Strongbro vs StrongLifts (2026): Free-Form Log vs Guided 5x5
Quick answer
Pick StrongLifts if you want a program to follow: it plans every 5×5 set and weight, raises the load automatically, deloads when you stall, and logs from an Apple Watch. Pick Strongbro if you want an open log for whatever you train: say the sets out loud in any of 30+ languages, keep records and ranks on your iPhone with no account, and pay $14.99 a year or $19.99 once instead of $59.99 a year. StrongLifts' own listing says it requires a subscription to use, so the free download is a 7-day trial on the yearly plan.
Verdict
StrongLifts is a guided program with a log attached. Strongbro is a log with a microphone attached. Almost everything below follows from that.
The program-follower wants to walk into the gym, open the app and be told what to do: squat, five sets of five, this weight, rest this long, add 2.5 kg next time. StrongLifts has done that since 2011, and by its own description it "removes all confusion and complexity by guiding you through every 5×5 workout." There is a semi-standalone Apple Watch app, a plate calculator, automatic deloads, and a 4.9 rating across roughly 77K US ratings. For that lifter, $59.99 a year is the price of the coaching logic, and it is a fair price.
The free-form lifter already has a program, or changes it every few weeks, or trains things a 5×5 template never covers. What they want is the shortest distance between a finished set and a recorded one. Strongbro's answer is voice logging: say "bench 80, three sets of ten," check the parsed sets, tap Done. Records, estimated 1RM and a 14-rank ladder follow from that, on the device, with no account, for $14.99 a year or $19.99 once.
Not sure which of those you are? The pricing table usually settles it.
Feature table
Facts about StrongLifts come from its App Store listing, its app page and its support site, read on 11 September 2026. "Unverified" means the claim could not be confirmed from those sources, or, for Strongbro, from this site's own feature pages.
| Strongbro | Stronglifts 5x5 Workout Plan | |
|---|---|---|
| Logging method | Voice (one sentence per exercise, reviewed before save) or a 3-tap keypad | One tap on a set circle; tap again to lower reps, tap-and-hold to change weight; also from Apple Watch or the lock-screen timer |
| Program guidance | None built in; you bring the program | Stronglifts 5×5 (Basic, Plus, Lite, Mini, Ultra), 5×5 Intermediate, Madcow 5×5, custom programs; automatic weight increases and deloads; warmup calculator |
| Interface languages | 31 | 20 listed on the App Store (support article lists 18); Android is English only; follows the device language, no in-app switch |
| Voice input languages | 30+ | Voice logging not mentioned in any source read |
| Records | Best weight at each rep count and estimated 1RM per exercise, grouped by month, automatic | A star for each new personal record; best lifts found via exercise history |
| Apple Watch | Unverified | Yes, semi-standalone: full workout logging, rest timer, warmup and plate calculators, heart rate |
| Apple Health | Unverified | Writes workouts, duration, estimated calories, body weight and heart rate; completes activity rings |
| Export | CSV from Settings: workouts, records and body measurements, separately or all at once; no import | CSV from Settings with per-set reps and weights; no import |
| Offline logging | Voice needs a connection; the log itself is stored on the iPhone | Unverified; terms say certain functions require an internet connection; workouts stay local until you log in |
| Account requirement | No account | None to start; an account (Facebook, Google or Apple login) is needed for sync and device transfer |
| Plate calculator | Free web plate calculator; voice logging converts "two plates" and "forty a side" to a total | Yes, in-app and on Apple Watch; marked a Pro feature |
| AI features | Voice parsing (slang, plate maths, per-set weights), physique scan from one photo | None mentioned in the sources read |
| Per-set RPE | No dedicated field; RPE goes in the set note | No; e1RM assumes an RPE set once at program start |
| Platforms | iPhone | iPhone, iPad, Mac (Apple silicon), Apple Vision, Apple Watch, Android |
Two rows carry most of the weight. StrongLifts' Watch app is better than anything Strongbro can claim today. And nothing on the StrongLifts side answers the voice column; their support index does not mention voice at all.
