Free Nutrition Software for Dietitians (2026): 6 Tools Compared
Short answer: only NutriAdmin has a free plan for practitioners, and it stops at 3 clients. Cronometer and MyFitnessPal are free for food tracking, not for running a practice. Nutrena, Nutrium and Practice Better are free to try: Nutrena for 30 days with unlimited clients, the other two for 14 days.
Nutrena is an AI-powered CRM and practice-management software for dietitians and nutritionists, with unlimited clients and a 30-day free trial of Pro. We make Nutrena, so read the comparison below with that in mind. Every competitor price comes from that vendor’s own pricing page.
Prices and features last verified: October 2026.
How we evaluated this
We included tools dietitians commonly evaluate when they want to spend little or nothing: ones with a free plan, a free trial, or a free app used alongside practice software. We compared what the free access really covers (client caps, time limits), the cheapest paid plan billed monthly, and what each tool is built to do. Competitor prices were read from each vendor's pricing page on 18 October 2026.
What “free” means in dietitian software
Entry plans from the main dietitian platforms cost $19–$35 a month billed monthly, and most of them cap you at around 10 clients. For a dietitian who is starting out, that is a real overhead before the first consultation fee comes in.
“Free” covers three different things, and it helps to separate them:
- A free plan you can keep: NutriAdmin’s Starter, capped at 3 clients.
- A free trial of the full product: Nutrena (30 days), Nutrium and Practice Better (14 days each).
- A free consumer app that clients use to log food: Cronometer and MyFitnessPal. Useful, but not practice-management software.
What to look for in nutrition software
Before comparing tools, it helps to know what actually matters for day-to-day practice. Here are the features worth prioritising:
Client management: Profiles, health history, dietary restrictions and progress notes in one searchable place.
Diet plan builder: Create and send personalised meal plans quickly, without copy-pasting from spreadsheets.
Food data you can trust: Nutrition values for the foods your clients actually eat, whether that is USDA data or Indian dishes.
Appointment scheduling: Book and track consultations without a separate tool.
Data protection: Ask where client data is stored and, if you are a US covered entity, whether the vendor signs a Business Associate Agreement (BAA).
A client app: Whether clients get their plan and log progress on their phone, or only receive a PDF.
Nice-to-haves include invoicing, custom branding and calendar integrations. We note where each tool covers these.
Six options, free and free-to-try
1. Nutrena — longest free trial, no client cap
Our pickNutrena gives you 30 days of the full Pro workspace with unlimited clients and 100 AI diet plans a month. It is the longest trial in this comparison, and Pro has no client cap after it. No card needed outside India; in India you authorise a Razorpay mandate and are not charged during the trial.
What you get:
- ✓ Client profiles, health history and notes
- ✓ Diet and workout plan builder
- ✓ AI diet plan drafts you review and edit
- ✓ Recipes and PDF exports
- ✓ iOS and Android client app for plans and daily logs
- ✓ Bookings, intake forms and invoices
Limitations:
- – Paid after 30 days; there is no free plan to fall back to
- – English-only interface
- – No BAA, so not for storing US PHI
- – Google Calendar is a one-way push
After the trial, Pro is ₹999/month in India, $25/month elsewhere, with unlimited clients. The $25 price matches Nutrium’s cheapest monthly plan, which covers 10 customers a month.
Start the 30-day free trial →2. NutriAdmin — the only free plan here, capped at 3 clients
NutriAdmin’s Starter plan is free: Starter: 3 clients, 5 meal plans, 20 recipes, no support. That is enough to learn the product, not to run a practice. Paid plans come with a free trial of 14 days.
Paid plans start at $24.99/mo billed monthly for 5 new clients a month (Basic 5). Basic is $34.99/mo for 10 new clients a month, or $29.16/mo billed yearly. It bills in USD, GBP, CAD, AUD, NZD or EUR.
Best for: dietitians who want an established, multi-currency tool and expect to pay once they pass 3 clients. See our NutriAdmin review and comparison for a closer look.
3. Cronometer — best for nutrient analysis
Cronometer’s strength is detailed nutrient analysis: its Pro page lists up to 92 nutrients. The consumer app is free with ads, which many dietitians ask clients to use for food logging.
Working with clients from one dashboard needs Cronometer Pro: $39.99/mo including 10 client seats, $2.50 per extra seat. Pro has no free plan.
Best for: practices where micronutrient analysis is the main job, alone or next to other practice software.
4. MyFitnessPal — free client food logging
Many dietitians ask clients to log food in MyFitnessPal because it is free and familiar. Its food database is large, though user-submitted entries vary in accuracy.
It is a consumer food diary, not practice software: you won’t manage clients, build plans or book sessions in it.
Best for: clients who already log food and want to keep doing it.
