Nuvo vs Elysium Index: Daily Biological Age App vs Epigenetic Age Test

Pick Elysium Index for a periodic saliva epigenetic age kit ($299). Pick Nuvo for a daily 21-biomarker bio age on iPhone, $24.99/yr.

Written by the Nuvo Longevity editorial team at Firefly Labs LLC.

Choose Elysium Index if you want a periodic, lab-analyzed epigenetic biological age from an at-home saliva kit — an overall biological age, a cumulative rate of aging, and nine system ages, with results about six weeks after Elysium receives the sample, listed at $299 on the public product page. Choose Nuvo if you want a daily biological age on iPhone and Apple Watch from 21 biomarkers — HealthKit wearables plus optional conventional labs — with on-device AI, no account, and $24.99/year after a 7-day trial. Index is a saliva methylation clock you run once or when you buy another kit. Nuvo is a daily on-device score on the phone you already carry. Many people who already bought Index still want that daily 21-biomarker number; they can stack.

Written by the Nuvo Longevity editorial team at Firefly Labs LLC, the developer of Nuvo. Elysium Index details below are taken from Elysium Health’s public Index product page, science-behind-Index page, epigenetics blog, system-ages blog (updated 30 July 2026), Aging Research Center page, research consent, and privacy policy (last updated 10 February 2023), checked 29 September 2026. The $299 figure is the price printed on the Index product page; we do not invent subscriptions, bundles, or checkout promotions that page did not show. This page is educational and is not medical advice.

What each product actually sells

Elysium Index: an at-home saliva epigenetic biological age kit

Index (Elysium Health) is a mail-in biological age test. The product page (checked 29 September 2026) lists it at $299 and describes a saliva sample, not a finger prick and not a daily phone score. Elysium says results are ready approximately six weeks after they receive your saliva sample, and that you get an email when the report is ready. The same page’s timeline: weeks 1–2 DNA extraction and bisulfite conversion, week 3 methylation profiling on a custom Elysium chip developed with Illumina, weeks 4–5 calculation of biological age and system ages with their Algorithmic Platform for Epigenetic Examination (APEX), week 6 and after you use the report.

What the kit reports, per the Index product page and the system ages article:

• Biological age — Elysium’s wording: the age your body is expected to perform or function.
• Cumulative rate of aging — the pace at which your body has been aging. Elysium also calls this pace of aging. For the concept, see pace of aging.
• Nine system ages — brain, heart, metabolic, immune, inflammation, kidney, liver, hormone, and blood. Elysium’s system-ages article says Index measures 10 aspects of aging, including those nine system ages, from saliva. The science page is explicit that an individual system age is not a diagnosis of that organ: it is a snapshot of that system’s potential contribution to overall biological age.
• More than 100 science-based lifestyle recommendations. The system-ages article also says there is no guarantee those changes will improve your biological age or system age scores.

Index is a saliva DNA methylation test. Elysium’s product FAQ says saliva contains immune and epithelial cells, they extract DNA, and they profile methylation. Their epigenetics blog states that Index measures DNA methylation at more than 100,000 sites to estimate biological age and rate of aging. Elysium says Index was developed in partnership with Morgan Levine, Ph.D., then of Yale, and that it uses a machine-learning approach demonstrated in Nature Aging (2022) to be more repeatable than earlier clocks. That paper is about principal-component clocks, not a clinical trial of the saliva kit you buy — see the science section below. Index’s own FAQ says the test has not been reviewed or approved by the FDA because it is not a medical device, and that it is not intended to screen, diagnose, treat, cure, or prevent any disease. Elysium recommends it for adults.

You need an Elysium account. The privacy policy says that to use Index you purchase a kit, create an online account, register the kit, and ship the saliva sample to a partner laboratory. Results live in that account (the Aging Research Center page points registered users at my.elysiumhealth.com). Registering a kit also registers you for the Aging Research Center portal; enrolling in the TIME-A research study is a further step, described as voluntary on the research consent page. Index is not an iPhone daily coach. It does not read Apple Watch, Oura, or Garmin as the clock. Elysium also sells supplements; this page is only about the Index test, not a capsule.

Nuvo: a daily 21-biomarker score

Nuvo Longevity (App Store: Nuvo: Longevity Coach, id 6762535065) is an iPhone and Apple Watch app. It calculates a daily biological age from 21 biomarkers: Apple Health / HealthKit data from Apple Watch, Oura, or Garmin, plus optional lab PDF upload so conventional results you already paid for (HbA1c, fasting glucose, HDL, CRP, creatinine, and more) sit in the same score.

Coaching runs as on-device private AI (Nuvo Intelligence). There is no account. Apple’s privacy nutrition label for Nuvo is Data Not Collected. Health data stays on the phone. Price is $4.99/month or $24.99/year after a 7-day trial — $24.99/year is $2.08/month billed annually. Nuvo is not Android, does not sell a saliva kit, and does not run a DNA methylation assay.

