Hevy is a gym logger that quietly became the default recommendation for anyone who asks "what should I track my lifts with?" It does the unfashionable thing well: sets, reps, weight, rest timer, history, charts (free, on iOS, Android, Apple Watch and Wear OS), and then adds the one feature the old guard never had, a social feed where your mates can see the session and leave a comment. This review covers what Hevy does, where the free tier ends, how it compares with Strong, who should use something else, and how to make the sessions you log actually pay.
For the whole category ranked, see best workout tracker apps and best apps to track gym progress. This page is the single-app deep dive.
Short verdict: If you lift and follow your own (or any) programme, Hevy's free tier is the best-value gym log going, and the social feed genuinely helps consistency if your friends are on it. It will not write your programme, and it does not reward the work. Pair it with Fitbod if you want the former and Fitcoin if you want the latter.
Disclosure: Fitcoin is our product. We are not affiliated with Hevy, Strong, Fitbod or the other apps named here. Where Fitcoin appears, it is as a free app that rewards verified workouts through partner rewards, not a PayPal cash-out app, and we say so plainly. We have no commercial relationship with any app reviewed on this page.
What Hevy is
Hevy is a workout logger for resistance training. You build or pick a routine, then in the gym you tap through it: weight, reps, done; rest timer starts; next set. It ships with a large exercise library with demonstrations, tracks personal records automatically, and charts your volume and top sets per exercise over time. Workouts sync to Apple Health, and companion apps for Apple Watch and Wear OS let you log from the wrist entirely.
The differentiator is the social layer. Hevy accounts have profiles; finished workouts post to a feed your friends can see, like and comment on. It sounds gimmicky until your training partner reacts to your squat session at 7am and you feel obliged to keep the streak. For lifters who find running's social apps (Strava et al.) have no equivalent in the weight room, Hevy is that equivalent.
The free tier, and where Pro starts
The free tier is a complete product: unlimited workout logging, a handful of saved routines, rest timers, exercise history, PR tracking and the social feed. Hevy Pro is a paid subscription that lifts limits: more routines and folders, deeper statistics and body measurements, and extra customisation. We are keeping prices generic deliberately, because subscription figures change; check the live App Store or Google Play listing. The important point stands regardless of the number: most lifters can train on the free tier indefinitely, which is not true of much of this category.
The realistic Pro trigger is routine count. If you rotate multiple programmes (a push/pull/legs, a peaking block, a travel plan), you will hit the free routine cap and have to decide whether the subscription is worth it to you. That is a fair freemium line, drawn well past the point where the app has proven itself.
Hevy vs Strong
Strong is the app Hevy is most often weighed against, and for good reason: the core logging flow is near-identical. The differences are philosophy and pricing structure.
| Hevy | Strong | |
|---|---|---|
| Core logging | Sets, reps, weight, rest timer, PRs, charts | Sets, reps, weight, rest timer, PRs, charts |
| Social features | Profiles, friend feed, likes and comments | None (deliberately private) |
| Free tier | Generous; unlimited logging, capped routines | Free logging with tighter limits; subscription for the rest |
| Platforms | iOS, Android, Apple Watch, Wear OS, web | iOS, Android, Apple Watch |
| Programme generation | No (you bring the plan) | No (you bring the plan) |
| Pick it if | You want free-first logging with a social pull | You want a silent, polished notebook |
Our honest read: the logging is a draw, so the decision is entirely about the feed. If training with an audience of friends motivates you, Hevy wins. If the idea of anyone commenting on your deload week makes your skin crawl, Strong is the better temperament match. Nobody switching in either direction loses much, and both export data if you change your mind.
What Hevy doesn't do
- It won't write your programme. Hevy records; it does not prescribe. Beginners who open it with no plan face a blank page. Pick a template or bring a programme. Our gym workouts for beginners guide is one place to start.
- It won't adapt to fatigue or equipment. No auto-regulation, no "the squat rack is taken, substitute this". Fitbod's territory.
- Cardio is an afterthought. You can log duration-based work, but runners and cyclists live elsewhere.
- It doesn't reward anything. The dopamine is the PR badge and the comments. If part of your motivation is tangible payback for consistency, that is a different category of app entirely. See get paid to go to the gym.
