Hevy and Strong are the two best-known workout loggers, and they are more alike than different: both let you build routines, log sets fast, see personal records and charts, and both are free to start. The practical differences are that Hevy is cheaper to upgrade, has a social feed and, on Pro, a built-in trainer; Strong is the sparer, older app with a lifetime purchase option and a design built around progressive barbell programs. Neither writes your program for you by default or handles your food; if that is what you want, a coach rather than a logger is the right category. Details below.
Prices are from each app's US App Store listing on November 4, 2026 and vary by platform, region and promotion.
Side by side
| Hevy | Strong | |
|---|---|---|
| Free tier | Yes, no ads | Yes ("free forever" accounts), limited routines |
| Pro price | $2.99/mo, $23.99/yr, $74.99 lifetime | $4.99/mo, $29.99/yr, $99.99 lifetime |
| What Pro adds | Hevy Trainer (a program and ongoing guidance from your experience, goal and equipment), among other features | Unlimited routines and additional PRO features |
| Social | Follow friends, share workouts, feed | Workout sharing |
| Platforms | iOS, Android, Apple Watch, web (hevy.com) | iOS, Android, Apple Watch |
| Program design | Hevy Trainer on Pro; large free routine library | Bring your own (optimised for programs like Starting Strength and StrongLifts 5×5) |
| Food and check-ins | No | No |
Sources: hevyapp.com, strong.app and the App Store listings linked above.
Logging a set
This is what you do most, and the flow is the same in both: pick the exercise, enter weight and reps, mark the set done, rest timer. Both show your previous numbers for the exercise and both track personal records. Strong describes itself as optimised for progressive barbell routines such as Starting Strength and StrongLifts 5×5; Hevy leans on its routine library and lets you log from the web as well as the phone. If you have used one, the other will feel familiar within a session.
Free tier
Hevy's free tier has no ads and covers the core logging experience; Pro is positioned around statistics, customisation and the Trainer. Strong's free accounts are permanent but cap the number of routines you can save, which matters if you rotate several programs; Pro removes the cap. For someone running one program, Strong's free tier is enough indefinitely (both are in the best free workout apps alongside the apps that write the program too); for someone who wants charts and body measurements, both push you to Pro.
Price
Hevy is cheaper at every term: $23.99 against $29.99 a year, and $74.99 against $99.99 for life. If you are certain you will log for five years, both lifetime options cost less than the annual plans would.
Coaching
This is the real fork. Strong is a notebook: it records what you did and leaves the decision about what to do next to you or your program. Hevy added Hevy Trainer to Pro, which builds a program from your experience, goal, equipment and preferences and provides ongoing guidance inside the app.
Neither tells you the weight to lift in the morning, nudges you before your usual gym time, adjusts for a missed week, or has any idea what you ate. If you want the whole loop (plan, progression, food, accountability), see the Fitbod alternatives guide for the apps that generate workouts, or read on for the text-based option.
When neither is the answer
A logger suits people who already have a program and the habit. The people who abandon loggers tend to be missing one of three things: a program they trust, a rule for what to lift next, or something that notices when they stop. Bay covers those three over text, with no app at all:
- Say "design me a plan" and it builds one from your days, time, equipment and anything that hurts, using the rules in how to build a personalized routine.
- Each morning's text carries the session with the weight per lift; progression is handled for you (hit every rep, add the increment; miss, repeat; miss twice, deload 10 percent).
- You log in shorthand ("bench 135x5x3") and ask "how's my bench" for the trend, or "show me my lifts" for a card with estimated one-rep-max sparklines and weekly sets per muscle.
- It also logs your meals and weigh-ins, and checks in once a day.
Bay is free right now, over iMessage, RCS or SMS. What it does not have is a live set-by-set screen with a rest timer; if you want to look at your phone between sets, pair a logger with it, or use the workout-mode link Bay sends with your session. More on reading the numbers in how to track fitness progress.
The verdict
- Already have a program, want the simplest notebook: Strong.
- Want the same for less, with friends and a web app: Hevy.
- Want a program written and progressed for you, and your food handled too, without an app: Bay.
Questions, answered.
Tap a question.
Is Hevy or Strong better?
They are close. Hevy is cheaper to upgrade, has a social feed and a web app, and offers a trainer on Pro. Strong is simpler and describes itself as optimised for fixed barbell programs. Try the free tier of each for a week.
Is Hevy free?
Yes. Hevy's free tier has no ads. Hevy Pro is $2.99 a month, $23.99 a year or $74.99 for life on the US App Store.
Is Strong free?
Strong accounts are free permanently, with a limit on saved routines. Strong PRO, which removes the limit and adds features, is $4.99 a month, $29.99 a year or $99.99 for life on the US App Store.
Does Hevy or Strong create workout plans?
Strong does not; you bring a program. Hevy offers a free routine library, and Hevy Trainer on Pro builds a program from your experience, goal and equipment.
Can I track workouts without an app?
Yes. Bay logs sets from a text message in shorthand, keeps the history and progression, and sends the day's session each morning, free right now.
Related reading
Bay is a software assistant, not a doctor, dietitian or certified trainer. Nothing here is medical, nutrition or professional advice; check with a professional before changing your diet or training.