Gymex vs Hevy: Which Wins in 2026?

Hevy and Gymex both log workouts and build programs. Hevy combines social tracking with an algorithm-based Trainer; Gymex adds a conversational AI coach, RIR-led programming, voice logging and nutrition.

Updated 20 October 2026 · By the Gymex Product Team

The short answer

Pick Hevy if you want a polished social logger, native watch and web support, and inexpensive algorithm-based programming. Pick Gymex if you want conversational coaching, RIR-led program decisions, plateau analysis, voice logging and nutrition in the same app.

Hevy Pro is much cheaper: its official US price is $2.99/month, $23.99/year or $74.99 lifetime. Gymex's free tier covers core tracking; Core is £7.49/month without AI, Premium adds AI at £15/month, and Pro Premium is £20/month. The trade-off is not “logger versus coach” anymore; it is a focused social tracker with a rule-based Trainer versus a broader conversational coaching system.

What is Hevy?

Hevy is a beautifully designed workout logger with the most generous free tier in the category and the best social experience of any lifting app. You build routines, log sets fast, watch your history and graphs grow, and share sessions with a feed of friends and strangers who actually cheer you on. It runs on iOS, Android and Apple Watch, and its routine sharing has made it the default logger for a huge slice of the lifting internet.

Hevy Trainer is a Pro feature that creates a personalised program from your goals, experience, equipment, schedule and preferred workout length. Hevy says it uses a sophisticated algorithm rather than AI. It recommends starting weights, tracks performance and automatically raises working weights when you complete the top of the prescribed rep range across the required sets.

What is Gymex?

Gymex is a UK-built AI strength coach for iOS and Android (iPhone and Android phones). Instead of handing you an empty logbook, it writes you a multi-week mesocycle, then adapts it week to week: inferring your Reps in Reserve to adjust loads, detecting plateaus and PRs, auto-periodising your blocks and letting you interrogate all of it through a conversational AI coach. Sets can be logged by voice mid-workout, and nutrition — macros, meal plans, barcode and photo meal scanning — lives in the same app, alongside form checks, body metrics and progress photos.

There's a free tracking tier, Core at £7.49/month for deeper data without AI, Premium at £15/month for AI coaching, and Pro Premium at £20/month for uncapped AI and specialist tools. Final local and annual prices are shown in your app store.

Who each app is really for

Hevy is for you if:

• You already follow a program — your own, a coach's, or a template like 5/3/1 or a PPL split — and just need somewhere fast and pleasant to record it.
• A free or near-free logger is what you want — both apps now cover iOS and Android, but Hevy's free tier is the more generous if pure logging is all you need.
• The social feed is your main motivator — Hevy's community is genuinely the best in the category.
• Budget is the deciding factor: free, or a couple of pounds a month, is hard to argue with.

Gymex is for you if:

• You've outgrown "log it yourself" and want the app to write and adapt the program, not just store it.
• You keep stalling and want plateau detection and load adjustments instead of guesswork.
• You want to log hands-free by voice and keep nutrition in the same app as training.
• You want conversational coaching but not human-coaching prices — Gymex's AI features begin on Premium at £15/month.

Pricing: what you actually pay

This is the section where we're blunt: Hevy is cheaper, full stop. Its free tier is generous, and published US Hevy Pro pricing is $2.99/month, $23.99/year or $74.99 lifetime. If logging and its algorithm-based Trainer are all you want, Hevy is excellent value.

Gymex costs more because it covers a wider product scope. The free tier includes logging, nutrition tracking, body metrics, the manual program builder and offline sync. Core at £7.49/month adds power-user data without AI, Premium at £15/month adds the AI coach, voice logging, AI programming and RIR weight intelligence, and Pro Premium at £20/month adds uncapped AI, auto-periodization, plateau detection, the photo meal scanner and form check. Annual options and final local prices are shown in your app store.

Side-by-side comparison

Feature depth: what "AI" actually means in each app

The two apps use different approaches, and Hevy is unusually clear about the distinction.

Hevy Trainer: adaptive algorithm

Hevy states that Trainer's programs are generated by an algorithm and do not rely on AI. The program is not static: Trainer tracks performance and recommends when and how much to increase weight. Its published rule is straightforward — reach the top of the prescribed rep range on all target sets, and the working weight can increase. It also offers progress reports and configurable six-week blocks. It does not provide a conversational coach, nutrition tracking, voice set logging, or Gymex's RIR-led coaching context.

