Good Housekeeping participates in various affiliate marketing programs, which means we may get paid commissions on editorially chosen products purchased through our links to retailer sites. The best part of this app is that it’s free and provides access to numerous resources, whether you’re a beginner or more advanced.
Weight Watchers (WW)
If running sounds about as fun as shoveling snow, you’re going to hate Nike Run Club. But if you just love hardcore bodyweight exercise, you’re going to love an app that specializes in calisthenics. And if you’re trying to sync your body and street workout training mind, there are apps that include practices like yoga in the mix. That said, I found some of the strength and cardio video classes a little hard to follow. It was cool to see how many other people were in the class with me—Peloton does this whether the class is live or not, but the classes themselves were just OK to me. The app offers a one-week free trial, which should be enough for you to decide if you think it’s worth the lower-than-most price.
Best Real Health Coach
From strength training to treadmill-only workouts and spin, you can build strength and improve cardio from the comfort of your own home. The best app for weight loss is one you can use consistently while combining movement with sustainable eating habits. Apps with cardio, strength, and habit tracking are especially helpful because weight management usually requires more than calorie-burning workouts alone. Peloton, Nike Training Club, Apple Fitness+, and MyFitnessPal can all support weight-loss goals in different ways, depending on whether you need workouts, nutrition tracking, or both. The main drawback is price, since Future costs much more than most fitness apps. Still, beginners who feel overwhelmed by exercise selection, form questions, or motivation may get better results from human coaching than from a cheaper app they stop using after two weeks.
Evidence Based
If you’re an avid Apple customer, Apple Fitness might be the first fitness tracker you try. Nike Run Club also integrates with your music, tracks stats and progress, and has its in-app challenges. If you need help training for a race, look no further than the Nike Run Club app. This free app has plans for all distances, from total beginners looking to run their first 5K to marathoners. With automated email and text campaigns, you can easily collect contact info and convert newcomers into loyal clients.
Client Experience First: How Mindbody Supports Booking, Payments, and Retention
Beginners should choose an app with low-impact workouts, clear form demonstrations, short sessions, and programs labeled by experience level. Avoid apps that only offer intense challenges or advanced strength plans without modifications. A good beginner app should help you build consistency first, then gradually increase workout length, weight, speed, or difficulty.
Best workout app for yoga
This sense of belonging to something bigger makes a huge difference in long-term adherence. The community features add motivational value, with leaderboards, challenges, and the ability to share workouts. Compared to other stretching apps, StretchIt’s use of instructor-led classes made a big difference, as they help guide you through the different stretches. To join Apple Fitness Plus, you can try it out for free for up to three months and then have the option to pay month-to-month, $10 or $80 for the year. If you’re on a family plan, you can share access to Apple Fitness Plus with up to five family members. There are plenty of online yoga instructors to try if neither personality quite gels with you.
Best for iPhone Users
If you consistently use an app three or more times per week, a paid subscription often costs less than one boutique fitness class per month. A good app should tell you what to do today, how hard to work, and how your training will progress over several weeks. For strength training, check whether the app supports progressive overload, rest timers, warmups, exercise substitutions, and tracking for sets, reps, and weights. For running or cardio, look for pace targets, heart-rate guidance, recovery days, and plans that adjust when you miss a session. Choosing between fitness apps is easier when you compare them by training style, coaching depth, device support, and total monthly cost. Some apps are built around follow-along classes, while others focus on structured strength plans, running analytics, habit tracking, or personal coaching.
Comparing the best fitness and workout apps
Healthline tester Melissa Lee used the app as a tool to learn different types of exercises while gyms were closed during the height of the COVID-19 pandemic. She said this is a useful app for beginners or those trying something new who might want some guidance without paying for a personal trainer. Healthline looked high and low for the best fitness apps to help you out. We chose these apps for their quality, user reviews, and overall reliability. If you enjoy the sessions and programs, you’ll find it easier to make them part of your routine and progress towards your targets.
- I am responsible for content in the AI, financial, graphic design, operating system, photo and video editing, productivity, and small business categories, among others.
- Unique to Studio Bloom, the app teaches diaphragmatic breathing as the foundation of every exercise.
- Apps for overall physical and mental health, nutrition, and even specific ones for fitness and weight loss are becoming more and more popular.
- That said, I wouldn’t recommend Aaptiv to total workout newbies or visual learners because it’s hard to find your place if you happen to zone out for a few seconds and miss the audio cue.
- If you’re looking for a European alternative to the Garmin Vivoactive 6, this is a great option.
- Ben Emminger is a NASM-Certified Nutrition Coach and NASM-Certified Sports Nutrition Coach with over eight years of writing experience within the fitness category.
Best Workout Apps FAQs
There’s the type of music you want for your background as you do your reps, your level of difficulty, and how long you’re planning to work out for that session. It also has an option to share the information in your app with your physician to better monitor your health. Zapier is the most connected AI orchestration platform—integrating with thousands of apps from partners like Google, Salesforce, and Microsoft. Use forms, data tables, and logic to build secure, automated, AI-powered systems for your business-critical workflows across your organization’s technology stack. 2Based on 2025 Mindbody data of consumers who self-reported finding a business via the Mindbody app. For smaller businesess, the datashare (multi-location) setup is ideal for locations that are close together and where clients frequently move between those locations.
Best for Circuit Training – Shred
When you download the app, you take a basic quiz that asks your fitness level and how many days you’re aiming to work out in a week. From there, it recommends a few options of multi-week programs to follow, though it’s easy to explore the app and do one-off workouts on your own. But the programs are what really make it special, so getting them for free feels like a treat. The best part, though, is that it’s completely free—no monthly subscription or hassle to cancel should you decide it’s not for you. If you’re brand new to exercising, or if you’re trying a new type of workout, experts recommend using a fitness app as a supplement to in-person sessions with professional trainers, at least for a few weeks.