6 StrongLifts alternatives worth trying in 2026

Most people searching for a StrongLifts alternative aren’t unhappy with 5x5. The program works - that’s why they started. What sends them searching is usually one of three things: StrongLifts Pro pricing ($11.99/month, $59.99/year, or $199.99 lifetime in the US), a feature they want that StrongLifts doesn’t prioritize, or simple curiosity about what else exists.

Full disclosure before anything else: we make Lift5x5, the first app on this list. You should read our entry with appropriate skepticism, and we’ve tried to earn your trust back by being genuinely fair to the other five options - including telling you who should pick them over us.

Also, credit where due: StrongLifts popularized this program and built an excellent app around it - 4.9 stars across roughly 76,000 US App Store ratings, available everywhere from Apple Watch to Vision. It’s not a bad app you need to escape. It’s a premium-priced app, and this list is about your other options. We’ve written a direct head-to-head with StrongLifts if that’s the comparison you came for.

The alternatives at a glance

App	Best for	Free tier	Paid tier (US)
Lift5x5	Running classic 5x5, free	Full 5x5 program	Pro: cheaper than StrongLifts, adds coach/Madcow/export
Strong	General logging, any routine	3 routines, unlimited logging	$4.99/mo or $99.99 lifetime
Hevy	Logging with a social feed	4 routines, 7 custom exercises, ~3 months of graphs	$2.99/mo, $23.99/yr, $74.99 lifetime
Boostcamp	Free structured programs (GZCLP etc.)	Many full programs free	Some paid coach programs
Liftosaur	Power users, custom progression logic	Everything - it’s free and open-source	None
Pen & paper	Minimalists	Everything	A notebook

One distinction matters more than any feature list: program-runners vs general loggers. StrongLifts and Lift5x5 are program-runners - they know the 5x5 rules and tell you what to lift today. Strong and Hevy are general loggers - endlessly flexible, but the progression math is your job. Boostcamp and Liftosaur sit in between. Decide which kind of tool you want before comparing prices.

1. Lift5x5 - the free classic 5x5

lift5x5.app · iOS + Android

This is us. We built Lift5x5 around one promise: the classic 5x5 experience is free forever. Not a teaser tier - the complete program. Automatic weight progression (+2.5 kg per successful session, +5 kg deadlift, standard deload after three fails), rest timer, plate calculator, warmup set calculation, progress graphs, full history, offline support, 11 languages, no ads.

The notable contrast with StrongLifts: warmup calculation and core conveniences that StrongLifts places behind Pro are free here. The optional Lift5x5 Pro tier adds things beyond the classic program: Pro Coach forecasts and plateau insights, the Madcow 5x5 intermediate program, custom per-lift progression rules, anonymous leaderboards, and CSV/JSON export.

Pros:

• Complete classic 5x5 free, including progression automation and warmups
• No ads, works offline, 11 languages
• Pro tier (if you ever want it) is priced well below StrongLifts Pro
• Data export (Pro) means you’re never locked in

Cons:

• Newer app with a small track record - our iOS rating is 5.0 but from only 11 ratings, which honestly isn’t a sample size that means much yet
• iOS and Android only: no Apple Watch, iPad, or Mac apps
• No in-app exercise videos (we cover form in written guides like our squat and deadlift breakdowns)
• Focused on 5x5-family programs - if you want to run PPL or bro splits in the same app, a general logger fits better

Pick it if: you want to run 5x5 specifically, want the whole program without paying, and don’t need a watch app.

2. Strong - the polished general logger

strong.app · iOS + Android

Strong is one of the most established general-purpose workout trackers, and a very common landing spot for ex-StrongLifts users. The free tier gives you up to 3 routines with unlimited workout logging - conveniently, classic 5x5 only needs two routines (Workout A and Workout B), so the program fits inside the free tier.

The trade-off is the program-runner distinction above. Strong is a logger, not a coach: it won’t decide that you earned +2.5 kg or that it’s time to deload. You bring the program; it records the work. For some lifters that’s a feature - total flexibility, no opinions. For a beginner who wants the app to enforce the rules, it’s homework.

Pros:

• Mature, polished, widely trusted tracker
• 5x5’s two workouts fit within the free tier’s 3 routines
• Logs anything - when you eventually move past 5x5, the app comes with you
• Reasonable Pro pricing: $4.99/month or $99.99 lifetime

Cons:

• No automatic 5x5 progression or deload logic - you track the rules yourself
• Free tier caps you at 3 routines, which bites once you outgrow a 2-day rotation
• Lifetime price is higher than Hevy’s

Pick it if: you want one tracker for life across many programs and you’re happy managing progression yourself.

3. Hevy - the budget social tracker

hevyapp.com · iOS + Android

Hevy is the younger challenger in the general-logger space, and its calling cards are price and community. Pro costs $2.99/month, $23.99/year, or $74.99 lifetime - the cheapest paid tier on this list by a wide margin. The free tier allows 4 routines and 7 custom exercises, with graph history limited to roughly the last 3 months.

