- Best for community conversations: Bezzy T2D
- Best for healthful eating: Fooducate
- Best for comprehensive diabetes management: MySugr
- Best for integrated tech: Glucose Buddy
- Best for phone and tablet: Diabetes:M
- Best for the newly diagnosed: Beat Diabetes
- Best for blood glucose tracking: OneTouch Reveal
- Best for easy shopping list creation: Diabetic Recipes
- Best for personalized tracking: Glucose tracker – Diabetic diary
- Best for simple blood glucose tracking: Diabetes
One of your best health tools could be something you may already have: Your cell phone.
If you have diabetes, you can use this device to your advantage by downloading (and using) a diabetes management app. The key is finding the right app that addresses concerns and makes managing your diabetes easier.
Whether you have type 1, type 2, or gestational diabetes, understanding how food, physical activity, and your blood sugar levels interact is critical for managing your condition. If your concern is carb counts, insulin doses, A1C, glucose, glycemic index, blood pressure, or weight management, there’s an app for almost all these concerns and more.
Some apps offer the convenience of allowing you to share your health data with your medical team so that your doctors can help you make changes to your treatment regimen.
We selected the best diabetes apps of 2022 based on:
- what you may need them for
- user feedback
- how easily they can integrate into your overall health plan
From more comprehensive diabetes management tools to providing help for the newly diagnosed to specific carb counters, here are our best diabetes apps for 2022. Happy downloading!
A simple search for “diabetes apps” reveals hundreds of diabetes apps. But your priority is managing your life with diabetes, not weeding through the internet to find the best app. So we did the groundwork for you.
When evaluating a diabetes app, it’s best to look for:
- An app that addresses most of the diabetes management criteria you’re looking for. This could include health information, recipes, carb counting, tracking your blood glucose levels, or just keeping your medical information organized.
- An app that developers update regularly. This will help to “get the bugs out” so you won’t have the dreaded app crashes and slowdowns.
- User-friendly features. Entering lots and lots of information is time consuming, and you’re not likely to actually do it. Look for features like preloaded nutrition information, easy-to-click buttons, and helpful reminders.
- Integration with your other devices. Some apps will integrate with your insulin pump, smartwatch, or other high tech tools you may use to manage your diabetes. These can be time-saving and enhance how you manage your health.
A diabetes management app should typically take work away from you, not create more. Taking these factors into account can help narrow your decision.
Discover more about Type 2 Diabetes
Best for community conversations
Bezzy T2D
Ever feel alone in your diagnosis? Well, Healthline’s Bezzy T2D is here to bring you together with people on an online forum to discuss anything and everything related to diabetes. There are safe spaces to chat about daily life, diet and nutrition, COVID-19, relationships, newly diagnosed, mental health, and more.
Best for healthful eating
Fooducate
When it comes to managing diabetes, knowledge is power. Fooducate is here to support you in figuring out which foods can keep your blood sugar in a healthy range because not all foods — or even carbs — are created equal. We love this app because it has more than 300,000 foods programmed in. Simply scan their barcodes, and you will see an A, B, C, or D “grading” for how healthy the food is. If the food doesn’t make the grade, you receive alternative suggestions for more nutritious options. The app can make it easy for you to track and discover more information about the foods you put in your body, including added sugar content, hidden ingredients, and more.
Best for comprehensive diabetes management
MySugr
This app almost does it all for type I, type II, and gestational diabetes management. It offers carb counting, glucose tracking, and bolus dose calculation estimates. It can give you reports on your blood glucose levels over weeks, months, and even years. As a bonus, it can estimate your hemoglobin A1C based on your tracking. A clean, intuitive, customizable dashboard interface and the ability to sync with your glucose monitor can set this app apart. MySugr has features that can help you make the most out of the app, such as reminders that ping you to follow up with more data, like blood sugar levels after a workout. All the data and charts are usually easy to send to your doctor, so you can work together to adjust your treatment and better manage your diabetes based on accurate information.
Best for integrated tech
Glucose Buddy
Glucose Buddy app can integrate with Dexcom glucometer devices and Apple Health Apps, allowing you to more easily track steps, exercise, and meals. You can also enter your information manually. The app offers a 12-week diabetes education plan to access easy-to-read tips with some lessons 5 minutes and under. Under the subscription plan, you’ll find an ad-free experience, in-depth reporting on A1C and other measures, and customizable display options that can make the app even easier for your unique use.
