Can Lose It Track Micronutrients? What's Free, What's Premium, and Better Alternatives
Lose It offers limited micronutrient tracking, mostly behind the Premium paywall. We break down what's actually tracked, what's locked, and why Cronometer (80+ nutrients) and Nutrola (100+ nutrients) are far better options for vitamin and mineral tracking.
Lose It tracks some micronutrients on Premium ($39.99/yr) but not on free. For deep nutrient tracking, Cronometer and Nutrola cover 80+ and 100+ nutrients respectively. If your goal is counting calories and hitting a weight target, Lose It's free tier is serviceable. If you want to see whether you are hitting iron, vitamin D, magnesium, B12, potassium, zinc, folate, or omega-3 targets across the week, Lose It is the wrong tool — even on Premium.
Micronutrients are the part of nutrition tracking most calorie apps quietly skip. Calories and macros are the headline numbers; vitamins and minerals are where dietary gaps actually show up. For certain groups — vegans and vegetarians, endurance and strength athletes, people managing chronic conditions, pregnant and postpartum women, and GLP-1 users eating a fraction of their previous calories — those micronutrient gaps translate directly into fatigue, poor recovery, brain fog, hair loss, or clinical deficiency.
This guide answers a specific question — can Lose It track micronutrients? — and then provides a direct, honest comparison against the two apps built around micronutrient accuracy: Cronometer and Nutrola.
What Micronutrients Can Lose It Track?
What's available on Lose It free
Lose It's free tier is oriented almost entirely around calories and weight. You get a daily calorie budget, barcode scanning, weight tracking, and basic food logging. Macronutrients (protein, carbs, fat) and detailed nutrient breakdowns are gated behind Premium. For free users, micronutrient tracking is effectively unavailable — you can see total calories consumed and remaining, but you cannot see vitamin or mineral totals across the day.
This is a deliberate product decision rather than an oversight. Lose It's pitch has always been "weight loss made simple," and the company keeps the free experience narrow so that Premium has room to sell on feature depth. If your only question is "did I stay under my calorie goal today," free Lose It answers it. If your question is "did I get enough iron this week," free Lose It cannot help.
What's available on Lose It Premium
Lose It Premium (around $39.99 per year, roughly $3.33 per month) unlocks macro tracking and some nutrient information beyond calories. The Premium dashboard surfaces more nutritional detail per food and per day, and you can set macro goals. The company markets "nutrient tracking" as a Premium feature, and a subset of common vitamins and minerals appears in the Premium nutrient views — but the list is far from comprehensive, and accuracy depends heavily on which database entry you select.
The critical caveat is that Lose It's food database mixes verified entries with a very large volume of user-submitted foods. A user-submitted entry can have calories filled in but leave every vitamin and mineral field blank. When you log that item, the app does not warn you that 95% of the nutrient fields are zero — it just records zero for vitamin D, zero for iron, zero for magnesium, and so on. Over a week, that produces wildly misleading micronutrient totals.
The Full Nutrient List Lose It Supports
Lose It does not publish a single canonical "here is every nutrient we track" list, and the fields displayed in the Premium dashboard have changed over time. In general terms, what Premium users typically see includes:
- Macronutrients: protein, carbohydrates (total and net), fat (total, saturated, trans, polyunsaturated, monounsaturated), fiber, sugar.
- Common minerals: sodium, potassium, calcium, iron — these are the most consistently populated across the database because they appear on standard Nutrition Facts labels.
- A subset of vitamins: vitamin A, vitamin C, vitamin D (coverage varies), and sometimes a handful of others depending on the food entry.
- Cholesterol and basic energy accounting.
That is roughly where Lose It stops. It is not tracking the full B-vitamin panel (B1, B2, B3, B5, B6, B7, B9, B12), it is not tracking the trace minerals most vegan and athletic users care about (zinc, copper, selenium, manganese, iodine, chromium, molybdenum), it is not tracking the fatty acid breakdown (omega-3 EPA/DHA/ALA, omega-6), and it is not tracking amino acid profiles. Even within the vitamins and minerals it nominally supports, coverage is uneven because user-submitted foods are usually missing those fields.
If you have seen Lose It show you a specific micronutrient number, treat that number as directional, not clinical. It reflects whatever was populated in the database entry you chose, plus whatever Lose It inherits from Nutritionix or other partner data sources for verified items.
