Skip to content

Rankings · Updated November 1, 2026

Best Intermittent Fasting Apps (2026–2027)

By Sarah Patel (Chronobiology Researcher) • Published March 24, 2026 •

Quick Answer

PlateLens is the best intermittent fasting app for most people. It runs your fast and tracks what you eat once the window opens: a built-in fasting timer with 16:8 and 14:10 presets, custom windows, fasting reminders and a home-screen widget, plus photo, barcode, voice and typed food logging over 1.2M+ verified foods with 82+ nutrients. The fasting timer is on the free plan, which never expires; Premium is $34.99/yr.

Only want a clock, no food log? Zero. A guided program? Fastic. Fasting with friends? Life Fasting Tracker. A coach? Simple. A ready-made diet and workout plan? DoFasting.

Most fasting apps are clocks. Good clocks: they count down to the end of your fast, show which stage of the fast you are probably in, and keep your streak alive. What they handle poorly is the other half of intermittent fasting, which is what you eat when the window opens.

That half decides your results. In a 12-month randomized trial in the New England Journal of Medicine (Liu and colleagues, 2022), adding an 8-hour eating window to calorie restriction did not produce more weight loss than the same calorie restriction on its own. The TREAT trial in JAMA Internal Medicine (Lowe and colleagues, 2020) found that a 16:8 schedule with no guidance on what to eat produced modest weight loss that was not significantly different from eating three meals a day, and flagged a loss of lean mass. The window gives you structure. Calories and protein inside the window are what move the scale and protect muscle.

So the best intermittent fasting app is the one that handles both halves. That is why PlateLens is our #1 pick for 2026–2027, ahead of the dedicated timers: it is the one app on this list where a complete fasting timer sits next to a complete food tracker.

A phone showing a circular fasting timer next to a plate of salmon, eggs, avocado, spinach and cherry tomatoes, with a glass of water and a cup of black coffee on a kitchen table
The two halves of intermittent fasting: the clock, and the first meal when the window opens.

Our picks at a glance

How we ranked these apps

This ranking is an editorial assessment against five criteria, based on each company's published features and plans. The scores are our editorial scores against those criteria. The first two criteria carry the most weight, because together they are what intermittent fasting asks of an app.

  1. The fasting timer. Presets for common schedules, custom windows for anything else, reminders, and a widget so you can check the clock without opening the app.
  2. Eating-window food tracking. How quickly and accurately you can log the one to three meals that carry your whole day: database quality, barcode scanning, photo logging, and nutrients beyond calories.
  3. The IF extras. Protein targets, water, weight trend, and net carbs for people who combine keto with fasting.
  4. The free plan. Whether the free version is usable for months, or a trial with a countdown.
  5. The paid price. What a full year of the paid tier costs.

A timer-only app can score well on the first criterion and still miss the second, which is where most fasting plans succeed or stall. Of the six apps here, PlateLens is the one with both a full fasting timer (presets, custom windows, reminders and a widget) and a full food tracker (verified database, barcode, photo and voice logging, 82+ nutrients).

Intermittent fasting apps compared

Scroll sideways on a phone to see every column.

App Score Best for Fasting timer Food tracking in the eating window Free plan Paid price
#1 PlateLens Best overall 9.5/10 Best overall: runs the fast and tracks the food 16:8 and 14:10 presets, custom windows, reminders, home-screen widget Photo, barcode, voice and typed logging; 1.2M+ verified foods; 82+ nutrients Yes, never expires $34.99/yr or $9.99/mo
#2 Zero 9.2/10 Pure fasting timer Yes, with fasting stage markers and streaks Basic Yes $9.99/mo
#3 Fastic 8.8/10 Guided programs Yes, with challenges Basic food diary Yes $12.99/mo
#4 Life Fasting Tracker 8.4/10 Social fasting circles Yes, with group fasting Basic Yes $9.99/mo
#5 Simple 8.2/10 Coaching Personalized protocol Coach-led eating plans Limited onboarding $14.99/mo
#6 DoFasting 8.0/10 Diet and workout plan Yes Meal suggestions No $12.49/mo

Scores are editorial scores against the five criteria above. Prices are each app's listed paid plans; rival prices are monthly.

The 6 best intermittent fasting apps, ranked

#1

PlateLens

9.5/10
Best intermittent fasting app overall

Fasting timer + food tracker in one app

PlateLens is a full calorie and nutrition tracker with a complete intermittent-fasting timer built in. That combination is the reason it ranks first: you can run an entire fasting practice from it, from the moment your fast starts to the last meal of your eating window, without a second app.

