Comparison

The Training Notebook vs Gym Diary

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

Head to head
About

The Training Notebook

This app helps personal trainers manage clients, organize workout programs, track progress, and streamline administrative tasks. It offers tools for assessments, scheduling, and communication, allowing trainers to focus on business growth.

Highlights
  • Client management
  • Workout program organization
  • Progress tracking
  • Fitness assessments
  • Scheduling
  • In-app messaging
  • PAR-Q questionnaires
Features
Read full description

Whether you're an online or in-person personal trainer you will be able to deliver a better personal training experience to all your clients easily and efficiently. The Training Notebook is the most affordable and easy-to-use apps on the market. It is the best personal training management tool helping you organize all your client’s workout programs, training schedules, assessments, and progress all in one place. Your clients can also stay focused and motivated by accessing their progress through their very own app The Client Notebook (free for all clients) Save time and effort and solely focus on growing your business and client base rather than being slowed down with all admin work. * Easy to use interface. * All Client get access to their own personal app The Client Notebook (free) * Complete control in goal tracking for your clients. * Simple steps to customize your client’s fitness programs. * Store all client information and progress all in one place. * Stay organized and focused on growing your client base and business. Personal Training Tools include: * Unlimited clients. * Physical readiness questionnaires (PAR-Q) for each client. * Unlimited training programs. * Unlimited body assessments. * In-app messaging * Built-in Interval Timer If you choose to purchase the Unlimited Subscription, payment will be charged through your iTunes account, and your subscription will be automatically renewed within 24-hours before the end of the current period. Auto-renewal may be turned off at any time by going to your settings in the iTunes Store after purchase. The current Unlimited Subscription price starts at USD 24.99/month, one-month and 12-month packages are available. Prices are in US dollars, may vary in countries other than the US, and are subject to change without notice. Cancellation of the current subscription is not allowed during the active subscription period. If you don’t choose to purchase an Unlimited Subscription, you can simply continue using The Training Notebook for free. Terms of Use: https://www.thetrainingnotebook.com/Terms_of_Use Privacy Policy: https://www.thetrainingnotebook.com/Privacy_Policy

About

Gym Diary

This app helps you meticulously track every aspect of your gym workouts, from sets and reps to body measurements and nutrition. Plan routines, log exercises, and visualize your progress with detailed graphs to achieve your fitness goals.

Highlights
  • Workout planner and gym log
  • Complete workout tracker
  • Weightlifting tracker and rep counter
  • Unlimited custom exercises
  • Workout progress tracker with strength graphs
  • Body measurements and weight tracker
  • Calorie and nutrition tracker
Features
Read full description

