Strongbro vs StrengthLog (2026): Voice Logging vs Programs

StrengthLog comes out of a seven-person team in Lund, Sweden, and its free tier is the most generous in this whole comparison: unlimited workouts, 500+ exercises, PR tracking, no ads. The developer describes it as giving "90% away". Strongbro has no free tier, charges $14.99 a year, and logs by voice instead of by tap. Every StrengthLog claim below comes from its own site, terms and help desk; where those do not answer, the page says unverified.

Verdict

StrengthLog suits the lifter who follows written programs. The catalog holds over 200 programs and routines for powerlifting, bodybuilding and general strength, it runs on iOS, Android and the web, and the US App Store listing shows 4.9 stars on roughly 3,600 ratings. What it asks in return: an account once the trial period ends, your data on the developer's servers, and $109.00 a year for the full Premium set.

Strongbro suits the lifter who wants logging to cost seconds. Tap the mic, say "bench 80, three sets of ten", check the parsed sets, save. It understands 30+ languages, tracks weight-at-reps and estimated 1RM records on every save, and keeps everything on the iPhone with optional iCloud sync and no account, for $14.99 a year or $19.99 once after a 3-day trial. No program library. No Android version. No percentile against other lifters.

If the part you skip is typing between sets, that is the problem Strongbro was built for. If your training is organised around a program and you want the app to hold the plan, StrengthLog was built for that, and it has had eight years to get good at it.

Feature table

On paper StrengthLog is the more complete product: more platforms, more integrations, more program content. The "unverified" rows are not a dig at it. They mark what StrengthLog's public documentation does not say, which is a different thing from what the app cannot do.

Pricing table

Prices are as displayed on the US App Store on 11 September 2026 and can change.

StrengthLog's Premium unlocks the full program catalog, advanced statistics, the muscles-worked anatomy map over a period, unlimited goals and streaks, sharing workouts and programs with other users, and per-set percentage of 1RM, RPE and reps in reserve. Its help desk adds monthly and yearly training reports, an RPE calculator, and the program builder's percentage and RPE options.

If manual logging and basic stats are all you need, StrengthLog costs nothing and shows no ads, and that is difficult to argue with. The paid tier is where the gap opens: a year of Premium is roughly seven times a year of Strongbro, and there is no way to buy StrengthLog once. Subscriptions are tied to your Apple ID or Google account and do not move between iOS and Android.

Privacy and where your data lives

StrengthLog documents its data model in unusual detail, so its own words do the work here.

StrengthLog requires an account. Its terms and privacy policy state: "It is possible to access the Service without registering a user account for a trial period as shown in the Service. Once the trial period has expired, you need to register a user account to be able to continue to use the Service." The site FAQ explains why: "Without an account, your workout data would only be saved locally on your phone. With an account, we can keep a copy in the cloud."

On storage, the app privacy policy (version 3.0, updated August 2026) says: "All data connected to your account is stored on our servers (if – and only if – you use the app connected to the Internet, so that a backup is possible)". On where those servers and their processors sit: "We use service providers, which also may use sub-contractors, that are established in third countries outside the EU/EEA." The policy lists what counts as user-generated data: "logged workouts, workout summaries, personal records, Estimated 1RMs, Strength Levels, connections with other users, participation and progress in challenges", and separately "Picture, video, and audio material which includes video footage of you, your picture or voice, for example videos, profile pictures or progress pictures that you upload in our App."

The controller is Styrkelabbet AB in Sweden, operating under GDPR with the Swedish authority IMY as supervisor. Recipients named in the policy include app stores, social login platforms, other users through social features and challenges, opt-in scientific research, partners and IT service providers. Deleting an account is possible in the app, but the help desk notes you will have to email support to complete it, "just as a safety measure", after which all data is deleted and not restorable.

The App Store privacy card, which StrengthLog declares itself, lists data linked to you as name, email address, user ID and crash data, used for analytics, product personalisation and app functionality. Usage and performance data are collected but not linked to you. On Apple Health, the developer says it "only share[s] the information you request us to share – the app does not receive any data in return".

