Method vs Fitbod: an app that writes your workouts versus an app that holds the ones you write
Fitbod generates each workout for you from goals, equipment, and recovery. Method holds a program you wrote and logs against it. They are opposite answers to the same question, and this page makes the choice clear.
ComparisonUpdated 5 min readMarkdown version
Checked against Fitbod on the App Store on and Fitbod website on . Third-party facts can change after that date. Method facts are checked against the shipped product.
The short version of each app
Fitbod describes itself as an AI trainer. It builds each session for your goals, equipment, and fitness level, varies and balances exercises, uses your training history and recovery to recommend which muscles to work, applies non-linear periodisation, and learns from your edits. You can also save, build, or use your own strength workouts. It integrates with Apple Health, Strava, and Fitbit, has an Apple Watch app, and offers 1,000+ exercises with multi-angle video. It is sold as a subscription; the listing does not describe a free tier.
Method is a workout planner and tracker for athletes who write their own programs. The web app is a full editor for blocks, weeks, and sessions with per-set reps, RIR or RPE, rest, tempo, notes, and relative load instructions. The iPhone app logs against the plan, records cardio, runs a rest timer in the Dynamic Island, and imports Apple Health workouts. Method has no generator and no adaptive programming.
Side by side
Facts about Fitbod come from its App Store listing and website on the dates listed under Checked against at the top of this page. Facts about Method come from the shipped product.
| Method | Fitbod | |
|---|---|---|
| Who decides the training | You | Fitbod's generator, which adapts to your edits |
| Periodisation | Whatever you write | Non-linear periodisation, per the listing |
| Load guidance | Suggested load from your most recent eligible set, with the arithmetic shown, off by default | Generated per session from history and recovery |
| Where you plan | Web app (full editor) and iPhone | In the app |
| Web or desktop app | Yes, in the browser | Mac app on Apple silicon; no web app mentioned |
| Where you log | iPhone | iPhone, Apple Watch, Mac, Vision, Android |
| Apple Watch | Cardio only | Yes |
| Android | No | Yes |
| Apple Health | Imports workouts, writes Method cardio back | Integrated, per the listing |
| Strava, Fitbit | Strava only through Apple Health; no Fitbit | Both listed |
| Cardio | 20 activity types, native, Apple Watch, and Apple Health import | Cardio and mobility sessions, per the listing |
| Export | CSV and PDF (Pro) | Not mentioned |
| Free tier | Yes, with programming and history limits | Not described on the listing |
| Paid tier (USD, date checked) | $3.99 per month, $24.99 per year, $74.99 lifetime on the web | $12.99 or $15.99 per month, $79.99 or $95.99 per year |
| Minimum iOS | iOS 26 | iOS 18 |
Where Method is stronger
You own the plan. Method's reason to exist is that the program is yours. Blocks, weeks, sessions, and every set's prescription are written by you and editable as a structure, with week duplication, reordering, bulk edits across any scope, and exercise swaps across the whole program. Nothing is regenerated underneath you.
The log is against a stated plan. Every completed workout stores the prescription it started from. Partial, moved, and unplanned sessions are visible as such. With a generated program there is no fixed plan to measure against.
Transparent load suggestions. When enabled, Method's suggested load is an estimated 1RM from your last eligible set inverted for the next set's reps and RIR, with the sentence that explains it. It is arithmetic you can check, not a recommendation you have to trust.
Price and a free tier. Method is free with limits and Pro is a fraction of Fitbod's subscription on the date checked, with a lifetime option.
Export. Method Pro exports every set as CSV and produces PDFs. Fitbod's listing does not mention export.
Where Fitbod is stronger
It does the programming. If you do not want to write a program, Fitbod writes one and adapts it. Method will not do this.
Platforms. Fitbod lists iPhone, Apple Watch, Mac, Apple Vision, and Android. Method is iPhone plus web plus a cardio-only Watch app.
Integrations. Fitbod lists Strava and Fitbit directly. Method reaches Strava only through Apple Health and has no Fitbit support.
Exercise videos. Fitbod lists 1,000+ exercises with multi-angle video. Method's library is 411 built-in exercises plus your custom ones, without video.
Pricing, read carefully
Fitbod's listing shows monthly plans at $12.99 and $15.99 and yearly plans at $79.99 and $95.99, with legacy prices also listed, and does not describe a free tier. Method's free tier holds 6 weeks of programming, 30 days of history, 4 saved sessions, and 25 custom exercises; Pro is $3.99 monthly, $24.99 yearly, or $74.99 lifetime on the web in USD. Method's web prices are set in your region's currency and shown on the pricing page. App Store prices for either app follow Apple's tiers.
Who should pick which
Pick Fitbod if you want each session generated and adapted for you, you train on Android or want lifting on Apple Watch, or you want Strava and Fitbit connected directly.
Pick Method if you write your own programs, follow one from a book, or have a coach who publishes it to you in Method, you want a web editor to hold it, you want cardio and Apple Health workouts in the same history, and you want the log to stay honest against the plan.
What Method does not do
Method does not generate, adapt, or periodise programs. It has no Android app, no Mac app, no exercise videos, no Fitbit integration, and no lifting on Apple Watch. The web app does not log workouts.
Common questions
- Is Method a Fitbod alternative?
- Only if you want to stop being told what to do. Fitbod generates your workouts; Method holds the program you wrote and logs against it. If you like Fitbod's core idea, Method is not a replacement. If you have outgrown it and want your own programming, Method is built for that.
- Does Method generate workouts?
- No. You write the program. Method schedules it, shows the prescription while you lift, suggests a load from your own last set when that setting is on, and records what happened. It does not plan, periodise, or adapt the program for you.
- Which is cheaper, Method or Fitbod?
- On the date checked, Fitbod's listing showed monthly plans at $12.99 and $15.99 and yearly at $79.99 and $95.99, with no free tier described. Method is free with limits, and Method Pro is $3.99 per month, $24.99 per year, or $74.99 lifetime on the web in USD.
- Does Method integrate with Strava or Fitbit?
- Not directly. Fitbod's listing states Strava and Fitbit integrations. Method imports workouts from Apple Health, so Strava activities reach Method only if Strava writes them to Apple Health. There is no Fitbit integration.
Try Method
Write your program on the web, log every set on iPhone, and keep the whole history in one place. Free to start.
Related reading
Method vs Boostcamp: following a published program versus writing your own
Boostcamp is a free tracker built around a library of published programs with auto-progression. Method is a planner and logger for programs you write yourself, with a web editor and cardio in the same record. This page sets out where they differ.
Method vs Hevy: a workout tracker comparison for people who plan their training
Hevy is a social gym logger built around routines. Method is a program-first planner and logger. This page lays out exactly where they differ so you can pick the one that fits how you train.
How to program workouts in advance and log against the plan
Programming in advance means deciding the work before the day arrives so the gym is execution, not decision-making. This guide covers what to write down, how far ahead to plan, and how Method keeps the plan and the log connected.
How Method suggests a load: the calculation, the inputs, and when it stays quiet
A suggested load is a calculation from your own log, not a recommendation engine. This guide shows the two-step formula, which set Method reads, how it rounds, and every reason a set might show no suggestion.
Method writes and maintains this page. Every statement about Method is checked against the shipped product. If something here is out of date, email contact@methodapp.net. For general references, link to the Method homepage.