Pricing table
| Plan | Strongbro | StrongLifts Pro |
|---|---|---|
| Weekly | — | $4.99 |
| Monthly | — | $11.99 |
| Quarterly | — | $29.99 |
| Yearly | $14.99 | $59.99 |
| Lifetime | $19.99 | Not offered now; $99.99+ lifetime purchases from 2020–2025 are still honoured |
| Free trial | 3 days | 7 days, yearly plan only |
| Free tier | — | Listed as free with in-app purchases; the listing says the app "requires a subscription to use" |
The StrongLifts prices are the US in-app purchase names and amounts exactly as they appear on the App Store listing. The trial exists only on the yearly plan, and the support site is blunt about why: "we don't offer free trials on the monthly plan because we want to discourage it." A notification fires on day five before the yearly charge, so you need notification permission on if you want that warning. Cancel and you keep Pro until the billing period ends, then "lose access to all Pro features." Refunds go through Apple, not the developer.
StrongLifts' yearly price is four times Strongbro's. Whether that gap is worth paying comes down to one question: do you want the app to run your program, or only to remember it?
Privacy and where your data lives
StrongLifts is candid about its data model, and the details are in its own documents.
Workouts start on the device. The support site says that "if you were not logged in on your old device, your workouts were saved locally on that device only." Logging in from Settings creates an account and "saves all your workouts to our server." That server is what makes iOS-to-Android sync and phone transfers work. The privacy policy names Facebook Login, Google login, Apple login and Firebase as third-party services, and states: "The app does use third party services that may collect information used to identify you."
The policy also says: "For a better experience, while using our Service, we may require you to provide us with certain personally identifiable information, including but not limited to Purchases, Identifiers, Usage data, Diagnostics." On the App Store privacy card, those four categories appear under "Data Not Linked to You" for the purpose of analytics, with no "Data Linked to You" or "Data Used to Track You" sections. Apple notes that this information has not been verified by Apple.
Deletion is clean: "When you delete an account, we permanently delete everything we have from you on our server." The exported CSV "cannot be imported back into the app."
Strongbro's model is simpler because there is less of it. There is no account. Your log, your records and your physique scans are stored on your iPhone. Voice recordings and scan photos are sent to an AI model through our proxy for processing and are not kept by us. Delete a scan and it is gone. One fair caveat: any on-device app, Strongbro included, loses unsynced data with the device, which is the same limitation StrongLifts describes for its logged-out state.
Who should pick StrongLifts
- You are starting or returning to barbell training and want the decisions made for you. StrongLifts says it is "made for lifters starting or returning to barbell strength training," and that is who it serves best.
- You want automatic progression: weight added when every set is completed, a deload when you stall, increments as small as 1 lb every three workouts with fractional plates.
- You train with an Apple Watch and want to leave the phone in the bag.
- You need Apple Health writes, activity ring credit, or a CSV export today.
- You want a plate calculator on your wrist between sets.
Who should pick Strongbro
- You already know what you are lifting and want recording it over with. Voice takes one sentence; the keypad takes three taps.
- You train in a language other than English, or in a gym where the vocabulary is slang. "Deads", "OHP" and "the 30s" are understood.
- You want records without marking a set as an attempt. Every set is checked against history as it saves.
- You do not want an account, a server copy of your training, or a login through a social network.
- You would rather pay $19.99 once than $59.99 every year.
- You want the extras StrongLifts does not have: a photo-based physique score and a rank ladder earned by sessions logged.
If you are logging a structured program in Strongbro, the guide on how to log a strength training program covers 5×5, waves and RPE templates, including how to record misses and deloads by hand.
