Oly BockFor lifters, and for runners who lift. Prices and features checked on 29 October 2026.
Short answer: Pick Hevy if you want automatic Strava uploads, lower Pro prices and an app that ships updates often; its free plan also holds one more routine than Strong’s. Pick Strong if you want a quiet, fast logbook without a social feed. Both log sets, reps and weight well, both run on the Apple Watch, and both hold a 4.9 average on the US App Store from more than 100,000 ratings each.
You want to log a set in two taps, see last week’s numbers, and get back to lifting. Most people comparing these two have already decided to track their training, which is the hard part. What’s left is picking the app you’ll still like in a year, before you pay for a lifetime licence.
I’m building a strength app for runners who lift, so I read both apps’ store pages, 3,273 recent App Store reviews and the long Reddit threads on this question. The shortlist at the end explains where my app fits.
I logged 101 gym sessions in Strong before I started building my own app, and I like its interface. What I missed was anything built around a running week: the time I have, where I am and which days I run.
Hevy vs Strong at a glance
Prices as listed on the US App Store on 29 October 2026, Hevy’s free limits from its pricing page on the same day. Both stores list more than one price point; the table shows the main ones.
| Hevy | Strong | |
|---|---|---|
| Developer | Hevy Studios S.L. | Strong Fitness PTE Limited |
| App Store rating (US) | 4.9 from about 101,000 ratings | 4.9 from about 109,000 ratings |
| Free tier | Unlimited workout logging, 4 routines, 7 custom exercises, 3 months of graph history | Unlimited workout logging, 3 custom routines |
| Pro, monthly | $2.99 | $4.99 |
| Pro, yearly | $23.99 | $29.99 |
| Pro, lifetime | $74.99 | $99.99 (“Forever”) |
| Apple Watch | Yes (watchOS 9 or later) | Yes (watchOS 10 or later) |
| Strava | Automatic upload, named in the store listing | Not mentioned in the store listing |
| Social feed | Yes, can be set to private | No |
| Data export | CSV export of workouts, import of Strong CSV files, Apple Health | CSV export by email or Notes |
| Plate and warm-up calculator | Plate calculator; warm-up calculator with Pro | Both, named in the store listing |
Hevy’s free plan holds one more routine than Strong’s
Strong’s store listing caps the free version at three custom routines, while logging stays unlimited. Hevy’s pricing page lists four routines, seven custom exercises and three months of graph history for free users. If you run an upper/lower split plus a home and a travel session, you’ll reach either limit in the first week.
Paid plans run cheaper on Hevy at every term: $2.99 against $4.99 a month, $23.99 against $29.99 a year, $74.99 against $99.99 for life. Both stores list additional price points, so check the exact price in your own store before you buy.
Recent Strong reviews mention the Apple Watch far more often
Over the past 12 months, the Apple Watch came up in 92 of 402 Strong reviews (23%), with an average of 2.8 stars in those reviews. For Hevy, it came up in 144 of 2,871 reviews (5%), averaging 4.6 stars.
The pattern in the Strong reviews: workouts that start on the watch and sync late, or sync only after reopening the phone. Hevy reviewers report watch sync issues too, mostly after iOS updates, but less often.
Both overall ratings sit at 4.9, so this is a difference in what recent reviewers write about, measured over one year. If you log from your wrist, try the watch app during the free period before you pay.
Strong reviewers praise the calm, simple logbook
Strong’s strength shows up in its reviews: 89 of 402 recent reviews (22%) mention a simple, clean or intuitive interface, and long-time users describe years of logging without changing apps. Strong’s store listing names a plate calculator, a warm-up calculator and a built-in countdown timer for rest breaks.
On Reddit, people who stay with Strong mostly give the same reason: it feels direct, and it has no social layer.
Hevy reviewers praise free features, progress charts and Strava
Among recent Hevy reviews, 537 of 2,871 (19%) mention a simple or clean interface, 358 mention that it’s free, and 237 (8%) mention the social feed. Several reviewers call it “Strava for lifting”. On Reddit, the reasons people give for switching from Strong to Hevy repeat: more frequent updates, importing their Strong history, building routines on a laptop, and the Strava upload. Hevy has a plate calculator too; its warm-up calculator comes with Pro.
The social feed divides people. You can make your profile and workouts private, which hides most of it, though the feed itself stays in the app.
For runners who lift, Strava and time decide more than features
If you run, three things matter more than the exercise library.
