A healthy diet and regular exercise are two key components to a long and healthy life, but starting a new workout program and/or overhauling your diet can be intimidating. Luckily, technology is here to help. Here are some of the best apps currently available to help you with your workout and diet plan.
Table of Contents
Best Apps For Workout And Meal Plan
The best health and fitness apps
Without further ado, here’s our top app list, including pros, cons, and what users have been saying.
Best overall fitness app
Sworkit
- Price: free to download; $9.99 a month or $59.99 a year for premium subscription
- Platforms: iOS and Android
Pros: You can design your own workouts and skip tasks that aren’t your vibe. The video demonstrations are easy to follow, and you can listen to your own music.
Cons: A few reviewers note that the transition time between activities is a tad too short.
Tell Sworkit the type of workout you’re looking for (strength, cardio, yoga, or stretching) and the amount of time you’ve got (anywhere from 5 minutes to an hour) and the app delivers the moves to fit your sweat sesh.
If you opt for premium, the app lets you personalize even more by setting the number of reps and the areas of the body you want to focus on.
Best fitness app for fitness beginners
C25K
- Price: free to download; in-app purchases like ad removal ($1.99) and a Zen Unlimited Pass ($9.99 a month)
- Platforms: iOS and Android
Pros: It’s a beginner-friendly app that has dope features like audio coaching and calorie tracking. It also gives you easy-to-follow guides for how to kick-start your fitness routine.
Cons: Some folks say the app is a bit too intense for absolute beginners. But keep in mind that you can customize the training and increase your stamina over time.
If you’ve wanted to try running but never known where to start, Couch to 5K should be the next app you download. It’s a great way to transition into #FitFam life. All you need is 30 to 40 minutes a day, 3 times a week, for 8 weeks. Each workout includes a 5-minute warmup and 5-minute cooldown.
Best fitness app for running
Strava Running and Cycling
- Price: free for basic use; $5 a month or $59.99 a year for premium plan (Strava Summit)
- Platforms: iOS and Android
Pros: It’s a great way to track your running without a GPS watch. It can also help you find new running routes and lets you connect with friends.
Cons: Strava’s sharing features can be a little intimidating. Some folks feel insecure about posting their shorter or slower runs.
If you’re a serious runner or cyclist, you need one place to keep track of your most recent runs and rides. No other app comes close to the capabilities of Strava. The app can track distance, speed, elevation, calories burned, heart rate, power, and cadence. Then it synthesizes all this data into easy-to-understand graphics.
Best fitness app for strength training
Strong Workout Tracker Gym Log
- Price: free for basic use; $4.99 a month or $29.99 a year to upgrade to a Strong PRO subscription
- Platforms: iOS
Pros: This inclusive app is great for lifters of all skill levels. You can use it in the gym, at home, or on the go. It has hundreds of built-in exercises with video instructions.
Cons: The free version offers only three custom routines. You’ll have to pay for an upgraded membership to access more workouts. Also, it’s currently available only on iOS.
Tracking your lifts can be the perfect encouragement to keep on keepin’ on. With an intuitive interface, the Strong Workout Tracker Gym Log lets you track all the details of your strength workouts, from PRs to day-to-day sets and reps. There’s also an in-app timer and a note section so you can write about your ~feelings~.
Best personal training fitness app
Pear
- Price: free to download; $8.99 a month or $57.99 a year for subscription
- Platforms: iOS and Android
Pros: Pear is the perfect personal training app for tech fans. It offers real-time coaching for a personalized and engaging experience. It also uses artificial intelligence to customize your workouts.
Cons: The app is strictly fitness-focused, so don’t expect diet or nutrition advice.
Strength training can become monotonous (squats again?). That’s where Pear comes in. The app lets you pick from a roster of personal trainers who will zhuzh up your routine and walk you through the exercises. But you can also tackle the workouts on your own.
Bonus: If you have a wearable fitness tracker, the app will also give you feedback about estimated heart rate and VO2max.
Best meal-tracking fitness app
Foodility
- Price: free!
- Platforms: iOS
Pros: Foodility is straightforward, elegantly designed, and super easy to use. It has a clean design and a user-friendly interface. You also get access to a statistics tab to chart your water intake and weight loss.
