11 best workout apps 2024, expert reviewed

Whether you’re at the beginning of your fitness journey or you’ve been following an exercise routine for years, you can set yourself up for even more success by investing in expert support. The best workout apps offer a wealth of tools and resources that can give you a clear direction, help you remain accountable, and allow you to track your progress.

From on-demand workouts to virtual boot camps to personalized strength training plans, workout apps provide a wide range of options to help people of various skill and fitness levels become stronger, fitter, and healthier. To guide you in the right direction, our team researched and tested more than 30 fitness apps to evaluate critical characteristics such as pricing, ease of use, equipment demands, and workout variety so you can select the one that best aligns with your goals and needs.

Our picks of the best workout apps

Compare workout apps

Best personalized workout app

Caliber offers a high level of personalization, as you can select from multiple tiers that include group and one-on-one coaching.

Key product features

Food tracking


Cronometer app

Accountability


Weekly check-in

Training plan


Periodized

Form feedback


Video review

What you should know

Depending on which tier you choose, Caliber offers group and individual coaching that includes customized training and nutrition protocols. The app relies on two AI-based measurements to track your progress, and your coach will provide feedback and update your goals so you have a clear direction.

• 
  Our product tester enjoyed working with a coach who showed flexibility and understanding in coming up with an alternative measure to hold her accountable to her diet.
  
• 
  With individual coaching packages starting at $200 per month, Caliber can become quite expensive, especially if you want strategy calls or live training sessions with your coach included.
  
• 
  While the free-forever version can get you started, Caliber Premium will give you the most personalized training experience.
  

Why we like Caliber as best personalized

If you’re on the lookout for a workout and

nutrition app

that tailors plans to your needs, Caliber is an excellent choice. Available in three tiers, the platform relies on scientific principles and data to drive its programming.

While our product tester opted for the Premium Coaching package that starts at $200 a month, she noted that the free version gives you access to a library of basic workouts that can help you get jumpstarted. There’s also a Pro version that costs about $14 a month and provides group coaching.

With the Premium Coaching tier, you get a coach who creates personalized workouts for you. You can even upgrade (for an additional $66 a month) to get weekly or monthly video calls to discuss your strategy and any issues you’re facing.

Caliber received top scores from our product tester for accountability and instruction—two crucial aspects that impact your results. (

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) She appreciated the weekly check-ins with her trainer that provided opportunities to not only discuss the previous week’s workouts but also set goals for the next week.

The app features video demos for every exercise, making it easy to understand each movement. If you’re concerned about your form, you can record yourself and send it to your coach for quick feedback.

“This is particularly important as…proper form during exercise improves self-efficacy, or your confidence in your ability to exercise,” adds Dr. Jen Roper, Ph.D., CSCS, an associate professor of Health and Human Sciences at Loyola Marymount University. “The higher your self-efficacy, the more likely you are to stick with your exercise program.” (

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)

Caliber uses measurements like strength score and strength balance to track your progress, which is beneficial for beginners focusing on their weaknesses. The workouts are structured in stages, with the same exercises for a few weeks, gradually increasing intensity. This type of periodized training can produce greater strength gains than non-periodized training. (

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“My coach gives me goals to hit each week regarding weights and reps to ensure I’m progressively overloading,” our team product tester wrote.

Caliber extends its assistance beyond workouts to include nutrition coaching. Our tester received sound advice from her trainer, who also holds a nutrition coaching certification. The nutrition coach even addressed issues with food tracking by sending photos of meals as a less stressful alternative.

Keep in mind that because Caliber coaches aren’t registered dietitians, they can’t provide highly specific meal plans, medical nutrition therapy, or suggest a particular diet based on your health history. (

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) Their focus is more on teaching you how to track your food, offering tips for healthier choices, and explaining different diets.

For tracking nutrition, Caliber utilizes an app called Cronometer, which includes a handy barcode scanner for quickly adding new foods to your log. Your coach has access to your Cronometer data, which can help make your check-ins more informative and keep you focused and accountable during your fitness journey.

What customers are saying

Reviewers on the Apple App Store speak highly of the individualized attention they receive from their coaches, which helps them stay on track and feel empowered.

Another user found investing in the Caliber app to be worthwhile, especially when trainers in her area cost almost $100 a session. In addition to adjusting her workouts based on her work schedule, her coach conducts several weekly check-ins to answer any questions.

