Noom vs. Weight Watchers Review

Noom vs Weight Watchers: Brand Showdown

Obesity is an epidemic. In 2016, the WHO^[1] reported that 39% of adults worldwide were overweight and 13% were obese. America faces a bigger problem since more than 70% of the adult population is affected.

But why is it so difficult to lose weight?. Losing weight can be achieved through different nutritional plans but the real challenge is weight maintenance.

In a systematic review^[2] addressing the main predictors for weight loss maintenance, 3 cognitive and behavioral determinants are described: changes in the way we eat (reducing energy intake), physical activity (increasing energy expenditure), and self-monitoring of the balance between these two.

Enter players Noom and Weight Watchers. Both companies are membership services designed to help customers get fit. And we’re here to get into the specifics. 

So, which one is worth your hard-earned cash? This Noom vs. Weight Watchers review will pin these two contenders against each other to find out.

Weight Watchers is an American brand that offers various dishes and services made to help you shed a few pounds. Founded fifty years ago, the company has amassed a note-worthy following of 48.9K on Instagram.

Aside from being showcased in online publications such as Forbes and CNN, they’re commonly affiliated with celebrities such as Oprah Winfrey and Jennifer Hudson. 

In a systematic review^[3] that compared commercially available weight-loss strategies with proven efficacy after 12 months, researchers evaluated the cost-effectiveness of the different programs. Among the non-pharmacological strategies, Weight Watchers was the most cost-effective.

Noom is a weight-loss program that works primarily as a mobile app. Users input their fitness and health goals into the system, and it recommends the best foods for them to eat.

In a study^[4] evaluating the quality of 28 different smartphone weight-loss apps, Moom received the top ranking. The quality assessment included accountability, scientific coverage, content accuracy, technology-enhanced features, and usability.

With 496K followers on Instagram, they’ve also been featured in media outlets such as Men’s Journal, Fortune Magazine, and Business Insider. 

We will go in-depth into their membership plans, what they offer, and other elements you should look out for. 

Overview of Noom and Weight Watchers

Before this Noom vs. Weight Watchers subscription review gets into the nitty-gritty, we’ll provide you with some background information first. Weight Watchers was founded back in the 60s by Jean Nidetech in New York City. 

Once a week, she would invite her friends to mull over ideas on how to lose weight. From its humble beginnings at her small Queens apartment, Nidetech’s fitness group slowly turned into the global powerhouse that is Weight Watchers today. 

“‘If you want something—and it’s legal—do it. Don’t let anybody tell you that you can’t, or that it’s too difficult, or that you won’t make it, or that you’ll be disappointed,” says Jean Nidetech herself. 

While Noom is relatively new to the fitness industry, it doesn’t mean that they are any less influential.

Kickstarted by best friends Saeju Jeong and Artem Petakov, the brand was the result of fusing Jeong’s family history in healthcare and Petakov’s technological experience working in Google. 

Established in 2008 in New York, Noom provides users with a convenient app designed to help lead a fit lifestyle. With a steady advertising campaign and easy navigation, the company made its way onto the public’s radar. Their mission statement: 

“We believe the best way to attract people to a healthier lifestyle is to develop products that make that lifestyle more enjoyable.” 

Noom vs Weight Watchers 

On one hand, you’ve got a company that offers you delicious and nutritious dishes. On the other, there’s a brand that fuses technology and science to help recommend what foods you should be eating.

While it may boil down to preference, it poses the question: Which one is more effective in the journey to a healthy lifestyle? 

Stay tuned, as this Noom vs. Weight Watchers subscription review takes a closer look at what each company has to offer. At the end of this article, we will crown the winning champion. 

Weight Watchers Review

Weight Watchers has millions of members across the globe. With this number of subscribers signed up, there’s got to be more than a few success stories. Big reviewer sites such as Influenster awards the company with a solid 4/5 star rating across all of their products. 

