Hevy vs Strong: an even-handed comparison of the two big gym loggers
Hevy and Strong are the two most popular routine-based gym loggers on iPhone. They overlap heavily, and the differences that matter are platforms, social features, free-tier limits, and price. This page lays them out from each app's own listing.
ComparisonUpdated 4 min readMarkdown version
Checked against Hevy on the App Store on , Hevy website and tutorial on , Strong on the App Store on and Strong website on . Third-party facts can change after that date. Method facts are checked against the shipped product.
The short version of each app
Hevy describes itself as a workout tracker and gym log. You create routines, log sets with automatic rest timers per exercise, mark warm-up, drop, and failure sets, and use supersets. It has a large social layer, with a feed, follows, likes, comments, and leaderboards. Its listing describes Apple Watch with live sync, HealthKit export of workouts into the Health app, and a routine library; its feature list includes Strava integration and RPE, and HevyGPT for importing generated plans. There is a web app at hevy.com. On the date checked its App Store rating was about 4.9 stars across roughly 88,000 ratings.
Strong is one of the oldest gym loggers. You add routines and choose between them, log with an automatic countdown rest timer, group exercises into supersets, and use its warm-up and plate calculators. Its website lists RPE, Apple Health, CSV export, custom timers, body measurements, Siri Shortcuts, and workout scheduling. The Apple Watch app is described as fully featured, logging with or without the iPhone. On the date checked its rating was about 4.9 stars across roughly 109,000 ratings.
Side by side
Every fact below comes from each app's App Store listing or website on the date shown at the top of this page.
| Hevy | Strong | |
|---|---|---|
| Platforms | iPhone, iPad, Android, Apple Watch, Apple Vision, web app at hevy.com | iPhone, Android, Apple Watch |
| Minimum iOS | 15.1 | 15.0 |
| Apple Watch | Routines on the watch with live sync to the phone | Fully featured, with or without the iPhone |
| Free tier | Up to 4 routines and 7 custom exercises | Unlimited workout saving, 3 custom routines |
| Paid tier (USD, date checked) | $2.99 or $3.99 per month, $23.99 per year, $74.99 lifetime | $4.99 for 1 month, $19.99 for 6 months, $29.99 for 1 year, $99.99 forever |
| RPE | In the feature list | In the feature list |
| Supersets | Yes | Yes |
| Rest timer | Automatic, per exercise | Automatic countdown, custom timers |
| Calculators | Not mentioned | Warm-up and plate calculators |
| Export | Not mentioned on the listing | CSV to Notes or Email |
| Apple Health | Exports workouts into the Health app | Body measurements with Apple Health support |
| Strava | Listed as an integration | Not mentioned |
| Social | Feed, follows, likes, comments, leaderboards | None mentioned |
| Notable limits | 150-set cap per workout or routine, on any tier | None stated |
Where Hevy is stronger
Price. Cheaper at every matching interval on the date checked, and the lifetime option is $74.99 against Strong's $99.99 forever.
Surfaces. iPad, Apple Vision, and a web app. If you want to look at your training on something bigger than a phone, Hevy is the only one of the two that offers it.
Community. The social layer is the product's identity. If accountability from friends, likes, and leaderboards keeps you training, Strong has no equivalent.
Strava. Listed as an integration; Strong does not mention it.
Where Strong is stronger
The free tier for pure logging. Unlimited workout saving with three custom routines suits someone who repeats a few routines indefinitely and never wants to pay. Hevy's free tier caps routines at four and custom exercises at seven.
Gym-floor utilities. Warm-up and plate calculators are built in.
Export. CSV export is stated plainly. Hevy's listing does not mention export.
Billing flexibility. A 6-month option at $19.99 sits between monthly and yearly.
What neither does
Neither app is built around a multi-week program placed on dates. Both plan with routines, reusable session templates you pick from, with a calendar (Hevy) or scheduling (Strong) layered on. Neither describes rep ranges with reps-in-reserve targets per set, loads prescribed relative to another set, or a separation between what was planned and what was logged.
If your training is written as a program, weeks of dated sessions with per-set prescriptions, that is the job of a program-first tracker. Method is built for exactly that model, with a web editor, RIR or RPE targets with decimals, and cardio and Apple Health in the same history; the trade-offs against each of these apps are laid out in Method vs Hevy and Method vs Strong. If routines are your model, either Hevy or Strong will serve you well and this page's differences are the decider.
Common questions
- Is Hevy or Strong better?
- They are close. Hevy adds a social feed, a web app, and a cheaper yearly price. Strong adds warm-up and plate calculators, a 6-month billing option, and unlimited free workout saving with three custom routines. Most people can be happy in either; the free-tier shape and the social layer are the real deciders.
- Which is cheaper, Hevy or Strong?
- On the date checked, Hevy Pro was listed at $2.99 or $3.99 per month, $23.99 per year, and $74.99 lifetime. Strong PRO was $4.99 for 1 month, $19.99 for 6 months, $29.99 for 1 year, and $99.99 forever. Hevy was cheaper at every matching interval.
- Do Hevy and Strong have web apps?
- Hevy offers a web app at hevy.com. Strong's website and listing describe iPhone, Android, and Apple Watch, with no web or desktop app mentioned.
- Can either app plan multi-week programs?
- Both are routine-based. Hevy's listing describes routines and a calendar; Strong lists workout scheduling as a feature. Neither describes multi-week programs with blocks and dated sessions. If you want that model, a program-first tracker such as Method is the different kind of tool.
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 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.
Method vs Strong: a workout tracker comparison for program-first training
Strong is a long-running, simple gym logger with a full Apple Watch app and CSV export. Method is a planner and logger built around multi-week programs. This page sets out the differences plainly.
How to choose a workout tracker app: the questions that actually separate them
Most workout tracker comparisons rank apps by features. This guide sorts them by the job you need done, lists the questions worth asking, and says plainly which kind Method is and who should look elsewhere.
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.
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.