Continuous glucose monitor (CGM) App Comparison: Levels, Veri, Nutrisense, and January.ai
Discover which continuous glucose monitor app is right for you. A detailed comparison of cost, design, technology, and community.
Updated: Friday, April 5, 2024
My backstory?
To keep this as short as possible, I’ve linked all that info here.
What is a continuous glucose monitor?
A continuous glucose monitor is a wearable device that measures the amount of glucose in your interstitial fluid. In most countries, these can be obtained over the counter, but in a few, like the US, one must obtain a prescription from their doctor. Until recently, they were mostly used in diabetic patients.
I’m sure you have several questions. Does it stick in your skin? Is there a needle? Does it hurt?! As a person who has suffered from pretty severe medical anxiety, I want to be completely honest with you. There is only a needle in the applicator, and it’s very very tiny. It only hurts for like half a second and only if you’re extremely sensitive to pain like I am. Most people don’t even feel it on application. I can tell you the more painful part is removing it because the adhesive is so darn strong! The inside of the sensor is just a tiny filament that sticks in your skin. You don’t feel it at all. Here are some photos!
I found that the best way to get them to stick and stay stuck for the whole 2 weeks is to wash and scrub the area you’ve chosen to apply it then dry thoroughly. You just click it onto your arm and voila! The click is the scariest part. You hardly feel it. Each sensor lasts 2 weeks.
Why should you use a CGM?
Everyone should use a CGM. How many people wear a heart monitor regularly, and why is that data valuable? We want to see how our bodies are performing.
Metabolic disease is the root cause of so many of our health issues in the US. People don’t know what they don’t know, so they have no reason to change their eating habits. What if you could subscribe to a diet that could tell you exactly what food was making you gain weight and when. You’d sign up, right? That’s exactly what a CGM does (and more). If you’d like a few good book recommendation about metabolic health, I highly recommend Why We Get Sick by Benjamin Bickman, Metabolical by Robert Lustig, and newly-released Glucose Revolution by Jessie Inchauspé (AKA Glucose Goddess).
The United States is one of the only countries that require a prescription to get a CGM and most doctors won’t write them for “healthy” people. In fact, I have diabetic friends whose doctors won’t write them either.
What would our health look like if we had more data?
The apps I tested
(in order of when I tested them)
Levels
Veri
Nutrisense
January.ai
Currently, all the apps mentioned are using the 14-day Freestyle Libre. Though, rumors are a few of them are testing some others.
Levels
If Silicon Valley were a high school, Levels would be the cool mysterious attractive new kid in class at the beginning of the year. Everyone wants to know them, and they make lots of friends easily.
The company I’ve probably researched the most is Levels. I love how they run their company, treat their employees, market their ideas, and serve their customers.
Things I love about Levels as a company
- The Levels blog: This blog is absolute 🔥! It is probably the most comprehensive location of metabolic health-related material I have found outside of medical studies and Peter Attia. It’s worth a browse even if you don’t decide to go with their subscription.
- The team, led by Sam Corcos, have a proven track record. They’re incredibly passionate, and very transparent about the company they’re building. Casey is a rockstar, incredibly intelligent, and a fantastic follow.
- The customer service: I’m a person who will love a product, but if the customer service is bad or impersonal, I’m out. People aren’t numbers on your bottom line, so don’t treat them that way. I have had nothing but stellar customer service from the Levels team — night and day. I get almost a nearly-instant response from them any time I have a question or a concern.
The app & sensors
PROS
- Works on both Android and iOS
- Works with both Freestyle Libre AND Dexcom G6 — as of the last update to this article, Levels now allows you to choose which sensor you would like to use with the app. This allows you to choose a continuous stream of data with a (for now) bulkier Dexcom G6 sensor that uses bluetooth or the smaller Freestyle Libre sensor that needs to be scanned at a minimum of every 8 hours. (New smaller versions of both are coming soon!) For more information on how the Dexcom G6 compares to the FreeStyle Libre, read: Dexcom G6 vs FreeStyle Libre for Non-diabetics.
- Lots of data
- Auto-detects workouts
- Adding a food from your history makes adding foods easier and faster
- Daily email summaries of your progress (and also at the end of every sensor…I think 🤔)
- Blog is integrated into the app
- Data export
- Visual zone comparison for meals and workouts
- Access to a nutritionist (new!)