Alternatives, and the app that pays for the session
- Strong. Covered above: the private, refined logger. The right answer for lifters who want zero social surface.
- Fitbod. A different job: it generates and adapts workouts based on your recovery, available equipment and history. Subscription-based. Pick it if the blank page is the problem, not the logging.
- Fitcoin (ours, free). Not a set logger, and not trying to be. Fitcoin reads heart-rate-verified workouts (the gym session your Apple Watch or Android watch records, or that Hevy syncs to Apple Health) and turns consistent training into a daily FitScore and partner rewards, with Sleep, Recovery and Energy scores alongside. It is the layer that makes the sessions you already log pay. Disclosed bias: we built it.
These stack rather than compete. A genuinely strong free setup for a lifter in 2026: your programme in Hevy, the session recorded as a workout on your watch, and Fitcoin converting that verified effort into rewards in the background. Total cost: nothing.
Verdict
Hevy earns the default-recommendation status. The free tier is a complete gym log, the watch apps mean the phone stays in the bag, the charts answer the only question a log exists to answer (is the bar moving up over months), and the social feed is the rare gimmick that measurably helps some people train more. The caveats are honest ones: it prescribes nothing, cardio is thin, and heavy programme-rotators will eventually meet the Pro paywall. Start free, bring a plan, and add the layers Hevy deliberately leaves out (programming from a coach or Fitbod, rewards from Fitcoin) as you need them.
Frequently asked questions
Is the Hevy app free?
The core of Hevy is genuinely free: logging workouts with sets, reps and weight, saving routines, rest timers, exercise history and the social feed. A Pro subscription unlocks extras such as more routines, deeper statistics and additional customisation. Unusually for this category, the free tier is a complete gym log rather than a demo, but confirm the current free/Pro split on the live app, because feature boundaries change.
Is Hevy better than Strong?
They are extremely similar loggers. Hevy's advantages are its more generous free tier and its social layer: friends, a feed of workouts, likes and comments. Strong is the older, deliberately private app with a very refined logging flow. If you want training to be a bit social, pick Hevy; if you want a silent notebook, pick Strong. Both run on iOS, Android and smartwatches.
Does Hevy work on Apple Watch and Wear OS?
Yes. Hevy has companion apps for Apple Watch and Wear OS, so you can log sets and run rest timers from your wrist and leave the phone in your bag. It also syncs workouts with Apple Health, which means other Health-reading apps can see your training.
Does Hevy build a training programme for you?
No, and that is by design. Hevy is a logger: you bring the programme (your own, a coach's, or a template) and it records and charts it. If you want an app that generates and adapts workouts for you, that is Fitbod's job, or a coaching app. Many lifters run a plan from elsewhere and log it in Hevy.
Can I get paid for the gym sessions I log?
Not by Hevy itself, but the sessions it writes to Apple Health (or that your watch records) can be read by reward apps. Fitcoin, our own free app, reads heart-rate-verified workouts from Apple Health or Health Connect, builds a daily FitScore and converts consistent training into partner rewards. The two run happily side by side: Hevy logs the sets, Fitcoin rewards the session. See get paid to go to the gym.
What are the best alternatives to Hevy?
Strong for a privacy-first logger with a near-identical flow; Fitbod if you want workouts generated and adapted for you rather than a blank log; and Fitcoin alongside any of them if you want the gym sessions you already do to earn partner rewards. Spreadsheet-style apps and notebook logging remain honest options for lifters who want zero friction.
How we researched this: Written 16 August 2026 from Hevy's public App Store, Google Play and hevy.com feature documentation (including its Apple Watch, Wear OS and Apple Health support and free/Pro split), Strong's and Fitbod's public listings, and Fitcoin's own product documentation for the rewards pairing. Subscription prices and free-tier limits change, so we kept pricing generic; confirm on the live stores. Fitcoin inclusion is ownership-disclosed. Nothing here is medical advice.
Related reading: best workout tracker apps, best apps to track gym progress, get paid to go to the gym.
About the author: Harris Khan is the co-founder of Fitcoin. He studied at Loughborough University and has more than 15 years of personal experience across strength training, bodybuilding, Muay Thai and general fitness.