Liftoff vs Lyfta vs Hevy vs GymPsycho (2026): Price, Ranks, Free Tiers

Hevy is the workout tracker most lifters already know. It has 4.9 stars from 95,726 ratings on the US App Store and more than 5 million installs on Google Play.¹² Two challengers now sit near it in the Health & Fitness chart, and they are built on very different ideas.

The Liftoff app turns every set you log into a strength rank, from Wood to Olympian, and puts you on a leaderboard.³ The Lyfta app is a free, ad-free tracker from Norway with 5,000+ exercise videos and a web app.⁴⁵ A fourth app, GymPsycho, keeps coming up in “GymPsycho vs Hevy” searches: it counts weekly volume per muscle and runs its AI entirely on your phone.⁶

This guide compares all four on price, free tier, ranks, devices and imports. Every price, limit and feature below was checked against each app’s US store listing and the developer’s own pages on 2 October 2026.

Liftoff vs Lyfta vs Hevy: the short answer

Liftoff is the free app for lifters who want strength ranks and global leaderboards. Lyfta is the free, ad-free logger with the widest import support and the only Garmin and Fitbit links among the four trackers. Hevy ($23.99/yr Pro, or free with limits) is the oldest logger here, on the App Store since 2019, with friend-following and a lifetime plan.⁷⁵⁸¹

	Liftoff	Lyfta	Hevy	GymPsycho	SensAI
What it is	Ranked workout tracker	Workout logger and exercise library	Workout logger where you follow friends	Hypertrophy logger with volume targets	Conversational AI coach
Signature feature	1–1000 strength rating, nine ranks3	5,000+ exercises with video guides4	Follow friends, copy routines, Hevy Trainer19	Per-muscle weekly set targets10	A coach you talk to11
Paid plan (US)	Liftoff Pro, $3.99–$79.99 in-app12	Lyfta Premium, $5.99–$79.99 in-app4	Pro $2.99/mo, $23.99/yr or $74.99 lifetime8	Pro $6.99/mo or $49.99/yr6	$6.99/mo or $69.99/yr11
Free tier	Logging, ranks, streaks, leaderboards7	Tracking, library, saved plans13	4 routines, 7 custom exercises, 3 months of history8	Log, plans, imports, Watch, no account6	None (7-day trial11)
Free trial	Not published	14 days on eligible plans13	Not published	14 days, no card6	7 days11
Android	Yes2	Yes14	Yes2	Yes2	No (iPhone and Apple Watch only11)
App Store rating	4.8 from 97,80512	4.8 from 6,7584	4.9 from 95,7261	5.0 from 515	4.6 from 3611

Prices and ratings from the US App Store, 2 October 2026. Liftoff and Lyfta list several in-app prices but do not publish which price belongs to which plan, so check the checkout screen on your own device.

How much do Liftoff, Lyfta and Hevy cost?

All three are free to download and use. Hevy is the only one that publishes its Pro prices: $2.99 a month, $23.99 a year or $74.99 for life. Liftoff Pro and Lyfta Premium appear on the US App Store at $3.99–$79.99 and $5.99–$79.99, and neither developer says which price is which plan.⁸¹²⁴

Plan	Liftoff	Lyfta	Hevy	GymPsycho
Free	Yes7	Yes, “free, simple, and ad-free”4	Yes, “No ads and free”1	Yes, “free forever”, no ads10
Monthly	Not published	“Monthly Premium”, price shown at checkout13	$2.998	$6.996
Yearly	Not published	Annual, after a 14-day trial13	$23.998	$49.996
Lifetime	Not published	“Lyfta for Life”13	$74.998	None6
US App Store in-app range	$3.99–$79.9912	$5.99–$79.994	$2.99–$74.991	$6.99–$49.9915

Lyfta’s own subscription page says plans, pricing and trials “are shown before checkout” and vary “depending on region and platform”.¹³ Hevy also lists a second monthly price of $3.99 on the App Store, alongside the $2.99 on its website.¹⁸

What do they cost over one and three years?

On published prices, Hevy Pro costs $23.99 for one year and $71.97 for three, so its $74.99 lifetime plan pays for itself in a little over three years. GymPsycho Pro costs $49.99 and $149.97. SensAI costs $69.99 and $209.97. Liftoff and Lyfta cannot be totalled honestly because neither publishes a yearly price.⁸⁶¹¹

	1 year	3 years	Lifetime option
Liftoff Pro	Not published	Not published	Not published
Lyfta Premium	Not published	Not published	“Lyfta for Life”13
Hevy Pro	$23.99	$71.97	$74.998
GymPsycho Pro	$49.99	$149.97	None6
SensAI	$69.99	$209.97	None11

Yearly price multiplied by three, before tax and any introductory offers.

Is Liftoff free? And is Lyfta free?

Yes, both. Liftoff says “core logging, ranks, streaks, and leaderboards are free”, and Pro adds deeper rank analytics, long-timeframe charts and AI food scanning. Lyfta’s free tier covers workout tracking, the exercise library and saved plans, but strength standards and rankings are Premium-only.⁷¹⁶¹³

That last point is the biggest practical difference between the two. Liftoff gives its ranks away, because ranks are the product. Lyfta treats rankings as an upgrade, alongside programs, all-time progress charts and the plate and warm-up calculators.¹³

Feature	Liftoff free	Lyfta free	Hevy free	GymPsycho free
Workout logging	Yes7	Yes13	Yes8	Yes6
Saved routines	Yes, “Routine Planner”12	Yes13	Up to 48	Unlimited plans6
Strength ranks	Yes7	Premium only13	No	Training Maturity rank6
Long-term charts	Pro adds long-timeframe charts16	Premium only13	3 months back8	Pro only6
Data import	CSV from Strong or Hevy16	Yes (tier not stated5)	From Strong17	From Hevy, Strong, Alpha Progression6

Hevy is the only one of the four that publishes hard numeric caps on its free tier. Its own guide lists “up to four saved workout routines”, “up to seven custom exercises” and workout data “from up to three months back”.⁸ For many lifters that is enough. For anyone running a five-day split, it is the reason to pay.

