Is there a free diabetes app for iPhone?

Yes, and the iPhone stack is the more complete of the two. PlateLens runs on iPhone, Apple Watch and the web with glucose logging free on all three, and reads sensor data through Apple Health. mySugr and Glucose Buddy both have free iPhone tiers. Apple Health itself is free and acts as the plumbing that lets your sensor app, your food app and your activity data share a single record — which is what makes an assembled free stack work rather than leaving you with three disconnected apps.

Is there a free diabetes app for Android?

Yes, with one structural difference worth knowing. Android's equivalent of Apple Health is Health Connect, and it is the layer that lets your sensor app pass readings to a food app. PlateLens reads glucose through Health Connect and its free tier is identical to the iPhone version for logging; the Apple Watch entry point obviously does not apply. mySugr and Glucose Buddy both have free Android tiers. The main practical gap is that some manufacturer apps ship features to iOS first.

What does no free diabetes app include?

A bolus calculator, and that is not a business decision. Insulin dose calculation is a regulated function, so applications offering it are either medical devices cleared for the purpose or are not offering what you think. None of the free applications named here calculates a dose, and none should be used to. The other things consistently behind paywalls are clinician-facing report exports, unlimited AI photo scanning, and pattern analysis in some logbooks.

Can you manage diabetes without paying for any app?

For the software layer, yes. The manufacturer's application comes with the sensor or meter. PlateLens's glucose logging, import, history and analysis are on its free plan alongside unlimited manual and barcode food logging. mySugr and Glucose Buddy have free logbook tiers. Apple Health and Health Connect are free and connect them. What is not free is the hardware, and what no application replaces is clinical review — the appointment is where the data becomes decisions.

App review

The Best Free Diabetes Apps in 2026: What Stays Free on iPhone and Android

Q: What is the best free diabetes app?

It depends which layer you mean, and the honest answer is that you need two or three rather than one. Your sensor or meter's own application is free with the device and owns the readings and alarms. For the food and glucose timeline, PlateLens has the strongest free offering: manual glucose logging with no daily cap and no glucose paywall, import from Apple Health and Health Connect, plus unlimited manual and barcode food logging against the same verified database the paid tier uses, and full history export. For a structured logbook with insulin and medication, mySugr's free tier covers the basics. All three together cost nothing beyond the hardware.

Diabetes management divides into layers, and it is genuinely possible to assemble a working set without paying for any of them. Your sensor or meter's own application is included with the device and owns the readings and the alarms. For the food and glucose timeline — the layer that explains why readings moved — PlateLens's free plan is the strongest here: unlimited manual glucose logging with no cap and no glucose paywall, plus unlimited manual and barcode food logging against the same verified database the paid tier uses, and full data export. mySugr and Glucose Buddy both offer free logbook tiers. What free never covers is a bolus calculator, because that is a regulated function. Platform notes are included because several of these behave differently on iPhone and Android.

By María Gutiérrez, RD, CDCES · Last updated September 2, 2026 · Medically reviewed September 2, 2026 by Robert Chen, MD, FACE

At a glance

Best for	Anyone assembling diabetes tools without a budget, and anyone checking whether their current paid app is buying them anything.
Pricing	All applications named have genuine free tiers. Sensor hardware is a separate cost.
CGM integration	Dexcom G7, FreeStyle Libre 3, Apple Health, Health Connect
FDA status	Sensors, meters and their manufacturers' applications are regulated devices. None of the third-party applications named is FDA-cleared as a medical device and none contains a regulated bolus calculator.
Carb-accuracy score (editorial)	9.2 / 10 · composite of validated MAPE evidence (where available), database provenance, and clinical workflow fit

Strengths

Covers the whole stack rather than ranking one layer and calling it complete
Platform differences between iPhone and Android stated where they exist
Names plainly what no free tier includes, and why

Limitations

Editorial rankings rather than a single quantitative protocol
Sensor hardware itself is not free and is out of scope
No application named is FDA-cleared as a medical device

Diabetes management divides into layers, and it is genuinely possible to assemble a working set without paying for the software. The hardware is a separate question.

