Trackist vs Alpha Progression is the closest comparison on this site. Both apps write a plan and tell you what to lift. Trackist writes a plan for the next 4 to 12 weeks from 14 questions and rewrites it when you keep saying sessions are too hard. The 2 apps differ in how long the plan runs, and what happens when a week goes wrong or a joint hurts.
Which one should you pick?
Alpha Progression is a detailed muscle-building tool for a lifter who enjoys settings. RIR counts how many reps you had left. Periodization plans how hard each week is. Add dropsets, supersets and several gyms, and there is a lot to tune.
Trackist is for a lifter who wants fewer settings, and a coach that changes the plan when you tell it something is wrong.
What Alpha Progression does well
The plan generator builds a program from your goal, equipment, experience, training days, session length and the muscles you want to focus on. It picks from a library of about 795 exercises, each with a video. During the session it recommends a weight, a rep count and an effort target for each set, from what you actually lifted. If the next dumbbell is too big a jump, it can suggest more reps first.
Alpha Progression's free tier has no ads and works well as a log, with unlimited workouts, the full exercise library and body measurements.
Alpha Progression Pro adds the generator, the recommendations, charts, RIR and periodization options, several gyms and the calculators. It costs around $12.99 a month or $79.99 a year, with a 14-day trial on the yearly plan.
Where Trackist is different
Both apps write a plan and both suggest a weight. Three things set them apart.
The plan has an end
Trackist writes 4 to 12 weeks. In a plan of 6 weeks or more, the last week is a deload, a lighter week to recover. Then you get a recap and a new plan written from the one you just finished. You train in a series of plans, not one program you keep editing.
You tell it in words, not settings
Say a session was too hard, too easy, or that something hurts. The first too-hard or too-easy report is noted. If it comes back in a later week, Trackist rewrites the day or rebuilds the rest of the plan. A pain report swaps the exercise and stores the limitation on your profile for every plan after it.
The coach remembers you
It keeps 3 to 5 notes about you, such as what you skip, what you respond to and where you stalled. It carries them into your next plan. Each new plan opens with notes addressed to you by name, saying what changed and why. Before a session it asks how you slept, how sore you are and how much energy you have. The coach reads the answers, but they never change a weight.
Trackist also shows a strength standard. The Strength Score covers squat, hinge, push and pull from 90 days of sets, relative to your body weight, against standards for your sex and age. You get a score out of 100 and a Strength Age.
Compare them side by side
| Alpha Progression | Trackist | |
|---|---|---|
| Plan generator | yes, on Alpha Progression Pro | yes, 4 to 12 weeks from 14 questions |
| Advice for each set | weight, reps and effort target | one suggested weight per exercise, from your last sets and RPE (effort from 1 to 10) |
| After a bad week | recommendations follow what you log, and you change the plan | report it, and a repeat in a later week rewrites the day or the plan |
| When something hurts | you swap the exercise, for today or for good | a swap that trains the same muscle, remembered on your profile |
| Exercise library | about 795 | 201, with form cues and a muscle map |
| Platforms | iPhone and Android | iPhone. Android is being built |
We checked prices and limits on the US App Store and on each app’s own site in September 2026. Both change, so the App Store has the final word.
What Trackist does not have
- No Android app yet, and no iPad app.
- Fewer settings: no dropsets, supersets or periodization options.
- A smaller library: 201 exercises against about 795, with no videos.
- No profiles for several gyms. Your equipment is one answer on your profile.
- No offline logging. Logging needs an internet connection.
Which one fits you
Alpha Progression, if you want control and detail, and enjoy tuning volume for each muscle and each technique.
Trackist, if you want to answer 14 questions, train, and say when something is wrong. Read how the changes work, or see what to do when a plan is too hard.
FAQ
Questions, answered.
Which app is better for hypertrophy?
Both are built for hypertrophy, which means building muscle size. Alpha Progression gives you finer control over volume for each muscle and over techniques like dropsets. Trackist keeps the settings few and does the adjusting itself. The better app is the one you will keep using for a year.
Is Alpha Progression free?
Alpha Progression’s free version is an ad-free log with the full exercise library, unlimited workouts and body measurements. The plan generator and the set-by-set recommendations need Alpha Progression Pro, at around $12.99 a month or $79.99 a year with a 14-day trial, as checked in September 2026.
Does Trackist tell me what weight to lift?
Yes. One line above each exercise suggests today’s weight from your last session’s sets, the target reps and the RPE you logged. It moves in steps that fit the equipment: 2.5 kg on a barbell, 2 kg on dumbbells, 5 kg on machines and cables, and one more rep on a bodyweight exercise.
Can I change the plan Trackist wrote?
Yes. The editor reorders, swaps, adds and removes exercises and changes sets, reps and rest, from today on. Days you already logged stay as they were.
5.0 ON THE APP STORE · NO ADS
Try the app that writes the plan
Answer 14 questions and get a plan around your gym, your week and any joint that hurts. On the App Store now. Android is coming.
