MyFitnessPal vs Noom vs
MyFitnessPal vs Noom vs How It Felt.
MyFitnessPal presents food and activity logging. Noom provides food logging and lessons. How It Felt takes a quieter route: a journal stored locally on your phone, with no account and no assigned programme. The useful choice depends on what you want the app to ask of you.
What each app optimises for
MyFitnessPal vs Noom
MyFitnessPal is for food and activity records; Noom is for food logging and guided lessons.
How It Felt
Private self-reflection: noticing hunger, fullness and the experience of a meal without numbers or an assigned programme.
Side-by-side
| Feature | MyFitnessPal vs Noom | How It Felt |
|---|---|---|
| Primary approach | MyFitnessPal vs Noom MyFitnessPal: food and activity logging. Noom: food logging and lessons. | How It Felt A short, private check-in about the experience of eating. |
| Food logging | MyFitnessPal vs Noom Both provide food logging. MyFitnessPal presents a searchable food catalogue; Noom documents search and barcode-scanner options. | How It Felt No food catalogue or lookup; write what feels useful. |
| Numbers and measurements | MyFitnessPal vs Noom The two services present different tracking and progress features; check their current pages for what is available to you. | How It Felt No assigned score or progress target. |
| Guidance | MyFitnessPal vs Noom Noom provides lessons; MyFitnessPal presents logging features. Check current plan details for available guidance. | How It Felt No lessons or programme to complete. |
| Privacy model | MyFitnessPal vs Noom Review each service's current privacy terms for its account, storage and online-service details. | How It Felt Entries are stored in a local phone database. Optional backup goes to your own iCloud or Google Drive; it does not come to How It Felt. |
| Reviewing patterns | MyFitnessPal vs Noom Both present ways to review logged information; the exact view depends on the app, plan and region. | How It Felt Look back at entries and your own notes without a score or ranking. |
| Cost and access | MyFitnessPal vs Noom Check current plan and platform details for each service. | How It Felt The free tier shows ads; the optional Supporter subscription removes them. |
When to pick which
Consider MyFitnessPal vs Noom when…
- MyFitnessPal may be relevant if food and activity records feel neutral and useful to you.
- Noom may be relevant if lessons and food logging feel supportive rather than pressuring.
- Review the current plan, platform and privacy details for either service before signing up.
Consider How It Felt when…
- You want a private journal rather than a programme to follow.
- You want to notice how eating feels without translating meals into numbers.
- You prefer no account and a journal kept on your phone, with backup under your control if you turn it on.
Verdict
MyFitnessPal and Noom offer more structure around logging and lessons. How It Felt leaves more room to notice. None of these approaches is automatically better; the gentlest fit is the one that leaves you feeling supported rather than monitored.
Frequently asked
Is How It Felt a replacement for MyFitnessPal or Noom?
No. It serves a different purpose. MyFitnessPal and Noom offer logging and structured app experiences; How It Felt is a private reflection journal with no assigned progress target.
What can I record in How It Felt?
You can record photos, notes, meal details, hunger, fullness and feelings. Entries are stored in a local database on your phone.
Does How It Felt include Noom-style lessons?
No. There are no lessons or course to complete. The app is intentionally quiet and self-directed.
Which app is the most private?
There is not enough like-for-like information here to name one app as the most private. How It Felt stores entries locally; backup is optional and, when enabled, goes to your own iCloud or Google Drive. Release builds send anonymous usage events and crash reports, not photos, notes or entry contents. The free tier shows ads, and entries can be exported or deleted in the app.
Can I use a structured app and How It Felt together?
You can, but notice how each one affects you. If logging or progress tracking starts to feel stressful, pausing and discussing it with an eating-disorder-informed clinician may be a kinder next step.
Sources and review date
Comparison claims are based on the public product information linked below and the How It Felt feature set on this site.
- How It Felt product page
- MyFitnessPal official site
- Noom official site
- MyFitnessPal App Store listing
- Noom logging and tracking help
- Noom lessons help
- Noom FAQ
- How It Felt privacy policy
- MyFitnessPal App Store listing: MyFitnessPal
- Noom logging and tracking help: How to Search for Foods or Use the Barcode Scanner
- Noom lessons help: How to find and revisit your Noom lessons
- Noom FAQ: Noom FAQ
- How It Felt privacy policy: Privacy policy
- The current listing describes MyFitnessPal's food and activity logging features; availability and details can change by platform or version. [MyFitnessPal App Store listing]
- Noom's help page describes searching for foods and using its barcode scanner. [Noom logging and tracking help]
- Noom's help page explains how users find and revisit lessons. [Noom lessons help]
- Noom's FAQ is the source for current service and plan details; those details can change. [Noom FAQ]
- How It Felt stores entries in a local phone database. Optional backup goes to the user's own iCloud or Google Drive; release builds send anonymous usage events to Firebase Analytics and crash reports to Firebase Crashlytics, not photos, notes or entry contents. The free tier shows Google AdMob ads. Subscriptions are verified by RevenueCat with an app-generated ID; How It Felt never sees payment details. Entries can be exported or deleted in the app. [How It Felt privacy policy]
Last reviewed: October 30, 2026.
Learn the concepts
Plain-language explainers behind the comparison.
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