With small movements (and ideally the brand’s equipment), you’ll target small muscles that are often ignored in other workouts. While deciding which fitness app to sign up for, experts recommend thinking through the following factors, all of which I took into consideration while creating our list of favorites. From the inspiring Robin Arzon to the hilarious Cody Rigsby and feel-good Alex Toussaint, there is an instructor to fit nearly every workout vibe. Testers paid close attention to how easy or difficult it was to download and set up each app, from account creation to any onboarding quizzes. Clear navigation, intuitive layouts, and obvious “do this today” guidance were prioritized so users could get moving quickly without feeling overwhelmed. If you’re looking for more nutritional support, we suggest checking out our best meal delivery services for weight loss, or trying out Noom in combination with Reverse Health.
Best Online Fitness Programs and Workout Apps in 2026 (Tried & Tested)
Personalise your data, choose from amongst 100 different classes, load up a playlist, and assume the position. It removes the intimidation of starting out by building workouts around your ability and available equipment, and it teaches proper form through clear video demonstrations. You never have to guess what to do next, which makes it much easier to stay consistent from day one. For fitness professionals ready to scale their business and provide clients with a premium coaching experience, FitBudd offers the complete infrastructure needed to succeed in the competitive online fitness market. The platform enables trainers to create custom-branded mobile apps for iOS and Android, giving clients a professional experience under the trainer’s own brand. This level of customization helps trainers establish credibility and build a recognizable business identity.
- Consider these picks the ones we will never delete (even if we are running low on storage!).
- A community created for women by women, Bodylura (formerly Fit Body) features 12 programs led by four expert trainers to help you reach your fitness goals.
- Even a single pair of adjustable dumbbells (typically $40–$100) unlocks a dramatically wider range of effective strength programming across multiple apps on this list.
- Our team selected apps with a variety of prices, so there’s something for everyone.
- We looked at cost, whether content can be downloaded for offline use, and how frequently new classes or programs are added.
- This holistic approach ensures balanced development rather than focusing solely on impressive party tricks.
Conversely, apps like Home Workout – No Equipment use ads to keep the platform free, which is a fair trade-off for many budget-conscious users. Animated exercise guides are clear enough for absolute beginners, and daily workout reminders help build the habit. The ad experience can be intrusive, and the programming lacks the depth of NTC or Fitbod — but for a zero-cost, zero-equipment starting point, it delivers. Sweat’s perimenopause programme addresses the reality that women over 40 have different hormonal profiles affecting recovery, strength, and energy.
Best for Expert-Guided Programs
Jefit is designed for those who love going to the gym but need a little extra inspiration and accountability. The app features a free library of over 1,400 exercises with videos and instructions that break down how to do it, the equipment you’ll need, and tips to improve your form. (With a paid plan, you can also access full workout plans designed by pros.) Track your progress in the app via free gym logs and body stats. As a fitness- and nutrition-focused app, 8fit allows you to first enter an objective and measure your current fitness level; then it gives you a customized plan to get from point A to B. The workouts, which can be tackled at home sans fancy equipment, are relatively short (15 to 20 minutes) but vary in focus—from endurance training and HIIT to strength training and bodyweight exercises. The app provides daily recommendations, and the more workouts you log, the more personalized these picks become.
The best workout app overall
Calisthenics has exploded in popularity as people discover the incredible strength and control you can build using just your bodyweight. The Movement Athlete makes this discipline accessible to everyone, from complete beginners to advanced practitioners. The app includes plenty of content for beginners but also features highly specialized routines for elite athletes, Olympic lifters, and those training intensively.
Best live classes: Peloton
Best-known for its at-home indoor cycling classes with one of the best exercise bikes in the biz, Peloton is among the most popular home fitness apps right now. And for those who like to keep a close eye on their stats and progress, this is our top pick. We do want to note, though, that the Alo Moves platform is primarily centered around individual workouts and programs rather than working toward certain goals or progressive overload. If you prefer a structured regimen that’s planned for weeks, this may not be the best fit. If you need a good assortment of instructor-led workouts and don’t mind taking your sessions in a “choose your own adventure” aesthetic, this can be an excellent pick. For beginner and experienced yogis alike, Alo Moves can be an excellent download offering over 170 flows and sessions across a wide range of yoga categories.
Peloton: Best Studio Classes
Pliability isn’t just an app—you can also stream its content on your computer—but iPhone users can access all of the content natively on their device. You can engage with other Ladder users to help spur you on to greater PRs and loftier goals without trying to make awkward small talk at your gym. The advanced search function on the Alo Moves app and webpage is a key feature, allowing users to quickly and easily filter for the style of workout, difficulty, intensity, and duration of class they’re looking for. I’m a regular exerciser who relies on it heavily for stress management, so I know how difficult it is to hit pause on your fitness routine. But thankfully, there are some tech solutions out there that mean unimeal reviews you don’t have to—you just need to think about your exercise routine a little differently.