Although most reviews contained positive feedback, one customer wasn’t impressed with her trainer. She called out her coach for failing to maintain consistent communication and updating her workout schedule.

“The trainer, while nice, offered very generic messages 1-2x per week,” commented a user with the screen name The local traveler. “Although they did seem encouraging, it sounded like a copy and paste type message. I fell behind on logging workouts for a week and noticed the trainer did not mention anything about it so I thought I would go another week without logging anything to see if they noticed (accountability). Nothing was ever mentioned.”

Specs

Best home workout app:

Shred App

The Shred App is an AI-powered personal trainer that provides dynamic exercise programs for home and gym use.

Key product features

Personal training


Powered by AI

Progress tracking


Yes

Community


Yes

Nutrition


Hydration tracking

What you should know

Using its AI-powered personalized workouts, the Shred App automatically adjusts your workouts based on performance, equipment and goals.

• 
  We love the easy-to-use interface that can switch between customizable home and gym workouts.
  
• 
  With a free starter membership and either $19.99 per month or $119.99 per year subscription options, Shred is one of the most affordable apps on our list—and much cheaper than a human personal trainer.
  
• 
  Shred is a great option for people who want to create a home workout routine while maintaining a sense of community.
  

Cons

Limited style of workouts

Only 7 day free trial for full access versions

Inflexible pre-set workout duration times

Why we like Shred App as best for home workouts

The Shred App offers a range of benefits that make it appealing to those looking for a great home workout. One of the standout advantages of Shred is its AI-powered personalized workouts, which adjust based on your performance, equipment, and goals. This helps ensure that each workout is tailored specifically to you, which sets it apart from other apps.

The ability to customize workouts based on available equipment is super useful for people who like to switch up their routine or go from their home gym to a community gym. We love this flexibility and, again, customizability.

Another key strength of Shred is its community-driven social features, which allow you to compete with friends (if that’s your thing), join group challenges, and share your stats and progress. This social aspect adds a layer of motivation and inspiration that other apps might not have.

Additionally, the user-friendly interface that integrates video exercise demonstrations makes it easy for people who want to review form and are not super tech-savvy to follow along. The inclusion of progress and weight tracking features that sync with Apple HealthKit also provides a comprehensive fitness overview if you’re looking to track your improvements over time.

One potential downside of the Shred App is that it may feel a bit overwhelming for beginners. The variety of options and customizable features, while beneficial for more experienced users, might make it harder for those new to fitness to navigate. Additionally, unlike some free apps like Nike Training Club, Shred operates on a subscription model (monthly or annual are available), which may not appeal to users looking for a completely free option. While the AI-driven workouts are a plus, the app’s focus on customization and intensity could also be a drawback for casual users who are not looking to track specifics.

Another downside is the lack of variety. For those who like to switch between yoga, Pilates, cardio and strength workouts there isn’t as much variety in terms of style of workout as some other apps. Shred is limited to home and gym strength workouts, which is great for some but not all people.

In terms of user feedback, Shred generally garners positive reviews. Many users praise the app for helping them stay motivated and on track with their fitness goals. The combination of structured programming with a dash of healthy competition seems to resonate with many. However, some people note that the app’s workout structure—especially the AI recommendations—can sometimes feel repetitive or less varied than they’d like.

Nevertheless, Shred’s ability to offer an AI-driven workout experience that is both social and able to adjust in real time makes it a fun and dynamic experience for users looking to see real gains in their fitness.

What customers are saying

Overall, Apple App Store users are pleased with the Shred App. Many users appreciate the user-friendly interface and the structured workout plans it offers.

One user who goes by the screen name “OfcBoyd” says, the Shred app “may not have as extensive of an exercise library as some [other apps] but the quality and ease of it all makes it worth it.“

One feature more unique to Shred that users love is the social aspect of the workouts. User Lermsssssss says, “My favorite feature might be when it notifies you of someone working out.”

User Randy the Oke sums it up best, saying: “I literally show up to the gym, open the app, and do what it says. It keeps track of my progress, keeps me moving through my workouts with a timer, and encourages me to push myself the whole way through. I’ve tried just about every app out there, and this app is by far the best one.”