How do Liftoff ranks work?

Liftoff scores every logged set from 1 to 1000 at your own bodyweight and sex, then places it in one of nine ranks from Wood to Olympian. It estimates your one-rep max from each set with the Epley formula and compares it with curves fitted to 546.7 million sets from 2.65 million Liftoff users.³

The nine ranks are Wood, Bronze, Silver, Gold, Platinum, Diamond, Champion, Titan and Olympian. Wood covers ratings 1–199, each rank after that spans 100 points, and Olympian starts at 900.³

A few details matter if you are deciding whether to trust the number:

• It ranks 400 of its 600 exercises. An exercise needs 100,000 logged entries before Liftoff will publish a curve for it.³
• Reps are capped at 30. Liftoff’s formula is weight × (1 + reps ÷ 30), and past 30 reps it treats the set as endurance work.³
• Imported sets never count toward the curves, and nor do warm-ups.³
• Curves are re-fitted as the data grows. The last re-fit shipped on 19 August 2026, so your rank can move without your lifts changing.³
• Streaks break after three days without a workout, and leaderboard seasons reset every four months, on 1 January, 1 May and 1 September.¹⁸

The bench press alone has 20.1 million working sets from 1.12 million lifters behind its curve.³ That is a large sample. It is also a sample of people who use Liftoff, which is not the same thing as lifters in general. For population tables built from research data, see our guide to strength standards by age and bodyweight.

How accurate is a strength rank from a logged set?

A rank is only as accurate as the estimated one-rep max behind it. One study of 70 adults found 5RM sets gave the most accurate estimates of the 5, 10 and 20RM sets tested, and recommended no more than 10 reps. Liftoff accepts up to 30, so treat a high-rep rank as a rough guide.¹⁹³

Two lines of research matter here.

The first is about reps. Reynolds, Gordon and Robergs tested 70 adults on chest press and leg press and found that “5RM data produced the greatest prediction accuracy”. They concluded that “no more than 10 repetitions should be used in linear equations to estimate 1RM”.¹⁹ A 2024 meta-regression led by James Nuzzo pooled 952 tests from 7,289 people and found “more repetitions were evident in the leg press than bench press across the loading spectrum”.²⁰ The relationship between reps and percentage of max differs by exercise, so one formula applied to every lift carries more error on some lifts than others.

The second is about bodyweight. Simply dividing a lift by bodyweight penalises heavier lifters. Serge Jaric’s review in Sports Medicine recommended scaling force measures by body mass to the power of 0.67 instead.²¹ Even the Wilks formula, which powerlifting used for years, showed “a linear unfavorable bias toward heavier men and women in the DL” when Vanderburgh and Batterham tested it on world-class lifters.²²

Liftoff avoids the simple-ratio trap. It does not divide by bodyweight. It fits separate male and female curves that change continuously with bodyweight.³ That is a reasonable design. The rank still describes where a set sits among Liftoff’s users, estimated from whatever rep range you logged.

Practical rule: if you want your rank to mean something, log hard sets of 3–8 reps on the lifts you care about. A 25-rep set will produce a rank. It will not be a good estimate of your strength.

Do strength ranks and leaderboards actually help you train?

Probably a little. A meta-analysis of 16 randomised trials found gamified programs raised physical activity by a small-to-medium amount (Hedges g = 0.42), and competition produced the largest and only lasting gain in one US trial, and beat support outright in another. None of these studies tested lifting ranks, and the effects shrank after the programs ended.²³²⁴²⁵

Study	Who	What it tested	Main result
Mazeas et al., 202223	16 RCTs, 2,407 people	Gamified activity programs	g = 0.42 overall; g = 0.23 against non-gamified programs; g = 0.15 at ~14-week follow-up
Patel et al., 2019 (STEP UP24)	602 adults, 40 US states	Support vs collaboration vs competition	Competition +920 steps/day; only competition still significant at follow-up (+569)
Zhang et al., 201625	790 students	Social comparison vs social support	Comparison arms attended 90% more; the support-only arm fell below control
Harkin et al., 201626	138 studies, 19,951 people	Monitoring goal progress	d = 0.40; larger when progress was recorded or made public
Romeo et al., 201927	6 trials, meta-analysis	Smartphone activity apps	+477 steps/day, not significant; apps worked better over short programs

The competition result is the one that maps onto Liftoff. Mitesh Patel, then founding director of the Penn Medicine Nudge Unit, led STEP UP, a 602-person trial. It found the competition arm “remained significantly greater” than control during follow-up, while support and collaboration did not.²⁴ Damon Centola’s group at the University of Pennsylvania’s Annenberg School found the same direction in exercise-class attendance. “Social comparison was more effective for increasing physical activity than social support,” the authors wrote. Their support-only group actually attended less than the control group.²⁵

That is a point in favour of Liftoff’s global leaderboards over Hevy’s, which rank you only against people you follow, on 38 exercises.²⁸ Two cautions apply, though. Both trials measured steps or class attendance, not lifting. And the Mazeas meta-analysis found the long-term effect was “very small to small”.²³

The stronger evidence is for logging itself. Harkin and colleagues pooled 138 studies and found that monitoring goal progress improved goal attainment (d = 0.40). The effect was larger “when the information was physically recorded” and when it was made public.²⁶ Every app in this comparison does that part. The rank and leaderboard are extras on top.

GymPsycho vs Hevy: which is better?

