miss my separate comparison of the best free weight loss tracking apps.