Nuvo is not Index, APEX, a system-age panel, or a methylation clock. If the job is “mail saliva and get an epigenetic biological age, a rate of aging, and nine system ages,” that is Index. If the job is “one daily biological age from 21 biomarkers, including optional labs, privately, on the phone you already carry,” that is Nuvo. Download app. For the wider field, see our 2026 biological age app comparison. For a blood-spot methylation kit rather than saliva, see Nuvo vs TruDiagnostic (TruAge). For a cheek-swab epigenetic kit, see Nuvo vs Tally Health. For an IgG glycan kit, see Nuvo vs GlycanAge. For a 160+ conventional lab membership, see Nuvo vs Function Health.

Comparison table

What the science actually measures

Epigenetic clocks estimate age from DNA methylation, chemical marks on DNA that shift with age. The first widely used multi-tissue clock is Horvath’s 2013 predictor (Horvath, Genome Biology 2013). Later clocks, including DNAm PhenoAge, were built to track phenotypic aging rather than birthday age alone (Levine et al., Aging 2018). Those are a different measurement family from a wearable-plus-chemistry composite.

Repeatability is the practical problem if you want to retest. Higgins-Chen, Thrush, Wang, et al., Nature Aging 2022 (also doi:10.1038/s43587-022-00248-2) reported that technical noise produced deviations of up to 9 years between replicates for six prominent epigenetic clocks. Retraining those clocks on principal components brought agreement between most replicates to within 1.5 years. The paper is a methods paper about that computational step. It is not a trial of Elysium’s commercial saliva kit.

Elysium’s science page says Index uses that machine-learning approach, examines broader methylation patterns than clocks that look at hundreds of sites, and shows replicate agreement within 0 to 1.5 years on their internal checks. That is Elysium’s description of Index. It does not make a Nuvo daily score the same object. Nuvo’s 21 biomarkers are wearable signals plus optional blood chemistry — heart-rate variability, sleep, fitness, and conventional labs such as HbA1c or CRP — not a 100,000-site methylation profile and not nine system ages. An Index biological age of 41 and a Nuvo daily score of 41 are not interchangeable, even if both are labeled “biological age.”

Can they stack?

Yes, as complementary layers — not as two skins of one clock. Index is the periodic saliva methylation snapshot: overall age, cumulative rate of aging, and nine system ages, on whatever cadence you choose to buy another kit. Nuvo is the daily trend on HealthKit plus optional conventional labs. Nuvo does not ingest Index, APEX output, system ages, or methylation files as named inputs. If you also have a standard lab PDF (Function, Quest, a clinician panel), that PDF can sit in Nuvo’s 21-biomarker score. An Index report is still worth reading on its own; it is not a drop-in replacement for those conventional markers inside Nuvo.

Privacy

Index is an account and lab product. To get results you create an account, register a kit, and mail saliva to a partner laboratory. Elysium’s privacy policy (last updated 10 February 2023) says data is encrypted in transit and at rest, with access limited to a select group of employees. For Index, Elysium and the laboratory store de-identified raw data generated from saliva samples for 3 months before the samples are destroyed after quality control, and they store Test Information (including biological age, system ages, and cumulative rate of aging) permanently or as the law allows, unless you request deletion. The policy also says you consent to sample and data storage and additional analysis by Elysium and third-party partners, including the laboratory. Research use of de-identified data is tied to consent; the research consent page says data already used in a completed study is not pulled back out. That is a normal design for a mailed DNA test. It is not Nuvo’s design.

Nuvo requires no account and uses the Apple privacy label Data Not Collected. Coaching is on-device. Data stays on the phone. If you will not mail a saliva sample and keep an epigenetic report on a lab account, do not buy Index. If you will not put longitudinal wearable and lab data on an app account, Nuvo is the one built for that constraint. Architecture notes: health app privacy and on-device AI.

Where Elysium Index wins

Index wins if the job is a saliva epigenetic biological age, a cumulative rate of aging, and nine system ages. That is the methylation product Elysium sells: APEX, a partnership they attribute to Morgan Levine, 100+ recommendations, and a lab report about six weeks after the sample arrives. Nuvo does not claim to beat Index at DNA methylation, system ages, or a genome-wide methylation profile. If that is the product you came to buy, buy Index.

Index also wins on depth of a single epigenetic time point. One kit is a methylation snapshot, not last night’s sleep. Elysium’s science page argues the underlying method is more repeatable than earlier clocks (their figure: agreement within 0 to 1.5 years across technical replicates). Nuvo’s daily number is a 21-biomarker composite you can see every morning. Those are different resolutions. Scale is not close on app reviews either. Nuvo’s App Store presence is early: 4 ratings. We are not going to inflate four ratings into social proof, and we do not publish a schema.org rating object for Nuvo. Elysium’s own product page showed 4.3 from 189 reviews on 29 September 2026; that is their storefront, not a reason to pretend the two products share a review corpus.

Where Nuvo wins

Nuvo wins on the daily biological-age job. Index updates when you collect saliva, mail it, and wait about six weeks. Nuvo recalculates a daily biological age from 21 biomarkers so sleep, HRV, training, and optional labs can sit in one number without another kit.

Nuvo wins on price if you already own an iPhone (and often an Apple Watch). $24.99/year versus $299 per Index kit is not a like-for-like discount — it is a category difference. If you do not want to mail saliva, Nuvo does not require it.

