Strong has been the minimalist gym log for over a decade, and it is still the fastest way to write down a set. Trackist answers a different question: what should the set be? Here is what each app does, what each costs, and how to tell which one you need.
The short answer
Strong is a place to put numbers. Trackist is a coach that produces numbers, then reads them back.
If you follow a percentage-based program, or your coach sends you the week, Strong stays out of the way better than anything else. If nobody is sending you the week, that is the gap Trackist fills.
What Strong does well
Strong holds a 4.9 rating across about 109,000 App Store ratings, which is what a decade of not breaking gets you. The interface is the least cluttered in the category, the Apple Watch app is properly done, and the plate and warm-up calculators are small things you miss when they are gone.
The free tier logs unlimited workouts and caps you at three custom routines. Strong PRO lifts that cap and adds body measurements, charts and the calculators, at $4.99 a month, $19.99 for six months, $29.99 a year, or $99.99 once for Strong PRO Forever.
Where Trackist is different
Trackist does not ask you to arrive with a routine. Six questions — goal, experience, equipment, joints that complain, training days, age — and it writes a block of four to twelve weeks, every exercise with its sets, target reps and rest, and a deload in the last week when the block runs six weeks or more.
What happens after that is the part a logger cannot do:
- You report a session, not just record it. Too hard, too easy, on the day or on the week. A repeat rewrites that day; a pattern across weeks rebuilds the remaining weeks of the block.
- A joint complains and the plan learns it. Name the exercise and the joint, get a movement that trains the same muscle, and the limitation is remembered on your profile for every plan after it.
- The block ends and the next one is written from it, using your logs, check-ins and reports, with a few sentences saying what changed and why.
On the day itself: last session's numbers under every cell, a suggested load above the table, a rest countdown that survives the lock screen, and a day summary with your volume against last time, the muscles you hit, and any records.
Side by side
| Strong | Trackist | |
|---|---|---|
| Who writes the plan | you, or your coach | Trackist, as a block, from your answers |
| Routines on the free tier | three | one activated plan for life, week one of every block |
| When a session is too hard | you change the numbers | you say so, and the plan changes |
| Load 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, a muscle map per session |
| Paid | $4.99 a month, $29.99 a year, $99.99 forever | $9.99 a month or $49.99 a year, first seven days free |
| Platforms | iPhone, Android, Apple Watch | iPhone. Android is coming |
Prices and limits were checked on the US App Store and the apps’ own pages in September 2026. Both change, and the store is the source of truth.
What Trackist does not have
- No Apple Watch app. Strong's is one of the best reasons to use it.
- No Android yet.
- No one-time purchase; Strong PRO Forever has no equivalent here.
- No plate or warm-up calculator.
Which one fits you
Stay with Strong if you are running 5/3/1, a coach's spreadsheet, or anything where the weights are already decided and you want the fastest possible way to record them.
Move to Trackist if the plan is the problem: the same session repeated 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 and let the app run it, or read how progressive overload is handled for you.
FAQ
Questions, answered.
Is Strong free?
Strong logs unlimited workouts for free and limits you to three custom routines. Strong PRO removes the cap and adds measurements, charts and the calculators, at $4.99 a month, $29.99 a year, or $99.99 once, as listed on the App Store in September 2026.
Does Trackist replace a coach?
It replaces the part of a coach that writes and adjusts the plan: the split, the exercises, the load, the swap when something hurts and the next block when this one ends. It does not watch your technique, which is still the best reason to hire a human for a few sessions.
Can I edit the plan Trackist writes?
Yes, on both tiers. The editor changes what is in a day from today on: reorder, swap, change sets, reps and rest, add or remove a movement. 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 a blank routine; a beginner usually needs the plan more than the stopwatch. Strong becomes the better answer once you are programming for yourself.
5.0 ON THE APP STORE · FREE TO DOWNLOAD
Try the one that writes the plan
Six questions, and your first block is written around your gym and your week. Free on the App Store, Android coming soon.
