Comparison

Forge Trainer vs LODE

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

Head to head
About

Forge Trainer

This app creates personalized strength training and workout plans tailored to your goals, schedule, equipment, and physical limitations. It offers proactive coaching and accountability, adapting as you progress, for a fraction of the cost of a personal trainer.

Highlights
  • Customized workout plans
  • AI-powered progression tracking
  • Adaptable to injuries and limitations
  • Proactive coaching and accountability
  • Choice of coaching styles
  • Time-efficient workouts
Features
Read full description

Build muscle and get stronger with a customized workout plan. Forge is a personal trainer that builds every strength training session around you: your fitness goals, your schedule, your experience, your equipment, your injuries. Home workouts or gym days, the plan fits the equipment in front of you and adapts every week as you progress. Ask your coach anything, any time. Form checks mid-set. The 7am question about training on five hours of sleep. Answers come back in seconds, from a coach that remembers everything you tell it. Other apps ignore questions or email back a day later. A human trainer charges $75-150 an hour. A year of Forge costs less than that. Every rep gets logged, every PR recorded. Whether you train to build muscle or lose weight, watch your progress climb with strength trends for every lift and a body weight chart, all on a dashboard you can customize. Every exercise comes with step-by-step instructions and a visual demo. Download Forge today and start your free 7-day trial. FORGE FEATURES Personalized Workout Plans ◆ Custom workout plan built from your goals, schedule, equipment, and injuries ◆ Sessions sized to the time you have, even 20 minutes ◆ Separate home and gym profiles, with targets set to the weights you actually have access to ◆ Programs around injuries and remembers them for good A Coach You Can Talk To ◆ Answers questions in seconds, mid-set if that's when you ask ◆ Remembers everything you tell it, from bad sleep to old injuries ◆ Checks in when you skip a few workouts ◆ Choose your coach's personality: drill sergeant, patient encourager, gym buddy, technique nerd Built for the Gym Floor ◆ Gym missing a machine? Mark it and your coach swaps in a lift you can do there ◆ Rest timer on your lock screen and a plate loader that shows what goes on each side of the bar Exercise Library ◆ Step-by-step exercise instructions with visual demos for every movement ◆ New lifts feel safe from the first rep Progress Tracking ◆ Every rep logged, with your best lifts on one PR board ◆ Watch any lift climb over time, or track your squat, bench, and deadlift as one total ◆ Log weigh-ins and watch your body weight trend ◆ Customize your dashboard with the stats you care about ASK YOUR COACH ANYTHING 7:04am, before work: You: "Rough night. Slept 5 hours. Should I still lift today?" Your coach: "Yes, lighter though. I cut today's volume by a third and moved the heavy squats to Saturday." PICK YOUR COACH The same advice lands differently depending on who says it. Choose yours: • Stone: ex-military. Tough love, zero excuses. • Maya: patient and supportive. Celebrates every win, especially the small ones. • Mike: your gym buddy. Keeps training fun so you keep showing up. • Reese: data-driven, technique-obsessed. All business, all progress. WHAT LIFTERS SAY "Before I was lost in the gym, wandering around picking up weights and working on machines that I thought were correct. Now I have a real plan that adapts to my goals and my time." "Does a great job at giving me new workouts and reminding me of last weeks progress. Letting me know how my progression is going." "I used to waste so much time wandering around the gym wondering what to do next, but this app completely eliminates that decision fatigue." Forge offers auto-renewing weekly, monthly, and yearly subscriptions, starting with a free 7-day trial. Payment is charged to your store account after the trial ends. Subscriptions renew automatically unless auto-renew is turned off at least 24 hours before the end of the current period. Manage or cancel anytime in your account settings. Questions? support@forgetrainer.ai Terms of Use: https://forgetrainer.ai/terms-of-service Privacy Policy: https://forgetrainer.ai/privacy-policy

About

LODE

This app helps you plan, log, and track your strength training progress. Organize workouts, record every set, and view detailed insights. It offers optional cloud sync and health integrations.

