Comparison

Koar vs Barbell.calc

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

Head to head
About

Koar

Features
Read full description

KOAR is a strength coach that adapts to your body, not just your preferences. It reads your recovery and fatigue, detects stalls before you do, adjusts volume and intensity to how you're actually recovering, and for women, tunes intensity to your cycle phase. This isn't a workout logger. It's a training system. Free to start. Works on iPhone alone, better with Apple Watch and AirPods. Full gym to just bodyweight, KOAR builds around what you have. HANDS-FREE COACHING Put your AirPods in, put your phone down, lift. A warm studio-quality coach (Kira or Wes) narrates every set: exercise intros, rest countdowns, brace cues before heavy lifts, form reminders, a halfway checkpoint. Works offline, no setup. INTELLIGENT PROGRESSION Every set feeds a progression engine built on exercise science. KOAR estimates your 1RM with an Epley-Brzycki ensemble, detects stalls before you notice, and auto-adjusts volume and intensity. It adds weight when you're ready and calls a deload when you need one, using severity-weighted analysis of your last 4 sessions instead of waiting for you to fail twice. ADAPTS TO YOUR BODY A 5-second wellness check-in (energy, sleep, mood) calibrates every workout. KOAR reads HRV and nutrition from Apple Health to adjust volume and recovery, and uses menstrual cycle data to tune intensity by phase. APPLE WATCH COMPANION Live heart rate with zone coloring, rest timers based on heart-rate recovery (not just the clock), and rep detection tuned per exercise. If your Watch drops mid-workout, your iPhone is the source of truth, no data lost. TEMPO COACHING KOAR prescribes lifting tempo (eccentric, pause, concentric, pause) and guides each phase with haptic pulses on your wrist. COACHING INSIGHTS A Coach tab surfaces patterns you'd miss on your own: masked fatigue, volume response profiles, and wellness-performance correlations unique to you. PERIODIZATION THAT RUNS ITSELF Mesocycles with automatic phase progression, volume landmark tracking per muscle group (MEV/MAV/MRV), and goal-aware deloads. Hypertrophy deloads cut volume with lighter weights; strength deloads cut volume but keep full working weight for CNS readiness. BUILT FOR EVERY LEVEL Beginners get guided weight discovery with live cues. Intermediate lifters get periodized mesocycles with automatic deloads. Advanced lifters get RPE/RIR autoregulation and sex-based programming. EARN YOUR PROGRESS XP tied to training quality, not just showing up. 20 rank tiers, 18 badges for real milestones like 12-week streaks and pressing your body weight, and streak flames that evolve from Bronze to Obsidian over a year. AI PROGRAM BUILDER Describe your ideal training in plain English and KOAR builds a complete periodized weekly plan that respects evidence-based volume landmarks. STRAVA SYNC Completed workouts post to your Strava feed automatically as Weight Training activities. WIDGETS & LIVE ACTIVITIES Today's workout, weekly volume by muscle group, and your streak flame on the Home and Lock Screen. Live Activities keep your current set on Dynamic Island. PRIVACY FIRST No account required. Fully functional offline. No ads. Anonymous usage analytics only, opt-out in Settings. Voice coaching runs entirely on your device. Your data stays on device unless you turn on iCloud sync. SUBSCRIPTION KOAR's core is free: workout logging, RPE/RIR autoregulation, the progression engine, periodization, wellness check-ins, Apple Watch, Strava, and widgets. KOAR Pro unlocks the coaching layer: voice coaching, the AI program builder, Coaching Insights, heart-rate-based rest, body tracking, advanced set techniques, and unlimited routines. New users get a 2-week free Pro trial. Subscriptions auto-renew unless cancelled at least 24 hours before the period ends. Manage or cancel anytime in App Store settings. Localized in 13 languages. Voice coaching in English only for now. Terms of Use: https://www.apple.com/legal/internet-services/itunes/dev/stdeula/

About

Barbell.calc

Easily calculate barbell plate combinations for any target weight in kilograms or pounds. Quickly determine percentages of your max and customize available plate denominations for accurate loading. Works offline and is completely free with no ads or tracking.

