Counter44 vs Carb Manager: Keto & Macro Log
Carb Manager: Keto & Macro Log offers free barcode scans and net carb tracking. See how it compares with Counter44 on price, privacy and offline logging.
Disclosure: Counter44 is our app. We’ve tried to write this comparison honestly, and that includes saying where Carb Manager is the better fit. Ratings and pricing are from the US App Store as of October 2026.
Quick answer
Carb Manager: Keto & Macro Log by Wombat Apps LLC, better known as Carb Manager, is a keto and macro log that has been on the App Store since 2010 and runs on iPhone, iPad, Apple Watch and Android. Barcode scans and net carb tracking are free. Its keto recipes, fasting tools, blood glucose tracking and micronutrients need Carb Manager Premium.
Counter44 logs meals against an estimated calorie target and a macro split you can edit. Food comes from about 7,200 USDA-derived foods bundled in the app, unlimited custom foods, or a Quick Add for calories and macros. The food log, targets, weight, water, exercise and progress photos are free. There’s no account, and your data stays on the device.
If you eat keto and want barcode scans and net carbs counted for you, pick Carb Manager. If you’d rather have a calorie and macro log that works offline with no account, pick Counter44.
Side-by-side
| Feature | Counter44 | Carb Manager: Keto & Macro Log |
|---|---|---|
| Platforms | iOS + Android | iOS + Watch + Android |
| US App Store rating | 1 US rating so far, too few to compare | 4.82 (736,210) |
| Last updated | October 2026 | May 2026 |
| Free-tier limits | Food log, targets, macros, weight, water, exercise and progress photos are free. 3 of 30+ themes are free | Free to download and use, with free barcode scans and net carbs. Recipes, fasting, micronutrients and advanced reports are Premium |
| Paid plans | Pro, $29.99 a year or $2.99 a week, with a 7-day free trial | Carb Manager Premium: $8.49 for 1 month, $16.49 for 3 months, annual entries from $24.99 to $39.99, and $49.99 with no stated period |
| Food logging | Yes, from a bundled database, custom foods or Quick Add | Yes, by search, barcode or photo |
| Food database | About 7,200 USDA-derived foods, bundled offline. No online food search | Search across 1M+ foods, source not stated |
| Barcode scanner | No | Yes, unlimited and free |
| Photo food logging | No, no photo or AI food recognition | Yes, “snap a pic of your plate”, tier not stated |
| Net carbs / keto | Not stated. Carbs are tracked as one of three macros | Yes, free, including sugar alcohols |
| Multiple profiles | Not stated | Not stated |
| Calorie and macro targets | Yes, a Mifflin-St Jeor estimate with a 30/40/30 default split you can change | Yes, a calorie goal from body weight and goals, plus a macro calculator. Carb cycling is Premium |
| Custom foods and Quick Add | Yes, unlimited custom foods plus Quick Add for calories and macros | Not stated on the listing |
| Recipes and meal plans | Not stated | 5,000+ keto recipes, Premium per its listing. Meal plans, tier not stated |
| Micronutrients | Not stated | Premium, with goals for 30+ nutrients |
| Blood glucose, ketones, insulin | Not stated | Premium, per its listing |
| Fasting timer | Not stated | Premium, per its listing |
| Weight tracking | Yes, kg or lb with a trend chart. 90- and 365-day trends are Pro | Yes, weight and BMI charts with weight reminders |
| Water tracking | Yes | Yes |
| Exercise | Yes, by name, with calories burned typed in | Yes, cardio and weight training. Steps from fitness devices are Premium |
| Apple Health / fitness devices | No Apple Health or Health Connect | Connects fitness devices for steps and activity (Premium). Apple Health is not named |
| Progress photos | Yes, a photo a day, side-by-side compare and an MP4 timelapse | Not stated |
| Community | Not stated | Yes, friends and community. Private groups are Premium |
| Export | CSV of the food log and weight history (added in 1.1.0, October 2026), plus the MP4 timelapse | Not stated |
| Languages | English | English |
| Ads | No | No, per its store labels |
| Account required | No | Not stated on the listing |
| Data stays on device | Yes, and it works completely offline | No, Health & Fitness and User Content are linked to you |
| Privacy label | No data used to track you. Purchases, Identifiers, Usage Data and Diagnostics, not linked to you | No “Data Used to Track You” section. Data Linked to You includes Health & Fitness, Contact Info, Location and User Content |
Where Carb Manager: Keto & Macro Log wins
Net carbs are the point, and they are free. Carb Manager’s listing promises “ALWAYS free net carb tracking”, which counts net carbs and sugar alcohols. A keto calculator is part of its core features, and carb cycling sits in Premium. Counter44 tracks carbs as one of three macros, next to protein and fat, and does not state a net-carb or keto mode. If your daily target is a net-carb number, that alone is reason enough to pick Carb Manager.
Scan it or snap it. The listing offers “UNLIMITED free barcode scan” and lets you “snap a pic of your plate”. Search covers 1M+ foods. Reviewers say the scanner is a highlight and that it costs nothing extra. Counter44 has no barcode scanner, no photo or AI food recognition and no online food search, so every entry comes from its bundled list, a custom food you add, or a Quick Add of calories and macros.
