Comparison

Stronglifts 5x5 Workout Plan 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

Stronglifts 5x5 Workout Plan

This app guides you through a proven barbell strength training program with no guesswork. It plans every exercise, set, and weight for you, allowing you to focus on lifting and see consistent progress. Ideal for beginners or those returning to strength training.

Highlights
  • Proven 3x/week strength program
  • Automated progression
  • Guided workouts with timers
  • Progress charts
  • Simple interface
Features
Read full description

Get stronger with the world’s simplest, most proven barbell program: the 5×5 workout. No guesswork. Just follow along and see real results, in just 3 workouts a week. StrongLifts is made for lifters starting or returning to barbell strength training. The app removes all confusion and complexity by guiding you through every 5×5 workout. It plans every exercise, set, and weight so you always know exactly what to do. The time-tested 5×5 workout gets you stronger, week after week. No experience needed. ▸ Proven 3×/week strength program: Structured workouts, all planned for you. ▸ No guesswork: Fully automated progression for consistent strength gains. ▸ Just follow along: Simple interface with timers. Focus on lifting, not fiddling. ▸ Stay motivated. See your strength go up every week with clear progress charts. ▸ Easy to stick with. Simple, guided 3×/week program. No decisions, just results. Over 3 million lifters worldwide have started or restarted their strength journey with StrongLifts since 2007. The app has been featured and reviewed in the British Journal of Sports Medicine. StrongLifts is the best strength app, with more than 200,000 five-star reviews worldwide. StrongLifts is built on the classic 5×5 workout made famous by legends like Reg Park, Bill Starr, and Glenn Pendlay. For more than 70 years, the 5×5 workout has been proven to get new and returning lifters stronger, quickly and safely. Download StrongLifts today and join millions getting stronger. StrongLifts is free to download, but requires a subscription to use. All new users get a 7-day free trial for the yearly plan. Monthly and quarterly plans are also available without a free trial. Subscription renews automatically unless canceled at least 24 hours before the end of each period. Manage or cancel your subscription any time in your App Store account settings. https://www.apple.com/legal/internet-services/itunes/dev/stdeula/

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

Stronglifts 5x5 Workout Plan4 screens
Five/Three/One4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is ratings volume: Stronglifts 5x5 Workout Plan at 77K against Five/Three/One's 1.5K. Five/Three/One's advantage is review sentiment (78% vs 63%) and iOS requirement (12.0 vs 18.0). On price, rating, update cadence and ads 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. Stronglifts 5x5 Workout Plan sells 12 in-app purchases, starting at $4.99 per 7 days 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 — 4.9 for Stronglifts 5x5 Workout Plan against 4.8 for Five/Three/One. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: Stronglifts 5x5 Workout Plan has 77K ratings behind it against 1.5K, so its average is the more settled of the two. Written reviews are what separate them: 63% of Stronglifts 5x5 Workout Plan's written reviews are positive against 78% of Five/Three/One's.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

Both ship on a similar rhythm, roughly every 2 weeks. The most recent releases landed on November 1, 2026 and October 30, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard3 real differences · 7 level
Stronglifts 5x5 Workout Plan versus Five/Three/One: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterStronglifts 5x5 Workout PlanFive/Three/One
PriceFreeFree
Rating4.9 (77K ratings) — better4.8 (1.5K ratings)
Positive reviews62.6% of reviews78.2% of reviews — better
Number of ratings77K — better1.5K
Update frequencyEvery 2 weeksEvery 2 weeks
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesYesYes
MonetizationFree with in-app purchasesFree with in-app purchases
DevicesiPhone, iPad, Apple Watch — betteriPhone, iPod
Requires iOS18.012.0 — better
Further details — not scored
Size172 MB37 MB
Age rating4+4+
DeveloperStrongLiftsStrong Pigeon LLC

Customer experience

Stronglifts 5x5 Workout Plan

All ratings76,863 ratings
Positive97.6%
Neutral1.1%
Negative1.3%
Written reviews1,428 reviews
Positive62.6%
Neutral3.9%
Negative33.5%

Five/Three/One

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

User reviews

Stronglifts 5x5 Workout Plan

From 77K App Store ratings

What we love

  • 💪 Effective strength-building program
  • 📈 Tracks progress and helps with consistency
  • 🤖 Automatic weight progression and plate calculation
  • ⏱️ Convenient timer and rest period tracking
  • 📚 Helpful exercise form videos

Room to improve

  • 🐛 Occasional bugs and syncing issues
  • 💰 Subscription model can be expensive for some
  • 🔒 Limited customization options in free version
  • ⚠️ Weights may not be accurate for all users
  • 🕰️ Workouts can be time-consuming for some

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

Stronglifts 5x5 Workout Plan

Reported bugs

3 issues
  • Workout data loss and reset issues
  • Inconsistent Apple Watch connectivity
  • Inability to edit or delete custom exercises

Requested features

5 requests
  • Ability to customize core exercises
  • Menstrual cycle tracking and programming
  • More pre-built program options
  • Integration with other fitness apps and devices
  • Recommended meal plans and nutrition guidance

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

12 purchases

Stronglifts 5x5 Workout Plan

Subscriptions7
  • Pro Weekly2 variants$4.997 Days
  • Pro Monthly2 variants$11.991 Month
  • Pro Quarterly2 variants$29.993 Months
Show 4 more
  • Pro Yearly$59.991 Year
  • Pro Yearly1 Year trial$59.991 Year
  • Pro Yearly7 Days trial$59.991 Year
  • Pro Quarterly$99.993 Months
One-time5
  • StrongLifts Pro 5 Years$199.99
  • Pro Lifetime$199.99
  • StrongLifts Pro 5 Years$239.99
Show 2 more
  • Pro Family Lifetime$299.99
  • Pro Family Lifetime Upgrade$299.99
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 Stronglifts 5x5 Workout Plan free?
Stronglifts 5x5 Workout Plan 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, Stronglifts 5x5 Workout Plan or Five/Three/One?
Stronglifts 5x5 Workout Plan is rated higher. Stronglifts 5x5 Workout Plan averages 4.9 out of 5 from 77K ratings, while Five/Three/One averages 4.8 from 1.5K ratings.
Do Stronglifts 5x5 Workout Plan or Five/Three/One have ads?
Neither Stronglifts 5x5 Workout Plan nor Five/Three/One shows ads.
Which is updated more often, Stronglifts 5x5 Workout Plan or Five/Three/One?
Stronglifts 5x5 Workout Plan ships an update every 2 weeks, and Five/Three/One every 2 weeks. Most recently, Stronglifts 5x5 Workout Plan was updated on November 1, 2026 and Five/Three/One on October 30, 2026.

Other comparisons