How we make this list: we compare pricing pages, product documentation and public user reviews. Ratings come from G2, Capterra or Trustpilot, with the date we checked them.
Key takeaways
- Nike Training Club and FitOn are free, full stop: guided workout libraries with no subscription required to start training today.
- Peloton App One at $12.99 per month gives the big class library and live energy without buying Peloton equipment.
- Apple Fitness Plus at $9.99 per month is the best value here for Apple Watch owners, with metrics on screen during every workout.
- Fitbod builds strength programmes that adapt to your equipment and progress, and Strong is the simple logger serious lifters actually keep using.
- Health note, not fine print: this guide is general information, not medical advice. Talk to a clinician before starting a new programme if you are pregnant, injured, or managing a condition, build up gradually, and stop and seek help if exercise brings chest pain, dizziness, or sharp joint pain.
Quick comparison
| Tool | Best for | Starting price | Free plan |
|---|
 Peloton App | Live and on demand classes without equipment | $12.99 per month | Yes |
 Apple Fitness Plus | Apple Watch owners | $9.99 per month | No |
 Nike Training Club | Free guided workouts and plans | Free | Yes |
 FitOn | Free home workout variety | Free | Yes |
 Fitbod | Adaptive strength programming | $15.99 per month | No |
 Strong | Logging gym workouts simply | $4.99 per month | Yes |
 Freeletics | Bodyweight and HIIT coaching | See website | Yes |
 Future | A real human coach, remotely | $199 per month | No |
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The best work out apps
Starting price$12.99 per month
Free planYes
The Peloton App is the class experience without the four figure bike. App One opens the strength, bodyweight, yoga, and outdoor running library, with live sessions and leaderboards supplying the push many home exercisers miss. Production quality and instructors are the best in this category, and it shows in adherence: people come back for the teachers.
The trade off is structure. Classes entertain and exhaust, but a class habit is not the same as a progressive programme, and strength gains eventually need planned progression. Peloton fits class lovers who train for energy, variety, and general fitness at home.
What we like- A large library of strength, bodyweight, yoga, Pilates, running, and meditation classes
- Live classes and a strong instructor bench create real energy
- App One at $12.99 per month needs no Peloton hardware
- A free tier with a set of classes lets you test the style
Watch out for- The signature cycling and treadmill experience needs the equipment tiers
- Content skews intermediate, so true beginners should pick classes carefully
- Class format means less structured long term progression
Starting price$9.99 per month
Free planNo
Apple Fitness Plus is the natural training app for the Apple ecosystem. Workouts are beautifully produced, trainers give modifications on screen, and your watch closes the feedback loop with live metrics. At $9.99 per month it undercuts Peloton while matching it class for class in most categories.
The trade off is lock in and programming depth. There is no Android path, and people who want a strict twelve week plan will find collections rather than a curriculum. Apple Fitness Plus fits iPhone and Watch owners who want varied, well made classes with their health data woven in.
What we like- Apple Watch metrics, heart rate, rings, and calories, appear live on screen
- Polished classes across HIIT, strength, cycling, yoga, kickboxing, and meditation
- $9.99 per month or $79.99 a year, shareable with family
- Time to Walk and Time to Run add variety beyond the mat
Watch out for- Requires an iPhone, and really an Apple Watch, so Android users are out
- Structured multi week programmes are thinner than rivals
- No meaningful free tier beyond introductory offers
#3
Nike Training Club
Best for: Free guided workouts and plans
Visit nike.com
Starting priceFree
Free planYes
Nike Training Club is the free recommendation that needs no asterisk. Nike made the whole library free, and it stayed free: plans, workouts, and guidance included. For a beginner building a habit, or anyone between subscriptions, it removes the last excuse, cost, entirely.
The trade off is freshness and scale. The catalogue grows slowly, and there is no community layer cheering you on. Nike Training Club fits self motivated exercisers, beginners, and budget conscious households that want real programming at zero cost.