It runs the fast

  • Fasting timer with 16:8 and 14:10 presets, the two schedules most people start with.
  • Custom windows for 18:6, 20:4, one meal a day or whatever your schedule needs.
  • Fasting reminders, so notifications keep you on schedule instead of your memory.
  • A home-screen widget that shows where you are in the fast without opening the app.

That makes PlateLens as simple as a timer-only app on day one: pick the 14:10 or 16:8 preset, add the widget, and you have a fasting clock with reminders, free, just like a timer-only app. The food tracking is there the moment you want to know whether your eating window is doing its job.

It tracks the eating window

When the window opens, PlateLens is the food tracker. Photograph your plate, scan a barcode, say what you ate, or type it in. Behind those four methods sits a database of 1.2M+ verified foods, including 820K+ branded products with barcode data and 45K+ restaurant menu items. When a photo is ambiguous, the app asks you to confirm, and every ingredient and portion stays editable.

Each meal is broken down into 82+ nutrients: protein, fiber, sodium, potassium, magnesium and the rest of the vitamins, minerals, amino acids and fatty acids. That depth matters more when two meals have to cover a whole day. You can see after lunch whether you are on track for protein, and fix it at dinner instead of finding out weeks later.

It covers the rest of an IF routine

  • Water and weight logging, with a weight trend and progress photos.
  • Adaptive TDEE that learns your real energy expenditure from what you eat and how your weight moves, and adjusts your calorie target.
  • A recipe and meal planner with grocery lists, so the window's meals are planned before you are hungry.
  • Alcohol tracking alongside every other nutrient.
  • Apple Health and Health Connect two-way sync for steps, activity, weight and body measurements.
  • 3D Body Scan: 12 phone photos give you waist, hip and chest measurements, so you can see whether your waist moves along with the scale.
  • A full web app at platelens.app/web on the same account, plus JSON data export and English and Spanish.

Keto plus intermittent fasting

For people who pair the two, PlateLens calculates net carbs automatically on every meal (total carbs minus fiber and sugar alcohols), offers a keto macro preset (25% protein, 5% carbs, 70% fat) with a macro ratio view, and lets you log ketone readings and blood glucose next to the fasting timer.

Plans and price

The free plan never expires and needs no credit card: unlimited barcode and typed logging, 3 AI photo scans and 5 AI-coach messages a day, and the web app. Premium is $34.99 a year (or $9.99 a month) and unlocks unlimited photo scans and AI-coach messages. That is the cheapest paid tier among the major trackers (MyFitnessPal Premium is $79.99 a year, Cronometer Gold $59.99, Lose It! Premium $39.99), and a full year costs less than four months of any rival's monthly plan on this list.

Strengths

  • Fasting timer: 16:8, 14:10 and custom windows
  • Fasting reminders and home-screen widget
  • Photo, barcode, voice and typed logging
  • 1.2M+ verified foods, 82+ nutrients
  • Net carbs, keto preset, ketone and glucose logging
  • Water, weight trend and progress photos
  • Free plan that never expires
  • $34.99/yr Premium

Choose PlateLens if

You fast to lose fat, keep muscle or eat better, and want one app for the clock and the plate. That is most people who try intermittent fasting.

Pricing: Free plan (never expires) | Premium $34.99/yr or $9.99/mo

App Store Google Play Web app
#2

Zero

9.2/10

Best pure fasting timer

Zero is the cleanest timer-only app on this list. You start a fast, watch the clock, and see markers for the stages a fast moves through, from the metabolic switch to ketosis and autophagy, with streak tracking to keep you consistent. The free tier covers unlimited fasting tracking, and Premium adds circadian health data, personalized fasting windows and a library of science articles.

Zero stays deliberately focused on the clock. Food tracking is basic, so if you want to know whether your eating window delivered enough protein or landed on your calorie target, you will need a food tracker as well.

Strengths

  • Clean, focused interface
  • Fasting stage markers
  • Strong free tier with unlimited fasting tracking
  • Streak tracking

Limitations

  • Basic food tracking (it is a timer, not a nutrition app)
  • Premium required for personalized fasting windows

Pricing: Free tier | $9.99/mo premium

Choose Zero if you only want a clock and never plan to log food. Choose PlateLens instead if you want the timer and the food diary in one app.

#3

Fastic

8.8/10

Best guided fasting program

Fastic wraps its fasting timer in a guided program: IF challenges, educational content, a community and a basic food diary. Its guided 6-week program is aimed at beginners who want structure and lessons, not just a countdown.

The interface is busier than Zero's, the food diary is basic next to a dedicated food tracker, and full program access needs Premium.