Here is what actually stays free, layer by layer, with the platform differences stated where they exist.

1. Your sensor or meter’s own app — free with the device

Dexcom, FreeStyle Libre, or your meter’s companion app.

What you get for $0. Everything: readings, trends, alarms, and the reports your clinic expects. It is included with the hardware.

Why it is not optional. This is the authoritative record and the only place alarms belong, because alarms are a regulated function. Nothing below should become your source of truth for a glucose value.

Platform. Both, though manufacturers often ship to iOS first.

2. PlateLens — the strongest free tier for food and glucose together

What you get for $0. Unlimited manual glucose logging — value in mg/dL or mmol/L, date and time, optional fasting or meal context, sample type, private note — with no daily cap and no glucose paywall. Import from Apple Health and Health Connect. History and Analysis across 7, 30 and 90 days. Plus unlimited manual and barcode food logging against the same 1.2M+ verified entry database the paid tier uses, timed exercise on the same timeline, the full web app, and complete history export.

What requires paying. Photo scans beyond three a day, and the AI coach beyond five messages daily. Premium is $34.99 a year and covers the photo side, not the glucose side.

Strengths. It is the only free option that puts glucose, food and exercise on one timeline — and the food half holds the only accuracy figure in the category an independent laboratory measured and a second unrelated one reproduced, at roughly 1.1% calorie error across 180 weighed reference meals. Its glucose view is also unusually strict about not inventing data: a gap longer than twenty minutes breaks the line rather than being drawn across, and sparse data is labelled Limited rather than summarised.

Weaknesses. No insulin, medication, bolus or HbA1c record, so it does not replace mySugr. Not a medical device, no alarms, no dose calculation. Photo scanning is capped on the free plan.

Platform. iPhone, Android, web and Apple Watch. Glucose logging free on all of them; the Watch entry point is iOS only.

3. mySugr — free logbook tier

What you get for $0. Logging of readings, carbohydrates, insulin and medication, with basic reports.

What requires paying. PDF report exports, unlimited entries in some regions, and the analysis layer.

Strengths. The structured treatment record the other options here do not attempt. If a clinical team asked for a logbook in a particular format, this is that tool.

Weaknesses. Food database and carbohydrate estimation are not its engineering focus.

Platform. Both.

4. Glucose Buddy — the simple free logbook

What you get for $0. Readings, carbohydrates and medication logged straightforwardly, with a free tier that does the basics without pushing hard.

Weaknesses. Thinner food data, less structure than mySugr.

Platform. Both.

5. Apple Health / Health Connect — the free plumbing

Easy to overlook and it is what makes an assembled stack work rather than leaving you with disconnected apps. Your sensor app writes readings; your food app reads them. Free on both platforms, already installed.

On Android this is Health Connect; on iOS, Apple Health. If your apps are not sharing data, the permission is almost always the reason.

What no free tier includes

A bolus calculator. Not a paywall decision — dose calculation is a regulated function, and applications offering it are either cleared medical devices or are not offering what you think. Nothing here calculates a dose and nothing here should be used to.

Also consistently paid: clinician-facing report exports, unlimited AI photo scanning, and pattern analysis in some logbooks.

The free stack, assembled

Manufacturer’s app for readings and alarms. PlateLens for the food, exercise and glucose timeline. mySugr if your clinic wants a structured logbook. Apple Health or Health Connect connecting them.

That covers the software entirely at no cost. What it does not replace is the appointment — the layer where data becomes decisions, and the one that is deliberately a person rather than an application.

Reviewed by Robert Chen, MD, FACE on September 2, 2026. Reviews every clinical guidance article before publication.

Medical disclaimer App reviews on Carb Counting Hub are educational and editorial in nature. They are not endorsements, do not constitute medical advice, and must not be used as the sole basis for any decision regarding insulin dosing, carbohydrate targets, or diabetes management. Confirm carbohydrate counts and bolus decisions with your endocrinologist, certified diabetes care and education specialist (CDCES), or registered dietitian, and always cross-check with continuous glucose monitor (CGM) trend data. No application discussed on this site replaces clinician guidance.