While the Shred App has its limitations, it’s clear that users looking for an AI personal trainer app focused on home or gym strengthening routines can find just what they need with this app.

Specs

Price	Free limited access; $19.99 per month; $119.99 per year
Free trial	7 days
Compatible with	Apple HealthKit
Workout types	Cardio, strength

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Best personal training app with real coaches:

Future

Best personal training app with real coaches

The Future app gives you the flexibility to customize your training experience as you work with a coach who’ll hold you accountable.

Key product features

Assessment


FaceTime call

Accountability


Direct message

Training plan


Customized

Form feedback


Video review

What you should know

Future provides excellent value by pairing you with a certified personal trainer who’ll create customized workout programs, check in regularly, and hold you accountable throughout your journey.

• 
  Future earned a 5 out of 5 rating for accountability from one of our top reviewers, who noted that his coach did a great job of checking in regularly.
  
• 
  At about $200 per month, Future is one of the more expensive workout apps on the market.
  
• 
  If you need a coach’s expertise and motivation, investing in a monthly subscription can give you the tools and confidence to crush your goals.
  

Best bodyweight workout app:

Simple

Best bodyweight workout app

With plenty of bodyweight-only options, Simple gives you access to exercises that do not require any equipment.

Key product features

Assessment


Quiz

Accountability


AI chatbot

Training plan


Customized

Nutrition plan


Yes

What you should know

Simple is an intermittent fasting app that has reminders to start and stop fasts, whilc tracking your exercise, hydration, and overall progress.

• 
  Simple offers strength, yoga, stretching, cardio, and high-intensity interval training (HIIT)
  
• 
  At $ 17.99 per month, this app is pretty affordable compared to similar apps available for download.
  
• 
  This workout app is well-suited for at-home training since you do not need any equipment to exercise along with the video.
  

Why we like Simple as best bodyweight

From planks to pushups to burpees, there are a ton of exercises that don’t require equipment, except for a yoga mat, to help you gain muscle and lose weight.(

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) Simple is for self-starters who are motivated to workout at home or anywhere because you don’t need barbells, dumbbells, or even a jump rope to do the prescribed exercises. For example, you can find follow the video to complete a power strength workout that involves squats to fire up the quads and strengthen your core and back, while increasing mobility. (

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)

Simple is also an intermittent fasting app, which sends reminders to you to start and stop fasting during a certain window during the day. Intermittent fasting isn’t new—it’s been around for many years and has shown to help people achieve weight loss (

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)

This

intermittent fasting app

is free to download, but you have to pay for a subscription to access its feature-rich platform complete with exercises, tracking tools, and AVO, an AI-chatbot trained by doctors and health coaches to help answer your questions.

Our tester said that using the app itself was pretty straightforward. They gave her a “to-do” list which consisted of a few instructions about how intermittent fasting works. It also asked to connect to her iPhone. She was able to set how long she wanted to fast for and adjust what her eating window was, which she made from 12:00 p.m.to 8:00 a.m. each day, which is mostly when she is sleeping. Simple allowed her to see her fasting “countdown” and progress for the day on her phone’s lock screen which was a helpful reminder to drink water and log water intake and eat enough during the nonfasting window,

There is also the Weight Performance section of the app. Here, our tester was able to log her progress as well as upload progress photos of herself. As the week went on, Avo, the wellness AI app, sent a lot of notifications during the day, many of which encouraged her to add lemon to her water during fasts or to ask Avo a question. After a while, the notifications became a little tedious and distracting, but overall the app worked well to help her with intermittent fasting.

Simple offers the paid version of the app at different price points:

• 
  7-day plan
  
  : $4.99
• 
  Monthly plan
  
  : $17.99
• 
  Quarterly plan
  
  : $29.99
• 
  Annual plan:
  
  $49.99

What customers are saying

The Simple app has 23,857 reviews on Trustpilot with 57% reviewers giving five stars.

However, not everyone likes the AVO AI coach and some have complained about the app being buggy.

“At first I was satisfied, soon the amout of messages from their AI coach soon started to be really annoying,” says verified customer Anne S.

Specs

Best workout app for runners:

Joggo

Best workout app for runners

Joggo is a personalized running app that has user-friendly features like audio-guided workouts, GPS tracking, and meal planning.