Where Lose It's Nutrient Tracking Falls Short
The list is narrow compared to dedicated nutrient trackers
Cronometer tracks more than 80 nutrients pulled from verified scientific databases (USDA, NCCDB). Nutrola tracks more than 100 nutrients across its 1.8 million+ verified food database. Lose It, even on Premium, shows a fraction of that — perhaps 10 to 15 nutrients in a practical day-to-day view, and most of them are the macros and label-standard minerals rather than the full vitamin and mineral spectrum.
For someone trying to confirm they are hitting vitamin B12 on a plant-based diet, omega-3 as an endurance athlete, iron in pregnancy, or magnesium during a GLP-1 taper, the difference between "10 nutrients" and "100 nutrients" is the difference between guessing and knowing.
User-submitted entries frequently have missing nutrient data
The structural problem is not just the length of the nutrient list — it is the data inside the list. When the database blends verified entries with user submissions, and most user submissions skip the nutrient fields entirely, your weekly micronutrient report is a floor, not an actual total. You might be getting 18 mg of iron and only seeing 6 mg of it because 12 mg came from foods logged with blank iron fields.
This is the core reason dietitians and clinicians who work from tracking data tend to prefer Cronometer or Nutrola over Lose It and MyFitnessPal: verified-first databases produce micronutrient totals you can act on.
No clear daily targets for most micronutrients
Lose It's interface is designed around calorie and macro goals. Even where a vitamin or mineral number is displayed on Premium, you rarely see it presented against a personalized RDA/DRI target with a visual bar showing where you are. Cronometer builds its entire daily dashboard around exactly that — 80+ nutrient targets with percent-of-goal tracking. Nutrola does the same for 100+ nutrients, personalized to your profile, goals, and any dietary patterns you set.
Trends and weekly nutrient reports are limited
Even when you can log a food with full nutrient data, the payoff comes from looking at the pattern — am I short on magnesium four days out of seven, am I over on sodium most weekdays, is my B12 intake zero on Mondays? Lose It's reporting is oriented around calories in, calories out, and weight trajectory. Nutrient trend views are limited compared to Cronometer's and Nutrola's nutrient history visualizations.
Better Options for Micronutrient Tracking
Cronometer — the verified nutrient leader
Cronometer has been the reference app for serious micronutrient tracking for over a decade. Its database pulls from USDA, NCCDB, and other verified scientific sources, and it tracks more than 80 nutrients including the full B-vitamin panel, trace minerals, fatty acid breakdown, and amino acids. The daily dashboard shows every nutrient against a personalized target, color-coded by percent of goal.
The tradeoff is interface. Cronometer still feels more like a nutrition science tool than a modern consumer app — it is dense, data-heavy, and not optimized for speed logging the way Nutrola is. Free Cronometer limits certain features (no barcode scanner on free on some platforms, no recipe import, daily log restrictions), and Gold unlocks the full experience. For users who want clinical-grade nutrient data and do not mind a utilitarian UI, Cronometer is the category benchmark.
Nutrola — 100+ nutrients with AI speed
Nutrola was built around a simple idea: you should get Cronometer-level nutrient depth without having to give up modern logging speed, and without choosing between a verified database and a friendly interface. Nutrola tracks 100+ nutrients across a 1.8 million+ verified food database, with AI photo recognition logging meals in under three seconds, voice logging, barcode scanning, and recipe URL import — so the nutrient totals reflect what you actually ate with minimal friction.
Nutrola is €2.50 per month on its paid tier, with a genuine free tier for users who want to try it without committing. There are zero ads on any tier. Localization covers 14 languages. Full HealthKit and Google Health Connect integration means the nutrient data you log writes back into your health platform alongside activity from your wrist and phone.
How Nutrola Handles 100+ Nutrients
Nutrola's nutrient engine is the core of the product, not a secondary feature behind a paywall. Here is how it works in practice:
- 100+ nutrients per food: calories, full macros, full vitamin panel (A, C, D, E, K, all B vitamins), full mineral panel (calcium, iron, magnesium, potassium, zinc, copper, selenium, manganese, iodine, chromium, molybdenum, phosphorus), fatty acid breakdown (omega-3 EPA/DHA/ALA, omega-6), amino acid profile, fiber, sugars, cholesterol, caffeine, and more.
