Pensum
Pensum vs Cronometer
Pensum is a calm, fast food tracker for Android. Saved meals and Log again make repeat days quick, photo logging handles the rest, and 18 micronutrients read against daily targets with every value marked verified, partial or estimated. Your calorie target follows your measured expenditure. No ads, no account. Photo logging, recipe import and repeat logging are free in Pensum. Cronometer puts all three behind Gold, and its free plan shows ads and keeps reports to 7 days.
Android. iPhone waitlist on the home page.
Pick Pensum for fast, ad-free logging without a subscription. Saved meals, Log again, photo logging, recipe import, 18 micronutrients plus fiber, sugar and saturated fat, 3-month trends and a calorie target from measured expenditure are all free, and your Cronometer history imports in a few taps. On Cronometer the same free plan comes with ads and 7-day reports, and photo logging, recipe import and repeat items cost $59.99 a year with Gold. Pensum is Android only for now.
What Cronometer locks behind Gold
Cronometer Basic is free, with two limits you feel every day: it shows ads, and reports and charts only cover a 7-day window. Much of the daily routine sits behind Cronometer Gold, at $10.99 per month or $59.99 per year in the US. Its own Gold page lists what free users don't get:
- Ad-free tracking
- Photo Log and Voice Log
- Recipe Importer for recipes on websites
- Repeat Items to automate meals
- Crono Coach, its AI coaching
- Data history in charts and insights beyond 7 days
The Gold page does not advertise a standard free trial. In Pensum, every one of these is free.
| Pensum | Cronometer | |
|---|---|---|
| Features | ||
| No ads | Free, on every tier | Gold only |
| Photo logging | Free | Gold only |
| Voice logging | Free | Gold only |
| Recipe import | Free | Gold only |
| Repeat logging | Free: saved meals, Log again, last portion remembered | Repeat Items, Gold only |
| Charts beyond 7 days | Free: 1 week, 1 month or 3 months | Gold only |
| AI assistant | Free: Ask Pensum | Crono Coach, Gold only |
| Price (US) | ||
| Monthly | Free; Plus is optional | Gold $10.99 |
| Yearly | Free; Plus is optional | Gold $59.99 |
Cronometer features and prices from its Gold page and the US App Store listing. Other regions differ. Google Play shows the Pensum Plus price in your currency.
How Pensum is paid for. The tracker is free and has no ads: diary, manual logging, barcode scanning, search, photo logging, label scans, recipe import, saved meals, recipes, favorites, Log again, 18 micronutrients plus fiber, sugar and saturated fat, trends and weigh-ins, adaptive targets, Ask Pensum, Health Connect sync, widgets, CSV export and imports.
Pensum Plus is optional. It adds conveniences that pay for what costs money to run: unlimited AI, micronutrients that fill in on their own as you log, and a daily cloud backup, encrypted in transit and at rest on servers in the EU. Nothing you need to track sits behind it.
Pensum vs Cronometer, side by side
Every Cronometer cell checked against its Gold page, help center or store listing on September 25, 2026.
| Pensum | Cronometer | |
|---|---|---|
| Price and access | ||
| Free plan | Yes, the full tracker | Basic, with ads and 7-day reports |
| Paid plan | Optional Plus for unlimited AI, auto micros, cloud backup | Gold: $10.99 monthly or $59.99 yearly |
| Ads | None, on any tier | On the free plan; ad-free is Gold only |
| Account | None needed | Account required |
| Logging | ||
| Barcode scanner | Free | Free |
| Repeat logging | Free: saved meals, recipes, favorites, Log again, last portion remembered, multi-add, copy to any day | Meals and recipes free; Repeat Items Gold only |
| Photo logging | Free: up to five photos of one meal plus notes | Photo Log, Gold only |
| Voice | Free | Voice Log, Gold only |
| Recipe import | Free: paste text or a screenshot | Recipe Importer, Gold only |
| Food data | ||
| Database | Hand-curated catalogue on USDA FoodData Central, plus the German BLS and Swiss database, plus millions of products via Open Food Facts | 1M+ foods, per Cronometer |
| Search order | Generic whole foods ranked above branded products | Not documented |
| Value quality shown | Each nutrient flagged verified, partial or estimated | Not documented |
| Targets and expenditure | ||
| Custom targets | Free: pin protein, fat or carbs in grams or g/kg; micros read against daily targets | Custom macro and micronutrient targets, free |
| Adaptive expenditure | Free, measured from intake and weigh-ins; method published at /expenditure | Not listed |
| Reports and AI | ||
| Charts and trends | 1 week, 1 month or 3 months, free | 7 days free; longer history Gold only |
| AI assistant | Free: Ask Pensum answers from your own diary; changes only on Apply | Crono Coach, Gold only |
| Privacy and data | ||
| Where the diary lives | On your phone; optional EU cloud backup with Plus | Cloud account |
| Export and import | CSV export; imports Cronometer, MacroFactor, MyFitnessPal and more | CSV export from the website |
"Not documented" and "not listed" mean we could not find it on Cronometer's Gold page, help center or store listing, not that it cannot exist.
What actually differs
Ads and the Gold line
Two things send people looking for a Cronometer alternative: the ads on the free plan, and how much of the daily routine sits behind Gold. Repeating yesterday's breakfast with Repeat Items, importing a recipe, seeing a chart beyond the last 7 days, logging from a photo: each is Gold only. In Pensum the diary and everything you touch every day are free and ad-free, photo logging and recipe import included.
