Best Nutrition App for Tracking Sodium, Potassium and Magnesium (2026)

Sodium, potassium and magnesium are three minerals worth watching together: the average American eats well over the sodium limit, while many people fall short of the potassium and magnesium reference intakes. Health figures below come from NIH, FDA and NHLBI pages.

Why track sodium, potassium and magnesium together?

Because they pull in different directions. For most people sodium is the one to bring down, while potassium and magnesium are the two to bring up, and they come from different foods. A diary that shows all three across several days makes a salty lunch, a low-potassium week or a magnesium gap easy to spot.

The NIH Office of Dietary Supplements says low potassium intake raises the risk of high blood pressure, especially when sodium intake is high, and its magnesium fact sheet describes magnesium as involved in muscle and nerve function and blood pressure regulation. The NHLBI describes the DASH eating plan as rich in potassium, calcium, magnesium, fiber and protein and lower in sodium.

How much sodium, potassium and magnesium do you need a day?

These are reference values for healthy adults, not personal prescriptions.

• Sodium: less than 2,300 mg a day under the Dietary Guidelines for Americans, about a teaspoon of table salt. FDA puts the average American at about 3,400 mg. NHLBI adds that 1,500 mg a day lowers blood pressure even further than 2,300 mg.
• Potassium: an Adequate Intake of 3,400 mg a day for men and 2,600 mg for women, set by the National Academies in 2019. NIH cites average intakes from food among adults of 3,016 mg for men and 2,320 mg for women in 2013 to 2014 survey data, both below those levels.
• Magnesium: a Recommended Dietary Allowance of 400 to 420 mg for men and 310 to 320 mg for women, depending on age. In US survey data for 2013 to 2016, 48% of Americans of all ages took in less magnesium from food and beverages than their Estimated Average Requirement, according to the NIH magnesium fact sheet.

Personal targets can differ with kidney disease, some blood pressure and heart medications, and a clinician's advice, so take your own numbers from a doctor or registered dietitian.

What should an app do to track these three minerals well?

Three things matter, and they follow from where each mineral comes from.

All three in the same panel. Sodium is easy because every Nutrition Facts label must list it. Potassium is required on the label too, but FDA treats magnesium as voluntary: manufacturers may list it, and must do so only if it is added to the food or the package makes a claim about it. An app needs nutrient data beyond what is printed on the pack, and it should show the three side by side.

Barcode scanning for the packaged half. FDA says over 70% of the sodium in the American diet comes from packaged and prepared foods, not from salt added in cooking or at the table.

Photo, voice or search for whole foods. The standout sources of potassium and magnesium are mostly whole foods with no barcode. NIH lists a cup of cooked lentils at 731 mg of potassium and a medium baked potato (flesh only) at 610 mg, and an ounce of roasted pumpkin seeds at 156 mg of magnesium and half a cup of boiled spinach at 78 mg.

Which app is best for tracking sodium, potassium and magnesium?

PlateLens and Cronometer both cover all three minerals, so panel depth does not separate them on this job; ease of logging and price do, which is why PlateLens is the best pick for most people. Cronometer, MyFitnessPal and MacroFactor each win a narrower lane. Prices are in US dollars.

PlateLens: best overall

PlateLens does all three jobs in one diary. One photo logs a plate, and voice, search and barcode logging sit next to it, so the packaged half and the whole-food half of the day land in the same totals. It tracks 82+ nutrients, including sodium, potassium and magnesium, and shows sodium for every meal next to total and net carbs, fiber and sugar. Its verified database of 1.2M+ entries combines USDA FoodData Central, NCCDB, Open Food Facts and Nutritionix. The AI coach reads your own diary as context, and there is a full web app alongside iOS and Android.

The free plan never expires and needs no card: unlimited manual and barcode logging, plus 3 photo scans and 5 coach messages a day. That puts barcode and photo logging on the free plan, where MyFitnessPal keeps its barcode scanner and Meal Scan in Premium and Cronometer keeps photo and voice logging in Gold. Premium removes the scan and message limits for US$34.99 a year or US$9.99 a month, which is US$25 a year less than Cronometer Gold, US$37 less than MacroFactor and US$45 less than MyFitnessPal Premium.

Choose PlateLens if you want sodium, potassium and magnesium tracked from photos, voice, search or barcodes in one diary, and a paid plan that stays under US$35 a year.

Cronometer: the deepest panel

Cronometer tracks up to 95 nutrients, the deepest panel of the four, which pays off when you want every vitamin and mineral measured; for these three minerals it and PlateLens cover the same ground. The free plan has ads and includes manual entry and a barcode scanner; Gold adds photo and voice logging and the Crono Coach assistant. See the full PlateLens vs Cronometer comparison.

Choose Cronometer if you work with a dietitian or want every vitamin and mineral measured, not just these three.

MyFitnessPal: the biggest database

MyFitnessPal has the largest food database, 20.5M+ foods according to its App Store listing, which includes restaurant dishes and some entries submitted by members. The listing mentions custom targets for macros, sodium, fiber and more. The barcode scanner, Meal Scan and Voice Log are Premium.

Choose MyFitnessPal if you eat a lot of restaurant and packaged food, or you already have years of history in it.

MacroFactor: adaptive targets

MacroFactor has the best adaptive goals: its algorithm adapts your calorie and macro targets to changes in your metabolism. Its App Store listing mentions micronutrient breakdowns and a barcode scanner. There is no free plan, only a 7-day trial.

Choose MacroFactor if targets that follow your metabolism matter most and minerals come second.

Yuka and ZOE: food scores, not a diary

Yuka is a free app, with an optional premium, that scans a food's barcode and scores it from 0 to 100 on nutritional quality, additives and organic status; it is not a calorie diary. ZOE scores meals from a photo and rates processed foods on its Processed Food Risk Scale, with a focus on food quality rather than calorie counting. Both help you choose what goes in the cart; use them alongside a diary, not instead of one.

How do you track sodium when most of it is in packaged food?

Most of it is not in the salt shaker. FDA cites CDC data putting about 40% of the sodium Americans eat in nine food groups: deli meat sandwiches, pizza, burritos and tacos, soups, savory snacks, poultry, pasta mixed dishes, burgers, and egg dishes. Three habits follow.

• Scan what has a barcode, and check the serving size. Sodium on a label is per serving. FDA's reading rule is that 5% Daily Value or less per serving is low and 20% or more is high, against a Daily Value of 2,300 mg.
• Log the foods on that list when you eat them, with or without a barcode.
• Read sodium per meal, not only per day. PlateLens shows sodium for every meal, so the meal that pushed the total up is visible, and its barcode logging is unlimited on the free plan.

Who should be careful with potassium and magnesium targets?

Potassium. NIH says the Adequate Intake does not apply to people who excrete potassium poorly or take medicines that impair excretion, such as ACE inhibitors and potassium-sparing diuretics; for them even intakes below the AI can cause hyperkalemia, a high level of potassium in the blood. NIH also advises people with kidney disease or certain medications to check with their health care provider before using salt substitutes, many of which are potassium chloride.

Magnesium. The 350 mg a day upper limit applies to magnesium from supplements and medications, not to food, and NIH notes that in healthy people the kidneys clear the excess from food. The number to watch is on the supplement label, not on your plate.

An app can total what you log; it cannot know your kidney function or your prescriptions. If any of this applies to you, or you are weighing a magnesium supplement, ask your doctor or a registered dietitian for your own targets first.