Take a photo
Point the camera at your plate. CaptainCal names each item and estimates calories and macros you can edit.
Now on iPhone and Android
Track calories
from a photo
Snap your plate or type what you ate. CaptainCal estimates calories and macros for Gulf dishes and everyday food, and you review them before saving.
Your first 48 hours are on us. The basics stay open.
Log your way
Log a meal in seconds
Type or say it
Describe a meal in plain words, in English or Arabic, typed or spoken.
Read a label
Snap a nutrition label and the printed values are used as they are.
Hit your macros
A daily calorie and macro target built from your goal, activity and pace.
See results
Weight trend, streaks and water in one place, with Apple Health sync on iPhone.
The app
Inside the app
How it works
Three steps.
No kitchen scale.
Build your plan
Your goal, activity and pace become a realistic daily target.
Log your way
Meal photo, nutrition label, or plain words, typed or spoken.
Review and save
Edit a name or portion when needed. You make the final call.
Straight talk
An honest estimate, not magic.
Meal photos produce estimates because a camera cannot see every gram of oil or hidden ingredient. Printed nutrition labels are treated as facts, and every result stays editable.
What is CaptainCal?
CaptainCal is an AI calorie and macro tracker for iPhone and Android, built for people in the Gulf (GCC). You log a meal by taking a photo, photographing a nutrition label, or typing or saying what you ate, and CaptainCal estimates the calories, protein, carbs and fat.
The app works fully in English and Arabic, understands Gulf and Middle Eastern dishes, and lets you review and edit every estimate before it is saved.
Can I use CaptainCal entirely in Arabic?
Yes. Every screen is available in Arabic with a full right-to-left layout, including onboarding, logging, Progress and Settings. CaptainCal opens in Arabic when your phone is set to Arabic, and you can switch languages in the app at any time.
Does CaptainCal recognise Gulf dishes like machboos, mandi and kabsa?
Yes. CaptainCal was built for food eaten in the Gulf, and we test it with common Khaleeji and Middle Eastern dishes such as machboos, kabsa, mandi, harees, saloona, balaleet, luqaimat, shawarma and karak.
Recognising a dish is the first step; the calories still depend on the portion and how it was cooked, so check those before saving. If a photo is unclear, typing the dish name in Arabic or English gives CaptainCal more to go on.
How accurate is AI calorie tracking?
AI photo tracking is useful for consistent, everyday logging, but it is not exact. Independent research supports this: a preliminary study led by the US National Institutes of Health, presented in 2026, found that four popular photo-based apps underestimated meal calories by an average of roughly 250 to 345 calories, and fat by about 30 grams.
CaptainCal treats meal photos and descriptions as estimates. Printed nutrition labels are treated as facts and take priority. Accuracy improves when you check portions, add hidden extras such as oil, sauces or sugar, and correct anything that looks off before saving.
Can I correct an estimate before saving it?
Yes. Every result opens as an editable meal. You can rename an item, change the serving size or number of servings, tap any calorie or macro value to type your own, remove items and add missing ones.
Saved meals stay editable too: open a meal on Home to change it, move it to another time or date, or delete it.
Is CaptainCal free?
CaptainCal is free to download and includes a free 48-hour access period for eligible new accounts. After that, logging meals with the camera or Tell the Captain requires a subscription.
Without a subscription you can still open Home, Progress and Settings, log water and weight, and re-log past meals with Log Again.
Now on iPhone and Android
Start tracking today.
Your first 48 hours are on us.