Comparison

Pencil Workout Log vs Braced

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

Head to head
About

Pencil Workout Log

Features
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Pencil - the workout log that keeps up Track strength, cardio, yoga, and stretching. Plan your week, follow your progress, and stay organized — with no required account, no ads, and no unnecessary noise. Pencil’s core features work offline, so your workout never depends on your connection. Built for the way you actually train Pencil doesn’t force you into a rigid start-and-stop flow. Build or import a plan, add exercises as you go, log what matters to you, and see how your training develops over time. Plan your entire training week • View your Training Calendar by month, week, or agenda • Create one-time workouts or plans that repeat daily, weekly, every other week, or monthly • Connect Apple Calendar on your terms, or keep plans entirely in Pencil • Get reminders and mark workouts complete, moved, or skipped Fast, flexible workout logging • Log individual sets for standard, bodyweight, pyramid, drop set, static, and cardio exercises • Track reps, weight, time, and distance without breaking your flow • Add an exercise to your current session without changing the original plan • Use tags, notes, favorites, and search to find exercises and history • Use the built-in stopwatch with countdown, delayed start, and lap times Strength, yoga, and stretching in one place • Search 873 strength and stretching exercises with images, instructions, and muscle filters • Explore 48 curated yoga poses and 123 stretching exercises • Get moving with 16 ready-made yoga and stretching routines • Follow a guided player with time, progress, what’s next, and clear controls • See which muscles an exercise or entire plan targets Progress you can put to work • See your activity heatmap, training rhythm, current streak, and completion rate • Follow charts, tables, tonnage, and total weight lifted over time • Test or estimate your RM with guided strength testing • Review one unified activity history without counting the same workout twice • Export CSV data and create or restore JSON backups On iPhone, Apple Watch, and your Home Screen • Log from Apple Watch and keep data in sync through iCloud • Follow active workouts with Live Activities and Dynamic Island • See upcoming plans and training status in widgets • Open Quick Log from Spotlight and Shortcuts • Connect Apple Health for activity data, time in daylight, and Training Readiness Free and Pro Free is ideal for a fast, focused workout log with up to 2 active training plans. Pencil Pro unlocks unlimited plans, advanced mode, iCloud sync, Apple Watch sync, exercise images, and advanced planning tools. Make Pencil yours with light, dark, or system appearance, multiple accent colors, and two display styles. The app supports 28 languages, including English, Norwegian, German, French, Spanish, Brazilian Portuguese, and Japanese. Log fast. Stay organized. Make progress that lasts. Terms and Privacy: Terms of Use (EULA): https://www.apple.com/legal/internet-services/itunes/dev/stdeula/ Privacy Policy: https://pencilapp.no/privacy.html

About

Braced

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Braced tracks your strength training and your cardio in one app: log sets at the gym, record runs, walks, hikes and rides with GPS, and see your progress over time. Start from your own templates, Braced's ready-made ones, or an empty session. Share workouts with friends when you want to, or keep everything private. LOG YOUR WORKOUTS - Log weight, reps, time, or distance, set by set, with last session's numbers in view. - Mark warm-up and drop sets so they stay out of your working numbers. - Rest timer between sets. - Build your own templates, use Braced's, or start from scratch. - Browse a full exercise library with instructions, target muscles, and equipment, and add your own exercises. RUNS, WALKS, HIKES AND RIDES - Record them with GPS: a live map, distance, pace, and splits, with voice feedback and auto-pause if you turn them on. - Follow a recording on the Lock Screen. - After each run: your route on a map, your splits, and your best efforts. - Import runs and rides from your watch through Apple Health, with their route, heart rate, and distance. - People who can see your runs also see their maps, without the first and last 200 m. Hide more, add private areas around home or work, or keep a run's map to yourself. TRACK YOUR PROGRESS - Review your history as a list or a calendar. - See volume, personal records, and how each lift trends over time, broken down by muscle and equipment. - Get a recap after every session, with the muscles you worked and how it compares to last time. - A Cardio tab with your weekly and monthly distance and time. Pro adds pace trends, race predictions, and a comparison of this year with last. - Braced Rewind: each month of training, told as a short story. BODY MEASUREMENTS - Log body weight, body fat, and tape measurements like waist, chest, and arms. - See trends, set goals, and get your BMI from your height. - Import weight, body fat, and waist from Apple Health (read-only). AI ANALYSIS (PRO) - Let AI review your recent training and report strengths, risks, and recommendations, based only on what you've logged. It isn't medical advice. SOCIAL - Follow people and see their workouts in a feed. - Like, comment, and post your own sessions. - Control who sees what: set your profile public, private, or hidden, and choose visibility per workout. ALSO IN BRACED - Dark mode. - Available in 11 languages. - Works offline: log without a connection and sync later. - Sign in with Apple, Google, or email. - Import workouts from Hevy or Strong, and measurements from Hevy or openScale. Export a backup or spreadsheet any time. BRACED PRO Braced is free for logging, GPS recording, up to 3 personal templates, personal exercises, history, calendar, and a workout-frequency overview. Pro adds unlimited personal templates, the full Braced template catalog, advanced statistics including cardio trends and race predictions, body measurement charts and goals, and AI analysis. Pro is an auto-renewing subscription available monthly or annually; the annual plan includes a 7-day free trial that becomes a paid subscription unless cancelled before it ends. Payment is charged to your Apple ID account at confirmation of purchase, and the subscription renews automatically unless cancelled at least 24 hours before the end of the current period. Manage or cancel it in your App Store account settings. Questions or feedback: support@getbraced.app Terms of Use (EULA): https://www.apple.com/legal/internet-services/itunes/dev/stdeula/ Privacy Policy: https://getbraced.app/privacy

Screenshots

Pencil Workout Log4 screens
Braced4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is iOS requirement: Braced at 15.1 against Pencil Workout Log's 17.0. On price, update cadence, 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. Pencil Workout Log sells 2 in-app purchases, starting at $2.99 per month and Braced sells 2 in-app purchases, starting at $4.99 per month. Whichever you choose, the download price is not the number that matters.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

Pencil Workout Log ships an update weekly, Braced every 9 days. The most recent releases landed on October 28, 2026 and October 22, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard1 real difference · 5 level
Pencil Workout Log versus Braced: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterPencil Workout LogBraced
PriceFreeFree
Update frequencyWeekly — betterEvery 9 days
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesYesYes
DevicesiPhone, Apple WatchiPhone, iPod
Requires iOS17.015.1 — better
Further details — not scored
Size208 MB70 MB
Age rating4+4+
DeveloperRobin Alexander LaumbAirat Akhmadullin

In-app purchases

2 purchases

Pencil Workout Log

Subscriptions2
  • Pencil Pro (Månedlig)$2.991 Month
  • Pencil Pro (Årlig)$89.991 Year
2 purchases

Braced

Subscriptions2
  • Braced Pro Monthly$4.991 Month
  • Braced Pro Annual7 Days trial$29.991 Year

Questions

Is Pencil Workout Log free?
Pencil Workout Log is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Is Braced free?
Braced is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Do Pencil Workout Log or Braced have ads?
Neither Pencil Workout Log nor Braced shows ads.
Which is updated more often, Pencil Workout Log or Braced?
Pencil Workout Log ships an update weekly, and Braced every 9 days. Most recently, Pencil Workout Log was updated on October 28, 2026 and Braced on October 22, 2026.

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