- Strava. Hevy uploads lifts to Strava automatically, so your strength sessions sit next to your runs and count in your weekly picture. Strong’s listing doesn’t mention Strava (checked 29 October 2026).
- The watch. You already wear it for runs. If you start lifts from the wrist too, read the watch section above.
- Your running week. Both apps log what you lift. Deciding what to lift on the day after intervals, in 25 minutes, in a hotel room, stays with you. Neither store listing mentions planning strength around a run schedule (checked 29 October 2026).
That third point is the gap I’m building for.
Shortlist: which app fits you
- Pick Hevy if you want Strava uploads, lower Pro prices, progress charts by muscle group, and you like seeing friends’ workouts or can live with a private feed.
- Pick Strong if you want a fast, quiet logbook without a social feed, and already have years of history in it.
- For runners who lift: the strength app I’m building (disclosure: I’m building this one; coming soon, iPhone). Say how much time you have and where you are, and you get the right session for your running. It fits around your runs, and a short session still counts toward your week. I’m building it because that’s the part I missed in Strong. Get notified when it launches →
Two other apps plan strength work for runners, according to their US App Store listings (checked 29 October 2026):
- Runna (listed by Strava Inc.) adds strength and conditioning routines to its running plans, so runs and strength sit in one plan.
- 10W2S: Strength for Running offers 10- to 40-minute strength workouts for runners, at home or in the gym, with or without equipment.
FAQ
Can I move my Strong history to Hevy?
Yes. Hevy imports a CSV file exported directly from Strong: in Hevy, go to Profile > Settings > Export & Import Data > Import Data > Import Strong CSV. Your workout history comes across; saved routines and supersets stay behind, and you can save any imported workout as a routine. Details in Hevy’s import guide.
Is Hevy free?
Yes, Hevy is free to download and log workouts without ads. The free plan holds 4 routines, 7 custom exercises and 3 months of graph history. Pro removes those limits and adds Hevy Trainer and the warm-up calculator, for $2.99 a month, $23.99 a year or $74.99 once on the US App Store (29 October 2026).
Is Strong worth paying for?
Strong’s free version logs unlimited workouts with three custom routines. Pro removes the routine limit and unlocks the other Pro features, for $4.99 a month, $29.99 a year or $99.99 once on the US App Store (29 October 2026). If three routines cover your week, the free version may be enough.
Which is better on the Apple Watch?
In recent App Store reviews, Hevy’s watch app draws fewer complaints: the watch came up in 5% of Hevy reviews at 4.6 stars, against 23% of Strong reviews at 2.8 stars (past 12 months). Test it in your own gym during the free period.
Do Hevy and Strong work with Strava?
Hevy uploads workouts to Strava automatically. Strong’s store listing doesn’t mention Strava (checked 29 October 2026).
Can I hide Hevy’s social features?
Mostly. Setting your profile and default workout visibility to private hides most social elements; the feed tab itself stays.
How I compared them
- Store facts: US App Store listings of both apps, Hevy’s pricing page and Hevy’s help centre, read on 29 October 2026 (prices, free limits, watch support, Strava, export, import, calculators).
- Reviews: Apple’s public review feed for the US, UK, Australia, Canada, Germany, Austria and Switzerland, fetched on 28 October 2026, at most the 500 newest reviews per country. For a fair comparison I used only reviews from 1 November 2025 to 27 October 2026: 2,871 for Hevy and 402 for Strong. Because of the 500 cap, Hevy’s sample covers a shorter stretch (US: 11–27 October 2026), so its real number is higher. Themes were counted by keyword in title and text; a match means a topic was mentioned, not that it was a complaint. Reviews are self-selected, and in-app review prompts can shape them, so read the figures as themes, not as scores.
- Reddit: five public threads comparing the apps in r/Hevy and r/strongapp, summarised in my own words: hevy vs strong, torn between strong and hevy, what makes hevy better, reasons to use hevy instead of strong, features strong has over hevy.
- Sources: Hevy on the App Store, Strong on the App Store, Hevy pricing, Hevy: importing Strong data, Hevy: exporting your data, Hevy: plate calculator, Runna on the App Store, 10W2S on the App Store.
I’ll recheck prices and features every three months. Updated: 29 October 2026 (first version).
Strength sessions that fit your running week
Say how much time you have and where you are, and get the right strength session for your running. The app is coming soon to the App Store.