4 Free Apps That Sync With Blood Glucose Meters

Tracking trends with a blood glucose meter (BGM), or glucometer, can provide valuable insights for you and your healthcare team to manage your diabetes and feel your best. However, juggling blood sugar readings, meals, and physical activity in multiple places over time can be challenging. 

We take a look at a handful of free smartphone apps for iPhone or Android (some offer paid add-ons) that will combine all your information in one place – and help you and your healthcare provider see the big picture.

1. mySugr

The mySugr app tracks meals, blood sugar readings, activity, and insulin doses in a friendly, animated interface. Glucometer readings can be synced automatically from connected devices, via Apple Health, or they can be entered manually. And the app uses a fun points-based system where you get credit for each time you track, which may offer a bit of motivation.

A Pro version of the app ($2.99 monthly) lets you snap a photo of meals, offering a visual on portion sizes, for example – not all waffles are created equally – and may help avoid under or overestimating carbs and dosing. The upgrade also includes a bolus calculator to estimate insulin needed and offers more reports. 

The app will also run analytics based on the info you enter, showing stats from a week to 90 days, including an estimate of your A1C, along with average blood glucose and the amount of activity you logged for the week.

Get the app: mySugr

2. Tidepool

The free Tidepool Mobile app prompts you to add notes throughout the day to provide context for your readings and treatment. Once you add a note, for example, that you’ve exercised, you can then see a graph of your readings and treatments. Notes can be shared with a healthcare provider, such as your doctor or a child’s school nurse, who can also respond and add their feedback and suggestions.

The app syncs data from many blood glucose meters, continuous glucose monitors (CGM), and pumps, which then be viewed on the Tidepool website to gain insights, such as recurring spikes or lows. It also connects with Apple Health, which can tie into other apps to help consolidate your information.

On the Tidepool website, the data synced from your phone is graphically displayed to show your time in range from one to four weeks, average glucose, and a log of your finger stick readings, among other helpful tracking data.

Get the app: Tidepool

3. Glucose Buddy

While Glucose Buddy brings your health data into one place like other apps, it takes a slightly different approach by including a detailed food database and the ability to log meals and enter nutritional information by snapping a photo with your phone. 

By capturing images of what you eat and then entering your meter readings, the app can provide insights on how various meals affect your blood sugar, which can be shared with your healthcare provider to make adjustments to your care if necessary.

Glucose Buddy also taps into Apple Health, so while it can keep your treatment data organized, it doesn’t have to be the only app you use. So if you have a favorite activity-tracking app, you can continue to track it while the data syncs with Glucose Buddy. The app will also pull in activity data – like automatically tracking your daily steps or stairs climbed each day from Health – and graph the data for you, then merge that with your entries. 

Glucose Buddy offers add-on subscription plans starting at $20 a month, which include in-app coaching via instant message with a certified diabetes educator. A $40 monthly subscription includes a glucose meter that syncs with the app along with lancets and 50 test strips. An $80 monthly subscription comes with unlimited test strips. 

Get the app: Glucose Buddy

4. Glooko

The Glooko app can automatically sync with a huge number of glucometers, securely sharing your data with your healthcare provider.

Glooko clearly turns the data you enter, like blood sugar readings, meals, and insulin, into easy-to-follow graphs to display trends. Head to the Glooko website, and you’ll see more options for assessing your information. Glooko is particularly good at showing your results at various times of day (morning, afternoon, evening, and night) detailing information on your average blood sugar level, carbs, insulin dose, and time in range. 

The site and app will automatically present trends and insights by day, week, or over a range of dates you select, including when you typically are above or below range. You can share reports with your healthcare provider directly from the app in a range of formats including PDF pages, so you can discuss your results and make potential adjustments.

Get the app: Glooko

Read more about glucose monitoring technologies here: 

• The Current State of Non-invasive Glucose Monitoring
• FDA Clears New OTC Stelo Continuous Glucose Monitor for Type 2 Diabetes
• Diabetes Technology on Display at ADA 2024
• FDA Clears Two New Abbott Over-the-Counter CGMs

Photo credits (top to bottom): iStock; mySugr; Tidepool; Glucose Buddy; Glooko.