Track Every Rep, Set & Workout with Gym Diary: The Ultimate Gym Log & Workout Tracker Gym Diary is more than just a workout tracker app. It's your complete companion for weightlifting, bodybuilding, and strength training success. Whether you're a beginner or advanced lifter, our gym log app helps you plan workout routines, track exercise progress, and stay consistent with every gym session. Perfect for home workouts or hitting the gym. It's the fitness planner that adapts to your lifestyle. Join thousands of lifters who've transformed their training with Gym Diary. Use it as your daily training log and rep counter to monitor every detail. This workout tracker keeps you motivated and making real progress toward your fitness goals. Core Features: • Workout Planner & Gym Log Design your training week with custom workout routines. Our fitness planner lets you create weekly schedules or quick workout drafts for gym sessions. • Complete Workout Tracker & Training Log Record every detail of your gym workouts. Log sets, reps, weights, and time for any exercise. Whether it's weightlifting, strength training, or home workouts, this workout tracker captures everything. • Weightlifting Tracker & Rep Counter Our dedicated rep counter makes it effortless to log your lifts and track rest periods. Perfect for bodybuilding splits, strength training blocks, and powerlifting. Count every rep and track your progression. • Unlimited Exercise Tracker & Custom Workouts Create unlimited custom exercises for free. This exercise tracker gives you complete freedom to log exactly what you do. • Workout Progress Tracker & Strength Graphs Visualize strength gains, monitor body changes, and review your complete gym log history. Track workout progress over days, weeks, and months. • Body Measurements & Weight Tracker Track body weight, biceps, chest, thighs, waist, and more. An essential bodybuilding tracker feature that pairs with your fitness planner. • Calorie & Nutrition Tracker Monitor daily calorie intake alongside your training log to align nutrition with your workout goals. Whether bulking, cutting, or maintaining, keep everything in one place. • Workout Widgets & Lock Screen Access Your workout routine is one tap away. Add widgets to see your fitness planner calendar and recent gym sessions. • iCloud Sync & Backup All your workout tracker history syncs securely across your devices. Never worry about losing your training log data. • Beautiful Dark Mode & Custom App Icons Choose from multiple app icons and enjoy dark mode during early morning or late-night gym workouts. Whether you're into weightlifting, bodybuilding, strength training, powerlifting, or general fitness, Gym Diary works for you. From gym workouts to home workouts, from tracking heavy lifts to counting reps, this workout tracker handles it all. Perfect for beginners learning progression, intermediate lifters chasing strength goals, and advanced athletes fine-tuning their training log. Gym Diary helps you track exercise, measure progress, and prove you're getting better. Use Gym Diary as your daily gym log, comprehensive training log, and intelligent exercise tracker in one beautiful app. Plan your workout routine on Sunday, execute through the week, and review progress on Friday. Stay consistent and watch your fitness goals become reality. Download Gym Diary today and experience why thousands trust it as their #1 gym log and workout tracker. Start tracking your workout routine, count every rep, log every set, and build the physique you've always wanted. To enjoy the full experience and gain access to all features, you can purchase one of our subscription plan or one time plan. All your previous purchases can be easily restored using the **Restore Purchase** option in the app. This will provide you access to all the premium features. You can view Gym Diary Terms of Service & Privacy Policy at: https://nrlnishan.github.io/gymdiary/privacypolicy/

Screenshots

The Training Notebook4 screens
Gym Diary4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is rating: Gym Diary at 4.3 against The Training Notebook's 3.1. Gym Diary also leads on update cadence (every 3 weeks vs every 6 weeks) and review sentiment (54% vs 43%). The Training Notebook's advantage is iOS requirement (13.0 vs 16.1). On price, ratings volume, ads 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. The Training Notebook sells 6 in-app purchases, starting at $9.00 per month and Gym Diary sells 7 in-app purchases, starting at $1.99 per 7 days. Whichever you choose, the download price is not the number that matters.

ReceptionRating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings

Gym Diary holds the better App Store score, 4.3 against 3.1. Both are backed by a comparable volume of ratings — 52 and 125 respectively. Written reviews point the same way: 43% of The Training Notebook's written reviews are positive against 54% of Gym Diary's.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

The Training Notebook ships an update every 6 weeks, Gym Diary every 3 weeks. Both last shipped on October 17, 2026.

Scorecard4 real differences · 6 level
The Training Notebook versus Gym Diary: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterThe Training NotebookGym Diary
PriceFreeFree
Rating3.1 (52 ratings)4.3 (125 ratings) — better
Positive reviews43.2% of reviews54.2% of reviews — better
Number of ratings52125 — better
Update frequencyEvery 6 weeksEvery 3 weeks — better
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesYesYes
MonetizationFree with in-app purchasesFree with in-app purchases
DevicesiPhone, iPad, iPod — betteriPhone, iPad
Requires iOS13.0 — better16.1
Further details — not scored
Size62 MB37 MB
Age rating4+4+
DeveloperThe Training Notebook, Inc.Nishan Niraula

Customer experience

The Training Notebook

All ratings52 ratings
Positive50.0%
Neutral5.8%
Negative44.2%
Written reviews176 reviews
Positive43.2%
Neutral9.7%
Negative47.2%

Gym Diary

All ratings125 ratings
Positive81.6%
Neutral6.4%
Negative12.0%
Written reviews59 reviews
Positive54.2%
Neutral13.6%
Negative32.2%

User reviews

The Training Notebook

From 52 App Store ratings

What we love

  • 💪 Easy to use and manage clients
  • 📈 Helpful for tracking client progress
  • 🗓️ Useful calendar and scheduling features
  • 📝 Customizable workout programming
  • 🤝 Client-facing app for engagement

Room to improve

  • 🐛 Frequent crashes and bugs
  • 🔒 Lost client data after updates
  • 💰 Unexpected subscription fees
  • 🔄 Difficulty editing/deleting workouts
  • 📊 Limited assessment and tracking options

