The ability to track fitness is an increasingly important aspect of sports, health, and fitness. The fact that technology has advanced to a point where you can wear a device on your wrist that tells you how many steps you’ve taken that day is incredible.
And yet, we’re just at the beginning of what’s possible with this technology. With huge tech companies like Apple, Google, and Samsung constantly working on new products to make our lives more efficient and intuitive, the future of fitness tracking apps is bright.
In this article, we’ll take a look at some of the best options available in the market today—and some exciting possibilities for what’s to come.
Best Apps For Fitness Tracking
How to choose the best fitness app
With so many fitness apps on the market, how do you know which one to choose? Here are some factors to consider before downloading:
Credible instructors. For safety purposes and best results, we recommend choosing an app with workouts that are created or led by certified fitness experts.
Fitness goals. Do you want to build strength or run faster? Or maybe you’re interested in losing weight or becoming more flexible. Whatever your motivation is, be sure to select an app that caters to your exercise needs.
Budget. While some are totally free, most apps require a monthly subscription cost. Luckily, all the apps on our list offer a free trial period, so you can try a few classes before going all in.
Equipment needed. Most apps offer classes that require some equipment, such as yoga blocks, dumbbells, or kettlebells. Unless you’re willing to purchase new gym equipment, look for an app with classes that are compatible with your current home gym setup.
User reviews. While you should definitely take reviews with a grain of salt, reading what other users think can be valuable intel as you decide whether a workout app will be the right fit for you.
There’s nothing wrong with trying out a few fitness apps before settling on one — the most important thing is that it helps you reach your goals safely and effectively.
How we chose the best fitness apps
Quality. We considered not just the quality of the workouts but also the expertise and credibility of the instructors leading them.
Ease of use. We looked for apps that are easy to navigate and offer filters to quickly find your perfect workout.
Reliability. We read through countless reviews to weed out apps that frequently crash or have streaming issues.
Workout types. We included apps to suit a variety of workout needs and preferences.
Recommendations. All the apps below are ones we’ve personally used or that were highly recommended by people we know. We also made sure to pick apps with mostly positive customer reviews.
Vetting. All the apps below have been vetted to ensure that they meet Healthline’s medical and business standards.
Healthline’s picks of the best fitness apps
Best free fitness app
Nike Training Club
Price: free
iPhone rating: 4.9
Android rating: 4.6
Work out with Nike trainers live or on demand with the Nike Training Club app. After downloading the app, you’ll get customized workout suggestions based on the results of a quick quiz.
The app offers a range of exercise styles, including high intensity interval training (HIIT), yoga, core, cardio, and strength training workouts. You can also search by muscle group, workout focus, and equipment to find your perfect class.
As a bonus, in 2020, Nike made its premium content free for all users.
Pros
free to use
wide selection of workouts
multiple filters, including muscle group, equipment available, and duration
warmups and cooldowns included
Cons
takes up a decent amount of storage space on your phone
can’t play your own music while streaming classes
quick transitions and fast-paced moves may be difficult for beginners
Best app for group fitness lovers
obé Fitness
Price: $26.99 per month, free 7-day trial
iPhone rating: 4.8
Android rating: 2.5
obé Fitness brings the feel of a boutique group fitness class to your living room with more than 15 types of classes, including HIIT, dance cardio, sculpt, and more.
The app offers 20 live classes each day — filmed in a fun neon studio — in addition to its extensive on-demand library of more than 7,000 classes.
Workouts range from 10 minutes to an hour long. The top-notch instructors bring the energy and will even shout you out during the live classes.
It’s also a favorite of Healthline Nutrition and Fitness Editor Kelli McGrane, MS, RD, who appreciates that the large selection of 20-minute classes makes it easy (and fun) to squeeze a sweat session into her day.
Pros
live classes
specialized offerings, including targeted training programs and prenatal classes
class options for all ages
high energy classes and instructors
particularly great for HIIT, cardio kickboxing, and dance cardio
Cons
short trial period
strength training may not be challenging enough for more serious weightlifters
some reports of Android app crashing
Best tried-and-true fitness app
Peloton
Price: $12.99 per month, 30-day free trial
iPhone rating: 4.9
Android rating: 4.5
Peloton is best known for its cycling classes, but with the Peloton digital app you can access workouts from strength training and HIIT to outdoor running and yoga.
You can work out in real time with expert instructors and other members from around the world or take one of the app’s on-demand classes.
Peloton classes feature curated music playlists, and each instructor brings their unique style to their classes.
Just keep in mind that although the instructors provide modifications, true beginners may find most of these workouts too challenging.
Several Healthline editors have commented that the Peloton app is the key to their at-home fitness success, and the app was featured as one of the best fitness gifts in a recent Healthline roundup.
