The Hevy alternative that knows the machine.

The short version

Hevy is the best free general-purpose logger with a community attached. It is popular for a good reason, and if the feed is why you open the app, stop reading and keep Hevy.

LIFTAG is a different shape of the same job: the log is gym-aware. At a partner gym you tap the NFC tag or scan the QR on the machine, and the exercise in front of you is already open, with a setup video filmed on that exact equipment. The bench press and the back squat behave the same way as the cable stack. Away from tags it logs like Hevy, without the free caps.

We build LIFTAG, so treat the tone as biased and the numbers as checkable. Every Hevy figure below is quoted from Hevy on the US App Store, read on 27 August 2026.

Hevy pricing, quoted

Hevy is free to download and free to log in. Hevy Pro is $2.99 / month, $23.99 / year, or $74.99 lifetime on the US App Store. Per Hevy's own listing text, Pro is what makes routines, graph history, and custom exercises unlimited, and it adds advanced measurements, so those three lines are also the map of the free tier's edges.

Read off the in-app purchase list on Hevy's US App Store page, which also carries a second $3.99 monthly SKU. Hevy Pro is what removes the routine, custom-exercise, and graph-history caps, per Hevy's own listing text. We do not restate Hevy's free-tier numbers, because Hevy does not publish them on that listing and we are not going to guess them for you.

LIFTAG's side of the same question is short: neither the App Store nor Google Play lists an in-app purchase for it as of 27 August 2026. The full breakdown, including what we will not claim about a future premium tier, is on LIFTAG pricing.

Feature by feature

Where Hevy wins

• The feed. Following people, copying their sessions, and comparing yourself is the product, not a bolt-on, and nothing in LIFTAG replaces it.
• Scale. Hevy's own App Store listing opens with "Join +10 million users", and its site claims more. Your training partner is probably already there, and there are years of reviews to read before you install.
• The watch. Hevy runs on Apple Watch and Wear OS. LIFTAG does not have a watch app.
• A known ceiling. If you outgrow the free caps, Hevy Pro is cheap and the price is published. LIFTAG cannot make you the same promise yet, because it has no paid tier to publish.

Where LIFTAG wins

• No caps to outgrow. Routines, custom exercises, and graph history are unlimited on the free tier, which is where three of Hevy's free limits sit.
• The gym floor. At a partner gym you tap an NFC tag or scan the QR on the machine and the exercise is already open, with a video filmed on that specific equipment.
• Discovery that points at real places. Verified trainer profiles and a partner-gym map with equipment, hours, and reviews, in the free app.
• Nothing to buy. Neither store lists an in-app purchase for LIFTAG today, so there is no tier waiting to bill you.

The tag half of that list is documented on NFC and QR gym tags and in the NFC tags for gym equipment guide.

Switching without burning anything

There is no Hevy importer, and pretending otherwise would waste your evening. What works: install LIFTAG, run it forward from your next session, and leave Hevy on the phone until you stop opening it. Two loggers for a fortnight costs nothing, because neither one is charging you.

The thing to watch during that fortnight is not features, it is taps between sets. If your gym has tags, you will notice immediately. If it does not, the honest answer is that LIFTAG's advantage over Hevy narrows to the free caps and the trainer and gym layer. You can ask your gym to become a partner, or read how a floor actually gets tagged in gym NFC tag rollout.

Other comparisons

Strong instead of Hevy, head to head with LIFTAG: LIFTAG vs Strong. All three at once, including free tiers and social features: Strong vs Hevy vs LIFTAG. The eight-app matrix with FitNotes, JEFIT, Boostcamp, MacroFactor, and Fitbod: best workout tracking app 2026. Only the free tiers: best free workout tracker.