Best for phone and tablet
Diabetes:M
Diabetes:M is a diabetes log app with almost all the features that can work for you: test time reminders, a nutritional log and tracking system, integrations with fitness apps, and blood sugar trend mapping. We also like that it is phone- and tablet-friendly. The app also offers an insulin bolus calculator based on the nutritional information you add. Use the app’s powerful tools to look at trend graphs and charts in adjustable timeframes so that glucose management is back in your hand, or with the Apple Watch app on your wrist. If you upgrade to the subscription service, the app allows you to have multiple profiles.
Best for the newly diagnosed
Beat Diabetes
- Android rating: 4.7 stars
- Price: free, with in-app purchases available
If you’re newly diagnosed, this beginner-friendly app can help bring you up to speed with your condition. With plenty of diabetes 101 information, from the foods to avoid to simple ways to increase your physical activity, you could be a master in no time. Learn the complications to watch for and stay up to date with treatment options, from medical to Ayurvedic. Download this pocket guidebook and see why it’s so popular. It’s only available on Android for now.
Best for blood glucose tracking
OneTouch Reveal
This app, which complements the OneTouch Verio Flex and OneTouch Verio Reflect meters, can be a go-to for automatic insights. Using your blood glucose readings, the app automatically searches for and highlights trends. Is your blood sugar frequently out of range after 9 p.m.? Not only will the app spot the trend, push notifications will alert you so you can take action. The app plots important trend events in a timeline, too, helping you spot patterns. Your physician can log in to review your history and adjust your care plan based on your diet and carb ratios. A clean, color-coded interface reveals your high/low distribution, counts your daily readings, and lets you see at a glance when your sugar levels are stable or out of range.
Best for easy shopping list creation
Diabetic Recipes
- Android rating: 4.2 stars
- Price: free, with in-app purchases available
The Diabetic Recipes app allows you to search a vast library of diabetes-friendly recipes by ingredient or style. Once you select your recipes, it generates a shopping list to help ease your grocery trips. On the recipes side, Diabetic Recipes offers step-by-step instructions, how-to videos, downloadable recipes, and a built-in carb counter so that you know exactly how much glucose you’re taking in daily. It’s only available on Android for now.
Best for personalized tracking
Glucose tracker — Diabetic diary
- Android rating: 4.4 stars
- Price: free with in-app purchases
Not the most succinct name, but exactly how it sounds. It’s an out-of-the-box app built to help you track the effect that diabetes has on your body and mind. Meant for people with type 1 or type 2 and gestational diabetes, this app uses an extensive variety of recording, tagging, and organization tools to help you paint a detailed picture of your journey. You can create personalized tags, such as “after breakfast” or “before bedtime” to track data you are particularly concerned about. You can also export your records so you can share the data with your healthcare professional.
Best for simple blood glucose tracking
Diabetes
- Android rating: 4.4 stars
- Price: free, with in-app purchases available
It might not get much simpler than this — the Diabetes app allows you to track, view, and tag detailed data about your blood glucose. This could make it easy for you to look back on your info and share it with your healthcare professional when needed. This app does one thing very well, and it might be the app of choice for those who simply want straightforward blood glucose tracking and no other frills. It’s only available for Android users at this time.
Is there a free diabetes app?
There are quite a few diabetes apps available for free. Whether you have an Android or Apple device, chances are that there is a free diabetes app that will meet your needs.
Be aware that free diabetes apps tend to have lots of ads on them. Also, check all terms of service for apps, especially free ones, as they may sell your data to third-party vendors.
What is the best app for type 2 diabetes?
We think all the apps on our list are pretty great! However, the best app will depend on what features you’re looking for.
People with type 2 diabetes who are looking for support and personal connection might want to try Healthline’s Bezzy T2D app. If you’re looking to help manage your diabetes with healthy meals and diet tracking, you might want to try something like Fooducate.
What do diabetes apps help with?
Diabetes apps can help with so many things. You can use the apps to set reminders to take your blood sugar, as well as track your blood sugar and note trends over time.
Some apps allow you to download this information to share it with your doctor, too. You can use apps to plan your meals to make dietary changes. A few apps even allow you to connect with other people who have diabetes to get additional tips and support.