Hevy is better for most people. It is cheaper ($23.99/yr vs $49.99/yr), far more established (4.9 from 95,726 ratings vs 5.0 from 5) and has a lifetime plan. GymPsycho is better if you train for muscle size and want per-muscle volume targets, or want no account and no cloud.⁸⁶¹⁵

GymPsycho launched on iOS on 28 January 2026 and on Google Play on 13 April 2026.¹⁵⁶ It is built by Marc Berbet, who describes himself as a Swiss gym owner in Aarau and “lifter of 25+ years”.⁶ In September 2026 it sponsored Joe Weider’s Olympia in Las Vegas, which the Olympia’s own sponsor list confirms.²⁹

	GymPsycho	Hevy
Pro price	$6.99/mo or $49.99/yr6	$2.99/mo, $23.99/yr or $74.99 lifetime8
Account needed	No6	Yes30
AI features	“100% on-device AI”, no cloud6	No on-device AI; Hevy Trainer is an algorithm-based program builder (Pro only9); ChatGPT integration is free8
Volume tracking	Per-muscle weekly targets, MEV → MAV → MRV10	Set count per muscle group, Pro only8
Social features	None (“No social feed”10)	Follow friends and copy their routines1
Apple Watch	Watch shows set status; sets are ticked off on the iPhone6	Yes8
Imports	From Hevy, Strong and Alpha Progression, free6	From Strong17
App Store rating	5.0 from 515	4.9 from 95,7261

GymPsycho’s most interesting idea is how it counts sets. It treats “a bench press set” as “a full set for chest but a half set for shoulders and triceps”.³⁰ That is not marketing invention. A 2026 dose-response meta-regression led by Michael Zourdos’s lab at Florida Atlantic University compared three ways of counting indirect sets across 67 studies and 2,058 participants. “The relative evidence for the ‘fractional’ quantification method was strongest,” the authors wrote, with indirect sets counted as 0.5.³¹

The MEV, MAV and MRV labels are a different matter. GymPsycho attributes them to Renaissance Periodization’s coaching method.⁶ They are useful coaching heuristics, not thresholds established by controlled trials. For what the research does say about weekly sets, see our guide to training volume per muscle per week.

One correction to GymPsycho’s own comparison page: it lists Hevy as having “No import”.³⁰ Hevy publishes a step-by-step guide to importing from Strong.¹⁷

Liftoff vs Hevy: which is better?

Choose Liftoff if you want free strength ranks, global leaderboards and streaks, and you mostly train with a phone and Apple Watch. Choose Hevy if you want Wear OS, a web app, offline logging or a lifetime plan. Hevy’s free tier is tighter, but its Pro price is published and low.³²⁸⁷

	Liftoff	Hevy
Built around	Ranks, leaderboards, streaks, quests12	Logging, routines, following friends1
Ranks	Free, 400 exercises7	None
Wear OS	No32	Yes8
Web app	No32	Yes, hevy.com33
Offline	“Liftoff is not an offline-first tracker”7	“Workout Offline”33
Strava	Official partner, one-way, free34	One-way auto-sync35
Moving between them	Imports Hevy CSV16	Imports from Strong17

Liftoff’s own comparison page is unusually candid about this. “If Wear OS or web logging is essential, Hevy covers more platforms,” it says.³² Liftoff only added Apple Watch support in version 2.15.7, on 8 September 2026.¹²

Hevy is moving in a different direction. Since version 3.1.15 on 21 September 2026 you can send a finished workout to ChatGPT or Claude from the finish screen.¹ For the full Hevy picture, see our Hevy review.

Lyfta vs Hevy: which is better?

Lyfta is better if you want a free, ad-free logger, a 5,000-exercise video library, Garmin and Fitbit connections, or imports from six apps. Hevy is better if you want a published low price, a lifetime plan, a large community of friends to follow and the Hevy Trainer program builder.⁵⁴⁸

	Lyfta	Hevy
Free tier	Tracking, library, saved plans13	4 routines, 7 custom exercises, 3 months of history8
Exercise library	5,000+ with HD video guides4	400+36
Rankings	Premium: compared with lifters of similar age and bodyweight13	None
Integrations	Apple Health, Health Connect, Strava, Garmin, Fitbit5	Strava, Apple Health, Health Connect, ChatGPT8
Imports from	Hevy, Strong, Fitbod, Boostcamp, JEFIT, FitNotes5	Strong17
Web app	my.lyfta.app5	hevy.com33
Ratings (iOS / Android)	4.8 from 6,758 / 4.7 from 62,719414	4.9 from 95,726 / 4.9 from 272,71812

Lyfta’s founder, Kolbjørn Lindberg, holds a PhD in exercise physiology, and the company describes itself as “a small, independent team”.⁵ It is the only one of the four trackers that lists Garmin as an integration. Garmin is missing from Hevy’s own integration list.⁵⁸

Liftoff vs Lyfta: which is better?

Liftoff is better if ranks and competition keep you training, because its ranks are free. Lyfta is better if you want a calmer, ad-free logger with more exercises, more devices and more imports, and you are happy to pay Premium for its rankings. Both are free to start.⁷¹³⁴

These two apps disagree about what a tracker is for. Liftoff runs on game mechanics: eggs as an in-app currency, a shop, quests, streaks and seasonal leaderboards.¹²¹⁸ Lyfta is a reference tool with a logger attached, and its rankings compare you with “lifters of similar age and bodyweight” only on Premium.¹³

On devices, Lyfta wins clearly. It runs on iOS, Android, Apple Watch, Wear OS and the web, while Liftoff has no Wear OS or web app.⁵³² On scale, Liftoff is far bigger on the US App Store, with 97,805 ratings to Lyfta’s 6,758.¹²⁴

How do the options compare, including SensAI?