Online magazines such as Healthline ranks this membership service with 3.92/5 stars. Down below, this Noom vs. Weight Watchers subscription review will provide a list of highlights commonly found on the WW program:

Highlights

• A point system to keep track of calories and other nutritional levels 
• Several success stories detail losing weight and looking fit
• They provide a wide selection of foods to try
• Customers report that their meals are both delicious and satisfying to eat 

Noom Subscription Review

There is much praise attributed to Noom as well. On Trustpilot, a staggering total of 43.4K reviews have been written about this brand with a conclusive score of 4.4/5. 

Independent blogs such as Laly Mom and media publications have also given a nod to this app’s overall effectiveness. To keep things streamlined, we’ll provide some common rave reviews we’ve found so far for Noom. 

Related: Read our full Noom Subscription Review for a detailed breakdown.

Highlights

• Customers are generally pleased with Noom’s vast array of resources including food guides, psychology info, and quizzes 
• Lots of success stories of people losing weight 
• A majority of users enjoy virtual coaching and a support group (according to many people, it helps them realize that they aren’t alone)

Winner: Weight Watchers

While Noom seems to be more focused on offering helpful tips and tricks in ways to lose weight, Weight Watchers has a more ‘direct’ approach—delivering calorie-conscious meals straight to your door.

WW is more effective in keeping you on track, while the other company can be considered a nudge in the right direction. 

In a systematic review^[5] published in the Annals of Internal Medicine that evaluated the most popular commercial weight-loss programs, authors concluded that Weight Watchers has weight loss efficacy that can be maintained in the long-term (beyond 12 months). Moreover, it resulted in one of the most low-cost programs. They suggest that it is a good option for clinicians to refer patients with obesity and overweight.

Noom vs Weight Watchers: Which Diet Plan Is Better? 

It all starts with a personal assessment. When signing up for Weight Watchers, new users must share personal information such as weight, age, and overall fitness goals.

Based on their results, the program will match them with a custom meal plan, which is organized into colors blue, green, purple. 

There are over 9,000 recipes to choose from, including the Cheeseburger Crunch Wrap, the Chicken Tortilla Soup, and the Zucchini Brownies. 

Throughout your weight loss journey, WW allows a specific number of ‘smart points’ a day, with each meal differing in terms of calorie value. Subscribers must be mindful not to go over this assigned amount in order to reach their end goal.

It is worth noting that the original Weight Watchers plan does not deliver food to your doorstep. It’s the other plans, like WW Fresh, that provide users with this option. 

Noom works quite similarly. After members input some details and overall goals, the program will develop an individualized plan geared to help them achieve their end target.

Users can either use their service to help them lose weight or as a guide towards mindful eating. Mindful eating is a meditation intervention that may reduce psychological stress, a common factor associated with unhealthy food choices.

In one clinical study^[6], 194 adults with obesity were randomly assigned into two groups. One group received diet and exercise guidelines, while the other group received mindfulness training and the same diet and exercise guidelines for 5.5 months. After 18 months, the group that received mindfulness training had a non-statistically significant greater weight loss (1.7kg) than the other group. However, mindfulness training was associated with long-term fasting glucose levels maintenance and an improved blood lipids profile.

Noom will recommend certain foods that you should eat. Recipes like healthier Ham and Cheese Frittata, leftover Turkey and Vegetable Hash, and Berry Muesli and Chia Seeds are all graded with an approving green mark.

Customers can also log in their own meals and snacks into the system to see their nutritional values. According to Noom, there are over 3.7 million options to choose from (including their recipes) within their database. 

This all happens within a 16 month period, after which users will graduate to Phase 2 of the service—which goes into more depth in terms of resources and clean eating. 

Winner: Noom 

While Weight Watchers is known for its legendary point system, Noom takes it one step further with its expansive database. Additionally, this service seems a bit simpler compared to WW, as it tells you if a food is beneficial to your diet or not. 

Noom vs Weight Watchers: Which App Is Better?