- 1.8 million+ verified foods: every entry reviewed by nutrition professionals. No silent blank fields pulling your micronutrient totals toward zero.
- Personalized targets: daily RDA/DRI goals adapt to age, sex, body composition, goal, activity level, and dietary pattern (standard, vegan, vegetarian, keto, Mediterranean, high-protein, GLP-1 support).
- Percent-of-goal visualization: see each nutrient as a bar — where you are today, where you were yesterday, and where you average across the week.
- AI photo logging in under 3 seconds: point the camera, get full nutrient data, not just calories. No more choosing between speed and depth.
- Voice logging: say what you ate in natural language, full nutrient data is applied automatically.
- Barcode scanning: pulls verified data straight from the 1.8M+ database, populating every nutrient field.
- Recipe URL import: paste a recipe link; Nutrola parses ingredients and produces a full nutrient breakdown for the finished dish.
- Weekly and monthly nutrient trend reports: spot gaps across time, not just in a single day.
- Custom nutrient priorities: flag the nutrients you care about most (iron, B12, omega-3, magnesium) and pin them to the top of your dashboard.
- Dietary pattern warnings: vegan users get proactive flags for B12, iron, and omega-3; GLP-1 users get protein and potassium prompts; pregnancy mode surfaces folate, iron, iodine, and choline.
- 14 languages, zero ads, €2.50/month: full micronutrient tracking without a US-centric interface and without advertising noise on any tier.
This is the gap between "an app that occasionally shows a vitamin number" and "an app built around nutrient totals you can act on."
Micronutrient Tracking App Comparison
| App | Nutrients Tracked | Free Tier Nutrients | Verified Database | Monthly Cost |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Lose It (Free) | Calories only, limited macros | Calories + limited | Mixed (verified + user-submitted) | Free |
| Lose It (Premium) | ~10-15 nutrients | N/A | Mixed (verified + user-submitted) | ~$3.33/mo ($39.99/yr) |
| MyFitnessPal (Premium) | ~12-18 nutrients | Limited | Mixed, heavily crowdsourced | ~$9.99/mo |
| Cronometer (Free) | 80+ nutrients | 80+ (with log/feature limits) | Verified (USDA, NCCDB) | Free tier |
| Cronometer Gold | 80+ nutrients | N/A | Verified (USDA, NCCDB) | ~$8.99/mo |
| Nutrola | 100+ nutrients | Available on free tier | Verified (1.8M+ foods) | Free tier + €2.50/mo |
Two observations from this table. First, price is not what separates these apps on micronutrient tracking — Cronometer Gold and Lose It Premium cost roughly the same, but one tracks 80+ nutrients from verified sources while the other tracks a narrow subset from a mixed-quality database. Second, Nutrola's €2.50/month is substantially cheaper than Cronometer Gold while offering more nutrients (100+ vs 80+), a larger verified database (1.8M+), modern AI logging, and full localization.
Which Tracker for Micronutrients?
Best if you want the verified, clinical-feel nutrient tracker
Cronometer. Over a decade of building around 80+ nutrients from USDA and NCCDB data. Dense, utilitarian, and loved by dietitians and biohackers who want clinical-grade numbers. Free tier is generous on nutrient depth, though logging volume and some features are limited. Pick Cronometer if you want the long-established category leader and are comfortable with a data-dense interface.
Best if you want 100+ nutrients plus modern logging speed
Nutrola. Nutrient depth Cronometer-level and beyond (100+ vs 80+), on a verified 1.8M+ food database, paired with AI photo logging under three seconds, voice input, barcode scanning, recipe URL import, HealthKit and Health Connect sync, 14 languages, zero ads, and €2.50/month on paid after the free tier. Pick Nutrola if you want maximum nutrient accuracy without the friction of older-generation nutrition tools, and if you want pricing that is sustainable long-term.
Best if calories and macros are genuinely all you need
Lose It. If you truly only care about a calorie number and a weight graph, Lose It's free tier is clean and polished. Do not pay for Premium expecting deep micronutrient tracking — that is not what the Premium tier delivers. For nutrient depth, either app above is a better use of your money.
Frequently Asked Questions
Does Lose It track vitamin D?
