Noom vs. MyFitnessPal: Unbiased Comparison for Smarter Diet Choices (2024)

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Embarking on a weight-loss journey can be a data-driven endeavor. With over 70% of U.S. adults considered overweight or obese, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, tracking dietary intake and physical activity is crucial. Mobile apps like Noom and MyFitnessPal have become invaluable allies in this quest. A study published in the Journal of Medical Internet Research highlights the effectiveness of app-based interventions for weight loss.

When considering Noom vs. MyFitnessPal, it's essential to choose a program that aligns with your lifestyle and goals. This guide will provide an informed comparison to help you make the best choice for your health objectives, focusing on the unique features and user experiences each app offers.

Searching for a health and fitness app will quickly offer you several choices. Which one will fit best into your lifestyle to get you to your goals? This guide to Noom vs. MyFitnessPal provides everything you need to know to choose the best program for you.

Overview of Noom

Noomis a psychology-based weight loss program and app that has helped over 3.5 million people lose weight. Noom says that you don't need to follow a strict diet to lose weight in a healthy way. The goal is to help you change your habits, behaviors, and attitudes towards food so that you can sustain your goal weight.

Pros

• Easily track calories
• 14-day low-cost trial
• Psychological approach
• Professional support
• Long-term focus
• Recipes

Cons

• Expensive subscription
• More time commitment than advertised

Bottom line:Noom is an excellent program for those who have tried other programs with little success. The psychology element may unlock the door to long-term weight control. This program, however, will keep you glued to your phone.

How Noom Works

Noom claims that getting to your goal weight only takes about 15 minutes a day. Typical Noom users who add other healthy habits to their lifestyle lose one to two pounds per week.

1. Answer Questions So Noom Can Customize Your Program

The quiz takes about ten minutes to complete. Noom dives deeper than your age, weight, and gender. You’ll talk about why you want to lose weight, your activity level, other healthy habits you have, and what life events led to your weight gain.

2. Download the App and Choose a Subscription

The Noom app is available on iOS and Android phones. You can put it on a tablet, but the step-counting feature only works on your phone.

3. Take the Classes

Most of the Noom program is about your psychological relationship to food. Ten mini-psychology lessons help change your outlook and food habits and only take five to 15 minutes daily.

A goal coach will connect with you about twice a week to check in on your progress and help keep you motivated. Noom also assigns you to a group and group coach who moderate the chat, post tips, and interact with some posts.

4. Follow the Plan

While you get a unique plan for your wellness goals, the basic idea is to record your calories and activity to achieve a calorie deficit.

Noom employs a Green, Yellow, and Red system to categorize food. Green foods are fruits, veggies, and anything with a high nutrient concentration and low-calorie count. Yellow foods have less nutrient density and more calories than foods in the green category. Red foods have the most calories and the least nutritional value.

How Much Does Noom Cost?

You can try Noom for a week before paying for a subscription. You choose the price for your trial period; after that, a monthly membership is $70. The length of your program depends on your weight-loss goals, but most customized plans are 16 weeks, which cost about $42 per month. Noom will tell youhow many months to buybased on your program, but the more months you buy, the cheaper each one will be. An annual auto-renewing plan is less than $18 per month, but you pay upfront.

What We Like About Noom

• Tons of support: The coaches and classes help you think about food differently than before so you can keep the weight off long-term.
• Easy calorie input: Noom makes tracking your calories easy and accurate by automatically sorting your food log into green, yellow, and red categories.
• Activity integration: You can link over 20 activity-tracking devices to your Noom app for an accurate picture of how many calories you burn.

Overview of MyFitnessPal

MyFitnessPalis a popular calorie-counting app that offers several features for free. Before the paywall, you can count calories, keep track of your exercise, look at hundreds of recipes and workouts, and talk to other users.

The most convenient feature of MyFitnessPal is easy food log entries. You can quickly enter food diary entries by scanning the barcode on food packages. The most unique part is the Import Recipe feature. It lets you put in the URL of an online recipe and accurately record the nutritional information. These features are behind the paywall.

