October 1, 2026 · Luke

The Best Apps to Track Bulk and Cut Phases (Not Just Calories)

Looking for a bulk and cut tracker app? What a phase tracker actually needs, how MacroFactor, Carbon, RP Diet Coach and others handle phases, and which to pick.

Search for a bulk and cut tracker app and you get a page of calorie counters. That's fair, because food is part of it. But a bulk or a cut isn't a meal. It's a stretch of weeks with a start date, an end date, and one job. What you're really looking for is an app that knows which phase you're in, sets your targets to match, and shows you whether the plan is working over weeks, not hours.

Few apps are built around that idea. Most are built around today's log. So here's what a phase tracker actually needs, then an honest look at the apps people use for bulking and cutting, and where phases fit in each. If you want the how-to side first (how fast to gain, how long a cut should last, when recomp makes sense), read how to plan bulk and cut phases. This is the which-app side.

What a phase tracker actually needs

Before comparing apps, here's the checklist. An app doesn't need all five, but the more it has, the less you're doing in your head.

Start and end dates. A phase without an end date is just "eating more lately." You want to see the cut begin in June and end in August, with maintenance after it.
Targets that follow the phase. When you switch from a bulk to a cut, your calorie and protein targets should change the same day, without you redoing math.
The trend, not the daily number. Your scale weight swings from day to day for boring reasons like water and salt. A useful app shows the direction over weeks. More on that in why your weight fluctuates.
A rate check. A common guideline for lifters is gaining about 0.25 to 0.5 percent of body weight per week on a bulk and losing about 0.5 to 1 percent per week on a cut. An app that helps you see your actual rate saves you from guessing.
The long view. The point of phases is that the year reads like a plan: a winter bulk, a spring cut, a summer at maintenance. Some apps show this. Most don't.

The apps, honestly

Everything below about other apps comes from their own App Store listings or websites, checked on October 1, 2026. Prices change, so check what you're offered before you pay.

MacroFactor: the strongest adaptive coach

MacroFactor's site lists "bulk, cut, and maintenance goal settings," lets you "select preferred rate of weight change," and says you can change your goal any time. Its standout is the math. It estimates your energy expenditure from what you log and how your weight changes, smooths your weigh-ins into a weight trend, and makes weekly adjustments to your macro plan. It also offers coached, collaborative, and manual modes, so you can let it steer or set the numbers yourself.

What it does well: if you want your targets to adapt to how your body is actually responding, this is the app most lifters point to, and the rate-of-change setting fits the bulk and cut guidelines above.

Where phases fit: it's goal-based rather than calendar-based. You switch goals when you decide to; it isn't laid out as a year of dated phases.

Price: the App Store lists $11.99 a month, $47.99 for six months, or $71.99 a year, with a 7-day trial. iPhone, iPad, Mac, Apple Watch, and Android (Google Play).

Carbon: weekly check-ins with a coaching feel

Carbon's site says you can choose "fat loss, muscle gain, maintenance, or reverse dieting." Its App Store listing describes a weekly check-in (with adjustable check-in days) where you log your weight and Carbon adjusts the plan if you stall. It charts weight, body fat, lean mass, intake by macro, and metabolic rate.

What it does well: the weekly check-in is a good habit in itself, and reverse dieting as a named goal is useful if you're coming off a long cut.

Where phases fit: goal-based, like MacroFactor. You change the goal; there's no calendar of phases on the listing.

Price: the App Store lists $11.99 a month, $59.99 for six months, or $99.99 a year. The listing doesn't mention a free trial.

RP Diet Coach: if you want to be told exactly what to eat

The RP Diet Coach listing says you pick "lose fat, gain muscle, or maintain weight," and that "each week, review your progress and receive an updated plan automatically." The difference from the two above is meal planning: it tells you which foods, how much, and when.

What it does well: if open-ended macro targets leave you stuck, a plan with actual meals removes a lot of decisions.

Where phases fit: goal-based with weekly updates. The listing and site don't describe dated phases.

Price: RP's site lists $99.99 a year or $19.99 a month, with a 30-day money-back guarantee. The App Store shows more than one monthly tier, so check in the app.

MyFitnessPal: the big database, light on phases

MyFitnessPal's listing covers goals for "weight loss, gain, maintenance, or performance" and custom targets for macros and protein. Barcode scanning and meal scanning are listed as Premium features.

What it does well: a huge food database. If you already log there, you can run phases by changing your goal by hand.

Where phases fit: you set the goal and the numbers. It doesn't adapt them for you or plan phases on dates. Premium pricing varies by offer, so check the listing.

