When it comes to the fitness app, there are plenty of BetterMe Pilates reviews, but the brand’s other uber-inclusive workouts and whole mind-body wellness tools are less known. See two hands-on reviews, an expert opinion, plus app details.
You may be self-motivated or already have a community for fitness support but just need a bit of health and wellness organization, logging, and aggregation.
If you are looking to find simple classes modified to your accessibility, range of motion, and level of fitness — and log your water, tally your steps, get a healthy dose of mindfulness, or some recipes for the nutritional diet you’ve chosen, BetterMe could help you toward being a better person.
BetterMe launched in 2017 to help “create a healthier world,” supporting everyone no matter their physical ability, age, or gender.
It stands behind a value of diversity and inclusivity, as well as simple accessibility. The four directional points in BetterMe’s compass include:
- BetterMe’s Health Coaching App: What you’d consider its standard app, offering all-in-one AI-workout videos, meal plans, calorie and step trackers, food logs, and mindfulness education.
- BetterMe’s (other) Mental Health App: Similar to the Calm app, this platform offers breathing exercises, guided meditations, and ambient sleep sounds for day- and nighttime balance and peace, plus access to mental coaching.
- BetterMe Store: Similar to Lululemon or Fabletics, BetterMe offers Men’s and Women’s workout Catsuits, athleisure wear, and stylish, nonstandard exercise equipment for Pilates, barre, and light weights. It also sells its own fitness tracker band.
- BetterMe’s Business Platform: The brand’s solution to well-being for employees and a solid perk offering from employers. The BetterMe for Business platform offers a slew of 5- to 10-minute individual (in-office) or team (Zoom) exercises, a burnout prevention program. Each employee will also receive the Health Coaching App and the Mental Health App.
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Healthline sent two testers into the BetterMe world to try out its experiences for a month. Additionally, our expert dietitian explored their website and provided her takeaways.
We investigated hard costs and dove into instruction, presentation, workout variety, meal practicality, and ease of use for logging water intake.
Expert opinion: Kelli McGrane, MS, RD
We reached out to one of our registered dietitians, who’s also a nutritional cookbook author, for an expert take on BetterMe’s approach to fitness and nutrition. Here’s what Kelli McGrane, MS, RD, has to say.
McGrane first noticed the limiting and stereotypical gendered intake questionnaire and imagery. The computer graphics of males were uniform “superfit” imagery, and the illustrations of females were primarily exaggerated “BBL” tropes.
She said: “It perpetuates harmful ideas about body image. The idea of selecting your ‘dream body’ is problematic for many reasons, and it, falsely, implies that it’s possible to change your body type. Using the images alone is problematic and feels unnecessary.”
McGrane adds, “having an image of a person looking down at her stomach and smiling sends such the wrong message.”
Our expert also notes that body mass index alone as an indicator of health is limiting and perpetuates a “weight bias and weight stigma.”
Workouts
Though most of the workouts are Pilates-based, there’s an extensive library of workout types, including calisthenics, body weight, gym/treadmill, and modified workouts or active recovery routines.
Currin especially loved all the attention devoted to the degrees of physical ability. Accessible workouts include:
- back-pain relief
- dance for seniors
- injury-protecting
- injury recovery
- limb loss workouts
- osteoarthritis care and relief
- pre- and postpartum
- posture
- post-cast recovery
- tai chi
- wheelchair fitness
- wheelchair recovery
You do receive a custom workout routine based on your intake questionnaire, but there’s a neatly organized workout library in the app if you want to improvise.
Currin said: “I really liked how it almost seems as though you can run through an entire week of workouts and not repeat an exercise twice! They are very varied in workout options and durations. I liked being able to add my Spotify to integrate my music, but I’ll be honest, they played the instrumental version of popular music, and I enjoyed it!”
Filtering workouts is only possible within each workout type bucket. But you can narrow it down by:
- body focus
- duration
- equipment
- experience level
Currin and Murray were surprised at the AI-powered fitness instruction.
“It was a little jarring at first sight because I was like ‘this lady is moving funny.’ It took me a beat to realize it was an AI video but after that, you kind of fall into step. It was just that some of the movements didn’t seem possible for me — especially when you’re up against a wall,” Currin said. She wished that, at those moments, there was a real person with an average body demonstrating.
“But other than that, I liked the cadence of the demonstration, then the ‘now you try it’ phase.” Murray agreed.
“The timers and videos that are provided with the workouts are super helpful; they even have the techniques showing during the cool-down timers, so you can ensure you have the right form.”
Murray also felt that “BetterMe’s workouts are impressively well-suggested and tailored to individual fitness goals, offering a personalized and effective experience. The app’s intuitive approach and varied exercise routines ensure that users stay motivated and can easily track their progress. Overall, BetterMe provides a comprehensive and engaging workout solution that seems to cater to a wide range of fitness levels and preferences.”
