WW (Weight Watchers) vs Noom | Compare Plans | WW USA

If you’re in the market for an effective weight-loss program, both Noom and WW may have surfaced. While both programs are designed to foster weight loss, the differences between Noom and WW are plentiful. For one: WW has been helping people lose weight for more than 55 years, thanks to decades of research and constant innovation designed to meet the needs of members at every life stage. Read on to learn more about how Noom and WW compare:

The main differences between Noom and WW: Weight Watchers reimagined

While both Noom and WW are designed to foster weight loss, Noom relies on calorie counting and assigns a red, yellow, or green color to each food. Based on myWW, the customized program that’s helped millions lose weight, the new myWW+ starts with a new personal assessment that gets to know how you eat, move, sleep, and feel to give you an even more personalized plan—because science shows it all matters when it comes to weight loss. It builds on our proven SmartPoints® system, which takes a food’s complete nutritional profile into account by boiling down calories, saturated fat, sugar, and protein into one easy-to-use SmartPoints value. 

On WW, every member gets a personalized SmartPoints Budget based on height, age, weight, and sex that consists of daily SmartPoints, weekly SmartPoints, and rollovers for added flexibility, plus a list of hundreds of ZeroPoint™ foods you don’t have to track or measure.

Noom vs. WW: program philosophy

The WW program is based on proven principles of nutrition and behavior-change science to help you build healthy habits around food, activity, and mindset. Developed by a highly credentialed, dedicated science team that partners with preeminent researchers around the world, WW recognizes members’ achievements with Wins that can be redeemed for real rewards like products, services, and experiences. 

WW also provides live support: There are tens of thousands of expertly trained WW Coaches and Guides who share science-backed techniques for weight loss at weekly in-person and Virtual Workshops with millions of members who attend and post on Connect, WW’s exclusive, members-only social platform. Members also have access to 24/7 Live Coaching chat to have their questions answered at any moment.

When following Noom, you get a personalized calorie budget, checklists, worksheets, and digital messaging to help you manage mental and emotional barriers to weight loss.

Noom vs. WW: food

No foods are off-limits with either program. Noom has 3.7 million food options to track, with foods grouped into a traffic-light system of green, yellow, and red to guide your food choices within a calorie budget. 

The science behind the WW SmartPoints system stems from the proven theory that not all calories are equal—some foods leave you feeling extra satisfied, while others may stoke your appetite for more. So while you can spend your SmartPoints Budget on whatever foods you’d like, members tend to naturally gravitate toward whole foods with higher protein and away from processed foods with higher sugar and saturated fat content—and they achieve sustainable weight loss without deprivation. Everything is on the table: WW’s database has 300,000+ items combined, including 92,000+ menu options from 400 popular restaurants, 206,000+ grocery items, 9,950+ foods, and 9,000+ WW-tested recipes. 

Based on myWW, the customized program that’s helped millions lose weight, the new myWW+ is our most holistic approach to weight loss—ever. It starts with a new in-depth personal assessment that gets to know how you eat, move, sleep, and feel to give you an even more personalized plan—because science shows it all matters when it comes to weight loss.

Then, members are matched with a personalized SmartPoints Budget and a list of ZeroPoint™ foods that may include fruits and non-starchy veggies, lean proteins, and/or whole grains, depending on the color food plan they’re matched with.

Noom vs. WW: support and personal coaching

There are no in-person meetings or groups on Noom, which offers digital personal coaching through its app. After two weeks on the program, you are put into a digital support group with other members. 

WW offers several modes of support to fit your lifestyle, schedule, and learning style: Digital members can participate in 24/7 Live Coaching via chat and a members-only Connect social network, where you can find inspiration and get real-time advice. Both are available in our award-winning app.

For even more support, you can also visit a WW Studio and join in in-person weekly Workshops, or log-in to Virtual Workshops from the comfort of home, which are led by expertly trained WW Coaches and Guides; or upgrade to one-on-one Personal Coaching, with weekly phone calls and unlimited messaging.

WW delivers a curriculum of weekly topics that are covered in Workshops and in our digital tools to make creating healthy habits simpler and fun through science-backed techniques. By tracking activity along with your food, you earn FitPoints® so you can celebrate your progress toward your goals. We've added new food, activity, sleep, and mindset features designed to make weight loss easier, along with new weekly check-ins, progress reports, and action plans. To celebrate the strides you’re making in building healthy habits, as you track these along with weight, you earn Wins through our WellnessWins™ rewards program, which you can redeem for real rewards that will motivate you along the journey.

How much does Noom cost?

Noom’s app costs $49.50 per month. A WW Digital membership—which includes access to our award-winning app featuring our digital food database and tracker, 24/7 Live Coaching via chat, a food barcode scanner, a members-only social network, and more—costs $19.95** per month. Studio memberships with Workshops cost $44.95** per month, and one-on-one Personal Coaching costs $54.95** per month.

**This price represents standard pricing. WW may run promotional offers that can lower costs.

RELATED: 19 perks included in your WW membership

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