- Manually add an exercise or note to any time/day
- Levels sensor covers are some of the best I’ve tried
- New referral program! (My link is below)
CONS
- Setup: wasn’t as easy as I thought it would be. They require the use of 2 apps — both the Freestyle Libre app and theirs. You have to link them together (this might not be an issue in the future though).
- Interface: currently, Levels is dark mode only, which makes it challenging to see in bright light. The app itself is a bit hard to navigate with lots of hidden features and data.
- Only auto-detects workouts from Apple Health Kit
- No more waitlist!
- Yearly subscription fee (see below)
Price
Levels updated their pricing to be subscription-based. $199 yearly fee and $199/month for 2 sensors (Libre) and 3 sensors (Dexcom G6). However, I hear whispers they may be moving to a monthly fee and new pricing structure soon. (Will update once that’s officially released)
Summary
The Levels app was the one I was most excited to try. The UI has certainly been improved on over time though the information architecture is still a little confusing. It works with either the Dexcom G6 or the FreeStyle Libre sensor. Levels has many great features and they only seem to be getting better. They even have a podcast: A Whole New Level (available wherever you listen to podcasts). The customer service is amazing. The blog is 🔥. The people who run Levels are amazing, so I will definitely be keeping my eye on them.
Links
Levels website
What is CGM
The Levels Theory of Behavior Change
Referral link
Veri
If Veri were a high school student, they would be the super cool and really nice foreign transfer student that everyone wants to be friends with. Veri is actually based out of Helsinki, Finland but will be opening a US office in the future. Fun fact: veri is Finnish for blood🩸.
Things I love about Veri as a company
- The community: Veri has done something few others in their space have done — created a thriving online community. It’s a great place to ask questions, get updates about the app/company, meet other health geeks, and geek out in general. Even if you don’t already use Veri, you should still check it out. It’s free to join.
- The Veri team: the nicest people ever. They genuinely care about their product because they have all struggled at one time or another with their own health issues. They’re very down-to-earth and are constantly having events to answer any questions their users have. They are very transparent.
The app & sensors
PROS
- Works on both iOS and Android
- Interface: Very clean. (see what I did there? 😉 ) The graph is large and you can drag the marker around it to see specific times and glucose readings. Color aesthetic is nice.
- Only 1 app needed for scanning
- Lots of data — like, SO much. Track your glucose variability, average glucose, glucose oscillation, morning fasting glucose, and BMI
- Guided education journey in-app
- Auto-detects workouts from Apple Health Kit
- Food tagging
- Exercise spikes are treated differently in the app — they don’t count against your daily score and appear in a different color on the graph
- Manually add meal to any time/day
- Trends: Veri gives you the ability to see your trends over time — metabolic flow, time in range, variability, number of spikes, and average glucose
- Metabolic healthspan: see how many years you could extend your good metabolic health
- Library of learning topics built right into the app
- See your best and worst scoring meals and filter by food tags
- In-app access to the amazing Veri community
- Opt in to studies: yep…you can be a guinea pig for science!
- Data export
- Subscription-based but can cancel any time
- Ships to both US and EU
- HSA/FSA eligible
- Buy as a gift for someone else
- Referral program (my link for 20% off is below)
CONS
- Interface: currently only in light mode regardless of your phone settings. It’s a bit retina-burning when you need to scan in low light or at night. Graph is set to a specific zoom point, so you can’t see a whole day’s graph at once. App is a bit hard to navigate.
- Currently, data is linked to the app and not to your account, so when switching between iOS/Android, your historical data will not follow.
- Sensor covers are…fine. They’re a bit small and the grey color tends to show wrinkles if you don’t get it absolutely smoothe on application. Covers are sticky in the middle and will stick to the sensor itself, which can be uncomfortable.
Price
Veri just updated their pricing. It is now subscription only, but you can cancel any time. No yearly subscription fee. Pricing for US is below.
There are 2 plans to choose from: The app-only plan and the Sensors and App plan. For the app-only plan, you will pay $39/month for access to the Veri app. For the Sensors and App plan, you have more options!
- Option 1 — Intermittent Monitoring for for $179/month ($140 for membership and $39 for app access). This plan includes 1 sensor per months and monthly program and app access. This change allows members to focus on building healthy habits rather than continuously wearing a device.
