01 Weeks 0 to 2
Read your gut at species level
One stool sample, posted back in the box. Shotgun metagenomic sequencing, checked against 8,069 reference metagenomes. The same class of method ZOE uses.
nb1 Advanced vs ZOE. UK comparison
Both read your gut. Only one builds your formula, then checks it worked.
ZOE and nb1 both use shotgun metagenomic sequencing on a stool sample. ZOE turns the reading into food scores. nb1 Advanced turns it into a supplement formula dosed to you, posted monthly, and read again at month three.
Checkout code
NB1FIRST
Valid on 4 and 12 month plans only. Not available on the monthly rolling plan.
- £144 upfront
- nb1: your first month, then your second free with your code
- £149 upfront
- ZOE: test kit fee1
Written by Dr. Polina Novikova
ZOE is a nutrition programme. It reads your gut, blood fat and blood sugar, then scores foods so you can change how you eat. nb1 Advanced is a personalised supplement programme. It reads your gut and blood, builds a formula from the result, and reads you again at month three to see what moved.
If your main goal is changing your diet, choose ZOE. It fits better, costs less, and has a substantial published research base behind it. If you want a formula built for your gut, without changing how you eat, and checked against a second reading, that is nb1 Advanced. Some people will want both.
The difference in one loop
Read. Build. Read again.
Step one is shared with ZOE. Steps two and three are what you are paying nb1 Advanced for.
02 Week 4, then monthly
Build your formula, dosed to you
Strains, fibres, vitamins and botanicals are chosen and dosed against your reading, signed off by a specialist, manufactured, and posted in morning and evening packs. Documented strains include BB-12, B420 and 1714.
Month 0 Month 3
Illustrative example only. Not patient data and not a typical result.
03 Month 3
Read again, rebuild, show what changed
A second sample at month three. Your formula is rebuilt against the fresh data and you see the two readings side by side. Repeated every cycle after. ZOE has no equivalent of this step.
Advanced onlyNet: ZOE tells you what to eat. nb1 reads your gut, builds your formula, then reads again to show it worked.
Start with Advanced, 1 month freeSide by side
ZOE vs nb1 Advanced
Advanced is compared here because it is the like for like plan: gut plus blood, with the retest. ZOE figures are taken from zoe.com and dated below.
| Criterion | ZOE | nb1 Advanced |
|---|---|---|
| Upfront cost | £149 for the test kit1 | £144 for your first month, second month free with your code |
| Ongoing cost | £9.99/month app membership2 | £149/month, formula included |
| Year one, approximate | £2692 | £1,639 with 1 month free |
| Gut test method | Shotgun metagenomic sequencing3 | Shotgun metagenomic sequencing |
| Also measures | Blood fat response, blood sugar via CGM3 | Blood biomarkers from cycle two |
| What you receive | Food scores in an app, 0 to 1004 | A personalised supplement formula, posted monthly |
| Retested and rebuilt | No4 | Yes, at month three and every cycle after |
| Effort required | Wear a CGM for two weeks, eat test muffins, log meals3 | Post one sample |
| Supplements | Daily30+, identical for every customer, sold separately5 | Built from your reading, included in the price |
| Time to results | Four to six weeks3 | About four weeks |
| Membership options | 1, 4 or 12 month terms2 | Monthly, cancel anytime |
ZOE pricing correct as of August 2026, taken from zoe.com. Reviewed quarterly. Year one figures are approximate: ZOE £149 kit + 12 × £9.99; nb1 Advanced 11 × £149 with 1 month free. Every ZOE claim on this page is numbered to the Works Cited list.
Net: ZOE costs less and measures more inputs. nb1 Advanced costs more and is the only one of the two that manufactures something for you and reads you again afterwards.
Effort required
What the first month asks of you
ZOE
14 days of active participation
- Wear a continuous glucose monitor for two weeks.
Applied to the arm. Tracks blood sugar response to meals.3 - Eat standardised test muffins.
Plus a blood fat test after the meal.3 - Log meals in the app.
Throughout the test period.3 - Post a stool sample.
Two week participation period as described by ZOE. zoe.com, accessed August 2026.3
Day 1 Day 14
Glucose monitor worn
Meals logged in the app
Stool sample posted
Test meal days are not marked: ZOE does not publish how many there are.
nb1 Advanced
1 day of active participation
- Post one stool sample.
Two minutes at home. Returned in the same box, postage included. A blood sample follows in cycle two. - Nothing else.
No monitor, no test meals, no logging.
Day count is for the first month. The month three reading repeats step one.
Net: ZOE asks for two weeks of active participation because it measures three things. nb1 asks for one sample because it measures one, then acts on it.
