Top 7 Carbohydrate Counting Apps for Diabetes
Accurate carb counts are the foundation of a correct mealtime insulin dose. This page lists the best carb counting apps for diabetes — including free options — and shows how each one works with Jade, so the carbs you log flow straight into your insulin dose calculation.
Having accurate carb counts is essential to calculating a correct insulin dose!
The following apps work well with Jade, and integrate Carbs, Protein, Fat and Fiber data via HealthKit on iOS
Jade is an insulin dose calculator for iOS and Android that works with best-of-breed carb counting tools. You can also use Jade’s own carb counter.
If you use Android, you can take advantage of FitnessSyncer to bring your Fitness and food data into the Jade ecosystem.
Our listing criteria is that these Apps MUST put carbs, protein, fat and fiber data into Apple Health on iOS at the time the event occurs – otherwise they are next to useless for diabetes purposes.
| App Name | Download | Description | Barcode scanning |
| DietSensor | iOS Android | DietSensor is a specialized nutrition app dedicated to carb counting with innovative coaching features. | Yes |
| MyNetDiary | iOS Android | By default, MyNetDiary delays writing data to HealthKit. This can be changed by using a negative number in the settings field. Also, ensure that Nutrient / Secondary Nutrient is set to Net Carbs (not Total Carbs). |
|
| MyFitnessPal | iOS Android | 5 million foods. Has problems writing 2 lots of carbs to HealthKit for one meal | |
| LoseIt | iOS Android | 27 million foods. | Yes! |
| FatSecret | iOS Android | 2 million foods. Meal times cannot be set, they are classified as Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner or Snack – this means they will not be logged in Jade at the correct time | Yes! |
| FDDB | iOS Android | (German) | |
| CalorieKing | iOS | ||
| Fooducate | iOS Android |
If you have an App, or know an App that writes data to Apple Health at the time the event occurred, please let us know!
Carb counting app FAQ
What’s the best free carb counting app for diabetics?
Several of the apps above offer free tiers. The best choice is the one whose food database and barcode scanning fit your meals — and, importantly, one that writes carb data to Apple Health so Jade can use it.
Do these apps work with an insulin calculator?
Yes — the apps listed here can pass carbs into Apple Health on iOS, which Jade then uses to help calculate your insulin dose.
Related reading
- Low-GI foods for diabetes
- High-GI foods and diabetes
- Starchy carbs and diabetes
- Calculating your carbohydrate ratio
Top Exercise Tracking Apps for Diabetes
Apple Health works just fine with the Jade App, supporting up to 60 different types of exercise, and making them available IMMEDIATELY in the Jade App to inform predictions,
Top Menstruation Tracking Apps for Diabetes
For many woman, periods play havoc with their blood sugars and require insulin doses to be increased. The Jade App allows a custom factor to be added that can be easily turned on for days at a time.
We also work with period trackers below that meet our criteria – they MUST put menstruation information into Apple Health on iOS at the time the event occurs – otherwise they are next to useless for diabetes purposes.
If you have an App, or know an App that write menstruation data to Apple Health at the time the event occurred, please let us know!
Apps to Help Learn How to Carb Count
| App Name | Download |
| Carb Counting with Lenny |