Highlights
  • Calculate exact plate layout
  • Reverse calculator for target weight
  • Percentage of max calculations
  • Customizable plate inventory
  • Supports kg and lb units
  • Offline functionality
  • Adjustable bar weight
Features
Read full description

Load the bar. Skip the math. Barbell.calc turns a target weight into an exact plate layout in kilograms and pounds at the same time. Built by a lifter, for the two minutes between sets when you shouldn't be doing arithmetic. TAP ON, HOLD OFF Tap a plate to add one per side. Press and hold to take one back off. The bar redraws as you go, with heavy plates seated against the sleeve and change plates drawn shorter — so you can read the load the way it'll actually look on the rack. REVERSE CALCULATOR Know the number, not the plates? Type your target and hit Calculate. You get the optimal loading instantly. If your plate set can't hit the number exactly, it tells you plainly and gives you the closest build instead of quietly rounding. PERCENTAGES OF YOUR MAX Enter a training max, drag the range to the percentages you're actually working in, and see the whole table. Tap any row and that weight loads straight onto the bar — no re-typing. TRUE KG AND LB SUPPORT Complete competition plate sets in both units. Kilograms: 25, 20, 15, 10, plus 5, 2.5, 2, 1.5, 1 and 0.5 change plates. Pounds: 55, 45, 35, 25, 15, 10, plus 5, 2.5, 1 and 0.5. The total displays in both units no matter which plates are on the bar. Switching units doesn't just convert the number — it rebuilds the same load out of the other plate set, as close as those plates allow. That's the honest answer, and it's the one you need when you train in kilos and your gym stocks pounds. MEN'S AND WOMEN'S BARS 20 kg / 15 kg, or 45 lb / 35 lb. Add 2.5 kg competition collars with one switch. YOUR GYM, YOUR PLATES Cross out any denomination your gym doesn't stock. Every calculation — forward, reverse, and percentage — respects your inventory. No more being told to load a 1.5 kg plate that doesn't exist in your rack. BUILT FOR THE GYM FLOOR - Works fully offline. No signal needed in the basement. - Haptic feedback you can turn off. - Large, glove-friendly targets. - A short tour on first launch, replayable any time from About. FREE, AND ACTUALLY FREE No account. No subscription. No in-app purchases. No ads. No analytics, no tracking, no data collection of any kind — everything you enter stays on your device. Made for Olympic weightlifting, powerlifting, CrossFit, and anyone who has ever stood at a loaded bar counting plates twice. Barbell.calc is an independent app by an NTR Barbell athlete, made with the gym's permission.

Screenshots

Koar4 screens
Barbell.calc4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is in-app purchases: Barbell.calc at none against Koar's 3. Barbell.calc also leads on iOS requirement (15.0 vs 18). On price, ads 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

CostPrice · In-app purchases · Ads · Monetization

Both are free to download. Koar sells 3 in-app purchases, starting at $9.99 per month. Barbell.calc asks for nothing beyond the download.

Scorecard2 real differences · 8 level
Koar versus Barbell.calc: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterKoarBarbell.calc
PriceFreeFree
Rating—5.0 (3 ratings) — better
Positive reviews—100.0% of reviews
Number of ratings—3 — better
Update frequencyEvery 5 days—
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesYesNo — better
Monetization—Free
DevicesiPhone, iPad, Apple Watch — betteriPhone, iPod
Requires iOS1815.0 — better
Further details — not scored
Size150 MB17 MB
Age rating4+4+
DeveloperAric MalkaJACK TILLMAN HALSTEAD

In-app purchases

3 purchases

Koar

Subscriptions2
  • Monthly14 Days trial$9.991 Month
  • Yearly14 Days trial$69.991 Year
One-time1
  • Lifetime Access$179.00
None

Barbell.calc

No in-app purchases

Questions

Is Koar free?
Koar is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Is Barbell.calc free?
Barbell.calc is free to download, with no in-app purchases.
Do Koar or Barbell.calc have ads?
Neither Koar nor Barbell.calc shows ads.

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