What arrives
An app, or a box
ZOE
An app. Every food is scored 0 to 100 for you, based on your gut, blood fat and blood sugar results, with meal guidance and coaching content.4 Supplements (Daily30+) are a separate purchase and the same for every customer.5
Food scores, 0 to 100
Scored food by food, in the app.4
Blood fat and blood sugar
Measured during the test period.3
Daily30+, bought separately
The same product for every customer.5
Illustrative. Drawn by nb1 from published ZOE information. Not a reproduction of the ZOE app. zoe.com, accessed August 2026.45
nb1 Advanced
Three physical items posted monthly, presorted into morning and evening packs, plus your full sequencing data. Every item is built from your reading.
Net: ZOE gives you information to act on. nb1 gives you the thing itself.
Cost, directly
ZOE is cheaper. Here is what the difference buys.
ZOE
£149 test kit
then £9.99/month app membership2
About £269 in year one.1,2 Supplements, if you want them, are bought separately.
nb1 Advanced
£144 upfront
second month free with your code, then £144/month, formula included
About £1,639 in year one with 1 month free. Sequencing, retest and supplements are all inside that number.
For someone who wants a personalised supplement routine, the fairer comparison is total monthly spend. The ZOE route: £9.99 for the app, plus whatever you buy off the shelf. The nb1 route: £149, supplements included and dosed to you. How that lands depends on what you already buy. Enter your own numbers below.
Step 1 of 2
What do you take today?
Tick each supplement. Enter roughly what it costs you per month.
Prices are yours, not ours. We do not fill in shelf prices for you. Nothing you enter is stored.
Step 2 of 2
What your current spend covers
Tick what you take and enter a monthly price. This pane shows how much of nb1 Advanced at £149 per month it already covers.
You spend today
£0 /mo
across 0 products
nb1 Advanced
£149 /mo
formula included
Covered by your existing spend 0%
Your current spend already covers the whole of nb1 Advanced. 0 shelf products become one formula built from your reading, retested at month three.
Your existing spend covers £0 of the £149. The remaining £0 is less than ZOE's test kit fee (£149).
Inside the £149
The remaining £0 buys
- Shotgun metagenomic sequencing, read at species level
- A formula dosed to your reading, posted monthly
- A second reading at month three, and a rebuilt formula
- Blood biomarkers from cycle two
Whether any of these ingredients appear in your formula depends on your reading. If your gut calls for one of them, it is included at a dose matched to you. If it does not, it is left out. Probiotic strains are documented, trademarked cultures such as BB-12, B420 and 1714.
Start with Advanced, 1 month free
1 month free, applied on your second month.
Net: As a test, ZOE costs a fraction of nb1. As a monthly supplement routine, the gap is whatever your current stack does not already cover.
Which one
Who should choose which
Choose ZOE if
- Your priority is changing how you eat, and you want guidance food by food.
- You want the lowest cost entry into gut testing.
- You want blood sugar and blood fat responses measured alongside your gut.
- You value a large published research base behind the programme.
Choose nb1 Advanced if
- You want a formula built for your gut, without changing how you eat.
- You already buy supplements and would rather they were chosen and dosed from your data.
- You want the result checked against a second reading at month three.
- You would rather post one sample than run a two week test protocol.
Some people will want both: ZOE to change the diet, nb1 to build and check the formula.
Nothing in either programme prevents that. If you do both, tell nb1 what you take so the formula accounts for it.
Start with Advanced, 1 month free
First month paid at order.
Two minutes, morning and night. Nothing else changes.
Questions people search
Frequently asked
Is ZOE worth it?
For many people, yes. ZOE costs about £269 in year one, measures gut, blood fat and blood sugar responses, and has a substantial published research base. If your goal is to change how you eat with guidance food by food, it is the more suitable and cheaper of the two programmes compared here. It does not build a supplement formula from your results or retest you.
What is the best gut microbiome test in the UK?
There is no single best test; it depends on what you want done with the result. ZOE and nb1 both use shotgun metagenomic sequencing on a stool sample, so the reading itself is comparable. ZOE turns the reading into food scores. nb1 turns it into a supplement formula and, on Advanced, repeats the reading at month three to show what changed.
Can I use both ZOE and nb1?
Yes. Nothing in either programme prevents it. Some people use ZOE to change their diet and nb1 Advanced to build and check a supplement formula. If you do both, tell nb1 about any supplements you take so the formula accounts for them.
Do ZOE and nb1 test the same things?
The gut test is the same class of method: shotgun metagenomic sequencing. ZOE additionally measures blood fat response and blood sugar via a continuous glucose monitor. nb1 Advanced adds blood biomarkers from cycle two. Neither company’s sequencing method is better than the other’s; the difference is what happens with the result.
Why is nb1 more expensive than ZOE?
