Is Stelo the Better Continuous Glucose Monitor for Better Blood Sugar Control?
We’ve been so excited for Stelo – the first no prescription required CGM to be available so that anyone – not just a diabetic – can assess blood sugar via continuous glucose monitoring (CGM). The CGM sensor has revolutionized blood sugar evaluation and optimization. Compared to a single prick of your finger or a hemoglobin A1C, with a CGM sensor, we can see in real-time how choices impact blood sugar and evaluate trends. This helps truly personalize nutrition and lifestyle recommendations if used better. That’s why we jumped on and signed up for Stelo as soon as it was available.
To determine if Dexcom’s newest glucose biosensor, Stelo is a better option for blood sugar continuous glucose monitoring, we must first define what a better CGM experience requires. After 3 years and hundreds of patients with CGM sensors, we believe it includes the following:
- ease of purchase (includes sending a new sensor if first one falls off or is faulty)
- complete tracking (food, drink, supplements, mood, activity, sleep, stress – to name just some of the 40+ factors to evaluate)
- ability to review blood sugar trends
- facilitate practitioner and patient collaboration
What did our Stelo experience reveal?
In this blog, we are giving you an honest review of Stelo, exploring all of its pros and considerations. We want you to be able to make a better investment. So we are also comparing it side-by-side to our Better CGM Experience which is powered through collaboration with Theia – a practitioner only CGM service. So, let’s see how they do!
The Stelo vs The Better CGM Experience (from The Better Nutrition Program (BNP))
CGM Sensor Cost
When it comes to pricing, Stelo takes the crown! For a one-time purchase of $99.00, you get one box with two biosensors that you can wear for up to 30 days. This compares to our cost (via Theia) which is $150 (for the Freestyle Libre 3 which still requires a prescription; cost includes that price).
Stelo: $49.5/sensor
Theia Abbott Freestyle Libre 3: $150/sensor
Advantage Stelo. But keep reading because, especially in healthcare, the first price you see isn’t the whole cost for what you may need.
No Prescription and FDA-Approved
Stelo doesn’t require a prescription so ANYONE without diabetes – WE LOVE THIS – can order it and start monitoring their glucose levels without going through the hassle of obtaining medical approval. Despite that, it’s still FDA-approved, ensuring it meets safety and efficacy standards.
The Better CGM Experience powered by Theia includes an FDA-approved sensor and takes care of getting the prescription as affordably and efficiently as we’ve been able to find anywhere. But it does require additional time and investment (see pricing above and timing below).
Another point for Stelo.
No Alarms
Stelo doesn’t have any of the standard alarms that were designed to help diabetics avoid the health issues of lows and highs. We’ve found that this can disturb non-diabetics and diabetics alike. So for many this is a big win! These often disrupt sleep and are historically not adjustable as they were an intentional health safety feature.
Wow Stelo, looking gooooood.
Easy Instructions and Set-Up
Every step of the Stelo onboarding process was extremely user-friendly, from browsing the website to ordering the sensor and receiving it. Our tester said that she felt that even people with no prior experience with CGMs would find it very easy to start the onboarding process.
Great job Dexcom! Stelo has been very well thought out.
The feedback we’ve received from hundreds of Theia users and using it ourselves for our partners is that the onboarding is also very easy. At BNP, we get extra love for the fact that users connect with a human to do the application and – if needed – onboarding with them.
Not Below 70
One thing that is critical for non-diabetics (and diabetics alike) is to be able to see when blood sugar is lower, how low it actually is, and also for you (and ideally your practitioner) to personalize your better blood sugar range.
This is not an option in Stelo.
The app ONLY gives you two different range options. The downfall, the low end of the range is 70, and the lowest reading Stelo will give you is “below 70”. So, if you dip below that, you’re left in the dark. Did you drop to 68 or all the way down to 42? Big difference, right?! This little detail can make a huge impact on your overall tracking, and what your “average” blood sugar is – this is NOT BETTER.
For our patients, and we believe for all, knowing when they are at a 60 vs a 50 is key as is being able to show them what is driving their average.
Advantage the Better CGM Experience.
Quick Set-Up and Delivery
The speed of the Stelo shipping and onboarding process was excellent and made getting started a breeze. Our tester had hers within 2 days. This win is the result of not needing to wait for a prescription. For comparison, the Theia ordering and delivery is usually 4-5 days.
If you’re looking to do this fast, Stelo is a win… but sometimes an impulse buy ends up as buyers remorse. Let’s keep reviewing.
Quality and Durability
The patch Stelo offers is awesome! Plus, you can grab some fun designs right from their website and have fun with them. It sticks pretty well, but heads up—just like all other sensors, long, extended exposures to the water can decrease the lifespan of the sensor. Theia also provides a black T patch for every sensor.
Built to last – for 14 days. This is exactly what we’ve experienced with our partners.
That said, for both services, the potential for a device to not work or break is high and thus, the ability for it to get replaced is key.
Replacement policies can be a real headache!
We love how Theia approaches it – yes they have to rely on Abbott to ship your replacement but it is so easy to request a replacement.
Not so with Stelo.
Imagine being told to toss the packaging during onboarding, only to realize later that it’s the only place where your serial number is printed—and guess what? You’ll need that number if you ever need a replacement. Stelo tip: don’t ditch the box right away! Either keep it until your sensor finishes or snap a quick pic of that serial number. It could save you some hassle down the road!
Advantage the Better CGM Experience (and Theia!)
Tracking Features
The Stelo sensor is linked to an app where you can access your data. It tracks your glucose every 5 minutes, giving you real-time monitoring of your levels. Because it uses an app, you can also sync your data to your Apple Health. That will allow you to view your glucose daily average and range.