Key product features

Plan update


Every two weeks

Workouts


Audio-guided

Meal planning


Included

Tracking


GPS

What you should know

Designed for runners of all abilities, Joggo creates a fully personalized running program based on your goals, needs, and lifestyle.

• 
  Our product tester rated Joggo 3.75 out of 5 stars for instruction, noting that some of the audio cues seem better suited for beginners.
  
• 
  At about $33 per month, Joggo essentially gives you a running coach and a plan to follow at a reasonable price point.
  
• 
  Runners who want more variety or a structured routine can utilize Joggo to get more out of their training.
  

Why we like Joggo as best for runners

The brainchild of a former Ironman competitor, Joggo is designed to assist runners in achieving their goals through personalized running plans. The app offers various tools to support your running journey, including GPS locating tracking, distance and speed monitoring, and audio guidance for workouts.

Interestingly, data suggest there is a strong influence of music preference—or audio guidance—and exercise outcomes, so this addition within the app could be of benefit. (

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)

Joggo can also be a helpful resource if you’re trying to lose weight, as it includes a weight tracker to monitor your progress. (

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) However, even if weight loss isn’t your focus, this running app’s other features can make your cardio training more challenging and intentional by providing a mix of different workouts that range from speed sessions to longer-duration runs for conditioning.

One of our product reviewers found the setup process straightforward, giving Joggo 4 out of 5 stars in this category. After providing details about your current fitness level, diet, and health, Joggo presents different running plan options and estimates of the time it’ll take to achieve your goal.

While our tester rated Joggo 3 out of 5 stars for instruction, she felt that forcing users to view or go through an included short warm-up before starting their run wasn’t necessary. This feature might benefit beginners who need guidance on how to warm up before a workout, but more experienced runners may find themselves wanting to skip ahead to the actual workout. She also felt that voice-guided cues like “remember to breathe” might seem unnecessary for advanced runners.

From a cost perspective, Joggo is more affordable than other workout apps. For example, a 12-month subscription costs just $66—just $5.50 a month. In contrast, other

personal training apps

may cost well over $100 per month.

Additionally, Joggo offers an optional strength-training component that focuses on your upper body and core for an extra $2 per week. Even though the app doesn’t offer lower-body strength training programming, we encourage users to pencil in at least one or two leg day sessions per week. Research suggests that lower-limb resistance exercise can enhance running economy and potentially reduce the risk of running-related injuries. (

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Plus,

combining aerobic exercise with strength training

is a sound strategy to keep both your body and brain functioning at a high level as you age. All types of exercise are critical for long term health, but it’s easy to get caught up with just one type or another. Muscle is often called the organ of longevity and for this reason, incorporating strength training is critical. But aerobic exercise also supports cardiovascular, vascular, and general health.

In terms of accountability, Joggo lacks features beyond push notifications. One of our reviewers only gave it 3 out of 5 stars in this category.

Each run you finish also contributes to your overall run streak.

“Gamification [elements like this] may help health outcomes by making the app more appealing and, therefore, increase use,” says Mohr. “This has been measured in research within health apps, but also across a variety of applications. This is why various apps measure streaks and offer other such [perks] to keep users engaged.” (

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)

Still, the app’s versatility in accommodating treadmill or outdoor runs can add variety to your workouts and take away potential excuses to skip training. Overall, while Joggo lacks interactive features, it offers a structured approach to help diversify your running routine and put you on a path to improve your endurance, pace, speed, and form.

What customers are saying

On the Apple App Store, users say they enjoy that the workouts aren’t limited to just basic long-distance runs. Some sessions include speed work, bodyweight exercises, and high-intensity interval training.

However, several negative reviews highlight issues with the app’s tracking abilities.

“I’ll complete an indoor run and once it is finished it flips to optional run. When I stop the run it loses the scheduled run I just did and I can’t manually log it. So frustrating,” commented a user with the screen name Jennywithawhy.

Although one reviewer on Trustpilot said the app makes her runs more intentional, several customers called out technical issues that made it difficult to rely on Joggo. Other negative reviews also expressed frustration about the lack of integration with smartwatches and fitness trackers for heart-rate monitoring and other data tracking.

Specs

Best workout app for men:

Centr

Created by Chris Hemsworth, Centr is an app for men that covers strength training, healthy recipes, and mindfulness exercises.