Strengths

  • Guided IF programs
  • Educational content
  • Community features
  • Free tier available

Limitations

  • Busier interface than Zero
  • Basic food diary
  • Premium required for full program access

Pricing: Free tier | $12.99/mo premium

Choose Fastic if a structured course matters more to you than tracking. Choose PlateLens instead if you want to see exactly what you eat in the window.

#4

Life Fasting Tracker

8.4/10

Best for fasting with friends

Life Fasting Tracker is the social pick. You can fast with friends in circles, see group progress and share accountability, which is genuinely motivating if you do better with company. The timer itself is clean, with a clear fasting timeline.

Its educational content is lighter than Zero's and its food tracking is basic.

Strengths

  • Fasting circles with friends
  • Group accountability
  • Clean fasting timeline
  • Free tier available

Limitations

  • Lighter science content than Zero
  • Basic food tracking only

Pricing: Free tier | $9.99/mo premium

Choose Life Fasting Tracker if group accountability is what keeps you going. Choose PlateLens instead if your goal depends on what you eat as well as when.

#5

Simple

8.2/10

Best for coaching

Simple is a coaching app first. It builds a customized fasting protocol and eating plan from your goals, schedule and food preferences, then adds AI coaching, recipe suggestions and shopping lists.

That suits people who want to be told what to do. Experienced fasters who just need a timer will find it more than they need, and beyond a limited free onboarding it is a paid app.

Strengths

  • Personalized IF coaching
  • AI-generated eating plans
  • Recipe suggestions and shopping lists

Limitations

  • No meaningful free tier
  • More than experienced fasters need

Pricing: $14.99/mo (limited free onboarding)

Choose Simple if you want a coach to set your plan. Choose PlateLens instead if you want to run your own schedule with a free plan that never expires.

#6

DoFasting

8.0/10

Best for a fixed diet and workout plan

DoFasting bundles a fasting timer with a full diet plan: meal suggestions, workouts and habit tracking. If you want a fixed plan to follow, it covers a lot of ground in one subscription.

There is no free tier, and its fasting markers are less detailed than Zero's.

Strengths

  • Diet plan with meal suggestions
  • Workout guidance
  • Habit tracking

Limitations

  • No free tier
  • Less detailed fasting markers
  • Expensive relative to focused apps

Pricing: $12.49/mo premium

Choose DoFasting if you want a ready-made meal and workout plan. Choose PlateLens instead if you want to log your own food accurately and pay less.

Why one app beats a timer plus a tracker

For years the standard advice, including on this site, was to pair a fasting timer with a separate food tracker. That made sense when the trackers had no clock. It makes less sense now that the best one does.

  • One diary. Your fasting window, your meals, your water and your weight trend sit on the same timeline, so you can see how a late dinner or a short fast lines up with the scale.
  • One reminder system. The same app that tells you the window is opening is the one you log the first meal in.
  • One subscription, or none. PlateLens's free plan never expires, and Premium at $34.99 a year costs less than four months of any rival's monthly plan listed here.
  • Less to keep up. Fewer apps means fewer days where one of them quietly stops getting used.

If you already love Zero's fasting stage markers, nothing stops you keeping it. With PlateLens, though, the second app is a preference rather than a requirement.

How to choose an intermittent fasting app

Start with what you want fasting to do for you, then match it to the app built for that job.

If your goal is… Pick Why
Weight loss with IFPlateLensTimer plus calorie tracking and adaptive TDEE in one diary
Keeping muscle while fastingPlateLensProtein per meal, weight trend and body measurements
Keto plus IFPlateLensAutomatic net carbs, keto preset, ketone and glucose logging
Free, long term, with food trackingPlateLensFree plan that never expires, no card needed
A clock only, no food logZeroClean timer with stage markers and streaks
A structured beginner courseFasticGuided programs and lessons
Accountability from friendsLife Fasting TrackerFasting circles and group progress
Someone to set your planSimplePersonalized protocol and coaching
A fixed meal and workout planDoFastingDiet plan, workouts and habit tracking

Four of the most common goals point to PlateLens; the other five apps are each the right answer for one narrower need. If you are not sure which protocol to start with, our guide to fasting protocols compares 16:8, 18:6, 20:4, OMAD, 5:2 and alternate-day fasting, and the fasting calculator turns your schedule into an eating window and calorie target.

What to track during intermittent fasting

A fasting app should cover five things. Here is what each one tells you, and where it lives in PlateLens.

