Ignia vs Cronometer — honest comparison
Honest, side-by-side comparison of Ignia and Cronometer. Where each one wins, where it loses, and which to pick for which job.
The micronutrient nerd's tracker.
When the other tool is the right pick
Cronometer is the gold standard if you care about micronutrients — vitamins, minerals, omega ratios, fibre — tracking roughly 84 nutrients per food from USDA and NCCDB data. If you want a complete nutritional picture, including for clinical reasons, Cronometer is the right tool and Ignia is not trying to be. Ignia deliberately leaves micros out so the daily flow stays fast. One difference is worth knowing because it is structural rather than a missing feature: Cronometer licenses its databases, and those licence terms do not permit storing them on your device, so it has no offline mode. Ignia bundles public-domain USDA data, which is exactly why it can work with no signal.
Feature-by-feature: Ignia vs Cronometer
| Feature | Ignia | Cronometer |
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| Price | Free, no ads. | Free tier available; Gold is about $60/yr. |
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| Micronutrients | Not tracked. Out of scope on purpose. | About 84 nutrients per entry. Best in the category. |
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| Offline logging | Search and log with no connection — the food data ships inside the app. | No offline mode. Their database licences do not allow on-device storage. |
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| Adaptive TDEE | Maintenance measured from your own 14-day trend. | Formula-based target that does not recalibrate on its own. |
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| Fasting timer | Included, free. | Gold. |
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| Strength training | Templates, sets, RIR and auto-progression in the app. | Exercise entries, not a training log. |
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