Key product features

Nutrition


1,000+ recipes

Workouts


More than 4,000

Mental health


Meditations

Instruction


Excellent

What you should know

When looking for a workout app, it’s important how it may impact other areas of wellness. Centr’s well-roundedness is something our team appreciates.

• 
  Two of our reviewers rated Centr 5 out of 5 stars for instruction, which should give users confidence about being able to execute the movements correctly.
  
• 
  While this app costs $30 per month, you can reduce your monthly cost by signing up for a three-month or year-long plan.
  
• 
  By taking a holistic approach to health, Centr provides a well-rounded collection of resources to help you get stronger, fitter, and mentally sharper.
  

Why we like Centr as best for men

Known for his muscular physique, actor Chris Hemsworth created a holistic health app that offers not only a wealth of strength training programs but also mindfulness exercises and a deep library of recipes that can help men become the best versions of themselves. (To be clear, there’s no reason why women can’t also use this app.)

Unlike Future and some of the other apps on this list, Centr does not directly connect you with a one-on-one personal coach. However, the app features daily workouts led by an expert trainer or self-guided sessions programmed by a team of fitness professionals.

At $30 for one month, Centr won’t take a big bite out of your budget. And with three- and 12-month subscription options that come out to $20 or $10 per month, respectively, you do have the opportunity to save by making a long-term investment.

With a value rating of 4 out of 5 stars, Centr also scored high marks from our reviewers for ease of use (4.5 stars) and instruction (5 stars). Between text, photos, and video instructions and even some workouts led by Hemsworth himself, our reviewers each enjoyed the thorough explanations and overall experience training with the app.

While Centr excels at implementing progress overload concepts in its programming, the app isn’t just limited to strength training programs. There’s a wide variety of workouts that include bodyweight, yoga, pilates, and HIIT.

“The programs range from three to 13 weeks, but the majority are six to eight weeks,” our reviewer noted. “The programs can be repeated, too, with increasing weights.”

In addition, the app focuses on mental health and nutrition, with mindfulness exercises and meditations led by Hemsworth and an excellent meal planning and recipe section.

“Centr has also partnered with a highly regarded performance nutritionist to add to the quality offerings in the app itself and the user experience,” says Mohr.

Clearly, this has been noticed and beneficial, leading to our product reviewer saying, “I can’t stress enough how much I like the recipe section—their food is kickass.”

What customers are saying

Customers on the Apple App Store love the ability to customize the app to their needs, along with the inclusion of well-sourced articles and educational resources for learning more about healthy eating and working out.

However, another user felt that some of the movements don’t suit all fitness levels.

“The workouts were challenging but simple and mundane. Also much of the core work involves a lot of intense exercises that require a lot of ‘knee’ work like gorillas and what resembles floor work breakdancing!” a customer with the username Cj morrison wrote. “These moves are really not made for people like myself that are over 40 and have had knee surgeries and issues.”

Specs

Best workout app for women:

Sweat App

Best workout app for women

Created by fitness influencer Kayla Itsines, the Sweat App empowers women with comprehensive meal planning and challenging workouts.

Key product features

Reminders


Real-time

Nutrition


Meal planning

Programs


More than 20

Training plan


Customizable

What you should know

With a reasonable yearly cost and a considerable amount of workouts to choose from, our team appreciated Sweat App’s female-focused approach to fitness.

• 
  There’s no shortage of variety when it comes to programming with the Sweat App, as classes range from high-intensity training to yoga to strength.
  
• 
  At $119.94 for an annual subscription, the Sweat App is a budget-friendly option that provides great value.
  
• 
  Women looking for a female-focused workout app will appreciate the community support, well-designed programs, and meal-planning resources from the Sweat App.
  

Why we like the Sweat App as best for women

Founded by fitness expert Kayla Itsines, Sweat features segmented workout programs ranging from strength training to yoga to the app’s flagship BBG program (Bikini Body Guide), now known as “High Intensity with Kayla.” This female-focused platform also offers meal planning and nutritional guidance and excellent community support.

Our product tester had no trouble getting started, rating the setup process 5 out of 5 stars. After signing up and inputting her goals and other relevant information, she was able to get a personalized training plan. With a clean, user-friendly interface that includes an easy-to-navigate dashboard, she gave the Sweat App 4.5 out of 5 stars for ease of use.