Gymex: ongoing coaching

Gymex's coach is conversational and continuous. It writes your mesocycle, then keeps working on it: inferring RIR from your set history to adjust weight suggestions, auto-periodising blocks, detecting plateaus and overtraining, and spotting PRs across four categories. You can ask it why your bench has stalled and get an answer grounded in your actual log. Voice logging keeps your hands free between sets, and the nutrition side — macros, meal plans, barcode and photo scanning — means your diet and training finally inform each other instead of living in separate apps.

Where Hevy wins

Credit where it's due, because Hevy earns it:

• Price. Free, or $2.99/month for Pro in the US, against Gymex Core at £7.49 and AI coaching from £15. For a pure logger, Hevy is excellent value.
• Free tier generosity. Hevy gives away more for nothing than almost anyone in the category.
• Community. The social feed, routine sharing and comments are the best of any lifting app — if accountability from other humans keeps you training, that's worth more than any algorithm.
• Free cross-platform logging. Hevy runs on iOS, Android and Apple Watch with a generous free tier. Gymex now covers iOS and Android too, so if you're on Android the choice comes down to free logging (Hevy) versus AI coaching (Gymex), not the platform itself.

So we'll say it plainly: if you program your own training and want a great free, social logger, pick Hevy. That's what it's for, and it's excellent at it. Gymex would be money spent on coaching you don't want.

Where Gymex wins

Gymex's advantage is breadth and interaction rather than claiming Hevy cannot progress a program. Gymex lets you question the coach, uses RIR and training history as context, flags plateaus and overtraining, logs sets by voice, and connects training to nutrition, recovery data, body metrics and progress photos. See the feature-by-feature breakdown on our full comparison page.

Using both — and switching

You don't have to choose on day one. A common pattern is running Hevy for the social side — the feed, the friends, the routine sharing — while letting Gymex run the program: following its session targets and logging by voice. The obvious cost is double logging, and most people find that wears thin within a few weeks and consolidate into one app.

If you're switching properly, Hevy lets you export your workout history as CSV, so your training record isn't locked in, and Gymex's free tier means you can test the coaching without cancelling anything. A sensible trial: run a Gymex program for a full mesocycle (typically 4–8 weeks), keep Hevy for the community if you like, and judge by whether the adapting loads and plateau alerts changed your progress. Gymex now runs on Android as well as iOS, so the trial is open to you whichever phone you carry. And if you're weighing up other options beyond these two, our Hevy alternatives guide ranks the eight best, and Hevy vs Strong vs Fitbod covers the logger head-to-heads.

Frequently asked questions

Is Gymex better than Hevy?

Hevy is an excellent low-cost social logger, and Trainer provides personalised programs with rule-based progression. Gymex is better when you specifically want conversational coaching, RIR-led decisions, plateau analysis, voice logging and nutrition. Hevy is better when price, community, web access or native watch support matters more.

Is Hevy or Gymex cheaper?

Hevy is cheaper in absolute terms: its official US price is $2.99/month, $23.99/year or $74.99 lifetime. Gymex is free to start; Core is £7.49/month without AI, Premium adds AI coaching at £15/month, and Pro Premium is £20/month. Local store prices can vary.

Is Hevy Trainer real AI?

No, by Hevy's own description. Trainer uses an algorithm rather than AI. It still provides useful personalised programming and progressive-overload recommendations; Gymex adds a conversational model and a broader set of coaching inputs.

Can I use Hevy and Gymex together?

Yes, and some lifters do — Hevy for the social feed and friends, Gymex for the program and coaching. The cost is double logging, though Gymex's voice logging makes that fast, and most people eventually consolidate into one app. There is no technical conflict: both simply record what you lift.

Which is better for beginners, Hevy or Gymex?

If your budget is zero, Hevy's generous free tier and friendly community make it a great first logger. But beginners benefit most from guidance, and that is where Gymex pulls ahead: its AI coach sets your starting weights, progresses them from your RIR and answers the questions a new lifter actually has. AI features start on Gymex Premium at £15/month, with a free tier to try first.

Can Gymex replace Hevy?

For some lifters, yes, but Hevy is no longer only a recorder. It builds personalised programs and recommends progressive overload. Gymex is the better replacement when conversational coaching, RIR context, voice logging and nutrition matter more than Hevy's lower price, community and watch support.

What does Gymex do that Hevy doesn't?

Gymex adds conversational coach chat, RIR-led program decisions, plateau and overtraining analysis, voice logging, nutrition and wearable recovery data. Hevy Trainer provides algorithm-based programming and progression, while Hevy has broader native watch and web support.

Sources checked 20 October 2026

• Hevy Trainer product page
• Hevy Trainer help article
• Hevy official pricing comparison
• Gymex features and Gymex pricing

Related comparisons

• Hevy vs Strong vs Fitbod
• Hevy alternatives
• Best AI workout apps in 2026
• Full Gymex comparison