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MacrosFirst – Macro Tracker app

An app for people who want to closely monitor their food intake and use this to make changes to their diet.
It can support you to achieve specific health, nutrition or fitness goals.
The app isn't suitable if you have a history of eating disorders or highly restrictive eating as it places strong emphasis on tracking, measuring, and monitoring food intake which may increase anxiety around food and reinforce rigid food rules.

MacrosFirst – Macro Tracker app	By MacrosFirst
	Features AI search for foods with voice, text or photos. Log multiple foods quickly. Daily tracking. Custom macro and micronutrient goals. Database with over 5 million foods. Barcode scanner which includes NZ foods. Macro calculator to work out your personal needs. Unlimited custom foods, meals and recipes. Body weight tracking tool. Reporting of nutrition over time. Ability to add friends on the app.
Country of origin	USA
Clinical review	Read a clinical review below.
Security and privacy	Does the app: Collect medical information? Yes (Weight, height, activity level). You can also connect with Apple Health App. Require a login? Yes (Facebook or email) Have password protection? Yes Have a privacy policy? Yes Require internet access to use? Yes Read more about safety and security when using apps. Brochures: Tips to improve your privacy and security [PDF, 65 KB] Healthify He Puna Waiora, NZ Staying safe online(external link) Netsafe, NZ
Cost	Paid (annual subscription with a 7-day free trial before purchase)
Advertisements	This app contains no ads.
How to get the app	(external link) (external link) (external link)

MacrosFirst is a nutrition tracking app designed to help you monitor your daily food intake with a strong focus on macronutrients – protein, carbohydrates and fats. Its main aim is to support you to achieve specific health, nutrition or fitness goals.

You can set personal daily macronutrient targets tailored to your personal needs (ideally in consultation with a registered health professional and based on individual requirements).
The app allows you to log meals and snacks, track portion sizes, and view a breakdown of energy intake (calories/kilojoules) and macronutrient distribution throughout the day, week and by meal.
You can search for foods within the app’s database, manually add custom foods and recipes, and allocate these items to different meals.
A weight tracking feature allows you to monitor changes over time, and help identify trends in eating patterns.

For the complete app description, go to the app website(external link), Google Play(external link), App Store(external link) or, for a more detailed review, see Reviews.

PROS	CONS
✔ AI search for adding foods – take a photo or describe your meal by voice and AI prompts you with foods to add. ✔ Comprehensive macronutrient tracking – energy intake (calories), protein, carbohydrates, and fat in a clear format. Also includes fibre, omega-3 fatty acids, saturated fat etc. ✔ Detailed micronutrient analysis – provides a breakdown of essential micronutrients such as iron, calcium, vitamin B12, etc. ✔ Can support a range of specific nutrition goals such as muscle gain, body composition changes, increasing iron intake, or reducing saturated fat consumption. ✔ Customisable targets – able to set personalised macro- and micronutrient goals aligned with individual requirements, preferences, or health objectives. ✔ Extensive food database with barcode scanning – includes a wide range of foods making logging quick and convenient. ✔ Visual progress tracking – provides charts and summaries to monitor weight and macronutrient intake over time, helping you visualise progress. ✔ 7-day free trial enables you to explore the app’s functionality before committing to the annual subscription.	✘ Focus on macros over whole foods – emphasising exact macronutrient targets can distract from eating a varied, balanced diet and is unrealistic to maintain daily. ✘ Risk of rigid tracking – heavy focus on numbers may feel restrictive and reduce enjoyment of food. ✘ Not ideal for vulnerable users – detailed logging can worsen anxiety around food for those with disordered eating. ✘ Data transparency – food composition data sources and verification are unclear and not listed anywhere. ✘ Cost – annual subscription required which may not suit people who want a quick reset or shorter term commitment. ✘ AI accuracy – photo-based recognition can be inconsistent, affecting logging precision.

PROS

CONS

✔ AI search for adding foods – take a photo or describe your meal by voice and AI prompts you with foods to add.

✔ Comprehensive macronutrient tracking – energy intake (calories), protein, carbohydrates, and fat in a clear format. Also includes fibre, omega-3 fatty acids, saturated fat etc.