GYM PAL: AN ALL-IN-ONE SMART FITNESS PLATFORM
Some workouts may also require equipment in order to follow tutorials in select apps. The healthy meal plans – with a veggie option, ofc – make eating right much simpler. And (if all that wasn’t enough), SWEAT offers a step tracker, hydration monitor and a tool to generate automated shopping lists for last-minute meal prep. If you don’t fancy following a plan work through 750 easy-to-follow video workouts, including resistance, LISS and HIIT sessions – just make sure you don’t skip the rehabilitation stretches, K? She’s the home workout sensation keeping the nation fit with her high energy and challenging Instagram workouts but you can also catch Courtney Black on her app, too. Not only are there workouts by the dozens to pick from but also meal plans and diet options as well.
You’ll get to plan all your workouts with details for reps and sets, and see a quick demonstration of each exercise. As woman&home’s digital health editor, I’ve tested loads of the best workout apps over the years, including favourites like Peloton, Apple Fitness+, and Les Mills. Whether it’s to fit exercise into a busy schedule or try something new, workout apps can help boost motivation and help you stay consistent with your workout routine.
Post-workout, I slept like a baby with it and woke up to my sleep cycle stats and score. “When it came time for race day, I hit go on my watch with full confidence that it would track my miles without a problem.” She plans on using it again for marathon training. “Even with near-daily workout tracking, the battery rarely dipped below 50 percent before I decided to plug it in again—it charged right up in under an hour,” Luppino says. “Even on two-hour runs, I barely notice a dent in the charge.”Like many fitness trackers in this guide, the warranty is one year for hardware defects. Nike’s free fitness app is simple to navigate and offers more variety than many paid platforms. Choose from strength training, yoga, HIIT, running exercises, and more, with options to filter classes by duration, fitness level, and what equipment you have.
The content is varied, ranging from 5-minute targeted sessions to 45-minute full-body routines. This flexibility allows you to fit mobility work around your schedule, whether it’s a quick morning routine or a thorough recovery session after intense training. Once you experience the transformative effects of mobility training, you’ll wonder how you ever lived without it. Just a few minutes daily can dramatically improve range of motion, reduce stiffness, and enhance overall movement quality. Daily mobility routines, access 1500+ workouts, expert coaches, track progress, effective programming.
Best Workout Apps Comparison Table
The best home workout app is the one that matches your budget, fits your goal, and hands you a programme instead of a catalogue — and our six-week evaluation identified clear winners at every price point and experience level. For PC users, most apps are mobile-first and lack dedicated desktop applications. Peloton offers the strongest web app experience for PC-based workouts, particularly for users who prefer training with a large monitor or TV browser.
Best Workout App for Weightlifting: TR(AI)NER by Element 26
Aaptiv’s membership costs $14.99 per month and offers a free seven day trial. However, you do need to get the entire year plan in order to try the seven week trial, which isn’t the most convenient. Finally, this psychological approach to weight loss can be tough, especially since there’s less rigidity surrounding which foods you can and shouldn’t eat. Thankfully, Noom provides plenty of support for your journey through the likes of a health coach as well as an online community of fellow users. We found both of these outlets to be extremely helpful in keeping spirits high throughout our regimen.
Premium Peloton experience, on and off the bike
But a lot of us are just looking for a no-cost, simple way to move our bodies and gain a little bit of strength without it becoming a whole thing. Thankfully, there are a ton of free workout apps that make it easy to do exactly that. Our testers appreciated the solid construction, smooth ride, and comfort of this affordably priced magnetic-resistance bike, which is sold only through Walmart. The handlebars are compact and well designed, with convenient thumbprint-like divots at the top of each handle. A customer service representative told us the bike fits people from 4-foot-11 to 6-foot-4; its maximum weight capacity is 300 pounds. The app offers a lot of different rides, but we found the options to be less organized than Peloton’s, and the content isn’t quite as polished.
The app allows you to stream classes in 10 different categories (cycling, running, bootcamp, outdoor, strength, and more) anywhere, with live studio classes uploaded daily to an extant library of over 10,000. We especially love attending the live classes, because you get the actual push from those around you and from Peloton’s lineup of fitness-celebrity trainers. Future brings the luxury of working out with a personal trainer to your fingertips, literally. This isn’t one of those dime-a-dozen apps that have boring and broad workout programs with zero specialization for your personal needs. Just as FaceTime and Google Hangouts can keep you socially connected during this time, there are some free fitness apps that can help you break a sweat without leaving home. Some of the following are always free; others are being offered for free right now.