Glucometer vs CGM: Which Should You Actually Buy?

There is a quiet assumption that a CGM is simply the upgrade and a fingerstick glucometer is the old way. As a dietitian, I do not accept that framing — the right device depends entirely on the person.

Glucometers are cheap to buy and accurate, but the strips add up for frequent testers, and a single reading is a snapshot that misses the story between tests. CGMs give continuous trends and time-in-range, but cost more per month and can have moments where they disagree with how you actually feel.

Who genuinely benefits from continuous data? People with variable routines — shift workers, athletes, anyone whose eating is irregular — because the variability is exactly what a four-times-a-day fingerstick hides. Someone with a steady, planned routine may do beautifully on sticks alone.

Cost matters honestly, too. For some patients the monthly CGM cost is the deciding factor, and there is no shame in a well-run fingerstick regimen.

I map device choice to eating pattern in detail, with the carb-counting implications spelled out, in the full glucose monitoring buying guide.