Liftoff suits lifters motivated by ranks. Lyfta suits people who want a free logger with the biggest exercise library and the most imports. Hevy ($23.99/yr) suits self-directed lifters who want a published price. GymPsycho ($49.99/yr) suits volume-focused hypertrophy training. SensAI ($69.99/yr) suits people who want a coach to write and adjust the plan.⁷⁵⁸⁶¹¹

App	Approach	Yearly price (US)	Free option	Android
Liftoff	Ranked tracker with leaderboards	Not published12	Logging and ranks free7	Yes2
Lyfta	Free logger and exercise library	Not published13	Yes13	Yes14
Hevy	Logger; optional Pro Trainer	$23.998	Yes, with limits8	Yes2
GymPsycho	Hypertrophy logger, on-device AI	$49.996	Yes6	Yes2
SensAI	Conversational AI coach using Apple Health data	$69.9911	None (7-day trial11)	No (iPhone and Apple Watch only11)

The four trackers above share a model: you write the program, or pick one, and the app records it. If you want a different model, our Boostcamp vs Hevy vs Liftosaur comparison covers program-library apps, and SmartGym vs Hevy vs Fitbod covers apps that generate workouts for you.

Where Liftoff, Lyfta and Hevy beat SensAI

All three trackers are free to use indefinitely, while SensAI offers a 7-day trial before its $6.99 monthly or $69.99 yearly plan.⁷¹³⁸¹¹ All three run on Android, while SensAI runs only on iPhone and Apple Watch.²¹⁴¹¹ All three also run on iOS 15 or 16, while SensAI needs iOS 26 and watchOS 26.¹²⁴¹¹¹ Liftoff has strength ranks and leaderboards, which SensAI does not offer. Lyfta has a far larger exercise library: 5,000+ against SensAI’s 500+.⁴¹¹

Where SensAI is different

SensAI is a coach you talk to, rather than a log you fill in.¹¹ You can tell it “I tweaked my shoulder - adjust my week” and it rewrites the plan.¹¹ It reads Apple Health only: your watch or ring app writes to Apple Health, and SensAI reads from there.³⁷ Apple Watch is the only device on SensAI’s list that shares HRV. Garmin’s Body Battery and WHOOP’s Recovery and Strain stay in their own apps.³⁷ As SensAI’s Help Center puts it, “Sleep and overnight heart rate from your device shape how hard Coach asks you to push on a given day.”³⁷ To see what your device shares, read how to connect a wearable to SensAI through Apple Health.

Which devices do Liftoff, Lyfta and Hevy support?

Lyfta and Hevy both run on iPhone, Android, Apple Watch, Wear OS and the web. Liftoff runs on iPhone, Android and Apple Watch, with no Wear OS or web app. All three connect to Apple Health and share workouts to Strava. Of the trackers, only Lyfta lists Garmin and Fitbit.⁵⁸³²¹⁶

	Liftoff	Lyfta	Hevy	GymPsycho
iPhone	iOS 15.1+12	iOS 16.0+4	iOS 15.1+1	iOS 16.2+15
Apple Watch	watchOS 10.0+, since Sept 202612	watchOS 10.6+4	watchOS 8.0+1	watchOS 9.6+, set status only156
Android	Yes2	Yes14	Yes2	Yes2
Wear OS	No32	Yes14	Yes8	Wear OS 3+, phone required6
Web app	No32	Yes5	Yes33	Not listed
Apple Health	Reads steps, calories, measurements; writes workouts16	Yes5	Yes8	Yes6
Strava	One-way, official partner34	Yes5	One-way35	Not listed
Garmin / Fitbit	Not listed	Yes5	Not listed8	Not listed

Requirements from each US App Store listing, 2 October 2026. Strava sync is one-way in every app that states it: your lifts go to Strava, not back. See what syncs with Strava for the full list.

What changed in Liftoff, Lyfta and Hevy in 2026?

Hevy launched Hevy Trainer in February 2026, added full-detail Strava sync in June and added sending workouts to ChatGPT and Claude on 21 September. Liftoff added Apple Watch support on 8 September and re-fitted its rank curves on 19 August. GymPsycho launched in January and reached Android in April.^383911236

Date	App	Change
28 Jan 2026	GymPsycho	First iOS release15
18 Feb 2026	Hevy	Hevy Trainer launches, included in Pro “with no change in price”38
13 Apr 2026	GymPsycho	Launches on Google Play6
Early Jun 2026	Hevy	Full-detail Strava sync39
19 Aug 2026	Liftoff	Latest re-fit of the strength-rank curves3
8 Sep 2026	Liftoff	Apple Watch support (version 2.15.712)
21 Sep 2026	Hevy	Send workouts to ChatGPT and Claude (version 3.1.151)
24–27 Sep 2026	GymPsycho	Official sponsor of the 2026 Olympia29

Liftoff vs Lyfta vs Hevy: which should you choose?

Pick by what keeps you training. If ranks and rivals do, choose Liftoff. If you want the biggest exercise library and the most imports, choose Lyfta. If you want a proven logger with a cheap published Pro price, choose Hevy. If you train for size and want volume targets, try GymPsycho.⁷⁵⁸⁶

Choose Liftoff if you:

• Train harder when there is a rank or a leaderboard on the line
• Want strength ranks without paying for them
• Use an iPhone or Android phone, with or without an Apple Watch
• Mostly log hard sets of 3–8 reps on the main lifts, so the ranks stay meaningful

Choose Lyfta if you:

• Want a free, ad-free logger with a 5,000+ exercise video library
• Use Wear OS, Garmin or Fitbit, or want to log from a browser
• Are moving from Hevy, Strong, Fitbod, Boostcamp, JEFIT or FitNotes

Choose Hevy if you:

• Want the oldest logger here (on the App Store since 2019), where you can follow friends and copy their routines
• Prefer a published price, or a one-time $74.99 lifetime plan
• Want an optional Pro program builder in Hevy Trainer. Our Hevy vs Strong comparison covers Hevy against its oldest rival.