Long gone are the days of physical appointments with your fitness coach. Mobile apps are in. At Weight Watchers, users can easily keep track of their health goals using their online service.

This Noom vs. Weight Watchers subscription review will only look at the benefits of the app of their original plan. 

Available on the App Store and Google Play, members have access to features such as the:

• Food tracker
• Recipe guide
• Barcode scanner
• Restaurant finder
• Workout sets
• Bedtime reminders

Subscribers can also talk to a 24/7 live coach and view their personalized action plan to see their overall progress.  Professional dietary coaching can help you achieve your health and fitness goals.

In one clinical trial^[7], 112 participants were randomly assigned into two groups. One group received a weight loss diet and professional coaching through a group chat on a smartphone app, while the other group only received the weight loss program. After 8 weeks, the group that received dietary coaching experienced a modest but significantly greater weight loss compared with the control group. 

Noom syncs with a variety of popular apps including Fitbit, iHealth, Polar, Withings, and more.

Aside from their impressive food guide, their service provides a bottomless well of resources to educate users on healthy habits, calorie reduction, and how to increase physical activity.

Users can also log in to their exercise sessions, and monitor their blood and glucose levels. 

There’s a motivational aspect towards the Noom app as well. By signing up, Noom members are assigned to not one, but two personalized fitness coaches. A 2018 review^[8] published in Evidence-Based Practice suggests that online fitness coaching is correlated with weight loss.

If that isn’t enough, subscribers also have access to a massive support group of 45 million users who are also online. 

Winner: Noom 

Have a round of applause. The Noom app is a lot more detailed and comprehensive when it comes to additional resources. Not only can users keep in check of their overall progress, but they can educate themselves more on other health-related topics.

Noom vs Weight Watchers: Extras

Weight Watchers provides its users with several extras and add-ons meant to complement their overall fitness journey. As of recently, WW is partnered with the Blue Apron meal delivery service to make grocery shopping a little bit easier for customers.

They also offer their 360 digital plan and their unlimited workshop membership at set prices. 

If you have a partner who shares the same health goals, WW has a couples subscription service as well. For those who are savvy with the latest advancements in technology, Weight Watchers did a collaboration with Amazon to develop the Amazon Halo. 

This wearable device creates a more complete picture of your health. Lastly, customers can visit their online store to find an assortment of snacks. 

Noom has partnered up with Orig3n to produce their Weight Loss DNA tests. By ordering one of these kits, customers can get some insight into how their genes affect their weight, metabolism, and sense of cravings.

They also offer their Healthy Mind program, which is a service designed to support and empower participants who deal with stress and anxiety. 

Winner: Weight Watchers 

It’s practically a landslide victory. Weight Watchers has more variety when it comes to extra content and individual plans. To give some credit, WW has been in the fitness game longer than Noom has.

Stick around for any updates on upcoming collaborations and bonus content. 

Noom vs Weight Watchers: Who Has a Better Price?

It’s probably the section you’ve all been waiting for, how much money are we talking about here? Weight Watchers offers 3 main plans on their website. For those that just want to test out the waters, they do offer a 30-day free trial. 

After this allotted time, users are billed $21 unless they decide to cancel. All of their plans automatically renew at the standard monthly rate. This Noom vs. Weight Watchers subscription review will go over their pricing details down below:

• Digital myWW+ program: $3/per week 
• Digital 360: $5/per week 
• Unlimited Workshops + Digital: depends on location. (Ex: Florida: $7/per week) 

Noom has members choose how often they’d like to be billed and their app is completely free to download, but their plans are not. 

Pricing is quite different, as each of their programs lasts for a set amount of weeks depending on a user’s overall fitness goal. This happens at a monthly rate with subscriptions automatically renewing after one cycle is over. 

