Strong vs Fitbod vs JEFIT vs Alpha Progression (2026): price, RPE per set and plans that adapt

Effort is how hard a set was. You rate it with RPE (how hard the set felt, where 10 means no rep was left) or with reps in reserve (how many more reps you had in you). A rating on every set tells an app more than one rating per exercise or per session.

Verdict: the cleanest logbook, for lifters who bring their own program.

What it does well. Strong's pitch is "Think less. Lift more.", and the app lives up to it. Logging is fast, with RPE on every set and warm-up, drop and failure sets. Its Apple Watch app can log a workout without your iPhone. It runs on iPhone and Android, syncs with Apple Health, and shows no ads. A rest timer on the Lock Screen arrived in August 2026.

Where it falls short. The free version saves unlimited workouts but only three custom routines. The plate calculator and warm-up calculator are in the paid tier, Strong PRO, which is A$7.49 a month (US$4.99) on the Australian App Store, with yearly and lifetime options. Strong says it is built for a program you run yourself, such as StrongLifts 5×5. It does not advertise a program that writes itself or adapts.

Compared with Shojin. Both are fast loggers with RPE on every set. Shojin puts the plate maths on the keypad, and Shojin Coach writes and adjusts the program for you. Strong has the Watch app and a free tier, and Shojin has neither. Both apps work with Apple Health, but Shojin only saves your workouts there. If you are moving from Strong, our Strong app alternative guide shows how to bring your history across.

Verdict: the best-known AI workout app, but it plans one session at a time.

What it does well. Fitbod builds each workout from your goal, experience, equipment and training split, and from a recovery score of 0 to 100% for each muscle group. You can set up more than one gym, each with its own equipment and weight steps. Its library has more than 1,000 exercises with video demos. It runs on iPhone, Android, Apple Watch and Wear OS, and connects to Apple Health, Health Connect and Strava.

Where it falls short. New users get a 7-day trial. After it, Fitbod costs from A$19.99 a month (from US$12.99) on the Australian and US App Stores. Fitbod works session by session, and its help centre says it "doesn't have a built-in weekly planner yet", so you cannot see the weeks ahead. You rate effort once per exercise, as reps in reserve, from your hardest or last set. There is no iPad app.

Compared with Shojin. Fitbod has the bigger library and the watch apps. Both apps work with Apple Health. In Shojin you rate effort on every set, and Shojin Coach writes the whole block on your calendar. Shojin, which includes Coach, costs about a quarter of Fitbod's monthly price at its founding price.

Verdict: the biggest feature list and a 12-week AI plan, but effort is logged once per session.

What it does well. JEFIT says it has more than 1,400 exercises, hundreds of its own plans and thousands more from its community. It has a social feed, groups and contests. It runs on iPhone, Android, Apple Watch, Wear OS and the web, and syncs with Apple Health and Strava. Its paid tier, Elite, adds an Adaptive Plan: a 12-week AI plan in three blocks, built from your goal, level and equipment. Its release notes say free users can try the Adaptive Plan for 7 days and that Elite has a 7-day free trial for new members. With its periodisation switched on, weight targets are rounded to the plates and dumbbells you own, and since version 17.2.1 (September 2026) you can edit that list from the workout screen.

Where it falls short. JEFIT's own comparison page says it logs RPE "at the session level, not per individual set", and that "Jefit doesn't have" a plate calculator. The Adaptive Plan and full analytics are Elite only, at A$19.49 a month or A$105.99 a year on the Australian App Store (US$12.99 or US$69.99). The free tier allows seven custom exercises.

Compared with Shojin. JEFIT has far more exercises, plans and devices. Shojin reads effort on every set, puts the plate maths on the keypad, and Shojin, which includes Coach, costs about a quarter as much a month as JEFIT Elite at its founding price.

Verdict: the closest to Shojin Coach in idea, at about four times the monthly price, with no import and no social side.

What it does well. Alpha Progression's plan generator asks for your goal, experience, equipment, training days, session length and which muscles to prioritise, then writes a plan of four to seven weeks, with an optional deload. Its progression tips give a weight and reps for every set, from your previous sessions, the sets you have already done today and the weights your gym has. Its 795 exercises each have a real demonstration video, and the free version logs without limits and shows no ads. It runs on iPhone and Android and connects to Apple Health and Health Connect.

Where it falls short. The plan generator, the progression tips, reps-in-reserve tracking, charts and the plate calculator are all in the paid tier, Pro. Pro is A$19.99 a month or A$119.99 a year on the Australian App Store (US$12.99 or US$79.99), and only the yearly plan has a free trial, of 14 days. Alpha Progression says it "does not have an import feature", so your history from another app stays behind. It has no social feed or profiles, no web app and no watch app.

Compared with Shojin. Alpha Progression has the videos and the Android app. Both apps work with Apple Health. In Shojin, effort logging and the plate maths come with the subscription, you can import your history from Strong or Hevy, and Shojin costs about a quarter as much a month at its founding price.

• Price a month: Fitbod from A$19.99 (from US$12.99); JEFIT Elite A$19.49 (US$12.99).
• Free tier: Fitbod has a 7-day trial and no free tier; JEFIT is free with up to 7 custom exercises.
• Plan: Fitbod picks one session at a time; JEFIT Elite lays out 12 weeks.

