Withings vs Renpho: smart scales compared by price, metrics, app and subscription

Withings vs Renpho at a glance

Withings and RENPHO both sell smart scales that send a weak electrical current through your feet and estimate body composition from how easily it flows. That is where the similarity ends. The two brands sit at very different price points, and each sells several models, so “Withings vs Renpho” is really a question about which model, which app and which fees.

This page compares the Withings Body Comp with two RENPHO scales, the Elis 1 and the MorphoScan, using only what the manufacturers publish on their own pages. Every price and feature below was read on October 16, 2026. Prices change, so check the store before you buy.¹³⁴

There is no score and no ranking here. A scale that suits a household that wants a low price and a simple weight trend is not the scale that suits someone who wants many users and heart-related extras. The sections below give the facts, then the criteria, then who each option suits.

Side-by-side table, read on October 16, 2026

Each cell comes from the manufacturer’s own page, and the number in brackets points to it. Where a page does not say something, the cell says so instead of guessing. Silence on a page is not the same as “no”: a page that does not mention electrodes may simply not list them.

Two things stand out. First, the Withings Body Comp is priced about nine times higher than the Elis 1 on the same day, and the Withings page adds heart-related extras, a color screen, Wi-Fi and up to 8 users, while both rely on the same basic method of passing current through the feet.¹³ Second, RENPHO’s own range stretches from $24.99 to $179.99 in the pages read, so the brand name alone tells you little about which model you are comparing.³⁴

Metrics: what each brand says its scale reports

Withings keeps its list short. The product page names body fat, total body water, muscle mass, bone mass, visceral fat and basal metabolic rate, and adds standing heart rate, vascular age and an electrodermal activity score.¹ Its US user guide describes the scale as a wellness product that measures weight, calculates BMI, measures pulse rate and estimates vascular age, and adds that the body composition readings are intended for weight management and for maintaining healthy levels of muscle, bone and fat mass in adults.²

RENPHO lists many more numbers. The Elis 1 page announces 13 metrics, including skeletal muscle and muscle mass as two separate entries, plus protein, subcutaneous fat and metabolic age.³ The MorphoScan page claims 50 or more metrics and names, among others, a waist-hip ratio and a body type label.⁴

A longer list is not the same as more information. Most of these figures are derived from the same electrical measurement plus the age, height and sex you type into the app. The derived values can look precise while resting on assumptions. Two of them get a full explanation on separate pages: visceral fat and muscle mass. For the difference between the water and muscle numbers, see the guide to body water percentage.

If you want to know what “metabolic age” means before you let it drive a decision, read the guide to metabolic age. It is a manufacturer-defined number, not a medical measurement.

App, accounts and subscription

The scale is only half of the product. The app stores the history, draws the trends and sets how many people can use the scale.

• Withings: the page says the scale connects over Wi-Fi or Bluetooth, supports up to 8 users and cannot be set up from a computer, so you need a supported phone.¹ The data is described as free. Withings+ is an optional plan with one free month, then $99.50 a year.¹
• RENPHO Elis 1: the RENPHO Health App is described as free, with unlimited profiles and automatic user recognition. The page mentions no paid tier.³
• RENPHO MorphoScan: the page says the scale must be used with the MorphoScan app and says the RENPHO Health App is free to download. It mentions no paid tier.⁴

“Mentions no paid tier” describes what the page says on the reading date. It is not a promise that the app will stay free. If an app-only fee would change your decision, look at the app’s store listing and the manufacturer’s terms before you buy.

Also check what happens to your data. Smart scales store body measurements, which are personal health information. Read the brand’s privacy notice and note whether you can export or delete your history.

How accurate are impedance scales, and what can a brand comparison tell you?

The honest answer is that this page cannot rank the brands for accuracy, and no source read for it can either. None of the studies read here tested these particular Withings or RENPHO models against a reference method, so any number that says one is “more accurate” would be invented.

What the literature does show is the general pattern for impedance. Under standardized conditions (in the morning, fasting, after emptying the bladder), one study found a day-to-day variation of 2.8 percent in body impedance, and a meal, strenuous exercise or a drink could shift the reading.⁶ A 2025 study of 1,000 healthy adults compared a clinical multi-frequency device with a DXA scan. It found strong correlation but a consistent bias: the device read body fat percentage about 4.2 points lower in men and 2.8 points lower in women, and it was weakest for visceral fat.⁷ That was a professional device, not a home scale, so treat it as a sign of the general limits of the method rather than a verdict on any brand.

Two practical conclusions follow. First, the trend on one scale, measured under the same conditions, is more useful than a number compared across scales. Second, if you want a number you can lean on, a scan in a clinic is the benchmark. The guide to DEXA scans vs smart scales sets out the difference, and are smart scales accurate goes through the error sources one by one.

How to choose: six buying criteria

Budget, all-in

Add the scale price and any yearly plan. Withings’ optional plan adds $99.50 a year once the free month ends.¹ A $24.99 scale with a free app and a $229.95 scale with an optional plan are different bets on how much you will use the extras.

Users

Withings lists up to 8 users.¹ RENPHO’s Elis 1 lists unlimited profiles in the app.³ If several people share the scale, check how user recognition works, because a reading assigned to the wrong person corrupts both histories.

Metrics you will act on

Pick the scale that reports the numbers you will actually track. A shorter list from a brand that explains it can be more useful than 50 numbers you never open.

Connection and setup

Withings and the Vita list Wi-Fi.¹⁸ The Withings page says the scale stores up to 16 readings if it cannot sync wirelessly, and the RENPHO Elis 1 page mentions Bluetooth only.¹³ Check how each model syncs before you choose.

Health conditions

Every manufacturer read here warns against body-composition scanning with a pacemaker or similar implant, and the Withings guide notes that accuracy may be affected in pregnancy.²³⁴ If either applies, ask your clinician before you step on.

Software support

Check the phone versions the app supports. The Withings page names iOS 18 or later and Android 12 or later.¹ An older phone may not run a current app.

The Chutex Vita appears in the table for completeness. It is a Wi-Fi scale with 8 electrodes.⁸ Like every scale here, it gives estimates for tracking trends at home and does not diagnose or treat anything.

Who each option suits

If you want to go deeper into the category before you pick, the guide to the best smart scales for body composition explains how to evaluate any model, and how to measure body fat at home gives a repeatable weigh-in routine.

A weigh-in routine that works on any scale

Whatever you buy, the numbers are only comparable if the conditions are. RENPHO’s own FAQ advises weighing at the same time each day, such as the morning, and says body measurements may not be accurate after heavy physical activity.⁵ It also says to stand barefoot on dry feet with both feet on the electrode plates, to place the scale on a hard, flat surface because carpet can cause inaccuracies, and to stay still for about 10 seconds.⁵ The Withings guide likewise tells you to step on with bare feet and says not to step on with wet feet.²

RENPHO adds that it is more important to watch overall trends than the absolute value of a single measurement.⁵ That advice holds for every brand. It also explains why switching scales mid-way resets your baseline: the new scale has its own equations, so start a new trend line instead of comparing across devices.

Frequently asked questions