The 6 Best Weight Loss Apps Our Experts Tested in 2024

Noom is our best overall pick because we find it easy to track our food and movement through the app, and it includes aspects of community support, health coaching, nutritional education, and behavioral changes for a well-rounded weight loss experience.

• Cost: $17–$70 per month.
• Compatible devices: Android and iOS devices.
• Free version: No.
• Trial period: 14 days.
• App inclusions: Food and activity tracking, recipes, daily lessons, personalized health coaching.

Noom has many beneficial features for both novices and experienced users of nutrition and weight loss programs. Their program is comprehensive. You can track your progress using the food and weight trackers, interact with community members in Noom Circles, and message your health coach with questions or concerns about your journey. This program is different from others because it’s rooted in psychology. It combines education with behavioral changes so that you have both the knowledge and the tools to reach your goals.

In our experience, tracking your food intake in a weight loss app can often be tedious and time-consuming, but it’s easy with Noom. You have many options to choose from, and foods are grouped together, so you don’t have to add each ingredient. For instance, if you enter “latte,” some options that come up include “latte with oat milk,” “chai latte,” and “iced latte.” All of the nutritional information is added automatically. There is no need to manually add calories or anything else on the nutrition label. If you can’t find an item, you can scan the barcode.

One of the app’s shortcomings is that you can’t easily review old daily lessons. The daily lessons are one of Noom’s most beneficial features, but users receive new information about nutrition and wellness every day, which can be a lot to take in and remember.

Our tester discovered that you can save lessons as you go through them, but it isn’t practical for users to remember to save every single lesson to be able to return to them. Still, the daily lessons are a unique feature that sets Noom apart for our testers. We also don’t love the app’s recipe feature. Testers say that it isn’t very easy to navigate and that the recipes themselves do not provide very comprehensive directions.

Simple is our pick for the best weight loss app for intermittent fasting because it is user-friendly and helps you track your fast with beneficial features like an AI wellness assistant and a fasting window countdown.

• Cost: $9.99 for one week, $29.99 for one month, $59.99 for three months.
• Compatible devices: Android and iOS devices.
• Free version: Yes.
• Trial period: No.
• App inclusions: Fasting tracker, AI wellness assistant, content library with nutritional education.

The Simple app allows you to choose a custom fast period, read educational information on nutrition and wellness, and track your meals, exercise, and water intake. Many intermittent fasting (IF) apps are limited in features and information, but Simple is one IF app that offers bonus features and educational information.

Our tester appreciates that the fasting timer is displayed on her iPhone’s lock screen. This makes it easier for her to keep track of her fasting period, as she doesn’t have to go all the way into the app to see how much time is left.

We also appreciate the daily checklist. On the app, there is a list of items to complete for the day. It may include tasks like reading a guide to fasting or starting your fast at a specific time. We think a list like this can keep users on track to their goals. It can also be especially useful for people who are new to fasting and looking for a more guided approach.

We find the AI-powered wellness assistant, Avo, one of the most beneficial features of the platform. You can chat with Avo within the app and ask any questions related to health and wellness. Avo can also help you with things like:

• Healthy eating tips, snacks, and meal ideas.
• Exercise tips and suggestions.
• Questions about fasting and overall nutrition.

Avo is especially beneficial for people with busy schedules or who have trouble coming up with meal ideas. When suggesting meal ideas, Avo asks how much time you have to prepare meals, what specific ingredients you want to use or avoid, and what dietary preferences or restrictions you have. Simple is the first platform we see that offers an AI feature like this.

Reverse Health is an app-based program specifically tailored to the health needs of women over the age of 40. Offered as a 12-week program, it includes meal plans with recipes and macro details and an exercise plan with modification options. Included in the membership is access to an active Facebook community managed by responsive admins, supporting women to help them take charge of their health during perimenopause and beyond.

• Cost: $24 – $60 per month
• Compatible devices: iOS, Android, Desktop
• Free version: No
• Trial period: Yes, one week
• App inclusions: Coaching videos, meal plans, online community, exercise program, weight loss tracker

We chose Reverse Health as the best weight loss app for women over 40 because it was created with women’s health needs in mind. The Reverse app focuses on supporting women’s bodies as hormones change during perimenopause, menopause, and beyond.  A Reverse Health membership includes 200 recipes built into weekly meal plans. We specifically like that these meals focus more on nutrition and balanced macronutrients, a more sustainable approach to weight loss than fad diets or drastic calorie cuts.

One of the most beneficial aspects of a Reverse Health membership is the online Facebook community. During testing, we found this group incredibly active, full of supportive members, and managed by responsive admins who are happy to help you navigate the program and provide encouragement.

The exercise program included in a Reverse Health membership is limited, with too few videos and instructions. We would love to see Reverse expand this in the future. For now, we think this program is best for women over 40 who want a supportive community and sound nutrition education that is sustainable for the long term.