In addition, the app suggests a healthy meal plan complete with recipes (though it’s not clear if the meal plans are created by registered dietitians or nutrition coaches, who have a more limited scope of practice). Once you select your dietary preferences, Sweat will provide daily meal plans that include breakfast, lunch, dinner, and snack options, along with a shopping list based on the ingredients required for your meal plan each week.

“There’s a cart icon in the top right that will put together your shopping list for the week, but it doesn’t appear printable so you’d have to keep track of your shopping by checking each item off for each category,” our reviewer highlighted.

From a training perspective, Sweat should appeal to users who don’t have a gym membership or access to equipment. There are zero-equipment versions of programs that include moves that are straightforward and allowed our tester to “deeply connect with the targeted muscle.”

Our reviewer also felt Sweat stood out for its strong interactive features, rating the app 4.3 out of 5 stars in that category. You can connect the app to Apple Health and track your daily steps. Plus, there are also prompts for taking photos of your meals, which can help you stay accountable with your nutrition.

“At the end of your workout, you’ll have the option to take a post-training photo with the Sweat logo embedded to share with the Sweat community or on your social media accounts,” our review noted. “You can also share your milestone badges as you collect them.”

“This feature uses both gamification and accountability, increasing the user experience and potentially benefiting the outcome,” adds Mohr.

Finally, you can break a sweat, burn fat, and build muscle while listening to your favorite playlist thanks to the integration of Apple Music and Spotify. This neat feature adds another layer of personalization and can help you maintain focus during your workout.

With an annual subscription cost of $119.94, Sweat certainly falls on the affordable end of workout apps. Our reviewer rated it 4 out of 5 stars for value, noting that it’s a solid choice for low-key lifters and those who prefer to do HIIT-style workouts at home.

“The workouts also vary in levels of intensity and cater to women with differing needs such as low-impact or post-pregnancy training,” she noted. “It’s reasonably priced considering you don’t get 1:1 coaching, though I can’t say I’d recommend it for a true beginner as some of the movements are more complicated.”

What customers are saying

Several customers on the Apple App Store have relied on the Sweat App for years to steer them in the right direction with their workouts and nutrition.

Standout features that appeal to users include the ability to swap exercises, the built-in timer, and the meal plan component. Plus, the programs provide a sufficient challenge for women who want to lose weight, build muscle, and/or just become healthier overall.

However, some reviews called out occasional bugs with the app. In addition, several customers felt the suggested meal plans and recipes contained too many ingredients. This can be a hindrance for those with tight budgets or limited time, experience, or knowledge in the kitchen.

Specs

Best workout app for beginners:

iFIT

Best workout app for beginners

iFIT allows you take on-demand classes from quality instructors who make the workouts engaging and understandable for beginners.

Key product features

Classes


16,000+

Workout types


Over 60

Trainers


More than 180

Equipment


Not needed

What you should know

iFIT’s interactive programming lets you take full advantage of various compatible equipment. With thousands of classes and many types of workouts from which to choose, users can easily find a program that fits their goals and needs.

• 
  Our product testers appreciated that the classes adjust your machine’s incline, decline, and speed settings so you can remain focused on your workout.
  
• 
  An individual iFIT membership costs $15 per month, but you can upgrade to a family membership for $39 per month.
  
• 
  iFIT’s wide range of classes gives beginners ample opportunities to test different ones and discover which type of training style and coach they enjoy best.
  

Why we like iFIT as best for beginners

Viewed as a worthy rival to the Peloton app, iFIT boasts thousands of live and on-demand classes that can make working out more engaging and effective, especially for beginners. With over six million users, this virtual training platform enables you to take fitness classes from the comfort of your home with quality instructors who bring energy and expertise. The app syncs seamlessly with ellipticals,

treadmills

, and other equipment, making it a valuable tool to maximize your investment.

Following a breezy setup process that earned 5 out of 5 stars from our product tester, you’ll be able to browse through a versatile library of classes that includes strength training,

rowing machine

, yoga, and even mindfulness exercises. Our reviewer appreciated the app’s intuitive design, which helped it earn 4.5 out of 5 stars for ease of use.