They also offer a limited 14-day trial for $1,4 per day on their app. This Noom vs. Weight Watchers subscription review will provide a detailed list of each of their subscription options for you to check out:

• Monthly auto-recurring plan: $70
• 2 month auto-recurring plan: $129 (originally $150)
• 3 month auto-recurring plan: $159 (originally $180)
• 4 month auto-recurring plan: $169 (originally $240)
• 5 month auto-recurring plan: $174 (originally $300)
• 6 month auto-recurring plan: $179 (originally $360)
• 7 month auto-recurring plan: $184 (originally $420) 
• 8 month auto-recurring plan: $189 (originally $480)
• Annual auto-recurring plan: $209 (originally $750)

Winner: Weight Watchers 

If it comes down to affordability, Weight Watchers definitely takes the cake. For their most basic plan, it rounds up to only $12 to $15 per month. This is compared to Noom’s monthly auto-recurring service of $70, which is a tad pricier. 

Noom vs Weight Watchers: Promotions and Discounts

At Weight Watchers, customers can save 25% off select cookbooks on their online store. To make use of this offer, buyers are instructed to plug in the promo code: ‘COOKMORE’ at checkout. 

They also have a WW ShopCash Rewards Program, in which members can accumulate points to gain access to exclusive deals and perks. 

Additionally, buyers can join for free starting at only $15 per month with a complimentary Starter Kit tossed in as well. Lastly, WW hosts a cyber deal during select months. Through this promotion, subscribers can get a free gift when signing up. 

So far, this Noom vs. Weight Watchers subscription review hasn’t found any current promotions, deals, or discounts on Noom’s website. 

Winner: Weight Watchers

For obvious reasons, Weight Watchers has more going on in terms of buying perks and promo codes. That being said, it’s recommended that you check in with Noom for any future offers on their website. 

Noom vs Weight Watchers: Shipping and Returns 

This Noom vs. Weight Watchers subscription review found out a few noteworthy points in terms of their return and shipping services. We’ll provide a detailed list for readers to easily follow:

• WW offers free ground shipping on US orders that total $25 or more. Anything below this amount costs a flat $9 
• They also provide other delivery options at set rates 
• International shipping is offered
• Customers will receive a tracking number via a confirmation email to help locate their packages 
• Weight Watchers provides a 30-day window for customers to return their items for a full refund. This only applies to non-food items such as cookbooks
• Buyers can contact their customer service team to initiate this process
• In terms of online reviews for their shipping and returns service, some users on Trustpilot detailed issues on delayed shipping and unhelpful customer service

With the exception of their Weight Loss DNA tests, Noom does not have any physical items for sale on their app. To purchase one of their gene kits, customers are directed to visit their add-on store and select the product. 

From there, Orig3n will take care of the delivery process. Buyers can get in touch with the brand’s customer service team to orchestrate returns.

Because of how each company works differently, this Noom Vs. Weight Watchers subscription review will not decide on a winner for this section. 

We Choose: Weight Watchers 

It’s all about how much bang you get for your buck. In terms of pricing and extras, Weight Watchers definitely takes the lead.

For as little as $12 per month, customers are able to gain access to a variety of delicious and nutritious meals with the add-on benefits of 24/7 coaching, weekly progress reports, and on-demand workouts. 

Compared to Noom’s grand monthly total of $70, WW members can upgrade to the Digital 360 plan for only $30. 

There’s also the fact that Weight Watchers has a variety of different add-ons and extras. Their collaboration with Blue Apron is a game-changer—suited to make food shopping a lot easier for the busy modern couple or family.

The Amazon Halo device is a nice touch as well, proving that the company is innovative and creative. 

While Noom’s mobile app seems to be more detailed when it comes to additional resources, it’s almost seen as a ‘stand-alone’ feature compared to WW’s list of bonuses.

Overall, if you’re looking for an efficient, direct way to lose weight and stay fit as a fiddle, Weight Watchers is the way forward. 

---

Looking for more ways to lose weight, get a diet plan, or increase your overall health and wellness? Here are a few more options to consider:

Sunny Health & Fitness

Openfit Fitness

Ora Organic Supplements

WaterRower

Stamina