Cons: It doesn’t let you view all your content on one screen. This might be a bummer if you like to analyze your data by day, week, or month.
If you’re looking for an effective way to keep track of diet and exercise but could do without all the bells and whistles, here’s one for you. This food and fitness journal app is a minimalist’s dream in both form and function. Record your meals, physical activities, water intake, and weight by posting customizable sticky note-style entries on your calendar.
Push notifications keep you on track, multiple viewing options give you different perspectives, and new updates allow you to export your monthly diary as a PDF, so sharing your progress is a breeze. Clean and simple.
Best fitness app for counting calories
MyFitnessPal
- Price: free to download; $9.99 a month or $49.99 a year for premium version
- Platforms: iOS and Android
Pros: The calorie counter is basically an online food diary. This can make you more conscious of your nutrition and eating patterns. There’s also a top-notch community aspect that lets users share tips and personal experiences.
Cons: It’s not ideal for tracking strength training exercises such as lifting or resistance workouts.
There’s a reason MyFitnessPal continues to dominate the health and fitness app landscape after 13 long years on the market. The app’s database contains more than 6 million foods, so you can log just about everything you put in your body, from fast food to homemade vegan lasagna, thanks to a nifty recipe calculator.
You can also set exercise and diet goals and tap into MyFitnessPal’s vast online community for support, tips, and motivation.
Best for nutrition
Fooducate
- Price: free; pro plan starting at $3.99 a month
- Platforms: iOS and Android
Pros: In addition to nutrition, you can track your sleep, exercise, calorie and macro intake, mood, and hunger levels. The app then analyzes the data and gives you feedback to help you reach and maintain your goals.
Cons: You’ll need to pay extra if you want to add nutrient info like carbs, protein, and fat.
This colorful, engaging app seriously ups your grocery game. Scan barcodes or search manually for any item for instant access to plain-spoken nutritional information, a personalized letter grade detailing each item’s value, and suggestions for healthier alternatives.
Best meal planning fitness app
Nourishly
- Price: free!
- Platforms: iOS and Android
Pros: This sleek, intuitive system connects you straight to your healthcare team. This can help you stay on top of nutrition goals and habits, mental health, daily activity, and meal planning.
Cons: Some users say the design and interface are a bit outdated.
This app is especially helpful if you’re dealing with food-related health concerns such as diabetes, cardiovascular conditions, and GI issues. The approach is holistic — no calorie counts here — and focuses just as much on emotional well-being as on the physical aspect.
The coolest part is that you can receive safe and secure support from your dietitian, psychologist, doctor, personal trainer, or whoever else you’ve got in your corner, right there in the app.
Best fitness app for stress relief
Happy Not Perfect
- Price: free to download; $11.99 a month or $79.99 a year for subscription
- Platforms: iOS and Android
Pros: You’ll get hundreds of guided meditations, visual aids, and stress-reducing games. The app also offers daily routines to help you reduce stress and increase happiness.
Cons: While there is a free trial period, the monthly and annual costs are a bit steep.
Created by scientists, cognitive behavioral therapists, and breathing specialists, these quick exercises help ease anxiety and refresh your mind.
But our favorite feature? A space to write your crappier thoughts and burn them! Watching those limiting beliefs burn in the digital flames is oddly satisfying. And don’t worry, your phone won’t go up in smoke.
Best fitness app for meditation
Calm
- Price: free to download; $69.99 a year for subscription
- Platforms: iOS and Android
Pros: You get access to expert resources and structured meditations. This is great if you’re new to meditating.
Cons: You have to use it on the reg to reap the rewards.
A lot more than just breathing exercises and pictures of peaceful mountains, this app has courses, guided meditations, and music to help you find a greater sense of calm in your life.
The true standout feature is the wide variety of bedtime stories to get you snoozing with ease. Let Stephen Fry, Bob Ross, or Bronn from “Game of Thrones” lull you to sleep. Then wake up and take a creativity class from Elizabeth Gilbert!
Best fitness app for sleep
SleepScore
- Price: free to download; $5.99 a month or $29.99 a year for subscription
- Platforms: iOS and Android
Pros: The non-contact sleep tracking technology means you don’t have to wear a smartwatch while you sleep. Folks also like how detailed the sleep reports are compared to other apps.