“It’s also pretty cool you can view all the workouts you’ve taken, including the specific class, the calories burned, and duration,” she noted.

iFIT doesn’t just stop at convenience; it excels in keeping you motivated and engaged, scoring 4 out of 5 stars for interactive features and 4.5 out of 5 stars for instruction.

Our tester enjoyed participating in challenges, complete with leaderboards to see how she stacked up against other users. For beginners, this can be a great way to gauge your progress as you attempt to hit certain milestones. However, since the app is mostly self-guided, our reviewer only scored it 3.5 out of 5 stars for accountability.

At $15 a month for the individual plan and $39 for a family plan, iFIT offers excellent value. Not only do you have access to a wealth of classes and instructors, but you can also choose your training environment.

What customers are saying

This beginner-friendly personal training platform elicited positive feedback on the Apple App Store for providing an immersive, interactive experience and a wide variety of workouts led by experts.

A few negative reviews mentioned that the workout library can be difficult to navigate, leading to too much time being wasted.

“The Browse section lacks search capability, which requires users to spend a good bunch of time looking for the workout they want to start,” commented a user with the screen name SUPABWE. “People have limited time to work out and if it’s taking me 5-10mins to continue scrolling up and down then that’s half my workout time spent.”

Specs

Best workout app for building muscle:

Ladder

Best workout app for building muscle

Ladder utilizes a progressive strength training approach to help users build muscle, with plans for group and individual coaching.

Key product features

Workouts


Released weekly

Plans


Monthly/annual

Tracking


Integrated

What you should know

With the Ladder app, you can receive personalized program recommendations based on your goals and training style.

• 
  Our product tester gave Ladder 5 out of 5 stars for progressive overload, noting that this feature helps the app stand out from its competitors.
  
• 
  At $30 per month for the Pro monthly plan, you get plenty of bang for your buck. This version offers a weekly workout plan, progress tracking, Apple Watch and Spotify/Apple Music integration, and other resources.
  
• 
  Ladder is a solid choice if you’re looking for a structured approach and ongoing support during your muscle-building journey.
  

Why we like Ladder as best for building muscle

If you’re looking to get stronger and want to work out at home, Ladder is an awesome option. Those are the exact words used by our product tester, who gave this strength training app an impressive overall score of 4.3 stars after using it for several months. Given her background as a certified personal trainer, that speaks volumes about how well Ladder incorporates progressive overload principles to help users achieve their strength and muscle-building goals.

“This is where the app shines,” she noted. “It’s not a bunch of random workouts that you just choose from each day.”

Instead, Ladder utilizes five- to six-week blocks, followed by a deload week. Research shows that deloading—a period of reduced training stress designed to mitigate physiological and psychological fatigue—can help promote recovery and enhance your preparedness for subsequent training sessions. (

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Ladder’s user-friendly interface makes it incredibly simple to follow your training plan. Our reviewer, who boasts more than a decade of strength training experience, rated the app 5 out of 5 stars for ease of use.

“I’ve tried several workout apps and this one is the easiest to navigate and stick with by far because it takes the guesswork out of the equation,” she noted. “After you choose your program, all workouts for the week are pre-programmed for you. I really like this because it provides a foolproof way for progression/progressive overload, which is something I need right now with three kids at home.”

Once you’re ready for a workout, the app preps you with what equipment you need, and it allows you to sync with Spotify and your Apple Watch. In addition, Ladder lets you pause if you need more time to complete a set or have to take a break, and it allows you to record your weights and reps as an easy way to help achieve progressive overload.

Our tester believes Ladder delivers incredible value, rating it 5 out of 5 stars in this category.

“Thirty dollars a month for a multi-week series carefully planned out to get results is a steal,” she wrote. “You’d pay hundreds to get an online plan from a qualified CPT, and although you’re missing the personalization aspect, I still think it’s well worth it for the average person who doesn’t have any specific concerns and just wants to get in better shape.”

What customers are saying

Users on the Apple App Store praise the highly qualified coaches for providing structure and motivation that has helped them build muscle, strength, and self-confidence.

One negative review called out the exercise demo video feature as an area that needs improvement.

“By the time the video loads to demonstrate the workout the timer is up and it’s moved on to the next workout,” a customer with the screen name Alpal1516. “Even the previews take 5+ minutes each to load.”

Specs