# Starting Strength (Legacy) vs Five/Three/One

The clearest difference is price: Five/Three/One at Free against Starting Strength (Legacy)'s $14.99. Five/Three/One also leads on update cadence (every 2 weeks vs every 5 weeks). Starting Strength (Legacy)'s advantage is chart position (#141 vs unranked). On rating, review sentiment, ratings volume and ads there is nothing between them.

Five/Three/One is free to download; Starting Strength (Legacy) costs $14.99 up front. Starting Strength (Legacy) sells 8 in-app purchases, starting at $19.99 per 3 months and Five/Three/One sells 6 one-off in-app purchases. Whichever you choose, the download price is not the number that matters.

On the App Store both sit at effectively the same score — 4.8 for Starting Strength (Legacy) against 4.8 for Five/Three/One. Both are backed by a comparable volume of ratings — 2.6K and 1.5K respectively. Written reviews are what separate them: 83% of Starting Strength (Legacy)'s written reviews are positive against 78% of Five/Three/One's.

Starting Strength (Legacy) ships an update every 5 weeks, Five/Three/One every 2 weeks. The most recent releases landed on October 26, 2026 and October 27, 2026 respectively.

## The numbers

| Metric | Starting Strength (Legacy) | Five/Three/One |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Price | $14.99 | **Free** |
| Rating | [4.8 (2.6K ratings)](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/starting-strength-legacy/id1008697836/reviews) | **[4.8 (1.5K ratings)](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/fivethreeone-531-workouts/id1560266240/reviews)** |
| Number of ratings | **2.6K** | 1.5K |
| Positive reviews | **82.9% of reviews** | 78.2% of reviews |
| In-app purchases | Yes | Yes |
| Ads | No | No |
| Update frequency | Every 5 weeks | **Every 2 weeks** |
| Monetization | Paid | **Free with in-app purchases** |
| Best chart rank | **#141** | — |
| Size | 239 MB | 37 MB |
| Requires iOS | 13.0 | **12.0** |
| Devices | **iPhone, iPad, iPod** | iPhone, iPod |
| Age rating | 17+ | 4+ |
| Developer | [Shabu Pty Ltd](https://appshunter.io/developer/1008697835) | [Strong Pigeon LLC](https://appshunter.io/developer/1560266242) |

## What reviewers say

### Starting Strength (Legacy)

[App page](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/starting-strength-legacy/id1008697836)

**Currently charting:** #141 Top Paid · Health & Fitness (US App Store)

This app guides beginners through a proven strength training program with detailed instructions, video demonstrations, and interactive logging. It simplifies tracking progress and calculating weights for exercises like squats, presses, and deadlifts.

**Highlights:** Beginner barbell exercise instructions, Novice strength training program guidance, Interactive workout logging, Warmup and workset weight calculator, Exercise video and photo instructions, Cloud sync for training data, Customizable progression

**Features:** macOS Compatibility, Vision Pro support

**In-app purchases (8)**

| Purchase | Price | Billing |
| --- | --- | --- |
| 3 Months Pro | $19.99 | per 3 months |
| Pro Quaterly | $19.99 | per 3 months |
| Annual Pro | $39.99 | per year |
| Single Form Check | $24.99 | one-time |
| Unlock Pro Forever | $59.99 | one-time |
| 3 x Form Checks | $69.99 | one-time |
| 10 Form Checks | $209.99 | one-time |
| 20 x Form Checks | $399.99 | one-time |

**What reviewers like**

- 👍 Easy to use
- 🚀 Helpful for tracking progress
- 💡 Includes book excerpts and videos
- 🔒 Stable and reliable
- 🚀 Calculates warmup sets and plate loading

**What reviewers complain about**

- 🐛 Buggy and crashes frequently
- 🐛 Glitchy graphics and UI issues
- 🔒 Lacks customization options
- 🔒 Limited to the novice linear progression program
- 🔒 No ability to modify exercises or programming

**Reported bugs**

- Frequent crashes and freezes
- Issues with timer functionality
- Problems with weight and plate tracking
- Incompatibility with newer iOS versions
- Bugs when switching between exercises

**Requested features**

- Add ability to modify exercises and programming
- Implement advanced programming options beyond novice linear progression
- Improve stability and reduce crashes
- Add Apple Health integration
- Enhance UI and user experience


### Five/Three/One

[App page](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/fivethreeone-531-workouts/id1560266240)

This app helps weightlifters follow Jim Wendler's 5/3/1 program by automating cycle calculations, plate suggestions, and progress tracking. It eliminates the need for paper logs or spreadsheets, focusing on strength gains. Features include rest timers, workout scheduling, and Apple Health integration.

**Highlights:** 5/3/1 cycle planning and scheduling, Progress charting, Rest timer with notifications, Automatic plate calculation, Next cycle calculation based on performance, Home screen widget, Apple Health integration

**Features:** macOS Compatibility

**In-app purchases (6)**

| Purchase | Price | Billing |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Custom Weight Plates | $2.99 | one-time |
| Tip | $4.99 | one-time |
| Beyond 5/3/1 Pack | $5.99 | one-time |
| Custom Assistance | $8.99 | one-time |
| Large Tip | $9.99 | one-time |
| Enormous Tip | $24.99 | one-time |

**What reviewers like**

- 💻 Excellent app for 5/3/1 programming
- 📊 Provides great tracking and progress monitoring
- 🔢 Automatic weight and plate calculations
- ⏱️ Built-in rest timers and workout flow
- 🎨 Clean and intuitive user interface

**What reviewers complain about**

- 🗓️ Rigid scheduling and inability to reschedule missed workouts
- 🔒 Limited customization options for assistance exercises
- 🔀 Difficulty in reordering or supersetting exercises
- 🐛 Occasional bugs and data loss issues
- ⚠️ Lack of Apple Watch integration

**Reported bugs**

- Workout data occasionally lost or not syncing properly
- Calendar and scheduling issues when trying to reschedule missed workouts
- Plate calculation bugs leading to incorrect weight displays
- Occasional app freezes and crashes

**Requested features**

- Allow more flexibility in scheduling and rescheduling workouts
- Provide customization options for assistance exercises
- Implement superset and out-of-order exercise completion
- Add support for Apple Watch integration
- Incorporate additional 5/3/1 program variations (e.g., Bodybuilder, Monolith)


## Frequently asked questions

### Is Starting Strength (Legacy) free?

Starting Strength (Legacy) costs $14.99, and also offers in-app purchases.

### Is Five/Three/One free?

Five/Three/One is free to download, with in-app purchases available.

### Which has better reviews, Starting Strength (Legacy) or Five/Three/One?

Five/Three/One is rated higher. Starting Strength (Legacy) averages 4.8 out of 5 from 2.6K ratings, while Five/Three/One averages 4.8 from 1.5K ratings.

### Do Starting Strength (Legacy) or Five/Three/One have ads?

Neither Starting Strength (Legacy) nor Five/Three/One shows ads.

### Which is updated more often, Starting Strength (Legacy) or Five/Three/One?

Starting Strength (Legacy) ships an update every 5 weeks, and Five/Three/One every 2 weeks. Most recently, Starting Strength (Legacy) was updated on October 26, 2026 and Five/Three/One on October 27, 2026.

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*Compared by [AppsHunter](https://appshunter.io/) from daily US App Store data. Review summaries are generated from verbatim App Store reviews.*