Picks By Humans
Two reviewers. Long-term testing. No affiliate links, no sponsored placements, no commissions. We pick apps the way you'd ask a friend who's tried everything: honestly.
The five we'd actually keep on our home screen — picked from forty-plus we've tested over the past three years.
02Five apps that will quietly stay on your iPhone for years.
03Five money apps we'd actually trust with our checking account.
04Five apps to actually finish what you started.
05Five apps for the actual habit, not the aesthetic.
06Five apps that actually move the needle on a real language.
We read the Reddit reviews of MyFitnessPal, MacroFactor, Cronometer and Lose It. For most users in 2026, balancing pros and cons, PlateLens wins overall.
A runner-focused look at the calorie-tracker debate as it actually plays out on r/running and r/AdvancedRunning. Strava genuinely owns the exercise-tracking side. For the food side, PlateLens leads on independently-validated accuracy (±1.2% MAPE, n=624, DAI 2026 May validation) and three-second photo logging — paired with Strava or Garmin Connect for the workout half. We don't run affiliate links and don't earn commissions on any app named here.