Look elsewhere if you:

• Want an app that writes and adjusts the plan for you in conversation. That is what SensAI does.
• Need a published Liftoff or Lyfta price before you download. Neither developer lists one.

Frequently asked questions

Is Liftoff better than Hevy?

Liftoff is better if you want free strength ranks and global leaderboards. Hevy is better if you want Wear OS, a web app, offline logging or a lifetime plan. Liftoff’s free tier includes ranks, streaks and leaderboards, while Hevy’s free tier caps you at four routines and three months of history.⁷⁸

Is Lyfta better than Hevy?

Lyfta has no published caps on routines or history, a 5,000+ exercise library, Garmin and Fitbit connections and imports from six apps. Hevy has more users (10 million+ against 7 million+), a published $23.99 yearly price and a $74.99 lifetime plan.⁵⁴¹¹⁴⁸

Is GymPsycho better than Hevy?

For most people, no: Hevy Pro costs about half as much per year and has 95,726 App Store ratings to GymPsycho’s 5. GymPsycho is the better pick if you want per-muscle volume targets, fractional set counting, on-device AI and no account.⁸⁶¹⁵

Is Liftoff free?

Yes. Liftoff says “core logging, ranks, streaks, and leaderboards are free”. Liftoff Pro adds deeper rank analytics, long-timeframe charts and AI food scanning. Liftoff does not publish Pro prices; the US App Store lists Liftoff Pro items from $3.99 to $79.99.⁷¹⁶¹²

Is Lyfta free?

Yes. Lyfta’s free tier includes workout tracking, the exercise library and saving your own plans. Lyfta Premium adds programs, advanced analysis, all-time charts, strength standards and rankings, with a 14-day trial on eligible plans.¹³

How does the Liftoff rank work?

Liftoff estimates your one-rep max from each logged set with the Epley formula, then scores it from 1 to 1000 against curves for your bodyweight and sex. The score maps to nine ranks, from Wood to Olympian.³

Can I move my Hevy data to Liftoff or Lyfta?

Yes. Liftoff imports CSV history from Strong or Hevy. Lyfta imports from Hevy, Strong, Fitbod, Boostcamp, JEFIT and FitNotes. GymPsycho imports from Hevy, Strong and Alpha Progression.¹⁶⁵⁶

Do Liftoff, Lyfta and Hevy work with Apple Watch?

Yes, all three. Liftoff added Apple Watch support on 8 September 2026. Lyfta and Hevy also run on Wear OS; Liftoff does not.¹²⁴⁸³²

Do Liftoff, Lyfta and Hevy sync with Strava?

Yes. Liftoff is an official Strava partner and shares workouts one way, free. Hevy syncs one way to Strava. Lyfta lists Strava among its integrations.³⁴³⁵⁵

The bottom line

Liftoff, Lyfta and Hevy are all free to start, so the choice is about motivation, not money. Liftoff gives you free ranks and global leaderboards. Lyfta gives you the most exercises and imports, and matches Hevy on devices. Hevy gives you a proven logger and the clearest published price. GymPsycho is the specialist for volume-driven hypertrophy training.⁷⁵⁸⁶

The research backs logging more firmly than it backs ranks. Recording your training improves goal attainment, and competition seems to beat support for keeping people active, but none of these trials tested a lifting leaderboard.²⁶²⁴²⁵ If ranks keep you in the gym, Liftoff is the obvious pick. Log hard sets of 3–8 reps so the number means something.

All four apps assume you know what to do next. If you would rather have the plan written and adjusted for you, from what you tell it and what your Apple Health data shows, a conversational coach like SensAI fits better.

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References

Footnotes

1. Hevy Studios S.L. “Hevy - Workout Tracker Gym Log.” Apple App Store listing (id1458862350) — Hevy Pro $2.99 and $3.99 monthly, $23.99 yearly, $74.99 lifetime; “No ads and free”; “Join +10 million users!”; “Follow your friend’s progress by following their lifts and copying their routines”; requires iOS 15.1 and watchOS 8.0; version 3.1.15 (September 21, 2026): “Send workouts to ChatGPT & Claude directly from the finish workout screen”; 4.9 rating from 95,726 ratings; first released July 1, 2019. Accessed October 2, 2026. https://apps.apple.com/us/app/hevy-workout-tracker-gym-log/id1458862350 ↩ ↩² ↩³ ↩⁴ ↩⁵ ↩⁶ ↩⁷ ↩⁸ ↩⁹ ↩¹⁰ ↩¹¹ ↩¹² ↩¹³ ↩¹⁴ ↩¹⁵ ↩¹⁶ ↩¹⁷ ↩¹⁸

2. Google Play listings checked October 2, 2026: Liftoff (4.8 from 93,285 ratings, 1M+ installs) https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.gymbros.app ; Hevy (4.9 from 272,718 ratings, 5M+ installs) https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.hevy ; GymPsycho (5K+ installs) https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.gympsycho.app ↩ ↩² ↩³ ↩⁴ ↩⁵ ↩⁶ ↩⁷ ↩⁸ ↩⁹ ↩¹⁰ ↩¹¹ ↩¹²

3. Liftoff. “Strength standards: data, method and limits.” “Liftoff scores each logged set from 1 to 1000 at the lifter’s own bodyweight and sex, and places it in one of nine ranks from Wood to Olympian”; calibrated against “546.7 million working sets logged by 2.65 million lifters since March 2023”; Epley formula with reps capped at 30; imported sets and warm-ups excluded; separate male and female curves keyed continuously by bodyweight; 100,000-entry floor per exercise; 400 ranked exercises; last re-fit 2026-08-19; bench press 20.1 million sets from 1,123,589 lifters. Accessed October 2, 2026. https://liftoffrank.com/research/strength-standards ↩ ↩² ↩³ ↩⁴ ↩⁵ ↩⁶ ↩⁷ ↩⁸ ↩⁹ ↩¹⁰ ↩¹¹ ↩¹² ↩¹³ ↩¹⁴

