MyFitnessPal
7.4
StrongLifts
7.2MyFitnessPal vs StrongLifts
MyFitnessPal is a freemium nutrition and fitness service for food, calorie, macro, exercise, weight and habit tracking. StrongLifts is a paid weightlifting app that plans exercises, sets, reps and weights for strength and muscle.
This comparison is for someone choosing between broad nutrition tracking and scheduled barbell training. It covers cost, access, features, ease, integrations, platforms, support, privacy and AI tools.
| MyFitnessPal | StrongLifts | |
|---|---|---|
| Wrist score | 7.4 | 7.2 |
| Works with a watch | — | Yes |
| Watch families named | Apple Watch, Garmin, Fitbit, Polar | Apple Watch |
| Free plan | Yes | No |
| Free trial | Yes | Yes |
| Paid from | $6.67/mo | $4.99/mo |
| Platforms | Android, API, iPhone, Web | Android, iPhone, Mac, Windows |
| Free plan | Yes | No |
| Paid from | $19.99/mo | $11.99/user/mo |
| Meal planning | Yes | — |
| Food tracking | Yes | — |
| Client goals | No | — |
| Progress tracking | Yes | Analytics |
| Client mobile app | No | — |
| Workout programming | — | Adaptive |
| Exercise library | — | Extensive |
| Coach tools | — | None |
| Wearable sync | — | Yes |
| Mobile platforms | — | iPhone and Android |
MyFitnessPal
MyFitnessPal suits someone who wants one place for food, exercise and nutrition records across phone, web and several connected health services. The free tier covers basic diary work, while the paid tiers concentrate on faster logging, detailed targets and meal planning. Check the platform requirements, regional Meal Planner limits and subscription cost before choosing it. People concerned about data handling should read the app’s stated practices and breach disclosure, and those seeking a watch-first experience should note that the available facts describe connections rather than a standalone watch app.
- 22 million-item public food database
- Free plan includes core food and exercise logging
- Syncs an account across supported platforms
StrongLifts
StrongLifts suits someone who wants a prescribed barbell routine with progression handled inside the app. The beginner and intermediate templates give a clear starting point, while exercise substitutions and custom programs leave room to adjust the plan. Apple Watch users get set logging, rest alerts, and calculation tools on the watch. Budget for a subscription: there is no free plan, and only the yearly option carries a 7-day trial. Check platform needs carefully if you use a watch other than Apple Watch.
- Automatic progression responds to successful and failed sets.
- More than 100 exercises include videos and form guidance.
- Apple Watch logs sets and provides rest notifications.
Round by round
Paid pricing and plans
MyFitnessPal charges $19.99 per month for Premium, $24.99 per month for Premium+, or $79.99 and $99.99 annually. StrongLifts starts at $11.99 per month, with weekly, quarterly and yearly subscriptions, plus a $199.99 five-year purchase. MyFitnessPal also has a free plan, so its overall access model is different. For a paid subscription, StrongLifts has the lower monthly starting price and a lower yearly price of $59.99. StrongLifts wins this paid-pricing round, while MyFitnessPal is the only one with no-cost ongoing access.
StrongLifts takes this round
Free access
MyFitnessPal offers a free plan with food and exercise logging, recipes, measurements and progress, macronutrients, partner-app links, diary sharing and printable reports. It also offers a 7-day trial for paid features. StrongLifts has no free plan. Its app is free to download but requires a subscription, and the 7-day trial applies to the yearly plan; monthly and quarterly plans have no trial. MyFitnessPal wins because users can continue using core tracking without paying.
MyFitnessPal takes this round
Core training and nutrition tools
MyFitnessPal covers food, calories, macros, exercise, weight, water, habits and nutrition goals. Premium adds barcode scanning, Meal Scan, voice logging, detailed macro controls and exports; Premium+ adds meal plans, recipes and grocery lists. StrongLifts focuses on scheduled strength work, with StrongLifts 5×5, intermediate templates, automatic progression and deloads, assistance work, exercise replacement, custom exercises, videos, calculators, timers and workout history. The products serve different jobs: broad nutrition management versus guided barbell programming. The facts do not establish one as superior overall, so this round is a tie.
