Trackist vs Strong is a choice between recording your sets and being told what they should be. Strong has been the simple gym log for over a decade, and it is still the fastest way to write down a set. Trackist writes the plan, suggests today’s weight and changes the plan when something hurts. Here is what each does, and how to tell which one you need.
Which one should you pick?
Strong is a place to put your numbers. Trackist writes the plan, then reads your numbers back to suggest the next weight.
If you run a percentage-based program, or a coach sends you the week, Strong stays out of the way better than anything else. If nobody sends you the week, Trackist writes it.
What Strong does well
Strong has a 4.9 rating from about 109,000 App Store ratings, earned over a decade of working without fuss. The screen is the least cluttered in the category, the Apple Watch app is well made, and the plate and warm-up calculators save you maths between sets.
Strong's free tier logs unlimited workouts and lets you save 3 custom routines. Strong PRO removes that limit and adds body measurements, charts and the calculators. It costs $4.99 a month, $19.99 for 6 months, $29.99 a year, or $99.99 once for Strong PRO Forever.
Where Trackist is different
Trackist does not expect you to arrive with a routine. Answer 14 questions about your goal, experience, equipment, joints, schedule, session length and age. It writes a plan for the next 4 to 12 weeks, with every exercise, set, rep target and rest chosen. In a plan of 6 weeks or more, the last week is a deload, a lighter week to recover.
After that, it does 4 things a log cannot:
- You report a session, not just record it: too hard or too easy, for the day or the week. The first report is noted. If it comes back in a later week, Trackist rewrites the day or rebuilds the rest of the plan.
- Your knee hurts on lunges: name the exercise and the joint, and you get one that usually trains the same muscle. The coach picks it, or you choose it from the library. Trackist remembers the limitation for every plan after this one.
- You slept 5 hours: before the first set, Trackist asks how you slept, how sore you are and how much energy you have. After a poor night, low energy or soreness in the half of the body you train today, it offers a lighter session. You do one set fewer on each strength exercise that has more than one, rest 30 seconds longer and skip the finisher, at the same weights.
- The plan ends: the next one is written from your log and your reports, with a few lines on what changed and why.
During a session you see last session's numbers under the sets you did then. From your second session of an exercise, a line above the table suggests the weight to try today, worked out from your last sets and their RPE, a rating of how hard each set felt from 1 to 10. The rest timer keeps running on the Lock Screen. At the end, a summary shows your volume against last time, the muscles you trained and any records.
Compare them side by side
| Strong | Trackist | |
|---|---|---|
| Who writes the plan | you, or your coach | Trackist, from 14 questions |
| When a session is too hard | you change the numbers | you say so, and a repeat in a later week changes the plan |
| Weight for today | your own call | a suggested weight from your last sets and RPE |
| Progress beyond charts | volume and records | Strength Score, Strength Age, Momentum and a muscle map for each session |
| Platforms | iPhone, Android, Apple Watch | 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 Apple Watch app. Strong's is one of the best reasons to use it. Apple Watch workouts still reach Trackist through Apple Health, count toward Momentum and can fill a planned cardio card with their time and calories.
- No Android app yet, and no iPad app.
- No plate or warm-up calculator.
- No offline logging. Logging needs an internet connection.
Which one fits you
Stay with Strong if you run 5/3/1, a coach's spreadsheet or any program where the weights are already decided, and you want the fastest way to record them.
Move to Trackist if the plan is the problem: the same session for months, a program that stopped fitting, or a week you rebuild in your head on the walk to the gym. Start from a split you already trust, or read how Trackist handles progressive overload for you.
FAQ
Questions, answered.
Is Strong free?
Strong logs unlimited workouts for free and lets you save 3 custom routines. Strong PRO removes the limit and adds measurements, charts and the calculators. It cost $4.99 a month, $29.99 a year or $99.99 once on the App Store in September 2026.
Does Trackist replace a coach?
It does the part of a coach’s job that happens on paper. It picks the split and the exercises, and suggests the weight once you have logged an exercise. It swaps an exercise that hurts and writes the next plan when this one ends. It does not watch your technique. That is still the best reason to book a few sessions with a person.
Can I edit the plan Trackist writes?
Yes. The editor changes a day from today on: reorder exercises, swap one, change sets, reps and rest, or add and remove an exercise. Sessions you already logged stay as they were.
Which is better for beginners, Strong or Trackist?
Trackist, for most beginners. Strong assumes you know what to do and gives you an empty routine. A beginner usually needs the plan more than the timer, and Trackist shows form cues and the muscles worked on every strength exercise. Strong becomes the better choice once you write your own programs.
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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.