Privacy is structural. Index is account plus a laboratory (registration, a saliva sample, and stored epigenetic results). Nuvo is no account and Data Not Collected. Conventional labs in Nuvo are optional PDFs in the same 21-biomarker score. Those panels do not become Index system ages, and Index does not become Nuvo’s daily clock.

Who wins for which user

Buy Index if you want the saliva epigenetic kit — biological age, cumulative rate of aging, and nine system ages — and will wait about six weeks. Buy Nuvo if you want a daily 21-biomarker biological age on iPhone and Apple Watch, privately, at $24.99/year. Buy both if you already paid for Index and still want a daily age number from HealthKit plus any conventional lab PDF you have. They do not cancel each other; one is a periodic epigenetic lab clock, the other is a daily age readout.

If the only job is “saliva epigenetic biological age and system ages,” stop at Index. If the only job is “daily biological age from 21 biomarkers, privately, on iPhone,” stop at Nuvo. Download app.

Habits that actually move aging markers — sleep, aerobic fitness, glucose, inflammation — are covered in How to reduce biological age. This page is only about which product to buy for which job. For TruDiagnostic’s blood-spot TruAge methylation kit, see Nuvo vs TruDiagnostic (TruAge). For Tally Health’s cheek-swab TallyAge kit, see Nuvo vs Tally Health.

Pricing math without invented discounts

Elysium Index’s US public price we verified (29 September 2026): $299 on the Index product page. That page did not print a required subscription, a second-kit price, or a membership. We will not invent those totals. Shipping, tax, and any checkout promotion can differ — cite the price on the page at purchase time.

Nuvo: $4.99/month or $24.99/year ($2.08/month billed annually) after a 7-day trial. No kit and no mailed sample is bundled.

Those dollars buy different things. Say so. Many high-intent shoppers already spent the kit money; the remaining question is whether they also want a daily 21-biomarker biological age. That is the Nuvo add, not a rip-and-replace.

Frequently Asked Questions

Should I pick Nuvo or Elysium Index?
Pick Elysium Index if you want a periodic at-home saliva epigenetic test: DNA methylation, an overall biological age, a cumulative rate of aging, nine system ages, about six weeks after Elysium receives the sample, and $299 on the public product page (checked 29 September 2026). Pick Nuvo if you want a daily biological age from 21 biomarkers on iPhone and Apple Watch, optional conventional lab PDF in that same score, on-device AI, no account, and $24.99/year after a 7-day trial. If you already bought Index, you can stack: Index for the epigenetic snapshot, Nuvo for the daily 21-biomarker trend.

Does Nuvo measure DNA methylation or epigenetic age like Elysium Index?
No. Index extracts DNA from a mailed saliva sample and reports biological age from methylation patterns, plus a cumulative rate of aging and nine system ages. Nuvo calculates a daily biological age from 21 wearable and optional blood-chemistry biomarkers on device. Both may be labeled “biological age.” They are not the same clock.

How much do Elysium Index and Nuvo cost?
Index lists $299 on its product page (checked 29 September 2026). We did not see a required membership price on that page, so we do not invent one. Nuvo is $4.99/month or $24.99/year ($2.08/month billed annually) after a 7-day trial, with no kit required.

Can Nuvo use my Elysium Index results?
Not as system ages, a methylation file, or a named Index input. Nuvo reads HealthKit and optional conventional lab PDFs (for example HbA1c, glucose, lipids, CRP). An Index report is an epigenetic kit report. Keep it in your Elysium account. If you also have a standard blood panel PDF, that PDF can go into Nuvo’s 21-biomarker score. You do not have to pick only one product.

How often should I retest Elysium Index if I use Nuvo daily?
The Index product page we checked does not print a required retest interval. Elysium’s system-ages article says additional tests are how you watch system ages move after a lifestyle change, and that there is no guarantee the score will improve. Nuvo recalculates daily, so it fills the gap between kits. It does not replace another Index test if methylation and system ages are the clock you care about.

Does Nuvo require an account?
No. Nuvo uses on-device private AI and no account. Apple’s privacy label is Data Not Collected; data stays on the phone. Index requires an account to register the kit and view lab results, and the sample goes to a partner laboratory. Nuvo uses 21 longevity biomarkers (HealthKit plus optional labs such as HbA1c, fasting glucose, HDL, CRP, creatinine). Index’s methylation sites and nine system ages are a different assay.

Is Elysium Index FDA approved?
Elysium’s product FAQ says Index has not been reviewed or approved by the FDA because it is not a medical device, and that it is not intended to screen, diagnose, treat, cure, or prevent any disease or condition. Nuvo is a wellness app, not a diagnostic device either. Neither product replaces a clinician.

Is this medical advice?
No. This comparison is educational and is not medical advice. Neither Elysium Index nor Nuvo replaces care, diagnosis, or treatment from a licensed clinician. Lab results, epigenetic clocks, and wearable scores should be reviewed with a qualified professional.

If the job is a daily biological age from 21 biomarkers on the iPhone and Apple Watch you already own, Download app.