NutraSafe vs Cronometer: what each app does
Cronometer is a precision micronutrient tracker built around the US Nutrient Database, with amino acids and individual fatty acids per food. We're a UK food and health diary with additive plain English, UK NRV vitamins and minerals, reactions, workouts and fasting in one place. Two different jobs. This page helps you pick.
NutraSafe
A food and health diary. Log a meal, see the additives in plain English, watch vitamins and minerals fill in against UK NRVs as you log. Workouts, fasting and reactions in the same diary. AI Coach reads it all on Pro.
Cronometer
A precision micronutrient tracker. Long list of nutrients per food including amino acids and individual fatty acids. Built around the US Nutrient Database. Calorie diary plus a wider research-grade nutrient panel.
Side-by-side comparison
Price, platform, what each app covers. Where we know a Cronometer figure, we cite it. Where we don't, we say "check their listing" rather than guessing.
| Feature | NutraSafe | Cronometer |
|---|---|---|
| Price (paid tier) | £3.99 / month, iOSFree download. Free tier covers the basics. | Paid Gold tierFree tier supported by ads. Check Cronometer for current pricing. |
| What kind of app | Food and health diaryFood, additives, vitamins, workouts, fasting, reactions, AI Coach. | Precision micronutrient trackerCalorie diary plus deep nutrient detail per food. |
| Calories & macros | Daily diary, per meal, per dayWith a daily target you set. | Daily diary, per meal, per dayWith a daily target you set. |
| Vitamins & minerals | 14 vitamins, 12 minerals vs UK NRVUK NRV is the default reference. | Up to 84 nutrients vs region presetUS RDI, EU NRV and others. UK NRV is close to EU NRV. |
| Amino acids & fatty acids | Not in scopeOutside UK label panel data. | Per-food amino acids and individual fatty acidsOne of Cronometer's strengths. |
| Additive library | 480+ entries in plain EnglishEFSA, FSA, NHS, WHO, IARC cited per line. | Not in scopeCronometer is nutrient-led, not additive-led. |
| UK supermarket coverage | Built around UK shopsTesco, Sainsbury's, Asda, Morrisons, Aldi, Lidl, Co-op, Waitrose own-brands. | US-rooted databaseUS generics are deep; UK own-label items often need manual entry. |
| Reactions / triggers | Log how you felt, see patternsSuspected triggers analysis on Pro. | Not in scope |
| Workouts | Sets, reps, weight, Apple WatchPro feature. | HealthKit / Fitbit integrationExternal workout data only. |
| Fasting timer | 16:8, 5:2 or your patternPro feature. | Fasting timer included |
| AI Coach | Reads your diary, suggests, sets goalsPro feature. | Not in scope |
| Reference scale | UK NRV by defaultOne scale. No region picker. | Region picker (US RDI, EU NRV, etc.)EU NRV is close to UK NRV in practice. |
What NutraSafe does
Cronometer's job is depth per food. Our job is the wider UK shopping week: additives, reactions, vitamins, training and fasting in the same place, with a coach that reads it all.
Log food by barcode, name or photo
Scan, search or photograph. Calories, macros, vitamins, minerals and additives go in together. Free tier covers up to 25 logs a day.
Free + ProAdditives and E-numbers in plain English
480+ entries with what it is, where it shows up, and what the regulator says. EFSA, FSA, NHS, WHO and IARC cited where published evidence exists.
Library + scannerVitamins and minerals against UK NRVs
14 vitamins and 12 minerals. As you log, bars fill in against the UK NRV so you can see where you're running short. No region picker, no guessing.
Daily + weekly viewWorkout tracking in the same diary
Sets, reps, weight, personal bests. Apple Watch if you train with one. Pro feature.
ProA fasting timer in the same app
16:8, 5:2 or build your own. Timer, history, streak, right next to the food. Pro feature.
ProFood reaction tracking
Log how you felt, mood, gut, skin. The diary surfaces foods that line up with the rough days. We don't diagnose; we give you something solid to bring to a clinician.
Free + ProWhen Cronometer is the better pick
Cronometer is the deeper micronutrient tool. Here's where we'd point a friend to it rather than to us.
You need amino acids and individual fatty acids
For protein-quality work, omega-3 / omega-6 split, or clinical-grade nutrient detail per food, Cronometer pulls from the US Nutrient Database in a way our UK label panel doesn't.
DepthYou eat mostly US generics or whole foods
USDA-rooted databases cover US foods deeply. If your week is mostly chicken, oats, rice and vegetables rather than UK supermarket own-label items, that depth shows.
US dataYou want a web version alongside mobile
Cronometer has a desktop web app. We're iPhone-only at the moment. If you do most of your logging at a laptop, that matters.
PlatformCommon questions
Pricing, UK fit, nutrient depth, and what we won't claim to do. We refer to Cronometer's own listing for current pricing rather than guessing.
Is Cronometer available in the UK?
Yes. Cronometer works in the UK and many UK users rely on it for thorough vitamin and mineral tracking. Its food database draws on US sources like USDA and NCCDB, so UK supermarket own-label products can need manual entry. We're built around UK supermarket barcodes and track 14 vitamins and 12 minerals against UK NRVs.
Does Cronometer have a free version?
Yes. Cronometer has a free tier supported by ads, and a paid Gold tier with extra micronutrient detail. Check Cronometer's listing for current pricing. We're free to download with up to 25 logs a day on the free tier; NutraSafe Pro is £3.99 a month or £34.99 a year on iOS.
Is NutraSafe free?
Free to download. The free tier covers up to 25 food logs a day, barcode scanning with the additive flag, up to 5 reactions and the E-number library on this website. Pro is £3.99 a month or £34.99 a year on iOS and lifts the caps, adds the AI Coach, AI meal scan, workouts, fasting and suspected-trigger analysis.
Which app is better for UK supermarket products?
Our food database is built around UK supermarket products and works with barcodes from Tesco, Sainsbury's, Asda, Morrisons, Aldi, Lidl, Co-op and Waitrose own-brands. Cronometer's database is rooted in USDA and NCCDB data, so US generics are deep but UK own-label items often need manual entry.
Can NutraSafe track vitamins and minerals like Cronometer?
We track 14 vitamins (A, C, D, E, K and the B-group) and 12 minerals (iron, calcium, magnesium, zinc and others) against UK NRVs. Cronometer tracks a wider list of nutrients including amino acids and individual fatty acids and is the deeper micronutrient tool. If you need every amino acid, Cronometer goes further. If you want UK NRV targets plus additive plain English, reactions and workouts, that's what we do.
Why does Cronometer track more nutrients than NutraSafe?
Cronometer is built around the US Nutrient Database (NCCDB / USDA), so it can populate amino acids, individual fatty acids and per-nutrient research figures. Our coverage follows what's on the UK back-of-pack label plus the additive and ingredient lines, which is where our additive plain English, reaction log and AI Coach get their value.
Can I get UK NRV alignment in Cronometer?
Cronometer lets you switch the reference values used for the daily-target chart between several regions (US RDI, EU NRV and others). UK NRVs aren't a separately-labelled preset, but EU NRVs are close to UK NRVs in practice. We're aligned with UK NRVs by default.
What's the difference between Cronometer and NutraSafe?
Cronometer is a precision micronutrient tracker. We're a UK food and health diary: calories, macros, 14 vitamins and 12 minerals against UK NRVs, 480+ additives in plain English, reactions, workouts, fasting and an AI Coach. Different jobs. Many people use Cronometer for the depth of amino-acid and nutrient detail; we cover the wider day.