Strongbro takes a paragraph. Workouts, records, body measurements and physique scans are stored on your iPhone, and in your own iCloud account under Apple's encryption if you turn sync on, where we cannot read them. There is no Strongbro account and no server holding your training history. Voice clips are parsed through our proxy and discarded; physique photos are scored and not retained. Export is built in, and deleting the app takes the on-device data with it.

Both arrangements have a failure mode. StrengthLog's account buys you cloud backup, cross-device sync and social features, and the company is straight about what that costs in data. Strongbro's on-device storage means your only backup is your own iCloud, and there is no web login to rescue you. Pick the failure you would rather explain to yourself.

Who should pick StrengthLog

• You follow written programs. The 200+ program catalog and the builder with percentage-of-1RM and RPE programming are the core of the app, and Strongbro has nothing comparable.
• You train on Android, or on more than one platform. StrengthLog runs on iOS, Android and the web; Strongbro is iPhone only.
• You want a free log with no ads: unlimited workouts, 500+ exercises, PR tracking and Apple Health sharing, with free email support from the team in Lund.
• You want to see where you stand. Strength Levels place you from Beginner to Elite as a percentile against other StrengthLog users, per exercise, with a shareable image.
• You want a track record. StrengthLog launched in 2018, is on version 8.1.2, and shows 4.9 stars on roughly 3,600 US ratings. Strongbro cannot match that.
• You want Apple Watch and Apple Health. Both are listed for StrengthLog, though what the watch app does is not documented publicly.

Who should pick Strongbro

• Typing between sets is why your last log died. One sentence into the mic logs the session, every parsed set is shown with steppers, and nothing saves silently.
• You train in a language other than English. The interface ships in 31 languages, and voice input resolves "sentadillas", "Kniebeugen" and "клякания" to squats. StrengthLog's listing is English only.
• You do not want an account. There is nothing to register; your history lives on your iPhone and, if you choose, in your own iCloud.
• You want records tracked without asking for them. Every saved set is checked against your history for weight-at-reps and estimated 1RM records, whether it arrived by voice or keypad. See personal records.
• You want a score out of 100 on a photo, with per-body-part notes, kept on the device and repeated every few weeks.
• You would rather pay once: $19.99 lifetime, or $14.99 a year, after a 3-day trial.

If you are moving from a program-based app, our guide on how to log a strength training program covers what to record per set so the log still judges the program, even without a catalog holding the plan.

Where they overlap

Both apps track personal records, estimate a one-rep max, keep a per-exercise history and have something rank-shaped. The mechanics differ. StrengthLog's PRs are per exercise and rep count, with per-set estimated 1RM held back for Premium; Strongbro computes weight-at-reps and estimated 1RM on every save at one price. StrengthLog's Strength Levels put you on a percentile against other users and need your sex, age and bodyweight. Strongbro's ranks count sessions logged and compare you with nobody.

For a fuller look at StrengthLog on its own terms, read our StrengthLog review. For what the mic actually parses, see voice logging.

Programs or speed

StrengthLog is a well-documented program tracker with a serious free tier, broad platform support, and a privacy policy that tells you plainly that your data goes to its servers and, through sub-processors, outside the EU/EEA. Premium is expensive at $109.00 a year with no lifetime option, and logging is manual, in English or Swedish.

Strongbro is narrower and faster: voice in 30+ languages, records tracked on every save, a physique score from a photo, everything on the iPhone with no account, $14.99 a year or $19.99 once. No program catalog, no Android app, no Apple Watch app.

One holds the plan. The other writes down what happened. You already know which of those keeps failing for you, and StrengthLog's free tier costs nothing if you want to check.

Get Strongbro on the App StoreFree for 3 days. $19.99 once for lifetime.

Get Strongbro on the App StoreFree for 3 days. $19.99 once for lifetime.