Omada Health and Livongo are the two connected, employer-funded programs people most often weigh against each other for diabetes. Both are contracted by employers and health plans, both are usually free to the member, and both combine devices with coaching. The difference is where each puts its weight: Omada on a structured curriculum, Livongo on the device and its data.
One wrinkle to know upfront: Teladoc Health acquired Livongo in 2020, so the program many people still call Livongo now lives inside Teladoc's chronic-care line. This comparison covers what each is, how the acquisition changed things, how access and cost work, and which model fits your situation.
The Verdict
Side by side
| Criterion | Omada Health | Livongo (Teladoc) |
|---|---|---|
| What it is | Digital care program, curriculum-led | Connected-device diabetes management |
| Owner | Omada Health (independent) | Teladoc Health (acquired Livongo in 2020) |
| How you get it | Employer or health plan | Employer or health plan |
| Member cost | Usually $0 through a benefit | Usually $0 through a benefit |
| Core method | DPP curriculum, coaching, connected devices | Connected glucometer, unlimited strips, real-time alerts |
| Condition breadth | Diabetes, hypertension, weight, MSK, prevention | Diabetes and hypertension, within Teladoc chronic care |
| Emphasis | Structured lessons and behavior change over time | Device data and just-in-time nudges |
| Best fit | Wants a broad, curriculum-based program | Wants device-driven monitoring and alerts |
What each one is
Omada Health
Omada is a digital care program grounded in the Diabetes Prevention Program curriculum, delivered through employer benefits and health plans. Members get a health coach, connected devices such as a cellular scale or blood-pressure cuff, and structured lessons across diabetes prevention, diabetes and hypertension management, weight health, and musculoskeletal care. Its emphasis is behavior change over time, with the curriculum and coaching doing the work and the devices supporting them. Most members pay nothing directly, because a payer contracts the program.
Livongo (Teladoc)
Livongo is a connected-device diabetes-management program built around a cellular glucometer that ships with unlimited test strips and sends readings to a coaching platform in real time. When a reading is out of range, the system can trigger an immediate outreach, which is the feature the model is known for. Teladoc Health acquired Livongo in 2020 and integrated it into its chronic-care offerings, so it now reaches members as part of Teladoc's diabetes and hypertension management. Like Omada, it is contracted by employers and health plans and usually free to the member.
Where each fits
Because both are usually free through a benefit, the decision is rarely about price. It is about which model matches how you want to be supported.
- You want tight glucose monitoring and immediate feedback. Livongo is built for that, with unlimited strips and real-time alerts on out-of-range readings.
- You want to change habits across more than one condition. Omada's curriculum spans diabetes, blood pressure, and weight, with lessons and coaching over time.
- You have prediabetes and want prevention. Omada's DPP-based prevention track is aimed squarely at stopping progression before diabetes develops.
- You want the simplest device experience. Livongo centers on one meter and its data stream rather than a lesson-based program.
Who should pick each
Pick Livongo (Teladoc) if: your benefits offer it, you have diabetes, and you want device-driven monitoring with unlimited test strips and alerts that reach you when a reading is off. You value immediate, data-triggered feedback over a structured curriculum.
Pick Omada if: your benefits offer it and you want a broader program that addresses diabetes alongside blood pressure and weight, with coaching and lessons designed to change habits over time. You would rather have a curriculum and a coach than a meter at the center.
Who should look elsewhere
If your goal is coming off diabetes medication rather than managing it, neither is built for reversal, and a program like Virta targets that directly. If you cannot get either through a benefit, a consumer option like Noom is purchasable today, and standard primary care remains available through your insurance. Our Omada alternatives guide and the Omada vs Virta comparison cover those routes.
The difference that shows up in month six
Both programs work well in the first few weeks, when a new device and a new coach are novel. The gap opens later, and it is worth predicting before you choose. Each model has a characteristic way it quietly stops working, and knowing which failure you are more prone to is a better guide than a feature list.
Livongo's alert-driven design assumes readings prompt action. For someone whose glucose is frequently out of range early on, a stream of alerts can become background noise, and alert fatigue is the failure mode: the notifications keep coming and stop being read. Omada's curriculum design assumes you keep engaging with lessons and coaching over months. Its failure mode is drift, where the structured content starts feeling repetitive and the daily check-ins lapse. In our work auditing this category, sustained engagement, not the device or the curriculum itself, is what separates members who improve from those who do not.
So the practical question is which format you will actually stay with. If real-time feedback motivates you and you will act on a nudge, Livongo's model fits. If you learn better from structure and a coach relationship built over time, Omada's does. Pick the one whose failure mode you are least likely to hit.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is the difference between Omada Health and Livongo?
Both are employer-and-plan-contracted digital programs that are usually free to the member, but they emphasize different things. Omada is curriculum-led: a DPP-based program with structured lessons, coaching, and connected devices across diabetes, hypertension, weight, and musculoskeletal care. Livongo, now part of Teladoc Health, is device-led: it centers on a connected glucometer with unlimited test strips and real-time coaching alerts triggered by your readings. Omada leans toward behavior change over time; Livongo leans toward moment-to-moment monitoring and nudges.
Is Livongo still around after the Teladoc acquisition?
Yes, though the branding has shifted. Teladoc Health acquired Livongo in 2020 and folded it into its chronic-care line, so the connected-glucometer program many people knew as Livongo now sits within Teladoc's diabetes and hypertension management offerings. The underlying model, a cellular glucometer with unlimited strips, data-driven alerts, and coaching, continues. If your employer or plan offers "Teladoc diabetes management," that is the descendant of Livongo.
Which is cheaper, Omada or Livongo?
For most members both are free or near-free, because both are contracted by employers and health plans rather than sold directly. Neither has a meaningful consumer price, and neither is designed to be bought by an individual. So the cost comparison usually comes down to which one your employer or health plan offers, not to a difference in price. Whichever is in your benefits is the one that is effectively free to you.
Is Omada or Livongo better for diabetes management?
It depends on whether you want a curriculum or a device. Livongo is built around a connected glucometer with unlimited strips and real-time alerts, which suits someone who wants tight, data-driven monitoring and immediate feedback on readings. Omada is built around a structured curriculum and coaching, which suits someone who wants to change habits over time across more than one condition. Both include coaching and both are clinical programs; the difference is where the emphasis sits, on the device or on the lessons.
Can I get either one without an employer or health plan?
Usually not. Both Omada and Livongo, now Teladoc, are designed as business-to-business programs contracted by employers and insurers, so there is no standard consumer checkout for either. If neither is available through your benefits and you want something you can buy directly, a consumer app such as Noom is purchasable today, and standard primary care remains available through your own insurance. Our alternatives guide maps the reachable options by situation.
Which should I choose?
First check which one your benefits actually include, since that decides access before any feature comparison. If you can get both, choose by emphasis: Livongo if you want device-driven monitoring with unlimited test strips and real-time alerts, Omada if you want a structured curriculum and support across diabetes, blood pressure, and weight together. Both coordinate with your own physician rather than replacing them, so keep your primary care or endocrinology team in the loop either way.