✔ Detailed micronutrient analysis – provides a breakdown of essential micronutrients such as iron, calcium, vitamin B12, etc.

✔ Can support a range of specific nutrition goals such as muscle gain, body composition changes, increasing iron intake, or reducing saturated fat consumption.

✔ Customisable targets – able to set personalised macro- and micronutrient goals aligned with individual requirements, preferences, or health objectives.

✔ Extensive food database with barcode scanning – includes a wide range of foods making logging quick and convenient.

✔ Visual progress tracking – provides charts and summaries to monitor weight and macronutrient intake over time, helping you visualise progress.

✔ 7-day free trial enables you to explore the app’s functionality before committing to the annual subscription.

✘ Focus on macros over whole foods – emphasising exact macronutrient targets can distract from eating a varied, balanced diet and is unrealistic to maintain daily.

✘ Risk of rigid tracking – heavy focus on numbers may feel restrictive and reduce enjoyment of food.

✘ Not ideal for vulnerable users – detailed logging can worsen anxiety around food for those with disordered eating.

✘ Data transparency – food composition data sources and verification are unclear and not listed anywhere.

✘ Cost – annual subscription required which may not suit people who want a quick reset or shorter term commitment.

✘ AI accuracy – photo-based recognition can be inconsistent, affecting logging precision.

Clinical review

Reviewer: Lily Henderson, New Zealand Registered Dietitian
Date of review: February 2026
Platform: Apple
Version: 2.1.460
Comments: This app appears to be a comprehensive and user-friendly nutrition tracking tool with strong functionality in both macronutrient and micronutrient monitoring. The use of AI food searching, an extensive food database (including New Zealand products), barcode scanning capability, customisable targets, and visual progress charts make it practical and accessible for people with a range of nutrition goals.
It may be particularly beneficial if you have clear nutrient targets and want data-driven feedback and visual progress. For example:

if you're following a special diet with calorie, macronutrient or micronutrient targets recommended by a health professional
if you're self-monitoring your food intake for weight management or to better understand the nutrient composition of the foods you eat
if you're an athlete or sports person with specific goals such as building muscle, losing body fat, or changing body composition.

The app isn't suitable if you have a history of eating disorders or highly restrictive eating as it places strong emphasis on tracking, measuring, and monitoring food intake which may increase anxiety around food and reinforce rigid food rules.

The 7-day free trial is a bonus as it allows you to assess the app's suitability before committing financially.

My main concern is the accuracy and reliability of the food composition data. Large food databases particularly those that include user-generated entries can contain inaccuracies in portion sizes, nutrient values or product variations. This may affect the precision of nutrient tracking, especially for micronutrients where small discrepancies can be meaningful. Greater transparency around data sources and verification processes would increase confidence in the app’s outputs.
Safety concerns:

No limits on weight loss targets – the app currently allows you to set unrestricted weight loss goals (e.g. 60 kg), without safeguards to assess whether the target is realistic, safe or clinically appropriate.
No minimum age restriction – there's no age verification or lower age limit for use of the app, which raises concerns given the potential risks of calorie or weight tracking for children and adolescents.
No alerts for underweight entries – the app doesn't provide warnings or guidance when you enter a weight and height that would classify you as underweight. This represents a missed opportunity for protective messaging and signposting to support.

Although the app suggests consulting a healthcare provider before starting a significant weight modification programme, stronger messaging is needed to emphasise safety, particularly for vulnerable users or those setting extreme goals.
New Zealand relevance: Yes, the app is relevant to a New Zealand audience. The database of foods (5 million +) is extensive and there appears to be NZ foods listed (including supermarket brands). However, there's no information around the source of the data and how regularly it's updated.

Nutrients
Healthy eating
Consumer guide – how to choose a health app
Clinicians guide – how to choose a health app
New Zealand-based apps
NZ Health App Library

Disclaimer: The NZ Health App Library is a free consumer service to help you decide whether a health app would be suitable for you. Our review process is independent. We have no relationship with the app developers or companies and no responsibility for the service they provide. This means that if you have an issue with one of the apps we have reviewed, you will need to contact the app developer or company directly.