Comparison

Iron Journal vs GymDiary

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

Head to head
About

Iron Journal

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Iron Journal โ€“ For Those Who Lift With Intent Iron Journal is built for athletes who train with purpose. Not a simple set logger. A complete training system designed around how serious lifters actually program, track, and improve. โ€ข Train With Structure: Phase-based workouts keep you locked in set by set. No scrolling, no searching โ€” just the next lift, your goals, and your last session set's stats visible in real time right where you need them. โ€ข Log Everything That Matters: Weight, reps, RPE, RIR, rest, and set comments captured in seconds. Automatically tracked rest and every detail recorded so nothing is left to memory or guesswork. โ€ข Know Exactly How You're Progressing: Compare any two sessions side by side, set by set. Trend data shows weight, reps, exertion, and rest changes over time so you always know if you're moving forward. โ€ข Personal Records That Work For You: Strength and endurance PRs tracked automatically and linked to your exercises. Use percentage-based targets to program intelligently off your actual maxes. โ€ข Plan Like You Mean It: Build full training blocks with the workout calendar. Schedule deload weeks, max effort days, and recurring sessions across your entire cycle. โ€ข Everything Else: Percentage-based weight targets ยท Muscle group tagging ยท Mid-session exercise editing ยท Data export ยท Imperial and metric ยท Custom accent colors ยท One-swipe exercise management

About

GymDiary

Features
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The workout tracker built for serious lifters. Log every set, rep, and weight. Track progressive overload session by session. Monitor volume across every muscle group. GymDiary gives you the data to train smarter โ€” completely free, forever. โ€”โ€”โ€”โ€”โ€”โ€”โ€”โ€”โ€”โ€”โ€”โ€”โ€”โ€”โ€”โ€”โ€”โ€”โ€”โ€”โ€”โ€”โ€”โ€”โ€”โ€” WHAT YOU CAN DO WITH GYMDIARY โ€”โ€”โ€”โ€”โ€”โ€”โ€”โ€”โ€”โ€”โ€”โ€”โ€”โ€”โ€”โ€”โ€”โ€”โ€”โ€”โ€”โ€”โ€”โ€”โ€”โ€” - EXERCISE LOGGING Log sets, reps, and weight for any exercise. Build a complete record of your entire training history. - PROGRESSIVE OVERLOAD TRACKING See your last session's data every time you train. Make deliberate increases to keep building strength over time. - MUSCLE GROUP VOLUME Automatically track weekly training volume for Chest, Back, Legs, Shoulders, and Arms. Know exactly what you've trained. - STRENGTH ANALYTICS Charts for volume, frequency, and personal records. Understand exactly how your training is progressing over weeks and months. - CUSTOM EXERCISE LIBRARY Add your own exercises with custom muscle group mappings. Your library works the way you train. - FULL WORKOUT HISTORY Every session you've ever logged, always available. Search and filter by date, muscle group, or exercise name. - WORKS ON ALL YOUR DEVICES your data syncs across all platforms. Train anywhere. โ€”โ€”โ€”โ€”โ€”โ€”โ€”โ€”โ€”โ€”โ€”โ€”โ€”โ€”โ€”โ€”โ€”โ€”โ€”โ€”โ€”โ€”โ€”โ€”โ€”โ€” BUILT FOR EVERY TRAINING STYLE โ€”โ€”โ€”โ€”โ€”โ€”โ€”โ€”โ€”โ€”โ€”โ€”โ€”โ€”โ€”โ€”โ€”โ€”โ€”โ€”โ€”โ€”โ€”โ€”โ€”โ€” Whether you run Push Pull Legs, Upper Lower, a full-body program, or your own custom split โ€” GymDiary adapts to your routine, not the other way around. No templates forced on you. No premium features locked behind a paywall. No ads. Just a clean, fast workout tracker that gets out of your way and lets you lift. Download GymDiary today โ€” it's free. Forever.

Screenshots

Iron Journal4 screens
GymDiary4 screens

Verdict

The call

Iron Journal and GymDiary are too close to call on the numbers: across 6 compared parameters โ€” price, update cadence, ads and in-app purchases among them โ€” neither pulls far enough ahead to decide it. What separates them is feature set and interface, not measurable difference.

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

CostPrice ยท In-app purchases ยท Ads ยท Monetization

Both are free to download. Neither carries in-app purchases, so what you see is what you pay.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

Iron Journal ships an update fortnightly, GymDiary every 2 weeks. The most recent releases landed on October 25, 2026 and October 7, 2026 respectively.

ScorecardNo meaningful differences
Iron Journal versus GymDiary: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterIron JournalGymDiary
PriceFreeFree
Update frequencyFortnightlyEvery 2 weeks โ€” better
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesNoNo
DevicesiPhone, iPodiPhone, iPad, iPod โ€” better
Requires iOS15.215.1 โ€” better
Further details โ€” not scored
Size24 MB44 MB
Age rating12+4+
DeveloperJacob MillerANALYTICA SOLUTIONS AND CONSULTING LIMITED

In-app purchases

None

Iron Journal

No in-app purchases

None

GymDiary

No in-app purchases

Questions

Is Iron Journal free?
Iron Journal is free to download, with no in-app purchases.
Is GymDiary free?
GymDiary is free to download, with no in-app purchases.
Do Iron Journal or GymDiary have ads?
Neither Iron Journal nor GymDiary shows ads.
Which is updated more often, Iron Journal or GymDiary?
Iron Journal ships an update fortnightly, and GymDiary every 2 weeks. Most recently, Iron Journal was updated on October 25, 2026 and GymDiary on October 7, 2026.

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