Happy Scale: the trend, and nothing else

Happy Scale is a scale app, not a food app. Its listing says it uses "sophisticated math to learn the true trend of your progress" and shows predictions if you keep your current trend. It's cheap: the listing shows $1.99 a month, $11.99 a year, or $39.99 lifetime.

What it does well: if you only want point 3 on the checklist, it does it simply. Its milestone wording leans toward losing, so it fits a cut better than a bulk.

Gym Bully AI: phases on a calendar

Here's where our app fits, with the same honesty. Gym Bully AI is a gym accountability app first, and the phase tools live inside it.

With phase planning, you mark a bulk, cut, maintain, or recomp on a calendar with start and end dates. Every day it covers carries that phase's color, and your Today screen shows which one you're in. Recomp is its own phase, not a workaround.

Your food targets follow the active phase. In the calorie and macro tracker, a bulk adds about 10 percent, a cut takes off about 20 percent, a recomp about 5 percent, maintenance changes nothing, and calories never go below 1,200. Protein is set at 2.0 g per kilogram of body weight in a deficit and 1.8 g otherwise. Start a cut on Monday and the numbers tighten that day. You log by photo, barcode, or a sentence, and you can edit every number. (If you're curious how good photo estimates are, see are AI calorie trackers accurate.)

The weight tracker charts your weigh-ins against a goal line, and weigh-ins sync with Apple Health both ways, so a smart scale entry shows up on its own.

What it doesn't do: it doesn't estimate your expenditure from your logs or adjust your targets week to week the way MacroFactor, Carbon, and RP do. The phase targets are fixed percentages you can change by hand. And it's iPhone only (Android is a waitlist).

What it does that the others don't: the dated calendar, and the part that decides whether any phase works at all. On your training days, an AI bully texts you until you check in at the gym. A bulk with half the sessions skipped is just eating more. Weight data is never sent to the AI or used in notifications, and the bullies never see or mention your weight, photos, or food. They care about one thing: whether you showed up.

Price: one subscription covers everything: $59.99 a year with a free first week, $9.99 a month, or $129.99 once for lifetime.

At a glance

	Phase goals	Dated phases on a calendar	Targets adapt to your weight trend	Recomp as its own option
MacroFactor	Bulk, cut, maintain	No	Yes, weekly	Not listed
Carbon	Fat loss, muscle gain, maintenance, reverse diet	No	Yes, weekly check-in	Not listed
RP Diet Coach	Lose, gain, maintain	No	Yes, weekly	Not listed
MyFitnessPal	Loss, gain, maintenance, performance	No	No	Not listed
Happy Scale	Weight trend only	No	No food targets	No
Gym Bully AI	Bulk, cut, maintain, recomp	Yes	No, fixed percentages you can edit	Yes

"Not listed" means the listing and site didn't name it, not that the app can't be used that way.

Which should you pick?

You want the smartest numbers and you'll log every day: MacroFactor.
You like a weekly check-in ritual, or you're reverse dieting after a long cut: Carbon.
You want to be told what to eat, meal by meal: RP Diet Coach.
You already live in MyFitnessPal: stay, and change your goal when your phase changes.
You only care about the scale trend: Happy Scale.
You want your phases laid out on a calendar, and your real problem is showing up to train: Gym Bully AI.

You can also combine them: log food in one app, and use Gym Bully AI for the calendar and the gym check-ins.

A note before you start tracking

Phase planning is a tool, not a requirement. If tracking food or weight makes you anxious, or you have a history of an eating disorder, you don't need any of these apps to train well. Maintenance plus consistent training is a complete plan. If tracking starts taking over your thoughts, stop, and talk to a doctor or a specialist. And in our app, the bullies never see your weight, photos, or food, so turning that side off doesn't change anything about the texts.

Frequently asked questions

What is the best app to track bulking and cutting? It depends on what you want tracked. MacroFactor is the strongest at adapting your targets to your weight trend. Gym Bully AI is the one that puts dated phases on a calendar and pushes you to show up and train.

Is there an app for recomp? Gym Bully AI has recomp as its own phase, with targets about 5 percent under maintenance and higher protein. None of the other apps here list recomp as its own goal, so the usual approach there is a maintenance goal with protein set high.

Sources

The takeaway

A bulk and cut tracker app needs dates, targets that follow the phase, and a trend you can read. The adaptive coaches (MacroFactor, Carbon, RP) are best at the numbers. Gym Bully AI is best at the calendar and at the thing every phase depends on: actually getting to the gym. Pick the one that matches what you keep getting wrong, and if it's the showing-up part, Get the app.