Cronometer: Calorie Counter

What it does

Cronometer is a comprehensive nutrition and fitness tracker designed for users who want to go beyond simple calorie counting. The app allows for meticulous logging of food, exercise, and a wide range of biometric data. Its core function is to provide a detailed breakdown of macronutrients, vitamins, and minerals, helping users align their daily intake with specific health and fitness goals.

Where it shines

Cronometer stands out with its depth of data and flexibility. The onboarding process (00:12-01:18) is a great example, using a detailed quiz to create a highly personalized plan from the start. Once in the app, the logging process is versatile. Users can manually search for food, scan a barcode for instant entry (04:23), or even create custom recipes and meals (13:00). The level of detail available for each food item is impressive, going far beyond basic macros to include a full spectrum of micronutrients (03:04).

UX highlights

Multiple Logging Methods: The app caters to various user preferences by offering multiple ways to add entries via a central FAB menu (02:36), including manual search, barcode scanning, and creating custom foods or recipes.
Interactive Widgets: The dashboard features engaging widgets, like the water tracker (10:03), which turns logging into a satisfying, tangible action rather than a simple data entry task.
Data Granularity on Demand: Users can see a high-level energy summary at a glance, but can also expand sections to view a complete, exhaustive list of over 80 different nutrients for any food item (03:04).
Actionable Reporting: The 'Report' tab (06:21) provides clear, visual summaries of consumption, expenditure, and nutrient targets over customizable date ranges, making it easy to track progress over time.
Community Data Tools: The ability to 'Report Issue' (03:13) on a food item empowers users to contribute to the accuracy of the app's database, fostering a sense of community ownership.

Monetization & growth

Cronometer uses a freemium model with a 'Gold' subscription. A soft paywall appears after the initial onboarding (02:02), offering a discount for an annual plan. More effectively, the app places contextual upsells throughout the experience. When a user tries to access an advanced feature like the fasting timer (05:40) or food suggestions (06:16), a modal appears explaining the benefit and prompting them to upgrade. This targets high-intent users at the exact moment they experience a need for a premium feature.

Who it’s for

This app is ideal for two main groups: individuals who are serious about their nutrition and need granular data (e.g., athletes, people with specific dietary needs, or data enthusiasts), and healthcare professionals who need to monitor client diets. The sheer depth of nutritional information might be overwhelming for casual users who just want to count calories, but it's a significant strength for its target audience.

Notes & opportunities

The app's greatest strength, its data density, can also be a point of friction. The diary view can become cluttered with many entries. While powerful, the ability to 'Edit a Copy' of a food (03:48) could be streamlined to a simple 'Edit' action to reduce the creation of duplicate custom foods. Additionally, the 'Refer a Friend' feature was unavailable during the recording (07:12), representing a missed growth opportunity.