StrongLifts App Review 2026: A Good 5x5 Coach at $59.99 a Year

What StrongLifts is

Stronglifts 5x5 Workout Plan, with the App Store subtitle "Gym Strength Training Program", is the app version of a program that has been around since 2007. The founder, Mehdi, "a lifter, coach and author from Belgium," writes: "In 2007 I created Stronglifts." The app arrived on the App Store in December 2011 and is now at version 4.3.1. It runs on iPhone, iPad, Mac, Apple Vision and Apple Watch, plus Android, which syncs with iOS through an account.

Its pitch is not subtle, and that is a compliment. The app page says: "Stronglifts plans your workouts, weights, sets and reps for you. Focus on lifting while the app does all the thinking." The App Store description adds that it is "made for lifters starting or returning to barbell strength training" and that "it plans every exercise, set, and weight so you always know exactly what to do."

Pricing, as listed

The App Store lists the app as free with in-app purchases. The description then says, in its own words, "StrongLifts is free to download, but requires a subscription to use." The privacy policy calls it "a Freemium app." We found no page describing what can be logged without Pro, so we treat any usable free tier as unverified.

The in-app purchases, exactly as listed for the US: Pro Yearly $59.99, Pro Monthly $11.99, Pro Quarterly $29.99, Pro Weekly $4.99. "All new users get a 7-day free trial for the yearly plan. Monthly and quarterly plans are also available without a free trial." The support site is refreshingly direct about why: "We don't offer free trials on the monthly plan because we want to discourage it. Results take longer than a month so we prefer people pick the yearly plan." A reminder fires on day five before the yearly charge, if you granted notification permission.

There is no lifetime option today; the support site says it continues to honour "Pro Lifetime purchases made for $99.99+ between 2020 and 2025." Cancel and you keep Pro until the period ends, then "lose access to all Pro features." Refunds go through Apple.

What is genuinely good

The progression logic. This is the reason to pay. "Stronglifts automatically increases the weight for you over time if you complete all sets successfully." "Stronglifts automatically deloads the weight when you get stuck." Increment size and frequency are configurable, down to "as little as 1lb every three workouts using fractional plates." A warmup calculator plans the warmup sets and jumps. StrongLifts claims to have been "the first weightlifting app to automate progressive overload"; true or not, the implementation is mature.

The program library. Stronglifts 5×5 in Basic, Plus, Lite, Mini, Ultra and Ultra Max variants, plus 5×5 Intermediate, Madcow 5×5 and custom programs. For a beginner the choice is made; for someone a year in, there is a next step in the same app.

The Apple Watch app. "Log your entire workout from your Apple Watch": one-tap sets, rest timer notifications, warmup and plate calculators, heart rate and duration. It is "semi-standalone": it needs the phone once to load the workout, then "you can complete your workout independently without connection to your phone." Few trackers do this well.

The plate calculator. "Stronglifts tells you the exact weight to add on each side of the bar, including which plates and how many." It works with any bar and plate size, uses only the plates you own, shows one side of the bar, supports microloading, and is on the Watch. The support article marks it a Pro feature.

Logging speed within the program. "Simply tap the red circles to mark your set completed." Tap again to lower the reps on a failed set; tap and hold to change the weight. The rest timer starts on its own, and a set can be logged from the lock-screen timer notification.

Apple Health and export. Workouts, calories, body weight and Watch heart rate go to Apple Health and complete activity rings. Export Data gives a CSV with per-set reps and weights, e1RM, volume and notes.

The rating. 4.9 out of 5 across about 77K US ratings since a 2011 release, and, per the listing, "featured and reviewed in the British Journal of Sports Medicine."

What is weak or missing

No voice logging. Nothing on the App Store listing, the app page or the support index mentions it. If you want to say a set instead of tapping it, this is not the app.

Nothing outside the program. The strength of the guided model is also its limit. More than 100 exercises are included, with videos, and custom exercises are unlimited. But the app's logic is built around planned sets; it is not designed as an open log for whatever you happened to do today.

No per-set RPE. By its own support article: "Stronglifts currently only has an RPE entry when setting your weights when you start a new program. It does not have an option to enter your RPE per set." The estimated 1RM charts are computed from weight, reps and that assumed RPE.

No import. "Can I import the Stronglifts data onto a new device? No." An exported CSV "cannot be imported back into the app," so the export is a one-way door.

Subscription only, trial only on yearly. The lifetime plan that existed between 2020 and 2025 is gone; three years at $59.99 is $179.97. The yearly-only trial is a deliberate choice, explained openly, but it means the only way to try the app is a $59.99 commitment with a reminder on day five.

Offline behaviour is undocumented. The terms say "certain functions of the app will require the app to have an active internet connection," and no page says which. Full offline logging on iPhone is unverified.

Accessibility. The listing shows: "The developer has not yet indicated which accessibility features this app supports."

Inconsistent review claims. The App Store description says "more than 200,000 five-star reviews worldwide"; the app page FAQ says "over 100,000." Neither is verifiable here, and they do not match.

Privacy, in their words

StrongLifts' privacy policy (app section last updated 16 July 2024) is plain about what it collects: "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 third parties: "The app does use third party services that may collect information used to identify you." The list that follows names Firebase, Facebook Login, Google login and Apple login. On errors, log data "may include information such as your device Internet Protocol ("IP") address, device name, operating system version" and the time and date of use.

The App Store privacy card shows only "Data Not Linked to You": purchase history, device ID, usage data, and crash and performance data, all for analytics. There is no "Data Linked to You" or "Data Used to Track You" section. Apple's note applies: "This information has not been verified by Apple."

Logged out, "your workouts were saved locally on that device only." Logged in, the app "creates an account and saves all your workouts to our server." Deletion is total: "When you delete an account, we permanently delete everything we have from you on our server."

Apple Health permissions are broad for a lifting app: the write list includes Date of Birth, Height and Sex alongside Weight, Workouts and Heart Rate.

None of this is alarming. It is a normal account-backed app with normal analytics, described honestly. It is simply more than an on-device log needs.

Who it suits

StrongLifts suits the lifter it says it is for: someone starting or restarting barbell training who wants a fixed program, automatic weight increases, and no decisions to make. It also suits anyone who trains from an Apple Watch, wants Apple Health credit, or values a plate calculator on the wrist.

It suits less well anyone who runs their own programming, trains a mix the 5×5 templates do not cover, wants to log by voice, needs per-set RPE, or objects to a $59.99 yearly subscription with no lifetime option.

How it compares to Strongbro

Strongbro is the other kind of app. It does not plan your workout; it records it as fast as you can describe it. Voice logging takes one sentence per exercise, understands exercise names in more than 30 languages plus gym slang and plate maths, and shows every parsed set for review before it saves. Personal records, estimated 1RM per exercise and a 14-rank ladder update automatically from there. There is no account; the log lives on your iPhone. It costs $14.99 a year or $19.99 once, after a 3-day trial, against StrongLifts' $59.99 a year.

StrongLifts is ahead on guided progression, the Apple Watch, Apple Health and CSV export. The full side-by-side, with feature and pricing tables, is on the Strongbro vs StrongLifts page.

The bottom line

StrongLifts does one thing and does it well: it runs a 5×5 program so you do not have to think. The Apple Watch app, the plate calculator and the automatic progression are real advantages, and 77K ratings at 4.9 say the people it is built for are happy. The costs are also real: $59.99 a year with no lifetime plan, a trial only on the yearly tier, no voice logging, no import, and no per-set RPE. If you want a coach in your pocket, it is a good one. If you want a log, it is the wrong shape.

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.