5. Nutrium — 14-day trial, no free plan
Nutrium covers meal planning and client management. Its pricing page shows no free plan, only a free trial of 14 days. The cheapest plan is $25/mo billed monthly, or $15/mo billed yearly, for 10 customers a month. Unlimited clients is $39/mo, or $25/mo billed yearly.
Best for: dietitians ready to pay from the start who want a dedicated meal-planning tool. Compare it with our Nutrium alternative page.
6. Practice Better — 14-day trial, no free plan
Practice Better is a broad all-in-one practice platform. Its pricing page shows no free plan, only a free trial of 14 days (30 days on its Team plan). Starter is $35/mo billed monthly, or $25/mo billed yearly, for 10 clients (Starter).
Best for: practices that want one long-established platform and are comfortable with USD pricing. Compare it with our Practice Better alternative page.
Price and free-plan comparison table
Cheapest paid plan, billed monthly. Prices last verified: October 2026.
| Nutrena | NutriAdmin | Nutrium | Practice Better | Cronometer Pro | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Free plan | ✗ (30-day trial instead) | ✓ Starter: 3 clients, 5 meal plans, 20 recipes, no support | ✗ | ✗ | ✗ (consumer app is free) |
| Free trial | 30 days, unlimited clients | 14 days | 14 days | 14 days | None stated |
| Cheapest paid plan | ₹999/month in India, $25/month elsewhere | $24.99/mo | $25/mo | $35/mo | $39.99/mo |
| Clients on that plan | Unlimited | 5 new a month | 10 a month | 10 | 10 seats |
| Client management | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ |
Where the others are stronger
- NutriAdmin has a free plan you can keep (Nutrena doesn’t) and bills in six currencies.
- Cronometer goes deeper on nutrient analysis than Nutrena, which totals calories, protein, carbs, fat and fibre.
- Practice Better has team plans for multi-practitioner practices; Nutrena’s multi-practitioner support is still coming.
- Nutrium has yearly billing: its unlimited plan is $25/mo billed yearly, while Nutrena outside India is monthly only.
- Nutrena does not sign BAAs, has no built-in video calls (you paste a Meet or Zoom link), and pushes to Google Calendar one way only.
How to choose the right tool for your practice
You want to spend nothing yet
Use NutriAdmin's free Starter for up to 3 clients, or try Nutrena free for 30 days with unlimited clients and decide at the end.
You need deep micronutrient analysis
Pair practice software with Cronometer for detailed nutrient breakdowns.
You want clients to log food independently
Ask clients to log in MyFitnessPal or Cronometer, while you manage the practice side elsewhere.
You have more than 10 clients
Most entry plans cap at around 10. Nutrena Pro (₹999/month in India, $25/month elsewhere) and Nutrium's unlimited plan have no cap.
You are a US covered entity or bill insurance
Nutrena does not currently sign Business Associate Agreements. Choose a platform that signs a BAA and supports insurance billing, and confirm both on its own pages.
Frequently asked questions
Is there free nutrition software for dietitians?
NutriAdmin has a free Starter plan for up to 3 clients. Nutrena has a 30-day free trial with unlimited clients, and Nutrium and Practice Better have 14-day trials. Cronometer and MyFitnessPal are free food-tracking apps rather than practice software. (Checked October 2026.)
Do I need a card for the Nutrena trial?
No card needed outside India; in India you authorise a Razorpay mandate and are not charged during the trial.
Can I create meal plans during the Nutrena trial?
Yes. The trial includes the full diet plan builder and 100 AI diet plans a month. You can build weekly plans by hand or with AI, add recipes, and send plans to the client app or as a PDF.
What is the best NutriAdmin alternative?
It depends on what you need. Nutrena has no client cap and a 30-day trial, then costs ₹999/month in India, $25/month elsewhere. Nutrium and Practice Better are established alternatives with 14-day trials. See our NutriAdmin review and comparison at nutrena.app/blog/nutriadmin-alternative.
Does Nutrena sign a HIPAA Business Associate Agreement?
Nutrena does not currently sign Business Associate Agreements. If you are a HIPAA covered entity, check with your compliance adviser before storing PHI.
What nutrition software do dietitians in India use?
Nutrena is built with Indian dietitians in mind: INR pricing (₹ in India, billed through Razorpay), Indian dishes in its food database, and support on WhatsApp. Every new account gets a 30-day free trial of Pro.
If you want a platform that handles not just meal plans but the full client relationship — intake, scheduling, progress tracking and communication — see our complete guide to dietitian CRM software. It covers what a dedicated CRM for dietitians does and how it compares to general-purpose tools.
We make Nutrena. This comparison is our own; we’ve tried to be fair — send corrections to support@nutrena.app.
Try Nutrena free for 30 days
Client management, AI diet plans, recipes, a client app and scheduling, with unlimited clients. Then ₹999/month in India, $25/month elsewhere. Cancel anytime.
Start 30-day free trialSources and public references
Pricing, feature, and compliance claims in this article were checked against the following public pages.