Meal planning
The Meal Planning section offers a range of cuisines for your dietary style, including:
- Balanced
- Bulking
- Cutting
- Gluten-Free
- Keto
- Lactose-Free
- Mediterranean
- Paleo
- Pescatarian
- Traditional
- Type 1 Diabetes
- Type 2 Diabetes
- Vegan
- Vegetarian
- Keto Vegan
- Fish-Free Keto
- Fish-Free Keto Without Eggs
- Fish-Free Traditional
- Egg-Free Keto
- Egg-Free Pescatarian Keto
- Egg-Free Keto Without Nuts
- Egg-Free Traditional
- Pescatarian Keto
- Nut-Free Keto
- Fish-Free Keto Without Eggs
- Nut-Free Keto Vegan
There are a few bugs in BetterMe’s programming. For example, under the Calorie Tracker info, Currin’s Cuisine was listed as “English” instead of her app-recommended “Mediterranean Diet.”
Murray explored the meal-planning section and said: “I found the nutrition and diet section to be somewhat lacking, as it could benefit from more detailed meal plans and dietary guidance. Overall, it’s a solid choice for those seeking fitness support, though improvements in the nutrition aspect would make it even better.”
Water logging
Currin didn’t love that the water logging didn’t offer 20-ounce increments for her. “Maybe it only allows you measurements that total your daily recommended intake but I think it should offer all standard cup or bottle sizes. If you go over or under, that’s on the individual, methinks.”
Intermittent fasting tracking
BetterMe offers manual intermittent fasting tracking that also allows you to customize your fasting time ratio plus educate you on fasting tips, facts, and science. You also have a view of your weekly stats.
Currin was motivated to return to 16:8 fasting after stopping for several years due to unrelated health issues.
“I was ready to get back on the bandwagon, and BetterMe made it a gentle segue. I was even nervous about being hungry, the potential for cluster headaches, and fatigue, and I found the educational components super helpful. There was an [education] lesson on how you can start your day with coffee, even butter in your coffee, to help stay your hunger while not breaking your fast.”
Mindfulness
The Mindfulness Section of BetterMe offers educational sections you can read as slides or listen to the 3-minute lessons on self-control, ruminations, negativity, and your thought life as it relates to nutrition and fitness.
Currin noticed the AI narration on mindfulness mispronounced some words, like “catastrophizing,” which, for her, threw off the credibility and authoritativeness of the mindfulness coaching lesson.
Fitness challenges
For an extra fee, you can engage in fitness challenges and direct message a BetterMe coach.
Store
Currin found the online apparel and equipment store interesting. She observed it sold barre, Pilates, and light “sculpt” weight equipment that looked trendy, svelte, and high end. BetterMe also sells athleisure and workout gear.
“The men’s ‘catsuits’ stood out to me. I don’t know what its sales are like but BetterMe retail site definitely makes what could be considered sexy contouring bodysuits and other athleisure nonbinary and available to all.”
BetterMe Band
BetterMe’s fitness band and tandem fitness tracking app is regularly $129.99 but is presently on sale for $59. Replacement straps are just $14.
If you aren’t the most tech-savvy person, or just prefer a straightforward app that’s not overstimulating you may really appreciate the simplicity of BetterMe. There aren’t tons of notifications with BetterMe, just your daily reminder for your workouts.
Logging your daily water intake and intermittent fasting start and stop times are on your terms and a la carte to the main workout experience and meal planning. The same goes for its mindfulness tools.
If you prefer more one-on-one support and mobile notifications as firm nudges for your next task, a robust virtual community, and the option for live classes or on-demand workouts conducted by a real person, this app might not be for you.
If the ability to pop into live classes or interest in the best weightlifting apps are important to you, BetterMe also may not work for you.
The effectiveness of BetterMe is subjective. Our testers didn’t see measurable weight loss but did feel good about their workouts and were motivated to develop healthy activities geared toward their goals.
| BetterMe in-app subscription options | Cost* |
|---|---|
| weekly | $4.99 |
| 1-month standalone | $19.99 |
| monthly | $9.99 |
| 6-months | $41.99 |
| BetterMe weekly Weight Loss subscription | $9.99 |
| 1-month standalone workout plan | $14.99 |
| BetterMe Fat Loss 3-day program | $9.99 |
| BetterMe monthly mental health app | $19.99 |
*Pricing is based on iOS in app purchase list. We reached out to the company for confirmation.
Can you change or cancel your BetterMe subscription?
Yes, there is an option to cancel by turning off “auto-renewal” in your account’s subscriptions settings if you signed up on your desktop. Otherwise, subscription will renew at the end of each subscription period — weekly, monthly, or every 3, 6, or 12 months.