The social feed is the differentiator: you can follow friends, see their sessions, and get the gentle accountability of training in public. If motivation when progress slows is your weak point, that feed can be worth more than any analytics screen.

Same caveat as Strong: it’s a logger. The 5x5 progression rules live in your head, not the app.

Pros:

• Cheapest Pro tier of any paid app here ($23.99/year)
• Free tier’s 4 routines comfortably fit 5x5’s two workouts
• Social feed provides real accountability
• Active development, modern interface

Cons:

• No automatic linear-progression engine for 5x5
• Free tier limits sting over time: ~3 months of graph history hides exactly the long-term trend lines that make tracking your lifts motivating, and 7 custom exercises is tight
• Social features are noise if you just want to lift and leave

Pick it if: you want the cheapest capable tracker and you like the idea of a training feed.

4. Boostcamp - free structured programs

boostcamp.app · iOS + Android

Boostcamp’s model is different: instead of one program or a blank logger, it hosts a library of complete, structured programs you can follow in-app - many of them free, including well-regarded routines like GZCLP. Some programs from named coaches are paid.

For a lifter leaving StrongLifts, the appeal is breadth at zero cost. If you’re not sure 5x5 is even your program anymore - maybe you’re eyeing GZCLP or another linear-progression variant - Boostcamp lets you run several proven programs without committing money to any of them.

Pros:

• Genuinely free access to a wide library of legitimate, structured programs
• Programs run in-app with the structure laid out for you - closer to a program-runner than a blank logger
• Easy to experiment across programs while you figure out what fits

Cons:

• Jack-of-all-programs: the experience around any single program is less tailored than a dedicated app’s
• Some coach programs cost money, and the catalog mixes free and paid
• If you know you want classic 5x5 specifically, the library is mostly stuff you’ll scroll past

Pick it if: you’re program-shopping, not just app-shopping, and want to try alternatives like GZCLP for free.

5. Liftosaur - the open-source power tool

liftosaur.com · Web + iOS + Android

Liftosaur is the enthusiast’s answer: completely free, open-source, and scriptable. It ships with all the GZCL programs and lets you define progression logic in a built-in scripting language - if you can describe a rule (“add 2.5 kg after two consecutive successful sessions, deload 10% after three fails”), you can program it.

That’s also the catch. Liftosaur has the steepest learning curve here by a distance. It’s a tool in the way a text editor is a tool: enormously capable, indifferent to whether you know what you’re doing. For the lifter who has opinions about microloading and wants custom deload thresholds without paying for anyone’s Pro tier, it’s arguably the best value in fitness software. For a first-week beginner, it’s too much surface area.

Pros:

• Entirely free, open-source, no paid tier at all
• The most customizable progression logic of anything on this list
• Web app plus iOS and Android - works on any device with a browser

Cons:

• Steep learning curve; setup requires reading documentation
• Utilitarian interface compared to commercial apps
• Community-scale support rather than a company support desk

Pick it if: you’re technical, you want full control of progression rules, and you refuse to pay for software on principle.

6. Pen and paper - the original tracker

Don’t laugh. The 5x5 program existed for decades before app stores, and a notebook still does the irreducible job: write the date, the lifts, the weights, the reps. Our training log template covers exactly what to record.

What you give up is everything apps automate: progression math (small, but done between heavy sets when your brain is mush), plate arithmetic, rest timing, warmup calculation, and graphs. What you gain is zero cost, zero battery anxiety, zero notifications, and a physical artifact of your training that no app shutdown can take away.

Pros:

• Free forever in the truest sense - no account, no company, no sunset risk
• No phone in your hand between sets
• Surprisingly satisfying to flip back through a filled notebook

Cons:

• All progression and plate math is manual, mid-workout
• No graphs, no timers, no backups unless you photograph pages
• Easy to fudge (“I think I did 80 last time?”) in ways an app won’t let you

Pick it if: you want maximum simplicity, or your gym has a no-phones culture you’d rather embrace than fight.

How to actually choose

Cut through the feature lists with three questions:

1. Do you want the app to run the program, or just record it? If you want automated progression and deloads, that’s StrongLifts, Lift5x5, or (with setup) Liftosaur. If you want a flexible blank slate, Strong or Hevy.
2. Are you still running 5x5 in a year? If you’re a beginner with most of linear progression ahead of you, a dedicated 5x5 app maximizes the next 6-12 months. If you’re near the intermediate transition, a general logger or Boostcamp travels better across programs.
3. What’s your actual budget? Free-forever options: Lift5x5 (full classic 5x5), Liftosaur (everything, with effort), Boostcamp (many programs), paper. Cheapest paid: Hevy at $23.99/year. Most expensive: StrongLifts at $59.99/year or $199.99 lifetime.

Whatever you pick, the switching cost is nearly zero: your entire 5x5 progress is five numbers - current working weights on squat, bench, row, press, and deadlift. Type them into a new app and you’ve lost nothing but old history. So try two or three. The program doesn’t care which screen it’s displayed on, and neither will your squat.

For the program itself - schedules, progression rules, plateaus - start with our complete 5x5 guide.

Download Lift5x5 free →