- Option 2 — Continuous Monitoring for $279/month ($240 for membership and $39 for app access) which you can cancel at any time as long as it’s before your next billing cycle. This is a pretty good deal for those looking for a solid stream of data and a shorter commitment.
Summary
The Veri app is one of the most thorough I’ve tried. It works well AND it looks nice! Regular improvements and releases from the Veri team makes me think they really listen to the input their users give. The community that Veri has created is a wealth of knowledge and a good place for the nerds to nerd out.
Links
Veri website
Veri Community
Referral link for 20% off (applies to both sensor and app-only plans!)
Nutrisense
If Nutrisense were a high school student, they would be the nerdy kid who always does extra credit and wins the science fair every year. I wasn’t sure what to expect from Nutrisense since they randomly popped up on my Instagram page, but thought I would give them a shot…for science!
The Nutrisense app & sensors
PROS
- Works on both Android and iOS
- Light and dark mode options
- Only 1-app required for scanning
- All the data your little heart could desire — so much granularity
- FREE MONTH DIETITIAN ACCESS! — This is HUGE! (more below)
- Manually add meals, activities (exercise, fasting, meditation, sleep), measurements (glucose, ketones, blood pressure, body fat percentage, body temp, cycling/running distance, flights climbed, step count, exercise time, weight, stress), or a generic note.
- Favorite meals and activities to add again quickly later
- Track your meals and macros and add custom ingredients
- Track your fasting and set your meal window
- OGTT (oral glucose tolerance test) kit included — big ol bottle of Glucola included 🤮
- Packaging wasn’t impressive — 2 sensors/applicators/patches in a plastic bag
- You can manually calibrate your sensor using a finger prick test (if you have one)
- Set custom glucose and ketone low/high thresholds
- The sensor covers are pretty good and aren’t bad looking
- Private Facebook group for members
- Integrations with Apple health kit, Biosense, and KetoMojo!
- HSA/FSA eligible
- Referral program (my link for $75 off is below)
CONS
- Maybe too much data? It’s a little overwhelming and not organized very well in the app.
- Interface: so many layers of navigation — hamburger menu, bottom tabs, top tabs, sub navigation. Information is spread out everywhere and not in the best logical place. I’m still discovering features I didn’t find before. It’s not the prettiest or the cleanest, but if you like piles of charts and graphs with icons that mean very little to you, this is the app for you! Iconography was confusing. Too many things are hidden. Not very much hierarchy. It felt like a science project threw up on my phone.
- Was not able to calibrate my sensor because I didn’t have a finger prick test
Concierge Dietitian
I was SO surprised to get an email from a very real dietitian the day I joined the service. She was very helpful and patient, even as I assured her I didn’t need her help as a “pro” myself. She was approachable, and my geeky side quickly came out as I wanted to talk about all the things health-related. She helped me navigate the app and gave me great advice on foods to try related to my own health journey. It was really cool; the human touch made it easy and even more personal. It’s huge that it’s included as part of the subscription.
Price
Nutrisense offers 4 plans: a 3, 6, and 12-month subscription or a a month-to-month plan. Subscription plans include 2 sensors per month and are billed monthly. Pricing is as follows for the subscription plans: 3 months at $299/month, 6 months at $250/month, and 12 months at $225/month. The month-to-month plan is $399/month and also includes 2 sensor.
Summary
Nutrisense has some of the best data all in one place. It’s all there, but it’s hard to navigate and a LOT of work to keep up with. If you want to track your ketones, fasting, macros, and glucose all in one place, you can do that with Nutrisense, but plan on spending a lot of time inputting data. I imagine they will have more integrations in the future to make this more seamless. The glucose data seemed less accurate to me than other apps I tested, but you can calibrate with a finger prick test. The nutritionist access was amazing, but I’m not sure it justifies the very high subscription price. I’d be willing to use Nutrisense again if they completely overhauled their app and made it infinitely easier to use.
Links
Nutrisense.io
Referral Link $75 off
January.ai
If January.ai were a high school student, they would be the kid who wasn’t in any clubs, who made decent grades, was averagely stylish, and just coasted through school with a few close friends.