4. Lindberg Development AS. “Lyfta: Gym Workout Tracker Log.” Apple App Store listing (id6443740936) — in-app purchases “Lyfta Premium” from $5.99 to $79.99; “Free, simple, and ad-free”; “5,000+ exercises with HD video guides”; “Apple Watch support for live workout tracking”; “try Lyfta Pro free for 14 days!”; requires iOS 16.0 and watchOS 10.6; 4.8 rating from 6,758 ratings. Accessed October 2, 2026. https://apps.apple.com/us/app/lyfta-gym-workout-tracker-log/id6443740936 ↩ ↩² ↩³ ↩⁴ ↩⁵ ↩⁶ ↩⁷ ↩⁸ ↩⁹ ↩¹⁰ ↩¹¹ ↩¹² ↩¹³ ↩¹⁴ ↩¹⁵ ↩¹⁶ ↩¹⁷ ↩¹⁸

5. Lyfta. “AI instructions.” Last updated 2026-10-01 — Lindberg Development AS, Norway; “The founder, Kolbjørn Lindberg, holds a PhD in Exercise Physiology”; platforms iOS, Android, Apple Watch, Wear OS and web app my.lyfta.app; “Lyfta supports importing workout history from Hevy, Strong, Fitbod, Boostcamp, JEFIT, and FitNotes”; “Integrations: Apple Health, Health Connect, Strava, Garmin, Fitbit.” See also https://www.lyfta.app/about (“a small, independent team”). Accessed October 2, 2026. https://www.lyfta.app/ai-instructions ↩ ↩² ↩³ ↩⁴ ↩⁵ ↩⁶ ↩⁷ ↩⁸ ↩⁹ ↩¹⁰ ↩¹¹ ↩¹² ↩¹³ ↩¹⁴ ↩¹⁵ ↩¹⁶ ↩¹⁷ ↩¹⁸ ↩¹⁹ ↩²⁰ ↩²¹

6. GymPsycho. “llms.txt.” Last updated 2026-09-06 — “Built by Marc Berbet — Swiss gym owner (Hardcore Gym Aarau) and lifter of 25+ years”; “100% on-device AI: no cloud, no servers, no tracking, no account required”; “GymPsycho Pro Monthly: $6.99/month”; “GymPsycho Pro Yearly: $49.99/year”; “No lifetime purchase”; “14-day free trial on all Pro plans, no credit card required”; free core features include training log, unlimited plans, data import, Apple Watch, Wear OS, HealthKit and Health Connect; imports from “Hevy, Strong, and Alpha Progression”; MEV/MAV/MRV landmarks attributed to Renaissance Periodization; “the watch is read-only for set status by design”; Wear OS 3+, paired phone required; launched on Google Play April 13, 2026. Accessed October 2, 2026. https://gympsycho.com/llms.txt ↩ ↩² ↩³ ↩⁴ ↩⁵ ↩⁶ ↩⁷ ↩⁸ ↩⁹ ↩¹⁰ ↩¹¹ ↩¹² ↩¹³ ↩¹⁴ ↩¹⁵ ↩¹⁶ ↩¹⁷ ↩¹⁸ ↩¹⁹ ↩²⁰ ↩²¹ ↩²² ↩²³ ↩²⁴ ↩²⁵ ↩²⁶ ↩²⁷ ↩²⁸ ↩²⁹ ↩³⁰ ↩³¹ ↩³² ↩³³ ↩³⁴ ↩³⁵

7. Liftoff. “Ranked workout tracker.” “Strength ranks cover 400 of the 600 exercises”; “AI features and deeper analytics are part of Liftoff Pro; core logging, ranks, streaks, and leaderboards are free”; “Liftoff is not an offline-first tracker.” Accessed October 2, 2026. https://liftoffrank.com/ranked-workout-tracker ↩ ↩² ↩³ ↩⁴ ↩⁵ ↩⁶ ↩⁷ ↩⁸ ↩⁹ ↩¹⁰ ↩¹¹ ↩¹² ↩¹³ ↩¹⁴ ↩¹⁵ ↩¹⁶ ↩¹⁷

8. Hevy. “Best Workout Tracker App.” Updated May 15, 2026 — “$2.99/month”, “$23.99/year”, “$74.99/lifetime”; free version: “up to four saved workout routines”, “up to seven custom exercises”, workout data “from up to three months back”; paid version unlocks Hevy Trainer, unlimited routines, full graphs and “set count per muscle group”; available on iOS, Android, Apple Watch and Wear OS; integrations Strava, Apple Health, Health Connect, ChatGPT. Accessed October 2, 2026. https://www.hevyapp.com/best-workout-tracker-app/ ↩ ↩² ↩³ ↩⁴ ↩⁵ ↩⁶ ↩⁷ ↩⁸ ↩⁹ ↩¹⁰ ↩¹¹ ↩¹² ↩¹³ ↩¹⁴ ↩¹⁵ ↩¹⁶ ↩¹⁷ ↩¹⁸ ↩¹⁹ ↩²⁰ ↩²¹ ↩²² ↩²³ ↩²⁴ ↩²⁵ ↩²⁶ ↩²⁷ ↩²⁸ ↩²⁹ ↩³⁰ ↩³¹ ↩³² ↩³³ ↩³⁴ ↩³⁵ ↩³⁶ ↩³⁷ ↩³⁸ ↩³⁹

9. Hevy. “Hevy Trainer.” “Hevy Trainer is an adaptive strength programming system”; “No, Trainer is a Pro feature.” Accessed October 2, 2026. https://www.hevyapp.com/features/workout-plan-generator/ ↩ ↩²

