Comparison

Barbell Plate Calculator vs Five/Three/One

Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both apps, side by side — with what reviewers say about each.

Head to head
About

Barbell Plate Calculator

Easily calculate the barbell plates needed to reach a target weight or determine the total weight on a loaded bar. This app simplifies weightlifting math, allowing you to focus on your workout. It offers customizable options and a timer for tracking exercises.

Highlights
  • Plate calculation for target weight
  • Reverse calculation for current bar weight
  • Customizable bar weight
  • Customizable available plates
  • Workout timer
  • Dark mode and custom themes
Features
Read full description

Ever wonder what plates you'll need to hit a personal record? Have you ever loaded up plates and wonder how much you lifted? This app will do all the heavy lifting (number crunching) for you, while you focus on lifting weight. The barbell plate calculator allows you to quickly calculate which plates you'll need to add to your bar to achieve a desired weight (no math required!). Features: * One of the most accurate plate calculators on the market! * Reverse calculator (easily figure out how much weight is on the bar) * Customizable bar weight * Customize available plates * Clean visual representation of weight * Timer for tracking workouts (HIIT, etc) * Dark Mode by default! * Custom themes! Premium Features: * One Rep Max Calculator * Record Past Lifts and chart progress * Change the color of the plates! * And much more!

About

Five/Three/One

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
Read full description

The latest app for weightlifters doing Jim Wendler's 5/3/1 program! Five/Three/One is a focused and intuitive app helping you achieve what really matters: Getting Stronger. No more bringing a crumbled workout sheet to the gym, no more messing around spreadsheets to update your weights. From calculating your cycles, to telling you what plates to put on the bar, Five/Three/One does it all. Features include: - Planning and scheduling your whole 5/3/1 cycle - Charting your progress - Rest timer with notifications - Automatic plating calculation - Calculating your next cycle based on your performance - Notes associated with each sets - Home screen widget showing your your current and upcoming workouts - Lbs/kg support Optional paid features: - Customize which plates you're using and change your barbell's weight - Customize templates assistance work and define your own exercises - Beyond 5/3/1 templates and options, from Joker Sets to FSL, Pyramid and much more! Integrates with Apple Health : The app saves the workouts you've performed as well as the calories you've burnt in Apple Health. As weightlifters doing 5/3/1 ourselves, we made the app we wanted after being dissatisfied with what was out there. More than just a glorified spreadsheet, we designed it to be focused on each task at hand. With even more great features in the pipeline, we're stoked to release the app for others to use and can't wait to hear your feedback! We use it, we love it, and we're sure you will too.

Screenshots

Barbell Plate Calculator4 screens
Five/Three/One4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is ads: Five/Three/One at none against Barbell Plate Calculator's shown. Five/Three/One also leads on update cadence (every 2 weeks vs every 4 weeks) and ratings volume (1.5K vs 288). On price, rating, review sentiment and in-app purchases there is nothing between them.

Scored on Price · Rating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings · Update frequency · Ads · In-app purchases · Monetization · Best chart rank · Devices · Requires iOS

CostPrice · In-app purchases · Ads · Monetization

Both are free to download. Barbell Plate Calculator sells 1 one-off in-app purchase and Five/Three/One sells 6 one-off in-app purchases. Whichever you choose, the download price is not the number that matters.

ReceptionRating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings

On the App Store both sit at effectively the same score — 4.8 for Barbell Plate Calculator against 4.8 for Five/Three/One. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: Five/Three/One has 1.5K ratings behind it against 288, so its average is the more settled of the two. Written reviews are what separate them: 75% of Barbell Plate Calculator's written reviews are positive against 78% of Five/Three/One's.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

Barbell Plate Calculator ships an update every 4 weeks, Five/Three/One every 2 weeks. The most recent releases landed on November 3, 2026 and November 7, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard4 real differences · 6 level
Barbell Plate Calculator versus Five/Three/One: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterBarbell Plate CalculatorFive/Three/One
PriceFreeFree
Rating4.8 (288 ratings)4.8 (1.5K ratings) — better
Positive reviews75.0% of reviews78.2% of reviews — better
Number of ratings2881.5K — better
Update frequencyEvery 4 weeksEvery 2 weeks — better
AdsYesNo — better
In-app purchasesYesYes
MonetizationFree with in-app purchasesFree with in-app purchases
DevicesiPhone, iPad, iPod — betteriPhone, iPod
Requires iOS14.012.0 — better
Further details — not scored
Size38 MB37 MB
Age rating4+4+
DeveloperXD Software Solutions LLCStrong Pigeon LLC

Customer experience

Barbell Plate Calculator

All ratings236 ratings
Positive95.3%
Neutral1.7%
Negative3.0%
Written reviews12 reviews
Positive75.0%
Neutral8.3%
Negative16.7%

Five/Three/One

All ratings1,218 ratings
Positive97.5%
Neutral2.0%
Negative0.6%
Written reviews133 reviews
Positive78.2%
Neutral9.0%
Negative12.8%

User reviews

Barbell Plate Calculator

From 288 App Store ratings

What we love

  • 👍 Simple and no frills
  • 👍 Beautifully designed and works well
  • 👍 Makes life easier
  • 👍 Plate calculator works
  • 👍 Correctly calculates with 1.25 and 0.5 plates

Room to improve

  • 🐛 Timer function freezes
  • 🐛 Paid upgrades not working
  • 🐛 Limited in plate calculation
  • 🐛 Saving bar weight process is cumbersome
  • 🐛 Resetting entire weight stack instead of adding

Five/Three/One

From 1.5K App Store ratings

What we love

  • 💻 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

Room to improve

  • 🗓️ 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

Bugs and requests

Barbell Plate Calculator

Reported bugs

4 issues
  • Timer function freezes
  • Paid upgrades features will not work
  • Limited plate calculation (e.g., only does up to 515 lbs)
  • Cumbersome process to save bar weight

Requested features

9 requests
  • Add home and gym option for inventory
  • Show total of each size of plates added
  • Allow adding collars
  • Option to 'add weight' to stack instead of resetting
  • Simpler process for saving bar weight
Show 4 more
  • Put bar weight saving on the same screen as plates
  • Modify or remove individual dates from history
  • Barbell bar type inventory with customizable weight
  • Reverse plate calculator

Five/Three/One

Reported bugs

4 issues
  • 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

5 requests
  • 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)

In-app purchases

1 purchases

Barbell Plate Calculator

One-time1
  • Premium Features$5.99
6 purchases

Five/Three/One

One-time6
  • Custom Weight Plates$2.99
  • Tip$4.99
  • Beyond 5/3/1 Pack$5.99
Show 3 more
  • Custom Assistance$8.99
  • Large Tip$9.99
  • Enormous Tip$24.99

Questions

Is Barbell Plate Calculator free?
Barbell Plate Calculator is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Is Five/Three/One free?
Five/Three/One is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Which has better reviews, Barbell Plate Calculator or Five/Three/One?
Five/Three/One is rated higher. Barbell Plate Calculator averages 4.8 out of 5 from 288 ratings, while Five/Three/One averages 4.8 from 1.5K ratings.
Do Barbell Plate Calculator or Five/Three/One have ads?
Barbell Plate Calculator shows ads; Five/Three/One does not.
Which is updated more often, Barbell Plate Calculator or Five/Three/One?
Barbell Plate Calculator ships an update every 4 weeks, and Five/Three/One every 2 weeks. Most recently, Barbell Plate Calculator was updated on November 3, 2026 and Five/Three/One on November 7, 2026.

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