BetterMe is a health coaching app focused on fitness while providing meal plans and recipes to support a holistic approach to wellness. Based on goals you create at sign up, BetterMe guides you through workouts and nutrition choices that are highly customizable to your health and fitness needs.

• Cost: $20 per month
• Compatible devices: iOS, Android
• Free version: No
• Trial period: Yes, one week
• App inclusions: Personal health coach, customized meal plans, 4,000 workout videos, weight loss, calorie, and water tracker

We chose BetterMe as the best weight loss and fitness app because it includes over 4,000+ workout videos adaptable to your specific health needs. Our tester pointed out just how customizable this program is, including workouts for individuals using wheelchairs and exercise plans based on chronic pain or specific fitness goals. Similarly, the meal plans included in the BetterMe program are customized to dietary needs, with options for vegan eating, diabetes-friendly, and high protein plans.

Our testers appreciated the guided goal-setting included in the sign-up process. Users are encouraged to reflect on what they hope to achieve, whether trying to lose weight, run a race, or gain strength and muscle in the coming months.

BetterMe offers a free, one-week trial. After completing your trial, the cost is $20 monthly, with plenty of included features and optional add-ons. Our tester noted that after canceling their free trial, they were offered the app for $20 for the entire year. 

BetterMe’s add-on features include self-care challenges, like a 30-day pilates challenge costing an extra $10 or a 21-day sugar-free challenge for $30. The app also offers one-on-one coaching as an add-on option. For $50, you can set up a nutrition consultation or live workout session. Additionally, if you have specific questions for the BetterMe coaches, you can send them an instant message for $4 each.

MyFitnessPal is one of our top picks because we find tracking our progress in the app really easy. The app has bonus features that make tracking a breeze and it doesn’t require a big time commitment, which makes it more sustainable to work toward your goals.

• Cost: $19.99 monthly or $79.99 annually.
• Compatible devices: Android and iOS devices.
• Free version: Yes.
• Trial period: One month.
• App features: Calorie counting, recipes, workout videos.

MyFitnessPal is essentially a calorie-counting app that includes bonus features like exercise videos, recipes, nutritional information, a fasting tracker, and even sleep tracking. We like that the app is really straightforward and doesn’t require a big time commitment. It takes less than three minutes to create an account and answer basic questions about your height, weight, and goals. When our tester uses the app daily, she finds she doesn’t have to spend much time tracking her food and fasting periods.

The process of tracking foods is quick and simple. You type the foods you eat and the app will fill in your nutritional information. With the premium plan, you can scan the barcode of your food to log it or take a photo of your meal—it identifies the food items in the photo and logs the nutritional information for you. We haven’t seen this unique feature in other weight loss apps. Our tester says that the feature isn’t always accurate (as it once mistook yogurt for a potato), but it works well with fruits and vegetables.

We also like that you can set custom goals for calories, carbs, protein, and fat and that there’s a MyFitnessPal community forum to share stories, challenges, and questions. It’s a great place to gain support and interact with people on a similar health journey.

One of the biggest benefits of MyFitnessPal is that there’s a lot of diversity in the plans they offer. Our tester had trouble deciding which plan to choose because she felt like so many options would work for her. You can also change your plan at any time. Some of the plans include:

• Intermittent Fasting.
• Eating for Pregnancy.
• Eat Green.
• Small Steps.
• Jumpstart Your Health (a beginner program).
• Building Healthy Habits.

Cronometer is a good option for beginners looking for a simple approach to weight loss. The calorie counter, fasting timer, and nutrition and health trackers can help hold you accountable to your goals.

• Cost: $4.58–$9.99 per month for Cronometer Gold.
• Compatible devices: iOS and Android.
• Free version: Yes
• Trial period: One week (email customer service to receive a free trial).
• App inclusions: Fasting timer, calorie counter, track meals, activity, and health metrics.

Cronometer is a calorie-counting app where you can log your meals, hydration, and activities. It’s great for beginners looking for a simple app with tracking features.

Our tester finds it easy to log her activities in the app and there are lots of different options for all kinds of activities. Fitness can look different for each person and we appreciate that Cronometer takes that into account. There are activities you can log for every fitness level. On top of traditional exercises like sports, strength training, and cardio, there are also household activities like:

• Cleaning
• Laundry
• Yard work
• Sex
• Errands
• Playing music

We also appreciate the specificity of this feature. For instance, when our tester logs “lap swimming,” the app asks if she swims freestyle, backstroke, breaststroke, or butterfly. This level of detail is great for people who don’t participate in traditional workouts because they can still find their activities listed on this app.

Our tester finds that tracking food can be difficult at times. You have to input every food item separately, but you can save meals to log them faster if you eat the same meal again. You can also scan food barcodes to save time.

For easier meal tracking, we suggest Noom instead of Cronometer. But if you want a simple app that makes tracking activities and exercise easy, Cronometer is our pick.