Because the £149 a month includes a manufactured product. ZOE’s price covers a test and an app. nb1 Advanced’s price covers the test, a formula built and dosed from your reading, monthly manufacture and postage, and a second sequencing at month three. Whether that is worth it depends on what you would otherwise spend on supplements; the calculator above works it through with your own numbers.
Do I need to change my diet with nb1?
No. nb1 does not ask you to change how you eat. The formula is built for the gut you have now. If you also want to change your diet, ZOE is designed for that.
What happens at the nb1 retest?
At month three on Advanced you post a second sample. It is sequenced the same way as the first, the two readings are shown side by side, and your formula is rebuilt against the new data. This repeats every cycle. Core does not include the retest; one can be added on request.
Who checks the method
Reviewed from inside and outside nb1
Who wrote this page
-
Dr. Polina Novikova
Chief Scientific Officer, nb1. PhD Bioinformatics, University of Luxembourg
Dr. Polina Novikova owns the nb1 method end to end, from raw shotgun sequencing to formula decision logic. She is a published metagenomics researcher, first author in ISME Communications on functional prediction from the human gut archaeome.9 Each nb1 reading is benchmarked against 8,069 gut metagenomes and tracks 155 signature species against peer reviewed references.7
Independently validated
-
Prof. Dr. Dirk Haller
Nutrition and Immunology, TU Munich. Director, ZIEL Institute
-
Prof. Dr. Koen Venema
Gut Microbiology. Editor in Chief, Beneficial Microbes
Two academics with no stake in nb1 review and challenge the method and the claims made from it.8 Manufacturing runs in nb1’s own European facility to GMP standards, with an ISO 9001 quality system.10 Meet the science board8
Start here
Your second month is free. Your formula is made only for you.
Order the kit, post one sample, and see your gut read at species level. The comparison on this page is Advanced, because only Advanced repeats the reading. Core is the entry option.
Advanced
£149 /mo
Gut + blood. Retested and rebuilt every cycle.
Start with Advanced, 1 month freeCode NB1FIRST
Valid on 4 and 12 month plans only. Not available on the monthly rolling plan.
Core
£99 /mo
Gut reading and a formula built from it. Retest on request, not included.
- Your gut, read at species level
- A formula built from your data
- Three components, posted monthly
- Cancel anytime
Works cited
All ZOE sources accessed August 2026. Copies held on file.
- 1 ZOE, test kit price £149 upfront. Accessed August 2026. zoe.com
- 2 ZOE, membership pricing £9.99 per month; 1, 4 and 12 month terms. Accessed August 2026. zoe.com
- 3 ZOE, how the test works Shotgun metagenomic sequencing, CGM, blood fat test, standardised test meals, results timeline. Accessed August 2026. zoe.com
- 4 ZOE, membership and app features Food scores 0 to 100. Accessed August 2026. zoe.com
- 5 ZOE, Daily30+ product page Sold separately; single formulation. Accessed August 2026. zoe.com
- 6 nb1, Our plans Advanced £149 and Core £99 per month, billed monthly, cancel anytime, gut retests every other cycle on Advanced. Accessed September 2026. nb1.com/en
- 7 nb1, The Lab Shotgun metagenomic sequencing, 8,069 reference metagenomes, 155 signature species, strains BB-12, B420 and 1714. Accessed September 2026. nb1.com/en/the-lab
- 8 nb1, The science board Dr. Polina Novikova, Chief Scientific Officer; independent validators Prof. Dr. Dirk Haller and Prof. Dr. Koen Venema. Accessed September 2026. try.nb1.com/the-science-board
- 9 Novikova PV, Busi SB, Probst AJ, May P, Wilmes P Functional prediction of proteins from the human gut archaeome. ISME Communications, 2024. doi.org/10.1093/ismeco/ycad014
- 10 nb1, Our Standards Own European facility, GMP manufacture, ISO 9001 quality system, ingredient testing in accredited EU labs. Accessed September 2026. try.nb1.com/our-standards
Non affiliation
nb1 is not affiliated with, endorsed by or connected to ZOE. ZOE is a trade mark of its owner and is referred to here for identification only. No ZOE logo, brand colours or imagery are reproduced on this page; the app panel above is drawn by nb1 from published ZOE information.
Supplements
Food supplements should not be used as a substitute for a varied, balanced diet and a healthy lifestyle. Do not exceed the stated dose. Keep out of reach of children.
Medical
nb1 is a wellness and lifestyle subscription. Sequencing insights are informational and do not constitute medical advice. Supplements are not intended to diagnose, treat, cure or prevent any disease. If you are pregnant, nursing or taking medication, consult your healthcare provider before use. Formulas are generated from sequencing data and approved by a qualified researcher prior to manufacture.