Verdict: JEFIT if you want the weeks ahead on screen and a free tier. Fitbod if you want each day's workout chosen around your recovery.

• Price a month: Strong PRO A$7.49 (US$4.99); Fitbod from A$19.99 (from US$12.99).
• Effort: Strong takes RPE on every set; Fitbod takes reps in reserve once per exercise.
• Plan: Strong records the program you bring; Fitbod builds each workout for you.

Verdict: Strong if you run your own program and want to pay less. Fitbod if you want the app to choose the workout.

• Price a month: Strong PRO A$7.49 (US$4.99); Alpha Progression Pro A$19.99 (US$12.99).
• Plan: Strong writes none; Alpha Progression Pro writes 4 to 7 weeks and suggests a weight and reps for every set.
• Watch and import: Strong has an Apple Watch app; Alpha Progression has no watch app and no import.

Verdict: Strong if you log from your wrist and bring your own program. Alpha Progression if you want the plan and the next weights written for you.

• Price a month: Fitbod from A$19.99 (from US$12.99); Alpha Progression Pro A$19.99 (US$12.99).
• Effort: Fitbod takes one reps-in-reserve rating per exercise; Alpha Progression Pro offers optional reps-in-reserve tracking.
• Plan: Fitbod plans one session at a time; Alpha Progression Pro writes 4 to 7 weeks.

Verdict: Alpha Progression if you want a plan you can see weeks ahead. Fitbod if you want a watch app and a fresh workout each day.

Verdict: free and flexible, but you do all the maths.

A notebook costs nothing, never needs an update, and lets you log anything. What it cannot do is the arithmetic. You work out every jump, you time your own rest, and your history is hard to read back when a lift stops moving. A logging app costs a few dollars a month and does that maths for you.

Verdict: one subscription for a logger and a plan built from your own lifts that moves with every session.

What it does well. Shojin has no cap on sets, no cap on templates and no ads. RPE is one tap on every set. Tell Shojin your bar and plates once, and every weight it suggests is a jump your rack can make. Your full chart history comes with the subscription.

Shojin Coach is AI-assisted and science-based. It reads your logged lifts and a short quiz on your goals and schedule, then writes a program of four to twelve weeks. Lifts you have logged come with the weight in the box. New lifts start with Coach's guide to a starting weight. Its rules come from published research and from experienced lifters.

After every session Coach reads each working set. Say the plan is a barbell squat at 80 kg, 3 sets in a range of 8 to 10 reps, today's target is 9 reps, you use a standard set of plates, and no set is rated RPE 10:

• Every set reaches 10 reps: the next session is 82.5 kg for 8 reps.
• Every set reaches 9 reps and none reaches 10: the weight stays at 80 kg and the target becomes 10 reps.
• A set falls below 8 reps: the weight comes down to 77.5 kg, at the same 9-rep target.

A set that feels far too hard brings the weight down too, unless you did every set as written. On machine, cable and single-joint lifts the target is RPE 9, so the weight comes down only when a set falls below the range. During a session, the rest timer offers a heavier weight if a set was far easier than its target. On a free-weight or bodyweight compound, it also offers a lighter weight if a set was far harder. We explain the method in double progression.

Coach shows the numbers it will use before it writes anything.

Too hard on a barbell lift? The rest timer offers a lighter weight for the next sets.

There is more around the logging. A Training Circle is a private group of up to 12 friends who send each other high-fives. Sharing is on by default: mates who also share everything see your personal records with the lift and load, a summary of each workout you finish, your training time and your muscle map. Anyone can switch to sharing training days only. Shojin sums up each week and month as a card you can share. On iPhone, the rest timer runs on the Lock Screen and in the Dynamic Island, and a widget shows your week on the Home Screen and the Lock Screen. If you are moving from Strong or Hevy, Shojin imports their CSV exports.

Where it falls short. Shojin has no free tier: after the one-month trial, logging needs the subscription. The Shojin app is iPhone only. There is no Android app yet and no Apple Watch app. Shojin saves the workouts you finish to Apple Health, but it reads nothing from Apple Health. New accounts start in the iPhone app, though an existing account can also log in a browser at shojin.fit. The library has 169 built-in exercises with written cues and no videos, and there is no public library of programs. A Training Circle is a small private group, not a public feed.

• You run your own program and want a watch app or a free tier: Strong.
• You want a new workout picked for you each day, and you wear a watch: Fitbod.
• You want the most exercises, plans and community: JEFIT.
• You want a generated plan with exercise videos, on Android: Alpha Progression.
• You want one subscription for a logger and a plan built from your own lifts that adapts to every set you log: Shojin.

Shojin is one subscription with no cap on sets. Shojin Coach is part of it: it writes your program from your own lifts and adjusts it after every session you log.

New subscribers get one month free, then A$5 a month or A$35 a year, billed by the App Store in your local currency. The subscription renews until you cancel. Cancel any time in Settings. You subscribe in the iPhone app. If you stop, your history stays, and Coach stops adjusting your program.

Every number in this article traces to one of these. Where the evidence is contested or thin, the article says so rather than picking a side.