Intermittent Fasting Apps: The Best for Your Buck

After an extensive search of available fasting apps, I pulled the top 9 based on the AppGrooves user popularity and average ratings data while cross-checking with other internet sources and list rankings. I then upgraded to the paid versions and tested these 9 apps first-hand for a total of 14 days, and counting! I’ve still been using some of them past the research phase to keep up on my daily fasting.

I tested all the apps on my iPhone 11 Pro and checked in with each one on a daily basis. The criteria for my review was based on the app total cost, user-interface, features, ease of use, and results. Obviously the weight loss results are hard to attribute to one tracking app since I was using them all at once, so a main part of my criteria was how much I felt like returning to the app every day. This way I could see which one would likely get me through the whole year or longer to reach my goals.

Simple’s low price along with its user interface and impressive range of features had me sold right away. It was the first app I opened each day for starting and stopping every fast, and I loved that it doubled as a simple food journal where I could enter in my food pictures as well as the main ingredients. 

I also loved the Instagram-story style of the daily insights, which were basically just cute and helpful infographics. You can log just about anything, from meals and snacks to water intake, weigh-ins, exercise, and even hunger and mood.

While it doesn’t have recipes or workouts like some of the other apps, it does have good tips for exercise and nutrition. I enjoyed this app so much that I was shocked when I realized this one is one of the lowest subscriptions at $29.99/yr ($2.49/mo) and $4.99/mo.

For the price, this app really just about has it all, from a great interface to in-depth analytics and health records. This one also had a great variety of plans to choose from, including scheduled plans, manual plans, circadian plans, and even flexible plans for those with irregular schedules. 

The insightful articles and guides were genuinely helpful, especially the one that distinguished Emotional vs. Physical Hunger. I found myself more mindfully eating with this app, and it definitely seemed like one of the most compelling for me to use past this trial period of 2 weeks, so I can say without a doubt that it’s worth the subscription cost.

Other apps, like Zero, are big on updating your fasting plan each week or often encouraging you to take on more difficult fasting routines based on your progress. 

I did not notice this kind of weekly update with Zero, which isn’t necessarily a bad thing but it’s important to remember that you can manually change your plan at any time in your settings if you feel it’s not working for you or it is too easy or too difficult. I also wish that Simple had more widget capabilities and Siri or voice command features for easier tracking, but I would not be surprised if those updates are on the horizon.

Zero is just a downright fun app to use, in my opinion. I honestly have been using both Simple and Zero past the testing period because I just can’t bring myself to pick one yet. The graphs in Zero are really helpful for me, especially because I wear my Apple Watch at night and regularly use the AutoSleep tracker. 

Since sleep is my main health concern lately, I’m very interested in seeing how IF might have an impact on my sleep over a longer period of time. It’s also worth noting that Zero has the best widget features and voice-command features of all the apps at the time of this writing. I can tell Siri to stop or start my fast without even opening up the app!

With all the extra features like the recipes and learning guides on top of everything else, you get so much value for the $69.99 per year or $9.99 per month. I really do feel like I would be perfectly motivated to use this app for an entire year, so the pricier subscription doesn’t bother me. If you tend to be bad at sticking with a tracking app, (like me,) I think this is the best option for you.

Though our top pick is an app that is literally called “Simple,” FastHabit is the real winner when it comes to excellent simplicity. The price is unbeatable compared to all the other apps we tried with just a one-time fee of $2.99 and no regular subscription costs. 

But don’t let the low price fool you! This app still packs a major punch as far as features, including a flexible tracking timer and the necessary graphs to track progress. You can set reminders for your fasts to start at a certain time, but you don’t have to choose a set schedule, which is actually really nice if you fast at slightly different times each day.

You do miss out on some of the fancier IF tools like learning guides, detailed fasting information, recipes, workouts, and meditations. But if you really don’t need all that stuff or if you already use other apps for those needs, FastHabit is great and gets the job done. 

For those on a budget who just want something that works well, this is a stand-out app. It’s a perfectly good, cheap option without sacrificing any of the important things that will keep you motivated in your trackings like a good user interface and clear health graphs.

Similar to Zero, Fastic is another vibrant and fun app, and really sets beginner fasters up for success. I see myself as a “sort of” beginner since I have technically done a lot of 16:8 fasting by skipping breakfast regularly by habit and not eating for 16 hours as my usual routine, but I didn’t know any of the science or benefits behind it. 

I also never fully realized that fasting could also be a mindfulness technique until I started using Fastic. The daily tasks and day by day learning makes the process of purposefully skipping meals much more manageable. I imagine someone that is not used to skipping meals can ease into it with this program.

Interestingly, one of the first challenges of this app was getting rid of all the junk food in my apartment, including sweets like cookies and ice cream or snacks like chips or ready-made meals. The friendly, cartoon hosts in the app reassured me that this isn’t a forever change but that it would help me understand more about my body and my cravings. There is a dive-right-in mentality with this that I think is challenging but always encouraging. 

Ultimately, this seems like a good method for those that are serious about getting healthier but are still a little nervous and unsure about it. Plus, with the 3% body weight loss, money-back guarantee (within the terms and conditions) on the $27.49 three month plan, it’s certainly worth a try.

Another amazingly affordable app is the LIFE Fasting Tracker, which is only $2.99 per month for the Life+ Feature. This app is great for those who need a little more personal connection when it comes to their dieting. Working on your health can feel like a solitary mission, but honestly sharing your journey with others helps to hold you accountable. 

For better or for worse, when you start telling people about a goal you have it makes it much harder to give up on that goal. This is what LIFE aims to do with their fasting “circles” and social chat platforms. You can share all the ups and downs of your journey and celebrate (or commiserate) with each other.

This app also stands out with it’s “Talk with a Coach” feature, which connects you with a professional to have a 30 minute call or video chat session. These start at about $25 for a 30 minute session with prices going up to about $90/half hour for more experienced physicians. You can schedule a call or sometimes even talk with them instantly, which is helpful for any burning questions or concerns with your fasting. 

Don’t get me wrong, I love this app and use it regularly already! It does technically function as a fasting tracker since all you have to do is take a picture of each meal and it automatically calculates fasting times. However, you don’t need to spend the money on an upgrade to get that feature, and it isn’t really the most helpful when it comes to meeting specific IF goals.

This one is certainly one of the more expensive apps at $32.99 for three months and $65.99 for one year, but I just didn’t feel like I got the same value for the money as Fastic and Zero (which are a similar price.) It does include a few basic workout guides and recipes, which is a nice added bonus, but the resources were not as in-depth and detailed as other apps, and the stats and analytics were a bit disappointing given the price point. Also the timer is automatic based on your selected eating window and not as flexible as other timers.

This is another automatic timer, which I was not a big fan of. It might be good if you don’t want to have to open up the app every time you eat or start a fast, but for me I didn’t find this style as helpful for tracking my actual health data. You can change these plan times manually, but it’s very time consuming to do so. This might be because the app is intended to be more of a set challenge. It does seem geared specifically towards losing weight, and the app makes automatic recommendations based on your weight loss progress.

This is a very basic, low-cost timer compared to the other apps we tried. It’s a one-time fee of $4.99, but I thought FastHabit had better features, a nicer interface, and was more motivational for an even lower cost.