Pros

• Easy food log entries
• Recipe import feature
• Several free features
• Free or inexpensive subscription

Cons

• Ads when using the free version
• Less fitness tracker integration

MyFitnessPalis a popular calorie-counting app that offers several features for free. Before the paywall, you can count calories, keep track of your exercise, look at hundreds of recipes and workouts, and talk to other users.

The most convenient feature of MyFitnessPal is easy food log entries. You can quickly enter food diary entries by scanning the barcode on food packages. The most unique part is the Import Recipe feature. It lets you put in the URL of an online recipe and accurately record the nutritional information. These features are behind the paywall.

Pros

• Easy food log entries
• Recipe import feature
• Several free features
• Free or inexpensive subscription

Cons

• Ads when using the free version
• Less fitness tracker integration

Bottom line:MyFitnessPal has free features such as calorie tracking, exercise logging, and access to recipes and workouts. The app offers easy food log entries and a unique Import Recipe feature. However, users of the free version may experience ads and limited fitness tracker integration.

How MyFitnessPal Works?

Getting started on MyFitnessPal is a quick and simple process.

1. Download the App and Make a Profile

You’ll answer a few basic questions about your current weight, age, gender, and your target weight. MyFitnessPal will prescribe a daily Net Calorie target.

2. Log Your Food and Exercise

Tracking the calories you eat and what you burn through exercise allows you to see whether you meet your Net Calorie goal. The app remembers foods you eat frequently, making logging as quick as 30 seconds.

3. Log Your Progress

MyFitnessPal recommends that you periodically weigh yourself and log your weight on the Check-In feature. The program automatically adjusts your Net Calorie goal as you lose weight.

4. Engage With the Community

You can get support from other users on the Facebook-like social feature in MyFitnessPal. Users share workout plans, recipes, and inspiring stories to help everyone stay motivated.

How Much Does MyFitnessPal Cost?

MyFitnessPal is one of the most popular calorie-tracking apps because it has so many free features. It is only about $10 per month or $50 per year to upgrade to a Premium subscription.

With aPremium membershipto MyFitnessPal, you get the same features as the free version with no ads. You also get a breakdown of your macronutrients, custom daily nutrition goals, a home screen dashboard, coaching, recipe import, barcode scanning, exercise routines, and more.

What We Like About MyFitnessPal

• Easy calorie logging: MyFitnessPal has a nutritional value database for millions of foods. You can also scan the barcode with your phone’s camera for quick food log entries.
• Inexpensive subscription: MyFitnessPal is one of the least expensive subscriptions for a fitness and calorie-counting app. It’s $9.99 per month or $49.99 for an annual subscription.

Noom vs. MyFitnessPal: Key Differences

While both apps count your calories and have helped millions, a Noom vs. MyFitnessPal comparison shows some huge differences.

Cost

A typical Noom customer will sign up for four months at $24 per month. MyFitnessPal offers free features as well as a $10 monthly Premium subscription.

Support

Noom wins the support game for fitness apps. You’ll get classes, coaching, and community support to keep you striving toward your goals. MyFitnessPal offers some coaching and a social media-like community among users.

Activity Tracking

Noom can integrate with about 20 fitness-tracking devices, while MyFitnessPal connects with about 10.

What Real Customers Are Saying About

Knowing what real customers think of a product is one of the most helpful ways to make your choice. Sites like Trustpilot are noteworthy sources of information.

Noom

Trustpilot shows a 4.2-star rating for Noom. Customers enjoy learning about the psychology of food and how that knowledge helps them meet their goals.

Jane from NZ on Trustpilot says, “I was skeptical, but now Noom has won me over. I’ve lost a kilo and a half in about six weeks, which is about half my goal loss.”

Karin from CA says, “The psychological aspect is fantastic. It’s learning about your mental and physical health, helping to create healthier habits without expecting perfection or deprivation…”

Julia on Trustpilot noted, “Noom was recommended by my doctor, who monitors my diabetes. She had heard good things from other patients, and I find it fits my lifestyle and helps me with food choices and the psychology supporting this.”