10. Marc Berbet. “GymPsycho.” Google Play listing (com.gympsycho.app) — 5K+ installs; “No account. No ads. No social feed. Works offline”; “Per-muscle weekly set targets (MEV → MAV → MRV)”; “PROUD OFFICIAL SPONSOR — JOE WEIDER’S OLYMPIA 2026”. Accessed October 2, 2026. https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.gympsycho.app ↩ ↩² ↩³ ↩⁴

11. Origami, Inc. “SensAI: Fitness Sensei.” Apple App Store listing (id6738963099) — SensAI Premium $6.99 monthly, $69.99 yearly; “Try free for 7 days”; “500+ exercises with form guides”; requires iOS 26.0 and watchOS 26.0; iPhone and Apple Watch; conversational Coach (“I tweaked my shoulder - adjust my week”); 4.6 rating from 36 ratings. Accessed October 2, 2026. https://apps.apple.com/us/app/sensai-fitness-sensei/id6738963099 ↩ ↩² ↩³ ↩⁴ ↩⁵ ↩⁶ ↩⁷ ↩⁸ ↩⁹ ↩¹⁰ ↩¹¹ ↩¹² ↩¹³ ↩¹⁴ ↩¹⁵ ↩¹⁶ ↩¹⁷ ↩¹⁸

12. Liftoff Labs Inc. “Liftoff - Ranked Gym Workouts.” Apple App Store listing (id6448081563) — in-app purchases “Liftoff Pro” at $3.99, $12.99, $14.99, $39.99 and $79.99; subtitle “Weight Lifting Routine Planner”; “join over 4 million lifters”; “600+ exercises”; eggs, shop, quests and global leaderboards; requires iOS 15.1 and watchOS 10.0; Apple Watch support from version 2.15.7 (September 8, 2026); version 2.16.3 (September 30, 2026); 4.8 rating from 97,805 ratings. Accessed October 2, 2026. https://apps.apple.com/us/app/liftoff-ranked-gym-workouts/id6448081563 ↩ ↩² ↩³ ↩⁴ ↩⁵ ↩⁶ ↩⁷ ↩⁸ ↩⁹ ↩¹⁰ ↩¹¹ ↩¹² ↩¹³ ↩¹⁴ ↩¹⁵ ↩¹⁶ ↩¹⁷

13. Lyfta. “Lyfta Premium.” “Plan availability, pricing, trials, and billing terms are shown before checkout”; monthly, annual, trial and lifetime access “depending on region and platform”; plans “Monthly Premium”, “14-day Premium trial”, “Lyfta for Life”; free tier includes workout tracking, exercise library, and saving and creating workout plans; Premium adds programs, advanced analysis, all-time progress charts, “Strength standards and rankings”, plate calculator and warm-up tools, and “Strength ranking against lifters of similar age and bodyweight”. Accessed October 2, 2026. https://www.lyfta.app/subscription ↩ ↩² ↩³ ↩⁴ ↩⁵ ↩⁶ ↩⁷ ↩⁸ ↩⁹ ↩¹⁰ ↩¹¹ ↩¹² ↩¹³ ↩¹⁴ ↩¹⁵ ↩¹⁶ ↩¹⁷ ↩¹⁸ ↩¹⁹ ↩²⁰ ↩²¹

14. Lindberg Development AS. “Lyfta: Gym Workout Tracker Log.” Google Play listing (com.lyfta) — 4.7 rating from 62,719 ratings; 1M+ installs; “Log workouts from your Wear OS watch”; “Join over 7 million people already getting stronger with Lyfta.” Accessed October 2, 2026. https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.lyfta ↩ ↩² ↩³ ↩⁴ ↩⁵ ↩⁶ ↩⁷

15. Marc Berbet. “GymPsycho: Workout Log Tracker.” Apple App Store listing (id6757572526) — “GymPsycho Pro” $6.99 and $49.99; “Free forever — 14-day Pro trial, no account”; 419 exercises; requires iOS 16.2 and watchOS 9.6; first release January 28, 2026; 5.0 rating from 5 ratings. Accessed October 2, 2026. https://apps.apple.com/us/app/id6757572526 ↩ ↩² ↩³ ↩⁴ ↩⁵ ↩⁶ ↩⁷ ↩⁸ ↩⁹

16. Liftoff. Homepage. “Liftoff Pro unlocks optional extras like deeper rank analytics, long-timeframe charts, and AI food scanning”; “Apple Watch and Apple Health on iOS, Strava post sharing as an official Strava partner, and CSV import that moves your history over from Strong or Hevy in minutes”; “reads steps, calories, and body measurements from Apple Health, and writes workouts back to it.” Accessed October 2, 2026. https://liftoffrank.com/ ↩ ↩² ↩³ ↩⁴ ↩⁵ ↩⁶ ↩⁷ ↩⁸

17. Hevy. “Import from Strong.” Published September 21, 2026. Accessed October 2, 2026. https://www.hevyapp.com/import/strong/ ↩ ↩² ↩³ ↩⁴ ↩⁵

18. Liftoff. “FAQ.” Ranks based on bodyweight and estimated 1RM; a streak breaks after three days without a workout; seasons reset every four months (January 1, May 1, September 1). Accessed October 2, 2026. https://liftoffrank.com/en/faq ↩ ↩²

19. Reynolds JM, Gordon TJ, Robergs RA. “Prediction of one repetition maximum strength from multiple repetition maximum testing and anthropometry.” Journal of Strength and Conditioning Research, 2006;20(3):584-592. PMID: 16937972. https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/16937972/ ↩ ↩²

20. Nuzzo JL, Pinto MD, Nosaka K, Steele J. “Maximal Number of Repetitions at Percentages of the One Repetition Maximum: A Meta-Regression and Moderator Analysis of Sex, Age, Training Status, and Exercise.” Sports Medicine, 2024;54(2):303-321. PMID: 37792272. https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/37792272/ ↩

