Hevy vs Strong (2026): Which Workout Tracker Actually Wins for You?

In the Hevy vs Strong fight, the short answer is this: pick Hevy if you want a cheaper app with a social feed, solid Android and Wear OS support, and adaptive program building; pick Strong if you want a rock-solid offline logger with deeper analytics and a more mature Apple Watch app. Both are good. They just serve slightly different lifters. Below is the honest breakdown so you can stop reading spec sheets and get back to the gym.

Hevy vs Strong at a glance

Hevy is the friendlier, cheaper, more social one. Strong is the quiet, precise, offline-first one. If you live in the Apple ecosystem and hate clutter, Strong feels right. If you want a feed, a web app, and lower prices, Hevy pulls ahead.

Takeaway: Hevy wins on price and reach, Strong wins on offline calm and depth.

What both apps do the same

These two apps are more alike than any comparison admits. Both are loggers, not coaches. You bring the plan, they record the numbers.

Both give you:

• Custom routines you build set by set
• Rest timers between sets
• Full workout history you can scroll back through
• Progress charts for lifts and body stats
• Plate math so you know what to load on the bar
• A clean tap-to-log flow that stays out of your way

Neither app tells you what to train on its own free tier. They track. You decide.

Takeaway: If you just want to record lifts, either one does the core job well.

Free tier: where each one stops you

Free tiers are where these apps split. The wall you hit depends on how you train.

• Strong free: 3 custom routines, hard cap. But you get unlimited logging and your full history stays visible forever, with no ads.
• Hevy free: 4 routines, 7 custom exercises, and only the last 3 months of history. Logging is unlimited, and cloud sync plus the social feed are included.

So which wall comes first? If you tweak and rebuild routines a lot, Strong's 3-routine cap bites early. If you like scrolling back a year to see old numbers, Hevy's 3-month history window is the real limit. Hevy shows more of your setup for free, Strong shows more of your past.

Takeaway: Routine tinkerer? Strong stops you first. History reader? Hevy stops you first.

Pricing in 2026, dated and reconciled

Prices checked July 17, 2026, on the US App Store. Other comparison posts still print old numbers, so trust the dates, not the rankings.

• Hevy Pro: $2.99/mo, $23.99/yr, or $74.99 lifetime. Hevy also runs a 50% off first-year deal at times.
• Strong Pro: $4.99/mo or $29.99/yr. A lifetime "Strong PRO Forever" shows in the store from $79.99, with a $99.99 variant listed too.

Now the math that matters. Hevy's $74.99 lifetime is a one-time cost, and Strong at $29.99 a year passes that in under three years. Hevy is cheaper at every tier: monthly, yearly, and forever.

Takeaway: Hevy wins pricing at every level, and it is not close over the long run.

Logging, analytics, and programming

Onboarding is where Hevy feels smoother. Setup is quick, the charts are clean, and a new lifter gets going in a couple of minutes. Strong is more minimal and precise. Its graphs go deeper and let you filter and slice your data harder, which serious data nerds love.

The bigger split is programming.

• Hevy added Hevy Trainer in 2026, an adaptive program generator on Pro that builds and adjusts a plan for you. It also has HevyGPT for quick coaching-style answers.
• Strong has no programming at all, on purpose. It expects you to bring your own plan. No generator, no AI, just a clean sheet to log against.

If you want the app to help build your split, Hevy is the only one of the two that tries. If you already have a program and just want to log it, Strong stays out of your way.

Takeaway: Hevy helps you plan, Strong assumes you already have a plan.

Social, Apple Watch, and offline

Three features separate these apps hard.

• Social: Hevy has a full feed. You follow friends, share workouts, and get a little push to stay consistent. Strong has no social by design. Some lifters love that quiet, others miss the accountability.
• Apple Watch: Strong's watch app is older and more mature. Hevy has a watch app and Wear OS support too, but for Apple Watch power users, Strong is the safer bet.
• Offline: Strong has a long reputation for working fully offline. Hevy leans on sync, and its feed wants a connection. In a dead-signal basement gym, Strong is the calmer choice.

Takeaway: Strong owns offline and Apple Watch, Hevy owns community and cross-platform reach.

Data export and lock-in

Good news that is rarer than it should be: both apps let you export your data as CSV on the free tier. You are not trapped in either one.

Even better, Hevy documents how to import Strong's CSV file. That makes moving from Strong to Hevy easy. Going the other way, Hevy to Strong, is the harder direction and takes more manual work.

The real lock-in is not the file. It is your habit. Once you have a year of history in one app and your eyes know where every number lives, switching feels like starting over. That friction is bigger than any export button.

Takeaway: Both export free, Strong to Hevy is the easy move, and your habit is the true lock-in.

Who should pick which: Hevy or Strong?

Here is the plain call in the Hevy vs Strong matchup.

Pick Strong if you:

• Live on Apple Watch and want the mature version
• Train in gyms with bad signal and need reliable offline logging
• Want deeper charts and tighter data filtering
• Already have your own program and just want a clean logger

Pick Hevy if you:

• Want the cheapest option, especially lifetime
• Like a social feed and workout sharing
• Are on Android or want a real web app
• Want the app to help build and adapt your program

There is an honest third option too. Ironi makes the whole tracker free forever, with no routine cap, unlimited history, and free CSV and JSON export. Its voice workout logging is free as well, so you can log a set by talking. The only paid part is the AI coach: post-workout session reviews and an AI split generator, as Ironi Pro at $3.99/mo or $29.99/yr. Where do Hevy and Strong still beat it? Strong's Apple Watch app is more mature, Hevy's community is bigger, and both have native iOS apps today. Ironi is a web app now with an Android app rolling out and iOS later. If you want more no-subscription picks, here are the best free workout apps without a subscription.

Quick answers before you go:

• Can I move my Strong data to Hevy? Yes. Hevy imports Strong's CSV file, so the Strong to Hevy jump is simple.
• Is Hevy really cheaper long-term? Yes, at every tier, and its $74.99 lifetime undercuts Strong's lifetime too.
• Which is better for beginners? Hevy, thanks to friendlier onboarding and a community that keeps you showing up.

Takeaway: Strong for the quiet Apple offline lifter, Hevy for the social budget lifter, and Ironi if a free tracker with an optional AI coach sounds like your kind of deal.