Search that puts the plain food first
Pensum's basics come from a hand-curated catalogue built on USDA FoodData Central, with the German BLS and the Swiss Food Composition Database adding European generics. Branded products come from Open Food Facts: millions of them, kept current by an active community, including a large German-speaking one, that scans products constantly. If a barcode isn't found, photograph the nutrition label. Pensum reads the values and adds the product to Open Food Facts for everyone.
Generic whole foods rank above branded products, so "chicken", "oats" or "Quark" return the plain food before the packaged versions. Each result shows its source and how many of the 18 tracked micronutrients it covers, and repeat foods open on the portion you logged last time.
Every micronutrient value labelled
Pensum tracks 18 micronutrients plus fiber, sugar and saturated fat against daily targets, free. Every value carries a label: verified, partial or estimated, so you can see how much of a number is measured and how much is filled in.
When a food is missing micros, Pensum estimates them for free, and with Plus they fill in on their own as you log. The micronutrients page explains which values come from where.
Targets that follow measured expenditure
Pensum measures your expenditure from your logged intake and weigh-ins and sets the calorie target from it, free. Cronometer lets you set targets by hand and does not list an adaptive expenditure estimate. Every equation and constant behind Pensum's number is published on the expenditure page, including the test results. For a starting point before you have data, use the TDEE calculator.
No account, diary on the phone
Cronometer needs a cloud account. Pensum asks for no account and keeps the diary on your phone. Backups are manual files you control, or with Plus an automatic daily copy, encrypted in transit and at rest on EU servers. Health Connect sync reads your weight and writes meals and manual weigh-ins back.
Pensum is for you if
- You want no ads, and no subscription to get rid of them.
- You log the same foods often and want saved meals, Log again and last portions for free.
- You want photo logging and recipe import without paying for Gold.
- You want free trends over a week, a month or three months.
- You want calorie targets that follow your measured expenditure.
- You prefer no account and a diary stored on your phone.
From someone who switched
“I was looking for a better macro-tracking app, as I had been using Cronometer, and I definitely found it here. ... I've switched over completely.”
Switching from Cronometer to Pensum
Your diary and weigh-ins come with you, so trends and measured expenditure have history from the first day.
- Export from the website. Sign in at cronometer.com (the export lives on the website, not in the app), open your account settings and go to Export Data.
- Pick the files. Export Servings, plus Biometrics for your weigh-ins. Daily Nutrition is optional and fills any day Servings does not cover. Set the range to cover all your history.
- Install Pensum. From Google Play. No account to create.
- Import. Open Settings, tap Import data, choose Cronometer and select the CSV files together. Each serving comes over with its calories and macros in the meal group you logged it in, plus your weigh-ins. A preview shows before anything is written, and days already logged in Pensum are skipped. How the import works.
Cronometer questions
Is Cronometer free?
Cronometer Basic is free, but it shows ads and limits reports and charts to a 7-day window. Photo logging, voice logging, recipe import, repeat items, longer chart history and ad removal are Gold only. In Pensum, photo logging, recipe import, saved meals and trends up to 3 months are free, and there are no ads on any tier.
How much is Cronometer Gold in 2026?
Cronometer Gold costs $10.99 per month or $59.99 per year in the US, which works out to $4.99 per month on the annual plan. Prices in other countries are set by the App Store and Google Play and can differ. Cronometer also sells a separate Pro plan for health professionals.
Is Cronometer Gold worth it?
With Gold you pay $59.99 a year to remove ads, log from a photo or your voice, import recipes, repeat meals with Repeat Items and see charts beyond 7 days. Pensum gives you the core of that free: no ads, photo logging, recipe import, saved meals and Log again, and trends over 1 week, 1 month or 3 months.
What is the difference between Cronometer free and Gold?
Cronometer free covers logging, barcode scanning, custom targets and 7-day reports, with ads. Only with Gold: ad-free tracking, Photo Log, Voice Log, the recipe importer, timestamps, Repeat Items, a macro scheduler, a fasting timer, custom charts and biometrics, nutrition scores, the Crono Coach AI and unlimited history in charts.
Does Cronometer have ads?
Yes, the free version of Cronometer shows ads. Cronometer lists ad-free tracking as a Gold feature, so removing them costs $59.99 per year or $10.99 per month in the US. Pensum shows no ads on the free plan or on Plus, so there is nothing to pay to remove.
Can I export my Cronometer data?
Yes. Sign in on the cronometer.com website, open your account settings and use Export Data to download CSV files: Servings, Daily Nutrition, Exercises, Biometrics and Notes. Pensum imports the Servings and Biometrics files, plus Daily Nutrition if you add it, with a preview before anything is written.
What is a good free alternative to Cronometer?
Pensum is a free Cronometer alternative for Android. The diary, barcode scanner, photo logging, saved meals, recipes, 18 micronutrients plus fiber, sugar and saturated fat, trends and adaptive targets from measured expenditure are free, with no ads and no account, and no subscription is needed. Pensum sells no data, and it imports your Cronometer CSV export, so your history comes with you.
Does Pensum track micronutrients?
Yes, for free. Pensum tracks 18 micronutrients plus fiber, sugar and saturated fat against daily targets, and flags each value as verified, partial or estimated. When a food is missing micros, Pensum can estimate them for free, and with Plus they fill in on their own as you log.
Is Pensum available on iPhone?
Not yet. Pensum is on Google Play for Android, with a direct APK for phones without Google services. An iPhone version has a waitlist on the Pensum home page, with no release date promised.
How we compared
We used Cronometer's Gold page, its help center and its US App Store listing, checked on September 25, 2026, alongside the current Pensum release. Prices vary by region and change over time. If something here is out of date, tell us at [email protected] and we will fix it.
No ads to remove. The everyday diary is free.