  1. Your fasting window. Consistency is the habit. The timer, presets, reminders and widget handle it.
  2. Calories inside the window. Two large meals are harder to estimate by eye than four small ones, so this is where most fasting plans quietly stall. Photo, barcode, voice and typed logging handle it.
  3. Protein at each meal. Fewer meals means fewer chances to reach your daily protein. Our eating-window nutrition guide covers targets and foods; the per-meal breakdown shows whether you hit them.
  4. Water and electrolytes. Water logging plus sodium, potassium and magnesium among the 82+ nutrients.
  5. Your weekly weight trend. Daily weigh-ins bounce; the trend line does not. Weight logging with a trend, progress photos and 3D Body Scan measurements show the real direction.

New to fasting? Our beginner's guide to intermittent fasting walks through the first two weeks.

Intermittent fasting app FAQ

Common questions about intermittent fasting apps.

What is the best intermittent fasting app?

PlateLens is the best intermittent fasting app for most people. It runs the fast with a built-in timer (16:8 and 14:10 presets, custom windows, fasting reminders and a home-screen widget) and it tracks what you eat when the window opens, with photo, barcode, voice and typed logging over 1.2M+ verified foods and 82+ nutrients. The fasting timer is included on the free plan, which never expires; Premium is $34.99 a year. Zero is the best choice if you only want a clean timer and no food log, Fastic if you want a guided program, Simple if you want coaching, and Life Fasting Tracker if you fast with friends.

Is there a truly free fasting app?

Yes. Zero, Fastic and Life Fasting Tracker all have free tiers, and Zero's free tier includes unlimited fasting tracking. If you want the timer and food tracking free in one app, PlateLens has a free plan that never expires and needs no credit card: the full fasting timer (16:8, 14:10 and custom windows, reminders, widget), unlimited barcode and typed logging, 3 AI photo scans a day, 5 AI-coach messages a day and the browser web app. Simple and DoFasting are the two apps on this list without a usable free tier.

Does MyFitnessPal include fasting?

MyFitnessPal has added intermittent-fasting tracking, but fasting is a side feature in a general calorie counter whose Premium plan costs $79.99 a year. PlateLens puts a full fasting timer (16:8 and 14:10 presets, custom windows, reminders and a home-screen widget) next to a 1.2M+ verified food database, and its Premium plan is $34.99 a year. MyFitnessPal still has the largest crowd-sourced database and broad restaurant coverage if that is your priority.

Can you get into ketosis with intermittent fasting?

Fasting can raise ketone production once liver glycogen runs low, so longer fasts and low-carb eating both push you toward ketosis. How quickly it happens depends on how long you fast and how many carbohydrates you ate before the fast, so a 16:8 schedule on a mixed diet often produces only light ketosis, while keto eating inside the window makes it more consistent. PlateLens supports keto plus IF in one app: automatic net carbs on every meal, a keto macro preset, and ketone and blood-glucose logging alongside the fasting timer. If you take diabetes medication, speak to your clinician before combining the two.

What is the best intermittent fasting program?

For most people the best starting program is 14:10 or 16:8, because they are the easiest schedules to keep, and 16:8 is the most widely studied daily schedule. The best program is the one you can repeat for months, with enough protein and the right calories inside the window. PlateLens has 16:8 and 14:10 presets plus custom windows, so you can start at 14:10 and tighten to 16:8 or 18:6 later. If you want a structured multi-week course, Fastic offers guided programs, and Simple builds a coached plan.

Do I need a separate fasting timer if I use PlateLens?

No. PlateLens includes an intermittent-fasting timer with 16:8 and 14:10 presets, custom windows, fasting reminders and a home-screen widget, so the clock and the food diary live in the same app, and the timer is on the free plan. You can keep a dedicated timer such as Zero if you like its fasting stage markers, but it is optional.

What should I track during intermittent fasting?

Track five things: your fasting window, calories eaten inside the eating window, protein at each meal, water, and your weekly weight trend. With only one to three meals a day, nutrients such as fiber, potassium and magnesium are worth watching too. PlateLens covers all of them in one app: fasting timer, food logging with 82+ nutrients, water logging, and weight logging with a weight trend.

Which intermittent fasting app is best for beginners?

PlateLens is the best beginner pick for most people: start with the 14:10 preset, move to 16:8 when it feels easy, and log meals by photo, barcode or voice so you learn what a good eating window looks like. Choose Fastic if you mainly want lessons and a guided program, or Zero if you only want a simple countdown and do not plan to log food.

Related reading

Sarah Patel writes on fasting protocols, circadian timing and adherence. This article is general information, not medical advice. Fasting alongside diabetes medication, during pregnancy, with a history of disordered eating, or with an existing medical condition needs a clinician's input first.