Free Diet App for Vegans 2026: Track B12, Iron, and Complete Proteins

A well-planned vegan diet meets every nutritional need. The challenge is the "well-planned" part. Vitamin B12, iron (non-heme), zinc, omega-3 fatty acids (DHA/EPA), calcium, iodine, and complete amino acid profiles all require deliberate attention on a fully plant-based diet. Generic calorie counting apps track calories and basic macros. They do not tell you whether your lentil and rice combination actually provided all nine essential amino acids, whether your iron intake from spinach is adequate given its lower bioavailability, or whether your B12 is at zero because you forgot your supplement this week.

This guide evaluates the best free diet apps for vegan-specific nutrient tracking in 2026, explains where plant-based food data falls short in most databases, and shows how Nutrola's free trial delivers the micronutrient visibility that vegan diets demand.

What Do Vegans Specifically Need from a Diet App?

The nutritional priorities of a vegan diet are fundamentally different from omnivore tracking. A good vegan diet app must go beyond calories and macros into specific micronutrients and amino acid completeness.

Vitamin B12 tracking

B12 is the single most critical nutrient for vegans to monitor. It is not naturally present in any plant food, and deficiency can cause irreversible neurological damage. A diet app for vegans should track B12 intake from fortified foods and supplements and make it visible on the daily dashboard — not buried three menus deep.

Iron with bioavailability context

Plants contain non-heme iron, which is absorbed at roughly 2-20% efficiency compared to 15-35% for heme iron from animal sources. A diet app that shows you hit 18 mg of iron from spinach and lentils without noting that actual absorption may be significantly lower is giving you incomplete information.

Zinc monitoring

Phytates in whole grains, legumes, and nuts reduce zinc absorption. The recommended zinc intake for vegans is approximately 50% higher than for omnivores due to this reduced bioavailability. A diet app should track zinc and ideally allow higher target setting.

Omega-3 fatty acids: ALA, DHA, and EPA

Plant sources provide ALA (alpha-linolenic acid), which the body converts to DHA and EPA at a low rate — typically 5-10% for DHA and 2-5% for EPA. Tracking total omega-3 is misleading for vegans because ALA and DHA/EPA serve different functions. The app should ideally distinguish between them.

Complete amino acid profiles

Plant proteins are often incomplete — meaning they lack sufficient amounts of one or more essential amino acids. Combining foods (rice and beans, hummus and pita) creates complete profiles, but you need an app that actually tracks individual amino acids to verify this, not just total protein grams.

Best Free Diet Apps for Vegans in 2026

1. Cronometer Free — Best Vegan Micronutrient Tracking but Limited Access

Cronometer is the clear winner for vegan-relevant nutrient data. It tracks B12, non-heme iron, zinc, individual omega-3 types, amino acid profiles, and dozens of other micronutrients. The database is curated and includes accurate nutrient profiles for plant foods.

Vegan strengths: B12 tracking, iron tracking with source distinction, zinc, individual amino acids, omega-3 breakdown (ALA, DHA, EPA), curated plant food database, strong community of vegan and plant-based users.

Vegan limitations: The free tier limits daily food logs — a significant restriction for vegans who eat multiple small meals and snacks throughout the day. Custom micronutrient targets (like setting higher zinc goals for vegans) require the Gold subscription. The food database, while accurate, is smaller than competitors, so many vegan specialty products (plant-based meats, vegan cheeses, non-dairy milks) may be missing.

2. FatSecret Free — Basic Macro Tracking for Plant-Based Diets

FatSecret provides free macro tracking including protein grams, which helps vegans monitor their total protein intake. The barcode scanner works on the free tier and covers many plant-based packaged products. The recipe calculator lets you compute nutrition for homemade meals.

Vegan strengths: Free protein tracking, barcode scanner that includes many plant-based products, recipe calculator, meal planning with macro totals, no limit on daily food logs.

Vegan limitations: No B12 tracking. No iron tracking. No zinc tracking. No amino acid profiles. No omega-3 breakdown. Essentially, FatSecret tracks the macros that vegans can easily monitor but none of the micronutrients that vegans specifically need to watch. The crowdsourced database also has incomplete nutrient profiles for many plant foods — an entry might show calories and macros but have blank fields for iron, zinc, and B12.