Pros
fan favorite with a 4.9 out of 5 rating from nearly 600,000 reviews on the Apple App Store alone
curated music playlists
classes ranging from 5–75 minutes long
modifications provided during workouts
cycling and treadmill classes included
Cons
Peloton lingo for cycling and treadmill workouts may not match the resistance levels on non-Peloton cardio machines
time elapsed isn’t displayed during classes
some classes may be too challenging for true beginners
Best fitness app for women
Fit Body
Price: $19.99 per month, 7-day free trial
iPhone rating: 4.9
Android rating: 4.8
A community created for women by women, Fit Body features 12 programs led by 4 expert trainers to help you reach your fitness goals.
The classes are designed to be 30 minutes or shorter, but if you have extra time, we recommend taking advantage of the stretching and foam rolling videos as well.
What’s more, the app offers 72 weeks of meals plans with custom portions according to your daily calorie needs, plus access to 300+ recipes to create your own meal plan.
There’s also a community function within the app, allowing you to connect with others on your wellness journey.
Pros
offers nutrition tips and meal plans
tracks workouts and mental/emotional wellness
includes alternative move suggestions during workouts
Cons
may not be challenging enough for some
Best fitness app for men
Centr
Price: $19.99 per month, 7-day free trial
iPhone rating: 4.7
Android rating: 4.6
Known for his muscular physique, actor Chris Hemsworth decided to share his methods by creating the Centr app.
Touted as “your PT, dietician, chef, and wellness coach all in one,” Centr offers daily workouts, meal plans, and recipes, plus a mindfulness component, all via a convenient weekly planner.
With big-name trainers like Luke Zocchi — Hemsworth’s personal trainer — and Gunnar Peterson guiding you through workouts, you’ll be pushed to your limits.
However, some reviewers find the workouts a bit too challenging for beginners.
Pros
weekly planner for meals and workouts
warmups and cooldowns included in workouts
diverse range of training methods and styles
Cons
not the most beginner-friendly
suggested recipes and ingredients are expensive
limited progress tracking options
Best personal trainer-led fitness app
Le Sweat TV
Price: $16.99 per month, 7-day free trial
iPhone rating: 5
Android rating: 5
Created by Charlee Atkins, CPT, Le Sweat TV essentially gives you a personal trainer at your fingertips.
During the workout, Atkins is right there with you, providing helpful cues and modifications for all fitness levels.
You can browse the 250+ workouts by body part, equipment needed, or desired class length (5–30 minutes) to get started. You can also stream the videos on demand or download them for sweat sessions on the go.
Pros
genuine and relatable trainer
classes feel like one-on-one training sessions
doesn’t require a lot of equipment
Cons
workout library not as robust as others on this list
limited workout styles
lacks longer classes
Best low impact strength training app
TRX Training Club
Price: $5.99 per month for On Demand or $19.99 per month for All Access, free 30-day trial
iPhone rating: 4.6
Android rating: 2.8
If you’ve ever used a TRX suspension trainer at the gym, you know how great of a workout it is. TRX straps use gravity and your body weight for a full-body workout.
TRX Training Club helps you execute suspension training workouts with live daily classes or by using a fun replay option where you can add your own music.
There’s also a full library of on-demand classes, which you can access with either an On Demand or All Access membership.
Pros
includes 500+ workouts across 15 programs
option to use your own music
can provide a good workout even for more advanced athletes
Cons
requires TRX suspension straps
doesn’t offer a wide range of workout styles
Android users complain that the app is difficult to navigate.
fitness tracking apps
Fitness22
Price: Free / Varies
Fitness22 screenshot for the best fitness tracker apps
Fitness22 Running Distance Tracker is exactly what the name implies. It tracks your distance if you decide to take a walk or a run. It has many standard features, like total distance, average pace, pace per mile (or kilometer), a run log, and other helpful features. You can also pass your music through the app for some motivation, and the app tells you when you’ve run a mile (or kilometer) and what your pace was during that mile (or kilometer). Most of the basic functions are free in the app. There are a variety of workout routines that require either a subscription or a lifetime purchase.
See also: The best fitness apps for Android
FitNotes
Price: Free / $5.99
FitNotes is one of the best fitness tracker apps for android
FitNotes is a simple and basic fitness tracker app. You can use it for various exercise styles, including bodybuilding, cardio, running, and whatever else, really. You also get calendar features, the ability to create custom exercise routines, and cloud storage options for backup and restore. It’s good for those who don’t want anything super heavy or packed with too many features. Plus, you can keep track of basically any exercise that you can think of. The app is entirely free, with an optional $5.99 donation version to support development.