Lose It can display vitamin D on Premium when the food database entry has a vitamin D value populated. Coverage is uneven — verified entries typically include it, but many user-submitted foods leave it blank, which pulls your daily total toward an artificially low number. If vitamin D tracking matters to you (deficiency is common, and a clinically relevant micronutrient), Cronometer or Nutrola provide more reliable daily totals.
Is Cronometer better than Lose It for micronutrients?
Yes, substantially. Cronometer tracks more than 80 nutrients from verified databases including USDA and NCCDB, with personalized daily targets and percent-of-goal visualization for every nutrient. Lose It tracks a much smaller subset, even on Premium, and pulls from a database that mixes verified entries with user submissions that often lack nutrient data. For any serious micronutrient use case — vegan diets, athletic performance, medical conditions, pregnancy, GLP-1 — Cronometer is a meaningful upgrade.
How many nutrients does Nutrola track?
Nutrola tracks 100+ nutrients per food, including the full vitamin panel, mineral panel, fatty acid breakdown, amino acid profile, fiber, sugars, and more. Every entry in the 1.8 million+ food database is verified by nutrition professionals, so nutrient fields are populated rather than silently blank.
Do I need Lose It Premium to track vitamins and minerals?
To see any vitamin or mineral numbers in Lose It, yes — nutrient information beyond calories is gated behind Premium at roughly $39.99 per year. However, the nutrient list available on Premium is narrow compared to Cronometer and Nutrola, and database quality means that the numbers you do see are often underestimates. If nutrient tracking is the reason you are considering Premium, Cronometer's free tier or Nutrola's free tier plus €2.50/month plan delivers far more value.
Is there a free app that tracks micronutrients?
Cronometer's free tier is the best free option for micronutrient tracking — 80+ nutrients from verified databases, with feature limits around barcode scanning, recipe import, and daily log volume on some platforms. Nutrola also offers a free tier with nutrient tracking, and €2.50/month unlocks the full experience including AI photo logging, unlimited barcode scans, recipe URL import, and the complete 100+ nutrient dashboard.
Which app is best for tracking iron, B12, and omega-3?
All three of these are priority nutrients for vegan, vegetarian, athletic, and postpartum users. Cronometer tracks all three with verified data and personalized targets. Nutrola tracks all three as part of its 100+ nutrient set, with dietary-pattern-aware warnings that proactively flag risks for vegans (B12, iron) and athletes (omega-3, iron). Lose It can show iron on Premium but has inconsistent coverage for B12 and limited to no tracking for the omega-3 breakdown (EPA/DHA/ALA).
Does tracking micronutrients actually matter if I'm hitting my calories?
For many casual users, hitting calories and protein with a mostly whole-foods diet is enough. Micronutrient tracking becomes important when one or more of the following apply: you eat a restrictive diet (vegan, keto, low-FODMAP), you train at high volume, you are pregnant or postpartum, you have a diagnosed deficiency or chronic condition, you are on GLP-1 medication and eating substantially less, or you are over 50. In any of these cases, calorie tracking alone can hide a real clinical problem, and a nutrient tracker like Cronometer or Nutrola becomes materially more useful than Lose It.
Final Verdict
Lose It can show some micronutrient data, but only on Premium, only for a narrow list of nutrients, and only to the extent that the specific database entry you logged had those fields populated. As a micronutrient tracker, it is a calorie app with a handful of vitamins bolted on — not a tool built around nutrient accuracy. For anyone whose tracking goal includes vitamins, minerals, fatty acids, or amino acids, Lose It is the wrong choice at both free and Premium tiers.
The right choice depends on what you value. Cronometer is the long-established verified-database leader with 80+ nutrients and a decade of trust from dietitians and biohackers — it is the safe, clinical pick. Nutrola is the modern 100+ nutrient tracker built on a 1.8 million+ verified database, with AI photo logging under three seconds, voice input, barcode scanning, recipe URL import, 14 languages, zero ads on any tier, and a €2.50/month paid plan alongside a genuine free tier — it is the pick if you want maximum nutrient depth without giving up modern speed and design. Either one leaves Lose It's micronutrient capability behind; together, they define what real nutrient tracking in 2026 looks like.
Ready to Transform Your Nutrition Tracking?
Join thousands who have transformed their health journey with Nutrola!