3. MyFitnessPal Free — Large Database but Missing Vegan Micros

MyFitnessPal has a massive food database that includes many vegan specialty products, restaurant vegan options, and plant-based brands. If you need to find "Impossible Burger patty" or "Oatly Full Fat," MFP probably has it.

Vegan strengths: Wide coverage of vegan specialty products and brands, large community including active vegan users, integration with many fitness apps.

Vegan limitations: The free tier does not track micronutrients at all. B12, iron, zinc, amino acids — none are visible without a premium subscription. The database is crowdsourced, so nutrient profiles for plant foods are frequently incomplete or inaccurate. Heavy ad load on the free tier.

Why Most Free Apps Have Incomplete Plant Food Data

Understanding why plant food data is poor in most diet apps helps explain the tracking gaps vegans face.

Nutrient testing priorities favor animal products

Food composition databases historically prioritize foods that the majority of the population eats. Detailed nutrient profiles — including amino acid breakdowns, mineral content, and vitamin levels — are more complete for chicken, beef, dairy, and eggs than for tempeh, nutritional yeast, hemp seeds, or jackfruit. This bias is reflected in the apps that rely on these databases.

Crowdsourced entries for plant foods are the worst offenders

When a user submits "tofu, firm, 100g" to a crowdsourced database, they typically enter calories, protein, fat, and carbs from the package label. They rarely include iron (2.7 mg), calcium (350 mg for calcium-set tofu), zinc (0.8 mg), or B12 (0 mg unless fortified). The entry looks complete at the macro level but is useless for vegan micronutrient tracking.

Fortification data is inconsistent

Many vegan staples are fortified — plant milks with B12 and calcium, nutritional yeast with B12, cereals with iron and zinc. But fortification levels vary by brand and country. A crowdsourced entry for "soy milk" might not specify the brand, making the B12 and calcium values unreliable. Verified databases that include brand-specific fortification data are essential for accurate vegan tracking.

How Nutrola's Free Trial Delivers Complete Vegan Nutrition Tracking

Nutrola's free trial gives vegans access to the full depth of nutrient tracking that plant-based diets require, without the log limits or feature restrictions of other options.

B12, iron, zinc, and 100+ nutrients tracked from day one

Nutrola tracks every micronutrient that matters for vegan health: vitamin B12, non-heme iron, zinc, calcium, iodine, selenium, vitamin D, and individual omega-3 fatty acids. All of these are visible on the daily dashboard during the free trial and on the 2.50 euro per month paid plan.

Amino acid tracking for complete protein verification

Nutrola's verified database includes amino acid profiles for plant foods. You can see whether your daily food combinations provided all nine essential amino acids in sufficient quantities — not just whether you hit a total protein number. This is the level of detail that vegan dietitians recommend but that almost no free app provides.

1.8 million verified foods including plant-based specialty products

Nutrola's nutritionist-verified database of over 1.8 million foods includes accurate, complete nutrient profiles for plant foods, plant-based meats, vegan dairy alternatives, and fortified products. Every entry includes micronutrient data, not just macros.

AI logging that works with plant-based meals

Photograph your Buddha bowl and Nutrola's AI identifies the quinoa, chickpeas, roasted sweet potato, tahini dressing, and mixed greens — logging each with complete nutrient data including iron, zinc, and amino acids. Voice logging handles complex vegan meals equally well: "I had a smoothie with banana, spinach, hemp seeds, fortified almond milk, and a tablespoon of flaxseed" gets logged with all relevant micronutrients.

Recipe import for homemade vegan cooking

Vegans cook from scratch more often than average, and homemade recipes are where tracking typically breaks down. Nutrola's recipe import lets you paste a recipe URL and get a complete nutritional breakdown per serving — including micronutrients that recipe calculators on other apps often miss.