If you signed up in your mobile app, you’ll need to cancel within your iPhone or Android app store subscription on your phone.
| Fitness app | Monthly cost | Free trial | Coaching? | Class types | Workout filters | Workout types |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| BetterMe | $9.99 | 7 days | yes | • on-demand, AI-curated | • activity type • body focus • duration • equipment • experience level | • back-pain relief • boxing • calisthenics • dance • dance for seniors • equipment • face yoga • family • gym • HIIT • indoor walking • injury-protecting • injury recovery • limb loss workouts • osteoarthritis care and relief • Pilates • pilathenics • pre- and postpartum • posture • post-cast recovery • recovery • resistance band • run • senior fitness • stretch • tabata • Tai-Chi • treadmill • Wheelchair |
| Glo | $30 | 7 days | no | • live • on-demand | • activity type • duration • experience level | • 25 yoga styles • barre • cardio • HIIT • meditation • Pilates • recovery • strength • walking |
| obé Fitness | $27 | 7 days | no | • live • on-demand | • activity type • body focus • duration • equipment • experience level • goals • impact • theme • duration • instructor • music genre • popularity • year | • bounce • boxing • core • dance • jump • meditation • Pilates • recovery • run/walk • sculpt • strength • stretch • yoga |
| Peloton | $12.99 | 30 days | yes | • live • on-demand • gym coaching | • activity type • body focus • duration • theme • difficulty • duration • instructor • mood • music genre • popularity | • boot camp • boxing • cardio • cycling • cool-down • core • dance • family • gym companion • HIIT • meditation • Pilates • outdoor exercise • strength training • tabata • treadmill • warm-up • yoga |
On the Android Google Play store, BetterMe has a rating of 4.5 stars with 583,000 reviews and 10 million downloads.
On the iPhone App Store, BetterMe has a rating of 4.7 stars with 656,200+ ratings.
At 2 weeks, both Currin and Murray felt BetterMe helped build habits that could eventually lead to more awareness, nutritional mindfulness, and fitness, if-not desired weight changes. Here’s how to get started.
Complete a questionnaire
Our reviewers do not recommend the desktop version of the intake questionnaire but say getting started on mobile is your best bet.
Create an account
“The registration process took a matter of maybe 8 minutes and was super easy. I went through my usual browser, so even the payment process went super quick, since everything was auto-filled,” Murray said.
Currin’s take wasn’t too far off.
“It took me less than 10 minutes [to create an account]. I found it just OK. I felt it was limiting in the body types and BMI conclusions. I didn’t find it culturally inclusive, and I found the exaggerated illustrated options for your “dream body” and avatar a turn-off.”
She adds that: “The examples of body types was also limiting and inaccurate to me. The ‘woman’ had the same large boobs, and just her stomach and arms got bigger and bigger when you had to choose your weight category or body shape/body type.”
Currin said she did like the first-person example quotes it gave on certain questions to prompt how you view yourself. “They were relatable and helped me answer queries.”
Customize
Both testers liked that the personalization of your profile doesn’t feel overwhelming. You can select your own image or keep their avatar, you can choose to track water and/or intermittent fasting. You can also select your cuisine type to help you reach your fitness goals while still fitting your preferences or dietary limitations.
BetterMe fitness app may be worth it if you value simplicity and the ability to choose the features you want to engage with while not paying for features you know you won’t use.
Our testers strongly believe the app may be the best on the market if you are looking for fitness in a wheelchair, are limbless in any way, after a surgery or injury, or have range of motion or mobility challenges. It’s highly inclusive of all physical abilities. It’s also worth it for seniors looking to jazz up their activity routine.
BetterMe is $19.99 for a single month. We contacted the brand as pricing for ancillary features was hard to find and inaccurate on the app stores. You may want to contact the company directly to get clarity on additional feature prices before signing up.
Noom is crafted for significant weight loss and deep dives into individual psychology that drives your food relationship. It does have a full library of workout activity types on-demand, which is called Noom Move.
Noom Move comes free in the Noom app’s Success Kit, when you pay for a subscription.
Noom is significantly more costly and comprehensive than Betterme, replete with virtual communities, coaching support, and sub-apps like Noom Vibe or programs like GLP-1 Rx.
Some reviewers find Noom’s suite of offerings overwhelming, and some reviewers find Noom to be life-altering for long-term change.
While BetterMe can be a helpful boost to kickstarting or maintaining self-guided physical fitness and mental wellness, its site and suite of offerings are much simpler and straightforward, which may be of interest to others not-so tech savvy or just looking for minor to moderate fitness change.
For the duration of the 7-day free trial, yes, but afterward it’s $19.99 for a single month with additional fees for add-ons like health coaching and challenges.
BetterMe seems to be a highly inclusive option for a range of mobility and physical nuances. Users praise its simplicity with workouts, water and step tracking, and healthy recipes for many diet types.
However, our testers and some users didn’t love the embedded pricing and inflexibility with contacting customer service, ambiguous charges, and refund difficulty. Our expert and reviewers also didn’t love the gendered and stigmatizing body imagery along with the lack of cultural competency with weight stigma and “dream” body types.
But if you can get past the imagery and stick to the tools and resources you want to utilize, this may just be the simplest and most accessible fitness app for all ages and mobility stages.
If you’re interested in trying BetterMe, you can get started below.