Highlights
  • Workout planning and templates
  • Log sets, reps, weight, and rest
  • Track progress over time
  • Calendar history and workout details
  • Exercise progress and training insights
  • Optional cloud sync
  • Apple Health integration
Features
Read full description

LODE is a strength-training and workout-tracking app built to help you plan workouts, log every set, and track progress over time. Create workout templates, organize them into folders, schedule training, browse exercises, and log reps, weight, rest, and notes. View calendar history, workout details, exercise progress, and training insights in one place. LODE also supports optional cloud sync, Apple Health integration, and Apple Watch workouts. A free tier is available. LODE is a fitness tracking tool for general wellness only. It is not medical advice. Exercise carries a risk of injury, so talk to a qualified healthcare professional before starting a new program. LODE Premium unlocks unlimited saved workouts and plans, Insights, exercise progress charts and Apple Watch workout sync. Subscriptions auto-renew monthly or annually unless canceled at least 24 hours before the end of the current period. Payment is charged to your Apple ID. Manage or cancel anytime in your Apple ID account settings. Terms of Service (EULA): https://legal.clad-ventures.com/lode/terms/ Privacy Policy: https://legal.clad-ventures.com/lode/privacy/

Screenshots

Forge Trainer4 screens
LODE4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is ads: LODE at none against Forge Trainer's shown. LODE also leads on update cadence (every 5 days vs every 2 weeks). On price, rating, review sentiment and ratings volume 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. Forge Trainer sells 5 in-app purchases, starting at $6.99 per 7 days and LODE sells 2 in-app purchases, starting at $1.99 per month. 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 — 5.0 for Forge Trainer against 5.0 for LODE. Both are backed by a comparable volume of ratings — 13 and 6 respectively. Written reviews split almost evenly too, at 100% and 100% positive.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

Forge Trainer ships an update every 2 weeks, LODE every 5 days. The most recent releases landed on October 28, 2026 and October 31, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard2 real differences · 8 level
Forge Trainer versus LODE: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterForge TrainerLODE
PriceFreeFree
Rating5.0 (13 ratings)5.0 (6 ratings)
Positive reviews100.0% of reviews100.0% of reviews
Number of ratings13 — better6
Update frequencyEvery 2 weeksEvery 5 days — better
AdsYesNo — better
In-app purchasesYesYes
MonetizationFree with in-app purchasesFreemium
DevicesiPhone, iPadiPhone, Apple Watch
Requires iOS16.4 — better17.0
Further details — not scored
Size109 MB422 MB
Age rating17+17+
Developer10D Labs Limited Liability CompanyCLAD Ventures

Customer experience

Forge Trainer

All ratings13 ratings
Positive100.0%
Neutral0.0%
Negative0.0%
Written reviews4 reviews
Positive100.0%
Neutral0.0%
Negative0.0%

LODE

All ratings6 ratings
Positive100.0%
Neutral0.0%
Negative0.0%
Written reviews5 reviews
Positive100.0%
Neutral0.0%
Negative0.0%

In-app purchases

5 purchases

Forge Trainer

Subscriptions5
  • Weekly7 Days trial$6.997 Days
  • Monthly$14.991 Month
  • Monthly7 Days trial$19.991 Month
Show 2 more
  • Yearly$44.991 Year
  • Yearly7 Days trial$59.991 Year
2 purchases

LODE

Subscriptions2
  • LODE Premium Monthly1 Month trial$1.991 Month
  • LODE Premium Annual$14.991 Year

Questions

Is Forge Trainer free?
Forge Trainer is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Is LODE free?
LODE is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Which has better reviews, Forge Trainer or LODE?
Forge Trainer and LODE are both rated 5.0 out of 5 on the App Store, from 13 and 6 ratings respectively.
Do Forge Trainer or LODE have ads?
Forge Trainer shows ads; LODE does not.
Which is updated more often, Forge Trainer or LODE?
Forge Trainer ships an update every 2 weeks, and LODE every 5 days. Most recently, Forge Trainer was updated on October 28, 2026 and LODE on October 31, 2026.

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