Google Fit
Price: Free
google fit home screen 2
Google Fit is Google’s fitness tracking solution. It takes a simpler, less granular approach to fitness tracking. It tracks some super basic on both your mobile phone and your Wear OS smartwatch if you have one. Google Fit uses metrics like Heart Points and Move Minutes to show if you are getting enough exercise. You earn Move Minutes by moving your body and Heart Points by getting your heart rate up. It can track some exercises also. This is a decent solution for beginners, intermediates, and people who don’t want the super tedious methods of more hardcore fitness tracker apps.
JEFIT Workout Tracker
Price: Free / $6.99 per month / $39.99 per year
JEFIT Workout Tracker – best fitness apps and best fitness tracker apps for android
JEFIT Workout Tracker is a decent fitness tracker app with many features. The app features fitness tracking, cross-platform support (Android, iOS, and web), training programs, and little things like workout timers. It supports over 1,300 workouts and you can track yourself doing any of them. You can also set goals, see video examples of every workout, and track your progress over time. The app has a free version that is okay, but other monthly and annual subscription options unlock everything.
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Leap Fitness Step Counter
Price: Free / $2.99
Leap Fitness Step Counter screenshot 2020
Leap Fitness Step Counter is a good, simple step counter app. It tracks your steps, requires no sign-in, and it doesn’t use GPS tracking for your steps. That makes it an excellent app for privacy and simplicity. It really only tracks your steps, tracks your progress, and makes sure you hit your goals every day. There are some backup and restore options along with some theming options. There is a free version and a pro version that removes ads. It’s a competent step tracker app for those who need something basic.
See also: The best free Android apps
MyFitnessPal
Price: Free / $9.99 per month / $49.99 per year
MyFitnessPal stock image 1
MyFitnessPal is an all-in-one solution for both fitness and dieting. It has various tracking tools for both your nutrition and whatever kind of exercise you enjoy. It also has support for over 50 other exercise and nutrition apps and a variety of hardware devices. It’s one of the heaviest solutions on the list and also among the most expensive. However, it really does do just about everything. The UI is actually pretty decent for how many things this app can do. The free version does come with some features. There is a subscription that unlocks everything. It’s expensive, but it does the work of three apps so it’s something to consider.
Runkeeper
Price: Free / $9.99 per month / $39.99 per year
Runkeeper best fitness apps
Runkeeper is a fitness tracker app for runners. It tracks things like distance, pace, and frequency of your runs. The app has support for Wear OS devices as well as other apps like MyFitnessPal. It works pretty well. You basically hit the go button and then start running. The app does the rest. It also includes a stopwatch mode for things like indoor cardio via treadmill. It even has Spotify integration, although we would’ve liked integration with other music apps too. In any case, like MyFitnessPal, you can get some stuff for free. There is a subscription for the rest of it if you want it. It’s suitable for runners, but that’s about it.
See also: The best music streaming apps and services
Strong: Exercise Gym Log
Price: Free / $4.99 per month / $29.99 per year / $99.99 once
Strong Workout Tracker Gym Log screenshot 2019 for the best fitness tracker apps list
Strong: Exercise Gym Log is a gym log similar to FitNotes. You can input all of your exercise routines and track them over time. It includes some unique tools like a warm-up calculator and tips on improving strength from your previous numbers. It has a few extra features from something like FitNotes, but you sacrifice a little bit of ease of use in the process. The UI is also clean and easy to use. This one has a subscription cost, but you can fork out $99.99 once and buy the whole app with a lifetime license.
See also: The best weightlifting apps and bodybuilding apps for Android
OEM fitness tracker apps
Price: Free (usually)
A user reviews their Daily Activity in the Samsung Health app.
Some Android devices come with fitness tracker apps. Samsung Health is a notable example. These apps can track your steps, some dietary tracking, and more. Samsung Health can even track stuff like blood pressure and blood glucose levels. The features vary from device to device. However, if you have a device with built-in fitness tracking, we recommend giving it the old college try to see if it works for you. After all, it’s supported directly by the phone maker and it costs nothing. Technically, Google Fit fits in here as well. However, you can install that on anything, so we didn’t include it here.
Hardware fitness trackers
Price: Varies, but the apps are free
garmin venu 2 vs fitbit sense
Garmin Venu 2 vs Fitbit Sense
Fitness tracker hardware is widely available. You’ve probably heard of many brands, like Fitbit, Garmin, and Xiaomi. You wear these devices and they track your stats. They all have an official app where you can view progress, see what you’ve done, and see your progress over time. Fitbit is probably the most popular example. The hardware is relatively inexpensive compared to a fully-fledged smartwatch, but it works pretty well. This, along with something like FitNotes, and you can track basically everything. There are a lot of good fitness trackers out there. We list the best ones linked up at the button below.
Conclusion
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