The best Strong app alternatives, ranked

Strong app alternatives, ranked

Ranked for a lifter leaving Strong who runs a plan in the gym and wants it to keep progressing: more than 3 routines free, weights handled, Strong history imported.

1. 1. RIRLift

   Best for: Weights set from your last set, free

   Price

   Free; Pro $9.99/month or $79.99/year in the US

   Platforms

   iPhone, Apple Watch

   Where it wins

   • A suggested weight for every set, free, worked out from load, reps and reps in reserve
   • 4 active routines free, one more than Strong
   • Imports Strong, Hevy and FitNotes CSVs
   • Next weight on the Watch, free

   Where it falls short

   • iPhone and Apple Watch only; Android is a waitlist
   • Logs RIR, not RPE
   • Friends and challenges, but no public feed

2. 2. Hevy

   Best for: A bigger, cheaper version of the Strong log

   Price

   Free; Pro $2.99/month, $23.99/year or $74.99 once in the US

   Platforms

   iPhone, Android, web, Apple Watch, Wear OS

   Where it wins

   • 4 free routines and 3 months of free charts
   • Cheaper Pro than Strong, with a lifetime option
   • Imports Strong CSV

   Where it falls short

   • 7 custom exercises on free
   • Suggested weights only with Hevy Trainer, in Pro
   • A social feed, if you came to Strong to avoid one

3. 3. Lyfta

   Best for: No routine cap on free

   Price

   Free; Premium priced in the app

   Platforms

   iPhone, Android, Apple Watch, Wear OS, web

   Where it wins

   • Unlimited routines free, no ads
   • Imports Strong and Hevy CSVs
   • 5,000+ exercises with video

   Where it falls short

   • Plate calculator, warm-up tools and all-time charts are Premium
   • Needs an account; you pick the weights

4. 4. StrengthLog

   Best for: Free programs with linear progression

   Price

   Free; Premium $16.90/month or $109.00/year in the US

   Platforms

   iPhone, Android, Apple Watch, Wear OS

   Where it wins

   • Unlimited workouts and custom exercises free
   • Routines and programs with linear progression on free
   • Rest timer and plate calculator free

   Where it falls short

   • RPE and RIR logging are Premium
   • Premium is $109 a year

5. 5. FitNotes

   Best for: Strong's simplicity, free, on Android

   Price

   Free, no ads

   Platforms

   Android

   Where it wins

   • Unlimited routines, free
   • CSV export and cloud backup

   Where it falls short

   • Android only, no watch app
   • You pick the weights

6. 6. Boostcamp

   Best for: Following a written coach program

   Price

   Free; Pro $14.99/month or $59.99/year in the US

   Platforms

   iPhone, iPad, Android

   Where it wins

   • Free program library, including nSuns 5/3/1 and GZCLP
   • Logs RPE, RIR and e1RM

   Where it falls short

   • No Apple Watch app
   • Auto progression of weights is Pro

Why lifters leave Strong, and what to look for instead

• Three routines isn't a week

  Strong free keeps 3 custom routines. Hevy and RIRLift keep 4, Lyfta and FitNotes have no routine cap.

• The weights stopped moving

  Strong records what you lifted; adding weight is up to you. RIRLift works out the next weight from the load, reps and reps in reserve you just logged, free. How it decides.

  

• Your Strong history has to come too

  Strong exports CSV. RIRLift, Hevy and Lyfta all import it, so you don't restart from empty.

• Charts without paying

  Strong unlocks all charts with PRO. Hevy shows 3 months free; RIRLift shows the weekly muscle map free.

• A Watch app as good as Strong's

  Strong's Watch app logs with or without the iPhone. RIRLift, Hevy, Lyfta and StrengthLog all have Apple Watch apps; Boostcamp and FitNotes don't.

Which alternative fits, in two real situations

Charts behind PRO, and a stall you can't see

A push/pull/legs lifter in a hotel-chain gym, two years on Strong free with three routines that fit. The bench feels stuck, but Strong's charts that would show it are PRO.

App	What it does here	For this lifter
Strong PRO	$29.99 a year or $99.99 once unlocks all charts, so you can see the stall and plan your way out.	Fine if you like planning the fix yourself.
Hevy	Free charts for the last 3 months, and it imports your Strong CSV.	Shows the stall for free; the next weight is still yours to pick.
Lyfta	Basic progress tracking free, all-time charts in Premium, imports your Strong CSV.	Similar to Hevy, with no routine cap.
RIRLift	Free: each set's weight from your last one, and on a stall the recap offers a step back about 10% lighter. Imports your Strong CSV.	Fits if you'd rather the app act on the stall. iPhone only, no RPE.

Three apps show you the stall. One also does something about it.

First barbell day after the Strong import

Front squat for 3–5 and Pendlay row for 6–8, both with 2 reps left as the target. Your last Strong front squats were 185 × 5 / 5 / 4.

Exercise	You logged	Next session	Why
Front Squat	Imported: 185 lb × 5 / 5 / 4	185 lb × 5, From history	Worked out from your Strong sessions: not every set reached 5, so it starts at 185 and aims for 5.
Front Squat	Set 1: 185 lb × 5, 4 left	Set 2: 190 lb × 5	9 reps to failure against a planned 7, so 185 × 38 ÷ 36 ≈ 195 lb, but a set goes at most one step past your heaviest front squat, 185, so 190 lb.
Pendlay Row	155 lb, 8 / 8 / 8 reps, 2 left	160 lb × 6	Every set at the top of 6–8: one 5 lb step, reps back to 6.

Strong would have shown 185 again. RIRLift moved you to 190 on set 2, from the set you'd just done.

Plans to run after Strong

• Strength training workouts to run on your Apple Watch

  Barbell strength: squat, bench, deadlift, 3 days

  Three barbell days on squat, bench and deadlift, logged from the Watch.

  3× a week · 29 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 men, for your week

  Full gym, 4 days: chest, shoulders and arms first

  Four days in RIRLift's 4 free routines, one more than Strong allows.

  4× a week · 71 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

• Export from Strong, import in RIRLift

  Strong exports all your data as CSV. Import it before your first session and weights worked out from it show as From history.

• Carry your RPE over

  RPE 8 in Strong is 2 left in RIRLift, RPE 9 is 1. Set the targets once per exercise.

• Keep the final say

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

When a different app fits better

• You're on Android. Hevy, Lyfta or FitNotes. RIRLift is iPhone and Apple Watch only.
• You want to pay once and keep Strong's feel. Strong PRO Forever, $99.99, or Hevy's $74.99 lifetime.
• You log RPE and want to keep it. Hevy or Boostcamp. RIRLift logs reps in reserve.
• You want a social feed. Hevy. RIRLift has friends and challenges, but no public feed.

Questions

Read next

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

  Is Strong PRO the simpler fix?

• Hevy vs Strong: which workout log to pick

  The closest swap, head to head.

• The best Hevy alternatives, ranked

  The same question from Hevy's side.

• The Strong app on Apple Watch, and an option that sets the weight

  What you'd give up on the wrist.

• The progressive overload app that decides your next weight

  Why weights stop moving on a plain log.

More ways lifters use RIRLift

• 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.

• Hevy vs Strong: which workout log to pick

  Hevy gives more free and costs less; Strong is the quieter log. Row by row, and where RIRLift fits.

• The Strong app on Apple Watch, and an option that sets the weight

  Strong logs on the Watch with or without your iPhone. RIRLift also sets the next weight on your wrist.

• The progressive overload app that decides your next weight

  Next weight and rep target set from your weakest set, corrected between sets, with stalls caught early.

Every lifter and goal