Comparison

Caliber vs First Run

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

Head to head
About

Caliber

This app offers science-based strength training with features for muscle building, weight loss, and fitness improvement. It provides personalized workouts, exercise tutorials, and community features. Optional upgrades offer advanced plans, nutrition targets, and 1-on-1 coaching.

Highlights
  • Personalized workout creation and tracking
  • Extensive exercise library with video tutorials
  • Workout Circles for training with friends
  • Apple Health integration
  • AI-powered training insights
  • Coach-designed training plans
  • Strength Score and balance metrics
Features
Read full description

Caliber is a science-based strength training app that combines resistance training, cardio, nutrition, and habit formation to help you build muscle, lose weight, and improve your overall fitness - for good. TRAIN YOUR WAY • Free Version. Create and track unlimited workouts, access 800+ exercises, and train solo or with friends. • Caliber Plus. Maximize your results with coach-designed training plans, personalized progress tracking, nutrition targets and more. • Premium Coaching. Get 1-on-1 guidance from an elite-level personal trainer with a fully customized training and nutrition plan, in-app chat + video messaging with your coach and weekly progress reviews to keep you on track. CALIBER FEATURES (FREE VERSION) • Personalized Workouts. Create and track an unlimited number of workouts tailored to your goals. No gym required. • Detailed Exercise Tutorials. Learn proper form with step-by-step videos and pro tips from Caliber coaches. • Workout Circles. Train with friends and family in private workout chats. When you hit a personal best, it's shared with the group. • Apple Health Integration. Sync your cardio, nutrition, steps and body stats from your wearable or connected device. • Connect to AI. Sync your training data with ChatGPT and Claude for personalized insights and training analysis. UNLOCK MORE WITH CALIBER PLUS (OPTIONAL UPGRADE) • Coach-Designed Training Plans. Choose from 120+ structured plans tailored to your goals, experience level and schedule. • Strength Score. Measure how strong you are relative to your potential for your age and gender. • Strength Balance. Improve your posture and mobility by optimizing your training across key muscle groups. • Caliber Lessons. Gain expert insights on training and nutrition to accelerate your progress. • Advanced Training Features. Get personalized nutrition targets, create custom exercises and supersets, swap exercises, upload progress photos, and more. PREMIUM COACHING (OPTIONAL UPGRADE) • Work with an Elite-Level Coach. Train 1-on-1 with a dedicated coach to achieve your full potential in the gym and beyond. Caliber coaches are highly vetted, accredited personal trainers among the top 1% in their field. • Fully Personalized Plan. Your coach will design a training and nutrition program just for you based on your goals, experience and lifestyle. • Daily Motivation & Expert Guidance. Stay on track with in-app messaging, video form reviews, and individualized guidance. • Weekly Progress Reviews. Get in-depth analysis from your coach to optimize your training. • Fast Response Times. Your coach is available 24/7, typically replying within a few hours. • Guaranteed Results. On average, Caliber members improve their body composition by 20% or more within 12 weeks. If you don't see results, we'll refund the cost of the program. SEE WHAT OUR MEMBERS SAY • For detailed reviews from real Caliber members, visit our TrustPilot page at https://www.trustpilot.com/review/caliberstrong.com Terms of Use: https://caliberstrong.com/terms-of-service/ Privacy Policy: https://caliberstrong.com/privacy-policy/

About

First Run

This app guides beginners through a 9-week program to complete their first 5K run. It provides structured walk and run intervals with voice cues, adapting to your schedule if you miss a session. Track progress, earn badges, and sync with Apple Health and Apple Watch.

Highlights
  • 9-week Couch to 5K plan
  • Walk and run interval timer
  • Full Apple Watch app
  • Apple Health workout sync
  • Live Activity and Dynamic Island support
  • Achievement badges and run history
  • Pre-recorded voice cues
Features
Read full description

