Hevy vs Strong: which workout log to pick

Hevy vs Strong, with RIRLift as the third option

Hevy wins on free tier, price and platforms; Strong wins if you want a private log. If you want the weight decided, neither does it on free, and RIRLift does.

Hevy and Strong, on the things that decide it

• Free tier: Hevy

  Hevy free keeps 4 routines, 7 custom exercises and 3 months of stats. Strong free keeps 3 routines, and PRO unlocks all charts. Strong doesn't cap custom exercises on free.

• Price: Hevy

  Hevy Pro is $2.99/month, $23.99/year or $74.99 once in the US. Strong PRO is $4.99/month, $29.99/year or $99.99 once.

• Feel: Strong if you want quiet

  Strong is a private logbook with no feed. Hevy has a feed, follows and comments, which you can turn off. Logging speed is close; this is mostly taste.

• Platforms: Hevy

  Hevy runs on iPhone, Android, the web, Apple Watch and Wear OS. Strong runs on iPhone, Android and Apple Watch. On the wrist the two are close: see Strong vs Hevy on Apple Watch.

• Who picks the weight: neither, on free

  Both show what you did last time. Hevy Trainer suggests weights in Pro; Strong has nothing like it. RIRLift works out the next weight from the load, reps and reps in reserve you just logged, free.

  

Hevy, Strong or RIRLift, in two real situations

Garage gym full of odd equipment

A home lifter with a landmine, a safety squat bar and a homemade sled, who needs a dozen custom exercises and trains alone. Choosing between Hevy and Strong after a year on paper.

App	What it does here	For this lifter
Hevy free	Caps custom exercises at 7, so the dozen needs Pro. The feed is there if you want it.	Fine with Pro at $23.99 a year.
Strong free	No cap on custom exercises, no feed, three routines.	The better free fit here, if three routines are enough.
RIRLift	Weights rounded to the equipment you choose, and a suggested weight for every set, with 4 free routines.	Fits if the progression matters more than logging every odd lift.

For pure free logging of odd lifts, Strong edges Hevy. For weights picked from your sets, neither does it free.

First push day after importing either app

You've logged in Hevy or Strong for a year and imported the CSV. Machine chest press and leg extension came across from your last session.

Exercise	You logged	Next session	Why
Machine Chest Press	Imported: 170 lb × 10 / 10 / 9	170 lb × 8–12, From history	Worked out from your imported sessions, so you don't restart light.
Machine Chest Press	170 lb, 12 / 12 / 12 reps, 2 left	180 lb × 8	Next session: every set at the top of 8–12, one step up the stack, reps back to 8.
Leg Extension	120 lb, 15 / 14 / 13 reps, 1 left	120 lb × 14	Not every set reached 15, so the weight holds; the weakest set hit its target of 13, so it aims for 14.

Hevy and Strong would have shown last week's numbers. RIRLift told you the 180 and the 14.

Plans for lifters leaving either app

• The best workout routine for men, for your week

  Busy: 3 gym days, push/pull/legs

  Three routines: fits Strong's free cap if you go back, and RIRLift's with one to spare.

  3× a week · 48 sets a week · ~40 min

  Add to RIRLift

  Add to RIRLift

  Scan with your iPhone camera to add this plan.

  See the plan

• The best workout routine for the days you can train

  4 days a week: upper/lower

  Four routines, the free limit in both Hevy and RIRLift.

  4× a week · 68 sets a week · ~40 min

  Add to RIRLift

  Add to RIRLift

  Scan with your iPhone camera to add this plan.

  See the plan

Make it fit you

• Import before your first session

  Export a CSV from Hevy or Strong and import it in RIRLift, so your first weights come from your history.

• Turn RPE into RIR

  Both apps log RPE. In RIRLift, RPE 8 is 2 left and RPE 9 is 1. Set the targets once per exercise.

• Ask first, if you're used to deciding

  With Ask first, next session's weights wait on the recap until you confirm them.

When a different app fits better

• Your friends are on it and the feed keeps you training. Hevy.
• You want a private log with unlimited free custom exercises. Strong.
• You're on Android. Hevy or Strong. RIRLift is iPhone and Apple Watch only; Android is a waitlist.
• You'd rather pay once. Hevy's $74.99 lifetime is the cheapest one-time option of the three.

Questions

Read next

• Strong vs Hevy on Apple Watch

  The wrist-only comparison.

• Hevy app review: free vs Pro, and who should pay

  Free vs Pro in detail.

• Strong app review: free vs PRO, and is it worth it

  Free vs PRO in detail.

• The best Hevy alternatives, ranked

  If neither fits.

• RPE vs RIR

  Moving from RPE in either app to reps in reserve.

More ways lifters use RIRLift

• Strong vs Hevy on Apple Watch

  Strong and Hevy are close on the wrist. Here's where they differ, and where RIRLift fits.

• Hevy app review: free vs Pro, and who should pay

  What Hevy's free tier keeps, what Pro adds for $23.99 a year, and when another app fits better.

• Strong app review: free vs PRO, and is it worth it

  Strong's free tier, what PRO adds for $29.99 a year, and who should pick another app.

• Lyfta vs Hevy

  Lyfta drops Hevy's routine cap; Hevy has the bigger feed and a lifetime Pro. Row by row.

Every lifter and goal