THE BULK vs Compound
Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both apps, side by side — with what reviewers say about each.
THE BULK
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Build Muscle Without Overthinking It Bulking should be simple. Most lifters fail to gain muscle because they lack consistency, not information. The Bulk is a minimalist muscle building tracker designed to help you gain weight, build muscle, and stay consistent in the gym. No complicated calorie tracking. No spreadsheets. No endless planning. Just the habits that actually grow muscle. WHO THE BULK IS FOR The Bulk is designed for people who want to gain muscle and track their bulking progress without complexity. Perfect if you: * Are starting your first bulk * Struggle to gain weight * Feel stuck at the same bodyweight * Want to build your next 5–10 kg of muscle * Want a simple gym and habit tracker for hypertrophy MUSCLE-FOCUSED TRACKING Track the behaviors that actually drive muscle growth: * Daily calorie intake * Protein intake * Strength training sessions * Progressive overload * Recovery and rest * Bodyweight progress Everything is built around one goal: consistent muscle gain. MINIMALIST INTERFACE BUILT FOR LIFTERS The Bulk removes distractions and focuses on execution. Clean dark interface Fast daily tracking Clear visual progress Built for the gym, not for spreadsheets. CLEAN BULK GUIDANCE Stay in the right calorie surplus to gain muscle without unnecessary fat. Avoid dirty bulking. Avoid accidental cutting. Build quality size. MOMENTUM SYSTEM Muscle growth comes from stacking good days. Track your streaks. Build momentum. Stay consistent with training and nutrition. When consistency increases, results follow. WHY THE BULK WORKS Muscle growth depends on a few key principles: * Progressive overload * Consistent training * Adequate protein intake * Small calorie surplus The Bulk turns these principles into a simple daily system. No guessing. No overthinking. Just execution. PERFECT FOR * Natural lifters * Beginners learning to bulk * Intermediate gym athletes * Anyone trying to gain weight and build muscle * Lifters who want a focused hypertrophy tracker START YOUR NEXT 10KG TRANSFORMATION Stop guessing. Start building muscle. Download The Bulk and make muscle gain simple. Terms: https://thebulk.app/terms-and-conditions
Compound
This app helps you track your weightlifting workouts with pre-built routines or custom options. It offers features like warm-ups, rest timers, mobility exercises, and progress tracking. Pro features include automated progression, custom routine building, and Apple Watch integration.
- Pre-built workout routines
- Custom routine builder
- Warm-up and mobility guides
- Rest timers
- Progress charts
- Apple Health integration
- Apple Watch support
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Compound is a workout app with exactly one workout in it. Now it can be yours. Pick one routine and follow it for good: The Complete Physique Plan (a four-day pull, push, legs and auxiliary split that also trains the neck, tibialis, rotator cuff and grip), Push / Pull / Legs, or Upper / Lower. Or build your own with Compound Pro. Every routine comes with its warm-up, rest timers and mobility, and every routine that ships is free to train. FREE, FOR GOOD Compound Free is a complete training log. Each lift opens on the weight and reps you did last time, so you walk in knowing what to load. Tap to log a set, hold the circle to dial in what you actually got, and change the weight whenever you like. The warm-up, every rest length, the mobility, the form guides, exercise swaps, Progress charts, the Log and its calendar, widgets, share cards and Apple Health all come with it. No session limit, no history window. PRO DOES THE BOOKKEEPING Compound Pro runs on double progression, a tried-and-true way to get stronger. Hit your target reps and the target goes up next time. Hit the top of the rep range and the weight goes up (5 lb for big lifts, 2.5 lb for accessories) while your reps reset. Miss a set and the weight holds until you're ready. Want a slower climb? Require up to five good sessions before each jump. BUILD YOUR OWN WITH PRO Choose the days and the lifts. Compound writes each day's warm-up and mobility to match what it trains, and most lifts come with alternatives to swap to when the rack is taken. A routine you build stays saved, viewable and exportable on Free; running it is Pro. MORE THAN JUST MOVING WEIGHT Every workout starts with an actual warm-up: timed cardio, dynamic movements, and ramp-up sets calculated from your first working weight. Rest timers kick in automatically between sets. Ten minutes of guided mobility wraps up the day. Tweak or turn off any of it; the defaults are the program. TRACKS LIKE REAL LIFE Tap to log your squats. Run the stopwatch for dead hangs and let it save your best. Use the countdown for planks. Every exercise is tracked the way you actually do it. LEAVE YOUR PHONE IN YOUR POCKET WITH PRO Start the day from your Apple Watch, then log sets, skip rests and change the weight from your wrist, with heart rate and calories saved to Apple Health. Or run the whole session from the Lock Screen without unlocking. Pro also takes a progress photo after a session, and lines it up with the last one on its own. YOURS, PRIVATELY No account. No sign-up. Nothing is uploaded to a server that reads your training. Your history is stored on your device, full stop, and you can export the whole of it as a file at any time, Free or Pro. TRY PRO FREE Start 30 days of Compound Pro, free, once per Apple Account. Nothing to cancel and nothing is charged. When it ends you're back on Compound Free with all your history. SUBSCRIPTION Compound Pro comes as a monthly or annual subscription, or as a one-time Lifetime purchase. Prices are shown in your own currency inside the app before anything is charged. Payment is charged to your Apple Account at confirmation. Subscriptions renew automatically unless auto-renew is switched off at least 24 hours before the current period ends, and can be managed or cancelled any time in Settings › Apple Account › Subscriptions. Lifetime is paid once and never renews; it includes everything in Compound Pro, including what Pro gains in later updates. If you subscribed to Compound Standard, you already have Pro. Privacy Policy: https://trycompound.cc/privacy Terms of Use: https://trycompound.cc/terms Terms of Use (Apple standard EULA): https://www.apple.com/legal/internet-services/itunes/dev/stdeula/
Screenshots
Verdict
The clearest difference is update cadence: Compound at every 9 days against THE BULK's every 4 months. On price, ads, in-app purchases 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
Both are free to download. THE BULK sells 3 in-app purchases, starting at $1.99 per month and Compound sells 4 in-app purchases, starting at $4.99 per month. Whichever you choose, the download price is not the number that matters.
THE BULK ships an update every 4 months, Compound every 9 days. The most recent releases landed on October 31, 2026 and November 6, 2026 respectively.
| Parameter | THE BULK | Compound |
|---|---|---|
| Price | Free | Free |
| Rating | — | 5.0 (1 ratings) — better |
| Number of ratings | — | 1 — better |
| Update frequency | Every 4 months | Every 9 days — better |
| Ads | No | No |
| In-app purchases | Yes | Yes |
| Monetization | — | Freemium |
| Devices | iPhone | iPhone, Apple Watch — better |
| Requires iOS | 16.4 — better | 17.0 |
| Further details — not scored | ||
| Size | 63 MB | 19 MB |
| Age rating | 4+ | 4+ |
| Developer | Escuela de Apps by Serrano de Toro | SCOTT SHUMAKER |
In-app purchases
THE BULK
- Bulk PRO Monthly$1.991 Month
- Bulk PRO Yearly$11.991 Year
- Bulk PRO Lifetime$24.99
Compound
- Progression · Monthly$4.991 Month
- Progression · Annual$29.991 Year
- 30-day TrialFree
- Progression · Lifetime$99.99