MyFitnessPal

Despite its millions of downloads from Google Play and the App Store, MyFitnessPal doesn’t have a great reputation on Trustpilot. Customers struggled to integrate their tracking devices and expressed frustration with ads and previously free features moving behind the paywall.

Ben from GB said, “What I cannot understand or accept is the removal of free-to-use services within the app (barcode scanner) that have been there for YEARS…”

However, on the App Store, it has 4.7 stars, and customers seem to love it.

Georg-o says, “I really like this app. I use it for calorie counting. It links to Garmin Connect for integrating exercise calories into the overall balance for the day.”

Customers on Trustpilot and the App Store noted a decrease in the quality of the user interface over time, though.

Artigius stated, “Several years ago, this app was the best out there... The UI was dramatically changed, making it far more difficult to do the most basic tasks…”

Noom vs. MyFitnessPal: Which Is Better?

After comparing Noom with MyFitnessPal, Noom emerges as the superior app. Noom's sophisticated features and functionality justify the higher membership charge, despite the service's higher price. Noom is different from MyFitnessPal because of its personalized coaching, psychology-based approach, and large database of foods. In addition, the interface of Noom is more intuitive and visually appealing. MyFitnessPal is a great low-cost option with a large community, but Noom is the better choice for people who want a more personalized and effective way to lose weight.

Why We Recommend Top Nutrition Coaching Instead

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Top Nutrition Coaching's philosophy is based on clinical expertise, coaching skills, and giving each client the care they need to get the results they want. The team cares about its clients' long-term success and gives them health solutions that will last.

Individuals may begin their road towards a better and happier life working with Top Nutrition Coaching, confident in the knowledge that they will receive professional guidance and support from the best-certified nutritionists and registered dietitians.

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FAQ on Noom vs. MyFitnessPal

What are the main differences between Noom and MyFitnessPal?

Noom and MyFitnessPal differ primarily in their approach to weight loss and user experience. Noom focuses on the psychological aspects of weight loss, offering a more comprehensive program that includes daily lessons, goal setting, and support from coaches and groups. MyFitnessPal, on the other hand, is primarily a calorie and exercise tracking app, giving users tools to log their food intake and physical activity. While MyFitnessPal is more of a self-guided experience, Noom provides a structured program designed to change long-term habits.

Is Noom or MyFitnessPal better for weight loss?

Both Noom and MyFitnessPal can be effective for weight loss, but they cater to different preferences. Noom may be better for individuals who need more guidance and support, as it offers personalized coaching and a behavior change program. MyFitnessPal is ideal for those who prefer a do-it-yourself approach, focusing on tracking calories and workouts. The best app for weight loss depends on your personal needs, learning style, and the level of accountability you're looking for.

How much does each app cost?

MyFitnessPal offers a free version with basic tracking features, while its premium version costs around $9.99 per month or $49.99 per year. Noom, on the other hand, provides a free trial, but the full program typically requires a subscription that can range from $59 per month to $199 for an annual membership. Prices may vary, and it's best to check the latest offers on their respective websites for current pricing.

Can I track my food intake on both Noom and MyFitnessPal?

Yes, both Noom and MyFitnessPal allow users to track their food intake. MyFitnessPal has a vast database of foods and a barcode scanner for easy logging, making it highly convenient for tracking calories and nutrients. Noom also offers food logging with a color-coding system to encourage healthier choices, but its database is not as extensive as MyFitnessPal's.

Do Noom and MyFitnessPal integrate with other fitness apps and devices?

Both Noom and MyFitnessPal integrate with various fitness apps and devices. MyFitnessPal is known for its extensive compatibility with other apps and fitness trackers, making it easy to sync workout data and adjust calorie goals accordingly. Noom also integrates with a selection of health and fitness apps, allowing users to connect their activity trackers to the Noom app for a more comprehensive view of their health and progress.