Cons: The initial setup can take a while.
It’s like having a bat in your bed! OK, that might not sound like a selling point, but this app uses sonar technology to monitor your sleep. So say “sayonara” to feeling groggy in the morning.
In addition to scoring the quality of your sleep, the app offers an alarm that wakes you during your lightest sleep cycle (within 30 minutes of when you need to get up). Not only will you know exactly how well you’re sleeping, but the app also gives daily recommendations to improve your snooze.
Best fitness app for tracking periods
Flo
- Price: free to download; $9.99 a month or $49.99 a year for premium subscription
- Platforms: iOS and Android
Pros: You can record your moods, activity, caffeine and alcohol intake, and sex drive to see how they all impact your cycle (or how your cycle impacts them).
Cons: It doesn’t let you sync with other devices.
Whether you want to track your fertility or just have tampons and pain relievers at the ready, this app takes all the mystery out of menstruation. Let Flo know when you’ve had your period and the app will track your cycle, tell you when you’re ovulating, and let you know when the red menace is coming again.
Bottom line: Apps are a great way to stay on top of your health and fitness goals. And these 13 options offer something for everyone.
Pro tip: Try to sign up for a free trial before pulling the trigger on a paid app.
best workout apps free
C25K
iOS, Android
If you want to run but don’t know where to start, this app is it. Short for Couch to 5K, the C25K app will take you from zero to 5K in just two months. All it takes is 30 minutes per day just three times per week and you’ll develop a base that can take you through your first 5K finish line onward—maybe even to training for your first marathon! And, if you have the Fitbit Ionic or Versa or have a Samsung Galaxy watch, the C25K app is available to use directly on your watch to make the guided workouts even more seamless.
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Related: 125+ Free Streaming Workouts
FitOn
iOS, Android
If you’re looking for a free workout app that is actually free—no additional purchases required—look no further than FitOn. Not only will you be able to access workouts across multiple disciplines such as dance, yoga and HIIT, you can search by the body part you’d like to focus on and even create custom programs to help you reach your goals. Even if you don’t come in with a defined goal in mind, you get to experiment with different types of workouts for free so you can find out the types of exercise that make moving fun.
Fitbod
iOS
Fitbod’s goal is to make you stronger and they do that by adapting your workout plan to your current strengths and weaknesses. The app is always collecting data on your current fitness level and adjusts your training—such as sets, reps and weight—accordingly, all to get you fitter in the safest way possible. If you’re looking for a strength training app that can give you a workout plan based on the equipment you have available, this one’s for you. Android users, don’t despair; Fitbod is currently in beta testing to get the app rolled out to you.
Related: What Is HIIT? Everything You Need to Know About One of the Hottest Fitness Trends
Running Apps
Strava
iOS, Android—Free; in-app purchases available
If you’re looking for the social media equivalent of a running app, Strava is for you. Not only is this GPS app a great way to track your runs in real-time and keep tabs on your training milestones, but you’ll also have the opportunity to connect with old friends and make new ones in your community through the workout app. Even better, connect with pros and coaches like Lauren Fleshman, Rich Roll and Devon Yanko, who all have active profiles to get an inside look at how and where some of the elites are logging miles in both training and racing.
MapMyRun
iOS, Android—Free; in-app purchases available
Powered by Under Armour, the MapMy family of workout apps have street cred that is well deserved. MapMyRun specifically is great for tracking your runs (with the option to let friends and family see your live location) and finding new routes in your area. If you want to step up the ease of use, get a pair of Under Armour smart shoes, which connect to the app automatically, making this a great workout app for women looking to precisely track their miles.
Related: How to Get a Full-Body Workout at Home
Charity Miles
iOS, Android—Free
Want to go the extra mile? Log your miles using Charity App and earn money for the charity of your choice just by running. It really is that easy! Start an account and choose from their list of charities—including St. Jude’s Children’s Research Hospital, Wounded Warrior Project, National Park Foundation and the Leukemia & Lymphoma Society, among others—and funds come out of a corporate sponsor pool with every mile tracked via your phone’s GPS.
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