What we could not verify
Both columns have holes. Strongbro has no Apple Watch app, no Apple Health writes, no dedicated per-set RPE field, and a CSV export with no matching import. On the StrongLifts side, the size of the free tier and full offline logging on iPhone are unverified, because no page from the developer describes either. Their own review figures disagree across pages, too: "more than 200,000 five-star reviews" on the App Store against "over 100,000" on the app page. The 4.9 rating and roughly 77K US ratings are the numbers this page will stand behind.
For a fuller look at StrongLifts on its own terms, including what is genuinely good about it, read the StrongLifts review.
Coach or notebook
StrongLifts is a well-built 5×5 coach with a strong Apple Watch app and a price that reflects fifteen years of work. Strongbro is an open log you talk to, with records, ranks and a physique scan, no account, and a price a fraction of StrongLifts' yearly plan.
If you want the workout decided for you, pay StrongLifts the $59.99. If you already know what you are lifting on Monday and only need it written down, $19.99 buys that once and never again.
Get Strongbro on the App StoreFree for 3 days. $19.99 once for lifetime.
Frequently asked questions
Is StrongLifts free to use?
The App Store lists it as free with in-app purchases, but the same listing says the app requires a subscription to use. Pro is $59.99 a year, $29.99 a quarter, $11.99 a month or $4.99 a week. The 7-day trial runs on the yearly plan only. No page we found says what can be logged without Pro, so treat a usable free tier as unverified.
Does StrongLifts have voice logging?
Not that we could find. Its App Store listing, app page and support index describe one-tap logging: tap a red circle to mark a set done, tap again to lower the reps, hold to change the weight. Sets also log from the Apple Watch or the lock-screen timer. Strongbro is built around the mic: one sentence per exercise, parsed into sets and reviewed before it saves.
Can I follow 5×5 in Strongbro?
You can log it, but Strongbro will not plan it for you. Strongbro is a free-form log: you bring the program and it records sets, reps and load, tracks records and estimates 1RM. StrongLifts is the opposite: it picks the exercises, sets and weights, adds weight when you complete every set, and deloads when you get stuck. If you want that automation, StrongLifts is the better fit.
Which app supports more languages?
The StrongLifts App Store listing names 20 interface languages on iOS, and the language follows your device setting with no in-app switch. Its support site says the Android version is English only. Strongbro's interface ships in 31 languages, and voice input understands exercise names in more than 30, so 'sentadillas' and 'Kniebeugen' both land on squats.
Does StrongLifts need an account?
Not to start. Workouts are saved locally on the device until you log in from Settings, and logging in creates an account that saves your workouts to their server. The account is what enables iOS-to-Android sync and moving to a new phone. Sign-in runs through Facebook, Google or Apple login. Strongbro has no account at all; your log, records and scans live on your iPhone.
Which one has an Apple Watch app?
StrongLifts does, and it is a real strength. You can log the whole workout from the watch, with one-tap sets, rest timer notifications, the warmup and plate calculators, heart rate and duration, and Apple Health sync. It needs an initial connection to the phone to load the workout, then runs on its own. Strongbro's Apple Watch support is unverified on this site, so we do not claim parity.
Can I move my data between the two apps?
StrongLifts exports a detailed CSV from Settings with date, program, body weight, exercise, sets, reps, top set, e1RM, volume and notes. It has no import, by its own support article, and an exported CSV cannot be loaded back into the app. Strongbro's export and import are not documented on this site, so we mark them unverified rather than promise a migration path.
How much cheaper is Strongbro over a year?
StrongLifts Pro yearly is $59.99. Strongbro is $14.99 a year, or $19.99 once for lifetime access, after a 3-day trial. Over one year that is a $45 difference; over three years, buying Strongbro lifetime costs $19.99 against $179.97 for three years of StrongLifts. StrongLifts used to sell a lifetime plan at $99.99 or more between 2020 and 2025 but no longer lists one.
What this is based on
Get Strongbro on the App StoreFree for 3 days. $19.99 once for lifetime.