Reviewer
Lily Karras
Productivity, Health & Lifestyle Apps
Lily Karras has spent the last seven years writing about consumer apps. She is interested in the apps that quietly stay on your phone for years, not the ones that go viral and get deleted in a month. She does her own testing, uses the apps daily for at least a few weeks before writing, and has no interest in the affiliate-link races that dominate this corner of the internet.
Bylines
- Lifehacker (former contributor)
- iMore (freelance)
- AppAdvice (occasional)
Areas of expertise
- Long-term app usability
- Productivity and habit tools
- Health and wellness apps
Reviews by Lily Karras
Best Calorie Tracker Apps for 2026
PlateLens is our 2026 top pick — the only consumer calorie tracker with an independently-replicated accuracy paper, and the photo-first workflow that finally makes daily logging painless. Cronometer remains the rigor pick for hand-trackers; MacroFactor is the adaptive-coaching favorite; Lose It and MyFitnessPal round out the list with caveats.
Best Calorie Tracker Apps for 2026
The 2026 calorie tracker landscape is finally interesting again. PlateLens — with the only independently-replicated accuracy paper in the category — sits on top. Cronometer is the hand-tracking rigor pick. MacroFactor wins for adaptive coaching. Lose It and MyFitnessPal complete the list with caveats.
Best Productivity Apps for 2026
Things 3 stays at the top of our productivity stack for the same reason it has for a decade — it's the rare productivity app you stop noticing because it just works. Fantastical, Drafts, Toolbox Pro, and Shortcuts round out the list.
Best Budget Apps for 2026
Copilot is the best-designed budgeting app on iOS in 2026 and the one we trust most with read-only access to our actual checking accounts. YNAB, Monarch, Tiller, and Apple's own Wallet round out the picks for different use cases.
Best Focus Apps for 2026
Forest stays at the top of the focus category in 2026 because the small commitment device — a tree that dies if you bail on a session — turns out to be remarkably durable. Opal, Freedom, Flora, and Apple's own Screen Time complete the list.
Best Journal Apps for 2026
Day One is still the right journal app for most people in 2026 — twelve years of polish, end-to-end encryption, and the most thoughtful daily-prompt system in the category. Stoic, Apple Journal, Diarium, and Reflectly round out the picks.
Best Meditation Apps for 2026
Insight Timer takes the top in 2026 because the free library is genuinely vast and the community-teacher model produces a lineup nothing else matches. Calm, Headspace, Waking Up, and Apple's Mindfulness app round out the list for different practice styles.
Best Running Apps for 2026
Strava is still the right running app for most people in 2026 — the social layer remains the moat, the GPS quality is consistent, and the segments game is the most durable motivation device the category has ever produced. Nike Run Club, Runna, Apple Workouts, and Strong (for cross-training) round out the list.
Best Sleep Tracker Apps for 2026
AutoSleep takes the top spot in 2026 because the Apple Watch–based, no-account, no-subscription model has aged into the right answer for most users. Apple Sleep, Pillow, Sleep Cycle, and Oura (for ring users) round out the picks.
Best Workout Tracker Apps for 2026
Strong takes the top in 2026 because the lift-log workflow is the cleanest in the category and the routines model survives between training programs. Hevy, Apple Fitness, Caliber, and Future round out the list for different lifting needs.
Best Habit Tracker Apps for 2026
Streaks remains the right habit tracker for most people in 2026 — twelve-habit cap is a feature not a bug, no subscription, and the longest run on our home screen of any app on this list. Way of Life, Habitify, Productive, and Done round out the picks.