More to track, if you pay for it. Carb Manager Premium adds a tracker for blood glucose, ketones and insulin, intermittent fasting tools, micronutrients with goals for 30+ nutrients, advanced reports, and 5,000+ keto recipes. Meal plans appear in the listing without a tier. Counter44 states none of these. It covers calories, macros, weight, water and the exercise you type in.
A long record, a watch app and a community. Carb Manager has been on the App Store since 2010 and is rated 4.82 across 736,200 US ratings. It runs on Apple Watch, though the listing does not say what the watch app does. It also has a community, expert-written articles and a keto video course. Counter44 arrived in 2026 and has no Apple Watch app.
Where Counter44 wins
No account, and the log stays on your phone. Carb Manager’s privacy label lists Health & Fitness, Contact Info, User Content and Identifiers as data linked to you for app functionality, and Location for analytics and personalization. Its listing never says an account is required, but reviewers describe signing in to one. Counter44 needs no account and keeps your data on the device. Its label declares no data used to track you and lists Purchases, Identifiers, Usage Data and Diagnostics as not linked to you.
A food list with a named source that works offline. Counter44’s 7,200 foods are USDA-derived and bundled in the app, and the listing says it “works completely offline”. Carb Manager names no source for its 1M+ foods, and reviewers say some user-submitted entries are wrong or duplicated. Its listing does not address offline use, and one reviewer notes they could not log food without an internet connection.
The core log is free, and the Pro list is short. Counter44 Pro unlocks four things: the Statistics tab, 90- and 365-day weight trends, more than three meal reminders, and every theme. Progress photos, with a side-by-side compare and an MP4 timelapse, are free. Carb Manager’s Premium section lists ten items, and prompts to upgrade are a recurring complaint in reviews, though other reviewers say the free version covers what they need.
Pricing
- Counter44 is free for the food log, calorie and macro targets, weight, water, exercise, progress photos, streaks, custom foods and Quick Add. Pro adds the Statistics tab, 90- and 365-day weight trends, more than three meal reminders and every theme for $29.99 a year or $2.99 a week, with a 7-day free trial.
- Carb Manager: Keto & Macro Log by Wombat Apps LLC is free to download and use, with unlimited barcode scans and net carb tracking. Carb Manager Premium is listed at $8.49 for 1 month and $16.49 for 3 months, with five annual-looking entries from $24.99 to $39.99 and a $49.99 entry with no stated period. The description mentions only “an annual subscription with more details in-app”, and the listing names no trial length.
A year of Counter44 Pro on the annual plan costs $29.99, inside the $24.99 to $39.99 range of Carb Manager’s annual entries. So the choice comes down to which features you’re paying for.
Which one should you pick?
Pick Carb Manager: Keto & Macro Log if you count net carbs, want to scan barcodes or photograph a plate instead of searching, plan to track blood glucose, ketones, fasting or micronutrients with Premium, or want an Apple Watch app.
Pick Counter44 if you want a calorie and macro log that works offline, needs no account and keeps your data on the device, and you are happy to log from a bundled USDA-derived list, your own custom foods or Quick Add.
Want to check a label before you log it? Our free macros to calories calculator turns grams of protein, carbs and fat into calories, and the food calories by weight calculator scales a label to the grams you ate. Both run in the browser with no download. For more apps side by side, see our roundup of the best calorie tracker apps.
Frequently asked questions
Is Carb Manager: Keto & Macro Log free?
Yes, to start. Its listing says the app is always free to download and use, with unlimited free barcode scans and free net carb tracking. Keto recipes, the fasting tools, blood glucose and ketone tracking, micronutrients, advanced reports and fitness device syncing are in Carb Manager Premium, listed at $8.49 for one month, $16.49 for three months, or annual entries from $24.99 to $39.99. Counter44 is free for the food log, targets, weight, water, exercise and progress photos. Its Pro plan is $29.99 a year or $2.99 a week, with a 7-day free trial.
Does Counter44 track net carbs like Carb Manager: Keto & Macro Log?
Carb Manager lists net carb tracking as always free, including net carbs and sugar alcohols, and pairs it with a keto calculator. Counter44 tracks carbs as one of three macros, next to protein and fat, with a 30/40/30 default split you can change. It does not state a net-carb or keto mode.
Can Carb Manager: Keto & Macro Log scan barcodes or log food from a photo?
Both. Its listing offers unlimited free barcode scans and says you can snap a picture of your plate to track macros, without saying which tier the photo feature needs. Counter44 has no barcode scanner, no photo or AI food recognition and no online food search. You pick from about 7,200 USDA-derived foods bundled in the app, add a custom food, or use Quick Add.
Do I need an account for Carb Manager: Keto & Macro Log or Counter44?
Counter44 needs no account and keeps your data on the device. Carb Manager's listing does not say whether an account is required, but its App Store privacy label lists Health & Fitness, Contact Info and User Content as data linked to you, and reviewers describe signing in to a Carb Manager account.
Does Carb Manager: Keto & Macro Log have an Apple Watch app?
Yes. Apple Watch is one of its listed platforms, next to iPhone, iPad and Android, though the listing does not describe what the watch app does. Counter44 runs on iPhone, iPad and Android and has no Apple Watch app.
Can Carb Manager: Keto & Macro Log track blood glucose and fasting?
Yes, with Premium. The Premium section of its listing includes a diabetes tracker for blood glucose, ketones and insulin, plus intermittent fasting tools. Counter44 states neither feature. It covers calories, macros, weight, water and the exercise you type in.