Gym Diary

From 125 App Store ratings

What we love

  • 👍 Simple and easy to use UI
  • 💪 Great for tracking workouts
  • ✅ Allows custom workout routines
  • 📈 Satisfying progress tracking with charts
  • ✨ Sleek and user-friendly design

Room to improve

  • 💰 Paywall for basic features
  • 💸 Forced to pay for membership again
  • 🚫 No free trial or limited features
  • 📉 Updates are poor and buggy
  • 🔒 Many features locked by subscription

Bugs and requests

The Training Notebook

Reported bugs

6 issues
  • Signature box retains previous client's signature
  • Notes section not functioning properly
  • Workout programming often gets rearranged
  • Inability to open client profiles after updates
  • Timer feature not working as expected
Show 1 more
  • Syncing issues between app and web version

Requested features

6 requests
  • Add nutrition tracking and meal planning
  • Improve calendar sync and integration
  • Allow more customization of assessments
  • Implement better data backup and recovery
  • Add more exercise library and programming options
Show 1 more
  • Improve overall user interface and workflow

Gym Diary

Reported bugs

15 issues
  • App crashes between sets
  • App freezes and data is lost
  • Latest update is buggy
  • Updates consistently have glitches
  • Can't use on other devices with the same account
Show 10 more
  • App crashes after purchasing
  • Won't save sets
  • Bugs don't save workouts correctly
  • Can't log weight or reps
  • App closes when making a new exercise
  • Can't add exercises to routines
  • Notes disappear when adding exercises
  • Can't select checkmark to finish adding reps and weight
  • Routine won't log more than one muscle group
  • Wrong units selected (metric vs. feet/inches)

Requested features

21 requests
  • Watch app for Apple Watch
  • Allow editing exercises without deleting
  • Separate notes tab for general notes
  • Drag and drop exercises for order
  • Edit exercises within a day
Show 16 more
  • Add custom muscle groups
  • Rest timer that counts down
  • Completed sets/routines greyed out, not disappeared
  • Option to increase all weights by percentage
  • Add diagrams to depict exercises
  • Start workout button with rest breaks
  • Ability to add created exercises to workouts
  • Add a note to a given day's exercises
  • Edit an exercise or add a missed exercise to a previous day
  • Graph showing max reps or total reps per day
  • Option to remove workouts
  • Add custom exercises not in the list
  • Dark mode option
  • Advanced analytics dashboard
  • Sync across devices
  • Allow one free exercise and one free workout plan

In-app purchases

6 purchases

The Training Notebook

Subscriptions6
  • 10Clients Monthly Subscription$9.001 Month
  • 20Clients Monthly Subscription$16.001 Month
  • Unlimited Clients Subscription$24.991 Month
Show 3 more
  • 10 Clients Annual Subscription$72.001 Year
  • 20 Clients Annual Subscription$143.991 Year
  • Unlimited Clients Subscription$229.991 Year
7 purchases

Gym Diary

Subscriptions6
  • Gym DIary Premium - Weekly3 Days trial$1.997 Days
  • Gym Diary Premium - Monthly$3.991 Month
  • Gym Diary Premium - Monthly$4.991 Month
Show 3 more
  • Gym Diary - Yearly Plan$14.991 Year
  • Gym Diary Premium - Yearly3 Days trial$24.991 Year
  • Gym Diary Premium - Yearly$29.991 Year
One-time1
  • Gym Diary Lifetime$34.99

Questions

Is The Training Notebook free?
The Training Notebook is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Is Gym Diary free?
Gym Diary is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Which has better reviews, The Training Notebook or Gym Diary?
Gym Diary is rated higher. The Training Notebook averages 3.1 out of 5 from 52 ratings, while Gym Diary averages 4.3 from 125 ratings.
Do The Training Notebook or Gym Diary have ads?
Neither The Training Notebook nor Gym Diary shows ads.
Which is updated more often, The Training Notebook or Gym Diary?
The Training Notebook ships an update every 6 weeks, and Gym Diary every 3 weeks. Most recently, The Training Notebook was updated on October 17, 2026 and Gym Diary on October 17, 2026.

Other comparisons