Noom sells a psychology-based weight-loss programme: daily lessons, food logging with a colour-coded system, human and AI coaching by chat, and now a medication track. People look for alternatives for three reasons: the price, the volume of lessons and articles, or wanting day-to-day coaching rather than a curriculum. If the lessons are what you liked, WeightWatchers is the closest substitute. If you want a plain tracker, MyFitnessPal or Lose It!. If you want your targets adjusted from your results, MacroFactor. And if you want someone checking in daily without opening an app, Bay, free right now over text. Here is how they compare.
Prices were read from each product's US App Store listing or its own website on November 4, 2026. Noom and WeightWatchers price by plan length and run frequent promotions, so treat the figures as a range and confirm at checkout.
What Noom is, and what it costs
Noom's programme pairs a calorie budget and food log with short daily lessons on habits and psychology, plus chat access to human and AI coaches. Its website directs pricing questions to the individual plan pages and notes that most people start with a trial. The App Store listing shows "Noom Program" in-app purchases from $44.99 to $199.99 depending on the term. Noom Med, which adds GLP-1 medication, is priced separately and far higher.
The alternatives at a glance
| Product | What the coaching is | Logging | Price (checked Nov 2026) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Noom | Daily lessons, human and AI coaching by chat | Search, barcode; colour-coded foods | In-app plans $44.99–$199.99 by term; trial first |
| WeightWatchers | Points system, workshops or digital only | Points tracking, barcode | Promotional pricing from $12/mo on a 12-month Core plan, higher at renewal; App Store monthly plans about $20–$25 |
| MyFitnessPal | None; a tracker | Search, barcode and meal scan on Premium | Free with ads; Premium $19.99/mo or $79.99/yr |
| Lose It! | None; a tracker with a calorie budget | Search; barcode, photo and voice on Premium | Free; Premium $79.99/yr |
| MacroFactor | Algorithmic: targets adjust weekly from your weight trend | Fast macro logger | $11.99/mo or $71.99/yr; 7-day trial, no free tier |
| Bay | Daily check-ins over text, weekly target review, training plan | Text, photo or voice message; label and chain-menu data | Free right now |
Sources: App Store listings for WeightWatchers, MyFitnessPal, Lose It! (website), MacroFactor.
WeightWatchers: the closest programme
WW is the other long-running structured programme. Instead of calories you track Points, one number per food in which sugar and saturated fat count against it and protein and fibre count for it; the Core plan is self-serve and Core+ adds workshops. Its plans page currently advertises $12 a month for the first year of a 12-month Core membership, renewing at the regular price; the App Store monthly plans sit around $20–$25. Choose WW over Noom if you want a community format and a simpler food system; expect the same kind of auto-renewing term pricing.
MyFitnessPal and Lose It!: if you just want the log
If the lessons were the part of Noom you skipped, a plain tracker does the job for less. Both have free tiers that cover calorie logging; Premium adds barcode and photo logging and removes ads. Neither coaches you or adjusts your target as your weight changes, so you will need to do the arithmetic yourself; how many calories to eat to lose weight explains it.
MacroFactor: if you want the maths done for you
MacroFactor's distinctive feature is adjusting your calorie and macro targets each week from what you log and what the scale does. There are no lessons and no coach; the product is the algorithm and the logger. It is the right choice for someone who wants precision and does not want to be talked to. More in the MacroFactor alternatives guide.
Bay: daily coaching, no app, no curriculum
Bay is an AI coach you text over iMessage, RCS or SMS. It does the parts of a programme that do the work (someone to report to, a plan that adapts) without the lessons, the app or, right now, a price.
- Logging is a sentence, a photo or a voice note. Numbers come from verified label data, barcodes in photos, and published menus for 160+ US chains.
- Accountability is daily: a morning plan, one well-timed nudge if nothing is logged, an evening recap against your targets, and milestone cards when something real happens. The evidence for check-ins of this kind is covered in AI accountability coach for fitness.
- Adjustment is weekly and bounded: Bay compares your logged intake with your weight trend over 14 days and proposes a change of at most 150 calories, never below 1,500 (men) or 1,200 (women), only once it has four weigh-ins and ten logged days.
- Training is included: a plan built for your days and equipment, with the weight to lift each morning.
What Bay does not do: teach a psychology curriculum, offer human coaches or workshops, or prescribe medication. If a structured course is what keeps you going, Noom or WW is the better fit. For a closer look at the coaching model, see what an AI weight loss coach does.
How to choose
- You liked the lessons and the community format: WeightWatchers.
- You only used the food log: MyFitnessPal or Lose It!, free.
- You want targets that adjust themselves: MacroFactor.
- You want daily accountability and a plan, with nothing to open: Bay.
Any of these works if you log honestly and weigh in regularly; a systematic review of weight-loss studies found a consistent link between self-monitoring (of food, activity and weight) and the result, whatever the programme.
Questions, answered.
Tap a question.
What is the cheapest alternative to Noom?
MyFitnessPal and Lose It! have free tiers, and Bay is free right now. Among structured programmes, WeightWatchers' promotional first-year pricing is lower than Noom's listed plans, but both renew at higher regular rates.
Is WeightWatchers better than Noom?
They are different formats: WW uses a Points system with optional workshops; Noom uses calories with daily psychology lessons and coaching by chat. Choose by which structure you will actually follow.
Is there a Noom alternative without a subscription?
The free tiers of MyFitnessPal and Lose It!, and Bay, which is free right now. Noom and WeightWatchers are subscription-only.
Does Noom have a free trial?
Noom's website says most people can start with a free trial before a subscription; the terms are shown during sign-up.
Related reading
Bay is a software assistant, not a doctor, dietitian or certified trainer. Nothing here is medical, nutrition or professional advice; check with a professional before changing your diet or training.