Simple App Alternative for Intermittent Fasting

Simple has become a go-to intermittent fasting app thanks to its AI coach and all-in-one approach to fasting, food, and hydration. If you like the idea but want a free, private option without a subscription, here is an honest comparison of Simple and Fasting Tracker.

What Simple does well

Simple's biggest strength is personalization. Its AI assistant, known as Avo, responds to what you log and answers questions in plain language, which makes fasting feel less like flying blind. Beyond the timer, Simple encourages you to log meals and water, and it ties that data together into feedback and gentle nudges. It runs on both iOS and Android and typically uses a free trial followed by a paid subscription.

For people who want a coach in their pocket and are willing to pay for it, Simple is a polished, well-designed product.

Where a lighter alternative fits

The flip side of an all-in-one coaching app is that it asks more of you: an account, meal logging, and a subscription to keep the best features. If you would rather skip the coaching and food diary and just track fasts cleanly — for free, offline, and privately — a smaller app is a better match.

Simple vs Fasting Tracker

What Fasting Tracker offers

Fasting Tracker is a free iPhone app focused on doing one job well: tracking your fasts without friction. There is no account to create and no subscription, and everything works offline, so your data stays on your device instead of a server.

Its circular timer shows fasting stages in real time — glucose burning, fat burning, ketosis, and autophagy — so you always know where you are in a fast. It covers the standard protocols (13:11, 16:8, 18:6, 20:4, OMAD) plus a custom window, and adds weight tracking with charts, streaks, and complete session history. A panic-mode breathing exercise helps you push through cravings without breaking your fast.

Which should you pick?

Choose Simple if you want conversational AI coaching, combined meal and fasting tracking, cross-platform sync, and you are comfortable with an account and a subscription.

Choose Fasting Tracker if you are on iPhone and want a free timer that works offline, protects your privacy, and shows your fasting stages clearly — without coaching prompts, meal logging, or recurring costs.

An honest bottom line

Simple's AI coach and integrated food logging are genuine advantages if you want that level of guidance, and the app delivers them well. But coaching only helps if you use it; many people log a meal or two, then settle into a routine and stop needing the prompts. If you have reached that point — or you never wanted a coach in the first place — a free, offline, private timer covers the fundamentals without the subscription. Try Fasting Tracker for a week and see whether you miss the coaching or feel lighter without it.