However, there are limited options for tracking meal, caffeine, supplements, stress, activity or other factors.
At BNP, we like a broader range of options so we can experiment with 40+ factors that can affect your blood sugar.
And writing down what you ate and drank can be a time suck. We love that with Theia we have the option for photo tracking and also to identify a regularly occurring choice (time you take meds or supplements, breakfast you eat, exercise you do or time you sleep) and to track “other” choices that you and your practitioner determine are of value (when you were in zone 2 vs zone 3 training, traveling vs at-home etc.)
Advantage BNP – the better CGM experience is better because we look at all the different choices you make to see how each one alone and in collaboration impact your blood sugar.
Data Sharing
We were so excited to make this relationship official – BNP + Stelo 4ever – but this triggered a breakup! It’s good to find out early – right? And we want to save you from the same concerns. For most of you, this is the reason you shouldn’t start your CGM experience with Stelo.
There is no way to seamlessly export or share your data with any third parties. Data is better when shared! Collecting your glucose levels is only the first part of the Better CGM Experience. We need to be able to evaluate your data to truly personalize your nutrition plan.
Now you may be thinking that you don’t need a practitioner to review (or the extra cost), but our experience has taught us differently. We’ve seen too many people making not better food choices to try to “win” with better blood sugar numbers. Or they are blaming a food for its impact on their blood sugar, when it was really one of the other 40+ factors. And they didn’t have the patience to evaluate their trends so they were getting very upset with each number (or overly proud when it was low – despite that being the impact of alcohol or not better food choices).
Data that’s not useful is well just numbers – what’s the point of going through the hassle in the first place? You will pay the price in dollars and frustration.
“I was very disappointed by not being able to share any of my numbers with BNP as I don’t want to nor have the ability to interpret it completely on my own.” our Stelo tester remarked.
To make it work, users would have to manually send screenshots of their data every day, which is not only tedious but also impractical for a longer tracking duration.
NOT BETTER. Stelo will be getting this feedback and let’s see if they make it better. Until then we suggest sticking with a better app and a HIPPA compliant system.
Interpreting daily glucose charts can already be challenging, especially if you’re unsure what a healthy range should look like. That’s why working with a practitioner is so valuable when using these tools.
WINNER the Better CGM Experience from BNP. For now, we can’t recommend Stelo. And here are a few more reasons why.
Stelo has Data Viewing Restrictions (!!)
By now you know that seeing your data not just in the moment but overtime matters as much or even more. Initially excited about the Stelo Dexcom app integration, we found it underwhelming to discover that you can only view your data on the graph for 24 hours.
After 24 hours your data goes POOF! You can’t access your historical data or revisit previous trends. You can sync it to Apple Health. But, even with that, you only get a range and a daily average, not detailed readings.
This is like if you got your vitamin D level tested and you could only see it for 24 hours and then not see it 3-6 months later when you are trying to compare it to a new level for improvements etc.
REALLY NOT BETTER. SWIPE LEFT (for now, with Stelo it’s not a better relationship to invest in).
From our tester “When experimenting with my CGM, I was excited to track how my glucose levels fluctuate over the mornings. Did anything change? Did they stay the same? When testing out different breakfasts, which one was better? Unfortunately, with the Stelo, unless I took screenshots, I’ll never know– its data is limited to a 24-hour window, making it impossible to compare trends over multiple days. This is probably the biggest disappointment because I want to see the real impact of lifestyle changes and factors like food choices, activities, and mood. Without the ability to compare day-by-day results, or even results from my sensor over the course of a few months, how can I truly know if I’m making progress? The lack of detailed data and ongoing review capability feels more like a superficial snapshot than a thorough assessment.”
Stelo also has Limited Data Display 😢
Another disappointment for the Stelo app. It does not list out individual readings meaning you have to tap your phone screen and scroll across for each reading. Plus, the graph doesn’t display when you input extra data. Definitely not helpful if you are trying to share your data with your practitioner! In the Theia app, which we will detail more about below, your information and inputs are integrated with your glucose recordings. For our clinical team, this is very helpful so we can track how different factors, activities, and actions impact your blood sugar.
On Theia’s dashboard and in the app, you can see icons where data was tracked.
In Stelo you can only see what the glucose reading was and the time of the reading. You would have to flip to another tab in the app to match up the time of the action and flip back to the graph to compare it.
So is Stelo better for your blood sugar continuous glucose monitoring?
Based on the above we would not recommend it as a first CGM sensor for anyone. It could be a good option for those who already understand glucose tracking and have a solid grasp on their action plan. And if that person does not have <70 glucose readings with any frequency.
Why choose the Better CGM Experience?
(you can also chat us right now for truly personalized feedback on your better choice)
Whether a newbie, looking to optimize blood sugar or seeking to maintain your current levels as part of efforts to get and stay healthy, the Better CGM Experience should be strongly considered.
Optimizing blood sugar is foundational for all better health outcomes – autoimmune disease, weight health, sports performance, inflammation, cholesterol, cancer risk reduction, fertility and more. It’s smarter to invest in the better experience to reap the benefits of a truly personalized experience
Better CGM pricing tip: you can reduce your costs by getting a prescription from your practitioner (if applicable) and then the $150 becomes just $35. We’re here to partner with you for the long game wins – lasting better health! With The Better Nutrition Program and Theia at your side, you’ll have ongoing support and personalized feedback every step of the way. Whether your glucose spikes or dips, we’ve got you covered. Together, we’ll make sure your journey to better health is as smooth as possible—and maybe even a little fun along the way! Let’s crush those goals, one reading at a time!