The app & sensors
PROS
- Works on both iOS and Android
- Use one CGM to calibrate the AI and then no more CGMs
- Syncs heart rate and workout data from Fitbit, Apple Watch, and Oura Ring (Gen 3)
- Track diabetes medications — you can even set up a schedule
- Manually log weight, (diabetes) medication, food, water, or activities
- The level of detail shown in nutritional details is great! You can see the glycemic index and load as well as a breakdown of nutrients and where you stand for the day
- Scan a barcode to add food
- Save foods and meals to your favorites to easily add again later
- It seems like you can earn some kind of points. I’m not sure what the points are for.
- Tasks section — this section is interesting because it gives you some things to experiment with like eating within your suggested time window but also weird things like wearing your heart rate monitor for 20 hours. I’m not certain an Apple Watch will last that long on once charge…
- There is apparently a way to track your fasting, but I wasn’t able to find it
- Download a report of your data
CONS
- Entering food is a pain. The user experience here is very confusing, even for someone who is good at figuring out the bad experiences. You can search and then filter by brand, restaurant, or recipes. It’s not completely clear how to create a recipe or a meal, though, and I’m not sure where they are pulling the catalog of recipes from. You must choose the meal or recipe tab before you start adding foods to your plate in order to save it as a recipe or a meal. This is a major feature in the app, and I have yet to figure out how to do it properly. I’m not sure there’s a way to add in custom foods that you cook, for instance. Very confusing. Not a fan.
- No way to enter in a custom note.
- Only a light mode. No dark mode.
- You must scan your sensor with a the Libre app and make sure it updates in the January.ai app
- Syncing from the Libre app and from the heart rate device fail often and you have to manually sync the data and wait. Sometimes it just doesn’t sync at all.
- Requires the use of heart rate. There doesn’t seem to be an option to turn that off, currently. If you don’t sync a heart rate device, you can’t use the product.
- Nowhere to access account or billing
- Only available in the US (but not Alaska)
Price
With January, you only need one sensor to calibrate the software. The Starter Kit is required and is a one-time fee of $260. You can choose between paying for membership annually for $120 ($10/month) or monthly for $28/month ($336 total/year).
Summary
I wasn’t super impressed with January.ai. It wasn’t an engaging experience. I had a hard time entering in my food, specifically the food I cooked. I would have liked it to be easier to make and save recipes and meals so that I could add foods easier. It wasn’t very intuitive. There were so many syncing issues that I didn’t even try to keep track with the app. I didn’t log many of my meals and instead just scanned with the Libre app to see the results of what I ate. I love that they have a way to track your medication and set a schedule. I do wish that it was more than just diabetes-specific medication, though. I felt completely lost using this app, with no support. No one reached out to see if I had questions, and I didn’t find an online community for support. For the price, I think that users deserve more. I know that they are doing research and trying to improve their app in the future. Keep in mind, this is still in beta.
Links
Conclusion
None of these apps/services are cheap. None of them have been around for very long. This is the very beginning of a revolution in health and health tech. And these are all just the opinions of a product designer and health nerd, so please take them with a grain of salt. My health goals aren’t yours, and my body responds to food and exercise differently than your body. I hope you will try 1 or all of these and let me know what you think!
Because of CGMs, my life is forever changed. I now have instant feedback on what is happening to my glucose level when I eat. I’ve learned what foods I can and should eat and which foods I should probably limit. I’ve also learned tons of tips and tricks to help keep my glucose more stable. In addition to the several blogs and books mentioned above, I’ve really enjoyed following Glucose Goddess on Instagram (see book link above ☝️). Lots of good info out there.
I regularly get body composition scans to see if I need to adjust things (usually every 4-6 months), and in the first 6 months that I used a CGM, I dropped a % of body fat and maintained my muscle mass. This was huge for me! Dropping the fat wasn’t a goal, but not necessarily a bad thing. Diet and workouts stayed the same. Pretty cool to see that change in just 6 months.
And for those who are curious, I’m currently using Veri based on price, the community, and their app.
For those wondering about other companies utilizing CGM as a tool to help optimize metabolic health, I’m actively researching and trying more apps. I plan on writing about each one in detail and will update the list below. Stay tuned!
Updated 5/3/23 — Signos: A Comprehensive Review of the Continuous Glucose Monitor (CGM) App for Weight Loss
Thank you so much to all of the amazing companies who are trying to make the world a healthier place and for giving people a little bit of power to make more informed decisions.