What we like- Completely free, full library, no subscription wall
- Structured multi week training plans, not just single workouts
- Bodyweight and minimal equipment options for home training
- Workouts led by Nike trainers across strength, mobility, and yoga
Watch out for- Library is smaller than the paid giants
- Less instructor personality and community than Peloton
- Feature investment has slowed in recent years
#4FitOn
Best for: Free home workout variety4.1/5 on
G2 (15 reviews, checked Oct 2026)
Visit fitonapp.com
Starting priceFree
Free planYes
FitOn built its name on a simple promise: a free workout library big enough that you never repeat yourself unless you want to. The classes are short to long, gentle to intense, and the app layers challenges and social features over the top. A paid PRO tier exists, but the core offer is genuinely usable without it.
The trade off is curation. With this much content, finding your level takes a few sessions of trial. FitOn fits home exercisers who get bored easily and want variety across styles without a subscription decision.
What we like- A large free library across cardio, strength, yoga, Pilates, barre, and dance
- Celebrity and guest trainers keep the catalogue varied
- Optional PRO tier adds plans and extras for those who want them
- Works with major wearables for heart rate display
Watch out for- The free tier carries the upsell for PRO regularly
- Class quality varies across a wide catalogue
- Progression planning is lighter than the programming apps
Starting price$15.99 per month
Free planNo
Fitbod is a programmer in your pocket. Tell it what equipment you have and how long you have, and it generates a session balanced across muscle groups, fresher muscles worked harder, fatigued ones rested. Log the result and the next session adapts. For lifters without a coach, it removes the planning work that stalls consistency.
The trade off is trust in the machine. Experienced lifters sometimes override its choices, and beginners should learn form from its videos carefully or get a session with a real trainer first. Fitbod fits gym and home strength trainers who want progression handled at $15.99 per month.
What we like- Builds each workout from your equipment, history, and recovery, so no two sessions repeat by accident
- Exercise demonstrations and clear logging built in
- Adapts load and volume as you progress
- Works for full gyms and a pair of dumbbells alike
Watch out for- No free plan, only a trial
- The algorithm occasionally programmes odd exercise pairings
- Cardio and class content are not its world
Starting price$4.99 per month
Free planYes
Strong respects what serious lifters actually want from an app: to record the work in seconds and see the numbers climb. It stays out of the way, syncs with Apple Watch, and turns years of sessions into charts that prove progress. At $4.99 per month for premium, it is priced like a tool, not a service.
The trade off is that a log is all it is. Beginners who need a plan should pair it with a programme or choose Fitbod. Strong fits experienced lifters with their own programming who want the record kept properly.
What we like- The fastest, cleanest workout log in the category
- Build routines, track sets, weight, and personal records
- Free tier covers basic logging with a few custom routines
- Graphs show progress over months and years
Watch out for- It logs, it does not coach or programme
- Premium is needed for unlimited routines and full features
- No video classes or guided sessions
Starting priceSee website
Free planYes
Freeletics is the bodyweight coach. Its programmes lean on high intensity bodyweight work you can do in a living room, adapted session by session to how the last one felt. For people with no equipment and a small space, it is one of the few apps that still manages progression rather than random workouts.
The trade off is intensity and price clarity. The brand's workouts are famously demanding, so scale honestly, and its coach pricing shifts with promotions, which is why we mark it See website. Freeletics fits motivated home trainers who want hard, equipment light coaching.
What we like- AI coaching built around bodyweight training, with gym and running options
- Sessions adapt to your feedback, space, and equipment
- A free selection of workouts to start
- A large global community and challenges
Watch out for- Paid coach pricing varies by term and promotion, so check the site
- The intensity of its signature workouts is too much for some beginners
- Subscription is required for the coaching that makes it distinctive
Starting price$199 per month
Free planNo
Future sells the thing apps usually remove: a person. You are matched with a coach who programmes your week, watches your logged and filmed sessions, adjusts around your life, and messages you when you go quiet. For people who have failed with libraries and algorithms, that accountability is the feature.