Vegan Diet App Comparison Table 2026

Feature	Cronometer Free	FatSecret Free	MFP Free	Nutrola Free Trial
B12 tracking	Yes (limited logs)	No	No (premium)	Yes
Iron tracking	Yes (limited logs)	No	No (premium)	Yes
Zinc tracking	Yes (limited logs)	No	No (premium)	Yes
Amino acid profiles	Yes (limited logs)	No	No	Yes
Omega-3 breakdown	Yes (limited logs)	No	No	Yes
Calcium tracking	Yes (limited logs)	No	No (premium)	Yes
Daily log limit	Limited	Unlimited	Unlimited	Unlimited
Plant food database	Curated (small)	Crowdsourced	Crowdsourced	1.8M+ verified
Barcode scanner	Limited	Yes	Limited	Yes
AI photo logging	No	No	No	Yes
Voice logging	No	No	No	Yes
Recipe import	Basic	Basic	No	Yes (URL import)
Ads	Minimal	Yes	Heavy	None
Cost after free	Free (very limited)	Free (limited)	Free (gutted)	2.50 euro/month

Essential Nutrients Every Vegan Should Track

Whether you use Nutrola, Cronometer, or another app, these are the nutrients that deserve your attention on a plant-based diet.

Nutrient	Why It Matters for Vegans	Best Plant Sources	Daily Target
Vitamin B12	No natural plant sources; deficiency causes nerve damage	Fortified foods, supplements	2.4 mcg (many experts recommend higher)
Iron	Non-heme iron has lower absorption; pair with vitamin C	Lentils, spinach, tofu, fortified cereals	18 mg (women), 8 mg (men) — consider 1.8x multiplier
Zinc	Phytates reduce absorption from plant sources	Pumpkin seeds, chickpeas, cashews, oats	12 mg (women), 16.5 mg (men) — 50% above omnivore RDA
Omega-3 (DHA/EPA)	ALA conversion is low; consider algae-based supplement	Flaxseed, chia, walnuts (ALA); algae oil (DHA/EPA)	250-500 mg combined DHA/EPA
Calcium	Dairy-free requires intentional sourcing	Fortified plant milk, tofu (calcium-set), kale, broccoli	1,000 mg
Iodine	Varies widely; seaweed can provide excess	Iodized salt, seaweed (moderate), supplements	150 mcg
Vitamin D	Limited food sources for everyone; supplement recommended	Fortified foods, mushrooms (UV-exposed), sunlight	600-1,000 IU

Frequently Asked Questions

What is the best free diet app for tracking B12 on a vegan diet?

Cronometer free is the best permanently free option for B12 tracking, but it limits daily food logs. Nutrola's free trial tracks B12 with no log limits and includes a verified database with accurate fortification data for plant-based products. After the trial, Nutrola is 2.50 euro per month.

Can a free diet app track amino acids for vegans?

Cronometer free tracks individual amino acids but with limited daily logs. No other major free diet app offers amino acid profiles. Nutrola's free trial includes full amino acid tracking across its verified database, letting you verify that your plant protein combinations are providing all essential amino acids.

Do vegans need a special diet app?

Vegans do not need a different app, but they need an app that goes beyond basic macro tracking. The nutrients most critical for vegan health — B12, iron, zinc, omega-3, amino acids — are micronutrients that most free diet apps either do not track or lock behind premium subscriptions.

How do I know if I am getting enough protein as a vegan?

Total protein grams are a starting point — most adults need 0.8-1.0 g per kg of body weight, and active individuals need more. But protein quality matters too. An app that tracks amino acid profiles (like Cronometer or Nutrola) can confirm that your protein sources are complete or complementary. Simply hitting a protein number with only rice, for example, would leave you short on lysine.

Is Nutrola good for vegan meal tracking?

Yes. Nutrola's verified database includes comprehensive nutrient profiles for plant foods, plant-based products, and fortified foods. AI photo recognition and voice logging handle complex vegan meals, and the recipe import feature works well for homemade plant-based cooking. The free trial includes all features, and the paid plan is 2.50 euro per month with zero ads.

Should vegans take supplements even if they track their diet?

Most nutrition experts recommend that vegans supplement vitamin B12 regardless of dietary tracking, since no natural plant food contains it in reliable amounts. Vitamin D supplementation is also widely recommended for vegans (and many omnivores). Omega-3 supplementation with algae-based DHA/EPA is recommended for vegans who do not consume these regularly. A diet app helps you identify additional gaps, but B12 supplementation is considered non-negotiable.