Ease of following workouts
MyFitnessPal’s tools are centered on logging meals, nutrition and activity. Review summaries praise simple meal and macro logging, but some reviewers say the newer Today layout is harder to navigate than the former Diary view. StrongLifts provides scheduled workouts, one-tap set logging, automatic weight increases after successful sets, repeated weights after failures and deloads when needed. Apple reviewers repeatedly describe its interface and guided workouts as simple to follow. StrongLifts wins for a clear, guided lifting workflow; MyFitnessPal remains focused on flexible tracking.
StrongLifts takes this round
Health and device connections
MyFitnessPal can exchange food, exercise, weight and sleep data with Apple Health when permissions are enabled. Its listed connections include Google Health, Apple Watch, Health Connect, Garmin Connect and Samsung Health, and the same account syncs across supported platforms with an internet connection. StrongLifts sends workouts, duration, calories and body weight to Apple Health on iOS and Health Connect on Android, and it supports cross-device workout syncing. MyFitnessPal wins because it lists more connection types and broader categories of exchanged data.
MyFitnessPal takes this round
Supported platforms
MyFitnessPal supports Android, iOS and web; its developer portal describes REST interfaces but says it is currently not accepting API-access requests. Its iOS requirements include iOS 18 or later, iPadOS 18 or later and watchOS 10 or later. StrongLifts supports Android, iOS, macOS and Windows, with requirements including iOS 17, iPadOS 17, macOS 14 on Apple silicon, visionOS 1 or watchOS 10. Each covers a different set of devices: MyFitnessPal has web and API listings, while StrongLifts lists desktop operating systems.
Customer support
MyFitnessPal organizes help articles for billing, logging, progress, connected devices, social features, troubleshooting, privacy and terms. Premium subscribers receive priority customer support. StrongLifts directs users with app issues to contact support from within the app, and its help center provides guides for purchases, cancellation, Apple Health, Health Connect and workout logging. MyFitnessPal wins because it offers priority support for subscribers and a broader stated help-center structure. StrongLifts still provides in-app support and step-by-step documentation.
MyFitnessPal takes this round
Privacy and security disclosures
MyFitnessPal says it uses technical, organizational and administrative safeguards, while noting that no security measure guarantees safety. It discloses a 2018 breach involving email addresses, usernames and hashed passwords, and Apple’s listing says identifiers and usage data may track users across other companies’ apps and sites. StrongLifts’ Google Play listing says no data is shared with third parties, data is encrypted in transit and deletion can be requested. Apple’s StrongLifts disclosure is marked unverified by Apple. Based on the stated current practices, StrongLifts wins this round.
StrongLifts takes this round
Pick MyFitnessPal if
- You want a free plan for food, exercise and nutrition logging.
- You need meal planning, a large food database or broader health connections.
- You want AI nutrition guidance and GLP-1 tracking.
Pick StrongLifts if
- You want scheduled barbell workouts with automatic progression.
- You prefer a lower paid starting price.
- You need lifting calculators, rest timing and strength charts.
The short of it
Choose MyFitnessPal for broad nutrition and fitness tracking, a usable free plan, meal planning and wider listed health connections. Choose StrongLifts for structured barbell workouts, automatic progression and lifting-specific calculators, timers and charts. MyFitnessPal costs more for paid tiers but can be used free; StrongLifts costs less to start but requires a subscription after its applicable trial. They overlap on exercise and progress records, yet their main purposes differ: nutrition management for MyFitnessPal and strength-program guidance for StrongLifts.
What buyers ask
Does either app have a free plan?
MyFitnessPal has a free plan. StrongLifts has no free plan; it requires a subscription, with a 7-day trial for the yearly plan.
Which costs less per month?
StrongLifts starts at $11.99 per month. MyFitnessPal Premium is $19.99 per month, while Premium+ is $24.99 per month.
Which app is for meal planning?
MyFitnessPal Premium+ includes weekly meal plans, recipes, automated logging, grocery lists and shopping tools in listed countries.
Which app plans strength workouts?
StrongLifts plans workouts, exercises, sets, reps and weights through StrongLifts 5×5, intermediate templates and Madcow 5×5.
Can they connect to Apple Health?
Yes. MyFitnessPal can exchange food, exercise, weight and sleep data. StrongLifts can send workouts, duration, calories and body weight.
Do they offer AI features?
MyFitnessPal has AI Coach nutrition guidance. StrongLifts’ facts describe adaptive progression and deloads, but no AI feature.
Listed together on Best Workout Tracking Apps in 2026.