The trade off is price, plainly. $199 per month is fair against personal training rates and steep against every other app here. Future fits busy people with a training goal, a budget, and a history of not sticking to self guided plans.
What we like- A named, qualified human coach builds your programme and reviews your training
- Daily accountability through messages and check ins
- Form feedback from workout videos you record
- Programme adapts to travel, equipment, and life, not just an algorithm
Watch out for- At $199 per month it costs like the personal training it replaces
- Quality depends on the coach match
- No class library or community layer
How we chose
We balanced the four formats, classes, adaptive programming, logging, and human coaching, and checked prices against vendor pages and October 2026 comparisons. Where a vendor's price shifted between sources or promotions, we wrote See website. We weighted the free tiers honestly: Nike Training Club and FitOn are free in a way trial based apps are not, and the table says so. We did not claim hands on testing, and nothing here is medical advice; the health notes in this guide are general information for healthy adults.
How to pick and stick with a workout app
Choose the format you will repeat. Class people burn out on spreadsheets; numbers people find class energy annoying. Be honest about which you are, because adherence beats optimisation in every study of exercise that matters. Then check the equipment reality: half the apps here assume dumbbells or a bench in some programmes, and a plan you cannot equip is a plan you will skip.
Start smaller than your ambition. Two or three sessions a week, at a level that leaves you able to train again in two days, builds the habit that makes month three possible. Increase load or duration gradually, keep one eye on sleep and soreness, and treat sharp pain, chest symptoms, or dizziness as stop signals, not weakness. If you are returning after injury, pregnancy, or a long break, get a clinician's or physiotherapist's clearance first and consider one session with a qualified trainer to check your form before an app takes over.
Frequently asked questions
Can a workout app replace a personal trainer?
For programming and logging, mostly yes: Fitbod and Freeletics adapt plans, and class apps teach movement well. What apps cannot do is watch your form in real time or judge your health on a given day. Future closes part of that gap with a human coach reviewing your sessions. Beginners, and anyone returning from injury, benefit from at least a few real trainer sessions before going app only.
What is the best free workout app?
Nike Training Club, because the entire library and its structured plans are free with no subscription tier at all. FitOn is the other genuine free option, with a larger variety catalogue and an optional paid tier. Several rivals advertise free but mean a trial or a small sample; the two here are usable indefinitely at zero cost.
How much do workout apps cost per month?
From nothing to $199. The free tier is real at Nike Training Club and FitOn. Class subscriptions cluster around $10 to $16: Apple Fitness Plus $9.99, Peloton App One $12.99, Fitbod $15.99. Strong's premium logging is $4.99. Future's human coaching at $199 per month is priced against personal training, not against apps.
Do I need equipment for these apps?
Not necessarily. Nike Training Club, FitOn, Peloton, and Freeletics all carry bodyweight programmes for a clear floor space. Fitbod adapts to whatever you list, from nothing to a full gym, and Strong simply logs whatever you train with. Check the programme's equipment list before starting a plan, not in week two.
Is it safe to start a workout app programme as a beginner?
Generally yes, with sense applied. Pick beginner labelled programmes, start below the suggested intensity, and learn movements at light load before adding weight or speed. This guide is general information, not medical advice. If you have a heart condition, are pregnant, are recovering from injury, or have not exercised in years, talk to a clinician first, and stop and seek help for chest pain, faintness, or sharp joint pain.
Sources we checked (0)
Is your product missing or out of date?
We review this list regularly. Vendors can request a listing, send updated pricing or ask about featured placement.
Shihab Mia · Founder, Rankite
Shihab has 5+ years in B2B and SaaS SEO. He writes Rankite's software buying guides from pricing pages, documentation and public user reviews. More about Shihab.