Lyfta vs Hevy

Lyfta vs Hevy, with RIRLift as the third option

Lyfta wins on free limits and library, Hevy on the feed and a clear, cheap Pro. For the weights decided for you, neither does it free, and RIRLift does.

Lyfta and Hevy, on the things that decide it

• Routines and exercises: Lyfta

  Lyfta free makes unlimited routines and lets you add custom exercises, with a 5,000+ exercise library and video. Hevy free keeps 4 routines and 7 custom exercises.

• Free tools: Hevy

  Hevy's plate calculator is free; Lyfta keeps its plate calculator and warm-up tools for Premium. Both keep all-time charts for the paid tier.

• Price: Hevy is clearer

  Hevy Pro is $2.99/month, $23.99/year or $74.99 once in the US. Lyfta shows Premium prices in the app; they vary by country.

• Social: both, Hevy bigger

  Both have follows, shared workouts, challenges or streaks and Strava. Hevy's feed, with comments, is the one people pick it for.

• Who picks the weight

  Both show what you did last time and leave the next weight to you; Hevy Trainer suggests weights in Pro. RIRLift sets every weight from the load, reps and reps in reserve you just logged, free. How it decides.

  

Lyfta, Hevy or RIRLift, in two real situations

Four friends who train at different gyms

A group that keeps each other honest by seeing every session. One is on Android, three are on iPhone, and two already use Hevy.

App	What it does here	For this lifter
Hevy	A feed with comments, follows, and the same app on Android and iPhone.	The best fit: the group is already there.
Lyfta	Follows, shared workouts, monthly challenges, on both platforms.	Works, but the two Hevy users would have to move.
RIRLift	Friends, challenges and a weekly board, but iPhone and Apple Watch only.	Not for this group: the Android friend is left out.

When the point is training together, the feed decides, and Hevy has it.

Solo lifter, Smith machine leg day

Someone who left Hevy for Lyfta over the routine cap and still picks every weight by hand. Smith squat for 8–12 at 2 reps left, aiming for 10 today, then the adductor machine.

Exercise	You logged	Next session	Why
Smith Squat	Set 1: 155 lb × 8, 1 left	Set 2: 155 lb × 10	Short of the 10 but inside 8–12, so the weight holds.
Smith Squat	Set 2: 155 lb × 7, 1 left	Set 3: 145 lb × 10	Below the 8–12 range, so it comes down, by at most 7% a set: 8 reps to failure against a planned 12 gives 155 × 37 ÷ 41 ≈ 140 lb, held to 155 × 0.93 ≈ 144 lb, loaded as 145 lb.
Hip Adduction Machine	100 lb, 15 / 15 / 15 reps, 2 left	110 lb × 10	Every set at the top of 10–15: one step up the stack, reps back to 10.

In Lyfta or Hevy, set 3 was your call. RIRLift dropped it to 145 so the set landed in range.

Plans for a solo lifter

• The leg workout you run from your Apple Watch

  Every squat rack is taken

  A machine leg day, hack squat first, logged from the Watch.

  1× a week · 13 sets a week · ~35 min

  Add to RIRLift

  Add to RIRLift

  Scan with your iPhone camera to add this plan.

  See the plan

• The best workout for full body, for your week

  Full gym, 3 days: heavy, moderate, light

  Three routines, inside RIRLift's 4 free ones with one spare.

  3× a week · 50 sets a week · ~45 min

  Add to RIRLift

  Add to RIRLift

  Scan with your iPhone camera to add this plan.

  See the plan

Make it fit you

• Bring your Hevy history

  Export a CSV from Hevy and import it in RIRLift. Weights worked out from it show as From history.

• Keep logging RIR

  If you logged reps in reserve in Lyfta, RIRLift uses the same number. RPE 8 is 2 left.

• Ask first, if you're used to choosing

  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 Hevy. Hevy.
• You want unlimited free routines and a huge video library. Lyfta.
• You're on Android or Wear OS. Lyfta or Hevy. RIRLift is iPhone and Apple Watch only; Android is a waitlist.
• You'd rather pay once. Hevy Pro lifetime, $74.99.

Questions

Read next

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

  Free vs Pro in detail.

• The best Hevy alternatives, ranked

  Lyfta and five more, ranked.

• Hevy vs Strong: which workout log to pick

  The other classic matchup.

• How RIRLift picks your next weight

  Why set 3 dropped to 145 lb.

• Free workout tracker apps

  More free trackers.

More ways lifters use RIRLift

• 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.

• The best Hevy alternatives, ranked

  Seven apps ranked for lifters leaving Hevy: free weights set for you, no routine cap, your history kept.

• StrengthLog vs Hevy

  StrengthLog gives more free, Hevy's upgrade costs far less. Row by row, and where RIRLift fits.

• The gym tracker that turns your logs into your next weight

  Bring your old logs, chart every lift, and see a stall answered before it eats another month.

Every lifter and goal