21. Jaric S. “Muscle strength testing: use of normalisation for body size.” Sports Medicine, 2002;32(10):615-631. PMID: 12141882. https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/12141882/ ↩

22. Vanderburgh PM, Batterham AM. “Validation of the Wilks powerlifting formula.” Medicine and Science in Sports and Exercise, 1999;31(12):1869-1875. PMID: 10613442. https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/10613442/ ↩

23. Mazeas A, Duclos M, Pereira B, Chalabaev A. “Evaluating the Effectiveness of Gamification on Physical Activity: Systematic Review and Meta-analysis of Randomized Controlled Trials.” Journal of Medical Internet Research, 2022;24(1):e26779. PMID: 34982715. https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/34982715/ ↩ ↩² ↩³

24. Patel MS, Small DS, Harrison JD, Fortunato MP, Oon AL, Rareshide CAL, Reh G, Szwartz G, Guszcza J, Steier D, Kalra P, Hilbert V. “Effectiveness of Behaviorally Designed Gamification Interventions With Social Incentives for Increasing Physical Activity Among Overweight and Obese Adults Across the United States: The STEP UP Randomized Clinical Trial.” JAMA Internal Medicine, 2019;179(12):1624-1632. PMID: 31498375. https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/31498375/ ↩ ↩² ↩³ ↩⁴

25. Zhang J, Brackbill D, Yang S, Becker J, Herbert N, Centola D. “Support or competition? How online social networks increase physical activity: A randomized controlled trial.” Preventive Medicine Reports, 2016;4:453-458. PMID: 27617191. https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/27617191/ ↩ ↩² ↩³ ↩⁴

26. Harkin B, Webb TL, Chang BP, Prestwich A, Conner M, Kellar I, Benn Y, Sheeran P. “Does monitoring goal progress promote goal attainment? A meta-analysis of the experimental evidence.” Psychological Bulletin, 2016;142(2):198-229. PMID: 26479070. https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/26479070/ ↩ ↩² ↩³

27. Romeo A, Edney S, Plotnikoff R, Curtis R, Ryan J, Sanders I, Crozier A, Maher C. “Can Smartphone Apps Increase Physical Activity? Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis.” Journal of Medical Internet Research, 2019;21(3):e12053. PMID: 30888321. https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/30888321/ ↩

28. Hevy. “Gym Leaderboards.” “Leaderboards show everyone you follow, so long as they’ve done the specific exercise”; “There are currently 38 exercises in the leaderboards.” Accessed October 2, 2026. https://www.hevyapp.com/features/gym-leaderboard/ ↩

29. Mr. Olympia. Homepage sponsor list, including GymPsycho; event dates September 24–27, 2026. Accessed October 2, 2026. https://mrolympia.com/ ↩ ↩²

30. GymPsycho. “GymPsycho vs Hevy.” Updated August 2026 — “a bench press set is a full set for chest but a half set for shoulders and triceps”; comparison table lists Hevy data import as “No import”; “Hevy requires an account and stores data on their servers.” Accessed October 2, 2026. https://gympsycho.com/vs-hevy/ ↩ ↩² ↩³

31. Pelland JC, Remmert JF, Robinson ZP, Hinson SR, Zourdos MC. “The Resistance Training Dose Response: Meta-Regressions Exploring the Effects of Weekly Volume and Frequency on Muscle Hypertrophy and Strength Gains.” Sports Medicine, 2026;56(2):481-505. PMID: 41343037. https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/41343037/ ↩

32. Liftoff. “Hevy alternative.” Comparison table: Liftoff web app no, Apple Watch yes, Wear OS no; Hevy “Broad platform coverage: iOS, Android, a desktop web app, plus Apple Watch and Wear OS apps”; “If Wear OS or web logging is essential, Hevy covers more platforms.” Accessed October 2, 2026. https://liftoffrank.com/vs/hevy-alternative ↩ ↩² ↩³ ↩⁴ ↩⁵ ↩⁶ ↩⁷ ↩⁸ ↩⁹

33. Hevy. Homepage. “Hevy is a free workout tracker for iOS and Android”; Apple Watch and Wear OS; “Workout Offline”; “Use Hevy on Web”. Accessed October 2, 2026. https://www.hevyapp.com/ ↩ ↩² ↩³ ↩⁴

34. Liftoff. “Liftoff and Strava.” Official Strava partner; one-way sharing from Liftoff to Strava; no Pro required. Accessed October 2, 2026. https://liftoffrank.com/strava ↩ ↩² ↩³

35. Hevy. “Strava integration.” “The only available option is to automatically sync your Hevy sessions with Strava, not vice versa.” Accessed October 2, 2026. https://www.hevyapp.com/features/strava-integration/ ↩ ↩² ↩³

36. Hevy. “Custom exercises.” “Hevy has a built-in library of 400+ exercises.” Accessed October 2, 2026. https://www.hevyapp.com/features/custom-exercises/ ↩

37. SensAI Help Center. “Connect your wearable to SensAI through Apple Health.” Last updated September 25, 2026 — SensAI reads Apple Health only; HRV reaches Coach only from Apple Watch; Garmin HRV, Body Battery and Training Readiness stay in Garmin; WHOOP HRV, Recovery and Strain stay in WHOOP; “Sleep and overnight heart rate from your device shape how hard Coach asks you to push on a given day.” https://www.sensai.fit/help/connect-wearable-to-sensai-apple-health ↩ ↩² ↩³

38. Hevy. “Announcing Hevy Trainer.” February 18, 2026 — “it is included in Hevy Pro with no change in price.” https://www.hevyapp.com/announcing-hevy-trainer/ ↩ ↩²

39. Hevy. “Community updates: July 2026.” July 3, 2026 — “Full-detail Strava sync since early June 2026.” https://www.hevyapp.com/community-updates/july-26/ ↩ ↩²