Run your first 5K, guided every step. First Run is the 9-week Couch to 5K coach that turns "I've never run before" into "I just finished my first 5K." Press play and follow the plan. Everything else is handled for you. A REAL PLAN, NOT A TIMER The classic Couch to 5K progression: three sessions a week for nine weeks. Each workout breaks down into clear walk and run intervals, so you can see exactly what's coming before you start. By Week 9 you're running 30 minutes straight. APPLE WATCH READY Start a run from your wrist and leave the phone at home. Heart rate, GPS route, distance, pace and calories live on the watch. Every workout saves automatically to Apple Health so it stacks alongside the rest of your activity. Pause, resume or skip from the watch, the Lock Screen Live Activity, or the Dynamic Island. They all stay in sync. A FINISH LINE YOU CAN SEE Every completed workout stacks into a streak you can scroll. Earn badges along the way: First Steps, Hitting Your Stride, Five-K Club. Share any run as a card to friends or social. ALWAYS ONE TAP AWAY Home Screen widget showing your next run. Watch face complication keeping today's session a glance away. Lock Screen Live Activity and Dynamic Island while you're out there. The app gets out of the way; the running stays the point. ADAPTS TO REAL LIFE Took a week off? First Run notices and offers to realign your schedule around today, so you pick up where you left off instead of falling off the plan. Rest days are part of training, not failures. VOICE GUIDANCE A real voice in your ear announces every interval, like "Start running for 60 seconds" or "Walk for 90 seconds", so you never have to look at your phone mid-run. Audio ducks your music only while speaking, then steps out of the way. Pre-recorded clips, no robotic text-to-speech. WHAT'S INCLUDED • 9-week Couch to 5K plan, three sessions a week • Walk + run interval timer with on-screen progress ring • Full Apple Watch app with heart rate, GPS route, distance, pace, calories • Apple Health workout sync • Live Activity on Lock Screen and Dynamic Island • Home Screen widget + watch face complication • Smart Stack workout widget with working pause / resume • Achievement badges + full run history • Share card for every completed run • Pre-recorded voice cues • No account required Get to your first 5K. Then keep going. FITNESS DISCLAIMER First Run is a fitness tracking and coaching app. It is not a medical device, and nothing in the app constitutes medical advice. The workouts and recommendations are general fitness guidance only. Talk to a qualified medical professional before starting any new exercise programme, particularly if you have a heart, lung, joint or other health condition, are pregnant, are recovering from injury or surgery, or have been inactive for an extended period. If you feel pain, chest tightness, dizziness, shortness of breath, or any unusual symptoms during or after exercise, stop immediately and seek medical advice. Listen to your body. Rest is part of training. Use of First Run is at your own risk.

Screenshots

Caliber4 screens
First Run4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is rating: Caliber at 4.8 against First Run's 4.0. Caliber also leads on review sentiment (78% vs 50%) and ratings volume (6.2K vs 1). First Run's advantage is in-app purchases (none vs 10). On price, ads and device support 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. Caliber sells 8 in-app purchases, starting at $3.00 per month. First Run asks for nothing beyond the download.

ReceptionRating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings

Caliber holds the better App Store score, 4.8 against 4.0. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: Caliber has 6.2K ratings behind it against 1, so its average is the more settled of the two. Written reviews point the same way: 78% of Caliber's written reviews are positive against 50% of First Run's.

Scorecard7 real differences · 4 level
Caliber versus First Run: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterCaliberFirst Run
PriceFreeFree
Rating4.8 (6.2K ratings) — better4.0 (1 ratings)
Positive reviews78.2% of reviews — better50.0% of reviews
Number of ratings6.2K — better1
Update frequencyFortnightly—
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesYesNo — better
MonetizationFree with in-app purchasesFree — better
Best chart rank#163 — better—
DevicesiPhone, iPodiPhone, Apple Watch
Requires iOS15.1 — better26.2
Further details — not scored
Size60 MB14 MB
Age rating12+4+
DeveloperCaliber Fitness, IncActive Development Limited

Customer experience

Caliber

All ratings6,093 ratings
Positive96.7%
Neutral1.1%
Negative2.2%
Written reviews532 reviews
Positive78.2%
Neutral6.2%
Negative15.6%

First Run

All ratings1 ratings
Positive100.0%
Neutral0.0%
Negative0.0%
Written reviews2 reviews
Positive50.0%
Neutral0.0%
Negative50.0%

Bugs and requests

Caliber

Reported bugs

3 issues
  • Workout data loss when switching between online and offline mode
  • Strength score not updating correctly in some cases
  • Inability to log weight for certain exercises

Requested features

5 requests
  • Add ability to create and save custom exercises
  • Integrate with more fitness tracking devices and apps
  • Improve offline mode to allow full workout tracking
  • Provide more flexibility in workout scheduling and planning
  • Enhance strength score calculations and explanations

First Run

Not enough reviews yet to summarise bugs or requests.

In-app purchases

8 purchases

Caliber

Subscriptions8
  • Caliber Supporter (Monthly)$3.001 Month
  • Caliber Plus (Monthly)$6.001 Month
  • Caliber Plus (Monthly)$9.001 Month
Show 5 more
  • Caliber Plus (Monthly)2 variants$12.001 Month
  • Caliber Plus (Yearly)7 Days trial$36.001 Year
  • Caliber Plus (Yearly)7 Days trial$54.001 Year
  • Caliber Plus (Yearly)7 Days trial2 variants$72.001 Year
  • Caliber Plus (Yearly)1 Month trial$72.001 Year
None

First Run

No in-app purchases

Questions

Is Caliber free?
Caliber is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Is First Run free?
First Run is free to download, with no in-app purchases.
Which has better reviews, Caliber or First Run?
Caliber is rated higher. Caliber averages 4.8 out of 5 from 6.2K ratings, while First Run averages 4.0 from 1 ratings.
Do Caliber or First Run have ads?
Neither Caliber nor First Run shows ads.

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