Comparison

531 Trainer vs Five/Three/One

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

Head to head
About

531 Trainer

Simplify your strength training with this app. It calculates your daily workouts based on your max lifts, eliminating the need for spreadsheets or manual calculations at the gym. Easily progress to the next cycle with automatic weight increments.

Highlights
  • Calculates daily workouts
  • Automatic weight progression
  • One Rep Max calculator
  • Assistance work percentage calculator
  • Supports kilograms or pounds
  • Visual weight plate guidance
Features
Read full description

5/3/1 made easy You no longer need to deal with clunky spreadsheets or fumble around at the gym trying to find your numbers. Everything is right on your phone and easy to access. Simply enter your max for military press, deadlift, bench press and squat once and have each day's workout calculated for you. When you finish a cycle, hitting just one button increments the weight for each of your lifts leaving you ready to quickly continue your training. Features: - One Rep Max Calculator - Assistance Work Percent Calculator - Uses Kilograms or Pounds - Program persistence - Visual information on what weight plates to use Icons Provided By Icons8 icons8.com/web-app/364/Settings icons8.com/web-app/437/Twitter icons8.com/web-app/435/Facebook icons8.com/web-app/94/Lock icons8.com/web-app/152/Unlock

About

Five/Three/One

This app helps weightlifters follow Jim Wendler's 5/3/1 program by automating cycle calculations, plate suggestions, and progress tracking. It eliminates the need for paper logs or spreadsheets, focusing on strength gains. Features include rest timers, workout scheduling, and Apple Health integration.

Highlights
  • 5/3/1 cycle planning and scheduling
  • Progress charting
  • Rest timer with notifications
  • Automatic plate calculation
  • Next cycle calculation based on performance
  • Home screen widget
  • Apple Health integration
Features
Read full description

The latest app for weightlifters doing Jim Wendler's 5/3/1 program! Five/Three/One is a focused and intuitive app helping you achieve what really matters: Getting Stronger. No more bringing a crumbled workout sheet to the gym, no more messing around spreadsheets to update your weights. From calculating your cycles, to telling you what plates to put on the bar, Five/Three/One does it all. Features include: - Planning and scheduling your whole 5/3/1 cycle - Charting your progress - Rest timer with notifications - Automatic plating calculation - Calculating your next cycle based on your performance - Notes associated with each sets - Home screen widget showing your your current and upcoming workouts - Lbs/kg support Optional paid features: - Customize which plates you're using and change your barbell's weight - Customize templates assistance work and define your own exercises - Beyond 5/3/1 templates and options, from Joker Sets to FSL, Pyramid and much more! Integrates with Apple Health : The app saves the workouts you've performed as well as the calories you've burnt in Apple Health. As weightlifters doing 5/3/1 ourselves, we made the app we wanted after being dissatisfied with what was out there. More than just a glorified spreadsheet, we designed it to be focused on each task at hand. With even more great features in the pipeline, we're stoked to release the app for others to use and can't wait to hear your feedback! We use it, we love it, and we're sure you will too.

Screenshots

531 Trainer4 screens
Five/Three/One4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is rating: Five/Three/One at 4.9 against 531 Trainer's 4.3. Five/Three/One also leads on ratings volume (1.2K vs 10). 531 Trainer's advantage is in-app purchases (none vs 6) and iOS requirement (7.1 vs 12.0). On price, review sentiment, update cadence and ads 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. Five/Three/One sells 6 one-off in-app purchases. 531 Trainer asks for nothing beyond the download.

ReceptionRating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings

Five/Three/One holds the better App Store score, 4.9 against 4.3. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: Five/Three/One has 1.2K ratings behind it against 10, so its average is the more settled of the two. Written reviews complicate that: 82% of 531 Trainer's written reviews are positive against 78% of Five/Three/One's, so the app with the better star average is not the one people write more warmly about.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

531 Trainer ships an update fortnightly, Five/Three/One every 2 weeks. Both last shipped on October 2, 2026.

Scorecard5 real differences · 5 level
531 Trainer versus Five/Three/One: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
Parameter531 TrainerFive/Three/One
PriceFreeFree
Rating4.3 (10 ratings)4.9 (1.2K ratings) — better
Positive reviews81.8% of reviews — better78.0% of reviews
Number of ratings101.2K — better
Update frequencyFortnightlyEvery 2 weeks — better
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesNo — betterYes
MonetizationFree — betterFree with in-app purchases
DevicesiPhone, iPodiPhone, iPod
Requires iOS7.1 — better12.0
Further details — not scored
Size2 MB37 MB
Age rating4+4+
DeveloperKevin FrenchStrong Pigeon LLC

Customer experience

531 Trainer

All ratings10 ratings
Positive90.0%
Neutral0.0%
Negative10.0%
Written reviews11 reviews
Positive81.8%
Neutral9.1%
Negative9.1%

Five/Three/One

All ratings1,218 ratings
Positive97.5%
Neutral2.0%
Negative0.6%
Written reviews132 reviews
Positive78.0%
Neutral9.1%
Negative12.9%

Bugs and requests

531 Trainer

Not enough reviews yet to summarise bugs or requests.

Five/Three/One

Reported bugs

4 issues
  • Workout data occasionally lost or not syncing properly
  • Calendar and scheduling issues when trying to reschedule missed workouts
  • Plate calculation bugs leading to incorrect weight displays
  • Occasional app freezes and crashes

Requested features

5 requests
  • Allow more flexibility in scheduling and rescheduling workouts
  • Provide customization options for assistance exercises
  • Implement superset and out-of-order exercise completion
  • Add support for Apple Watch integration
  • Incorporate additional 5/3/1 program variations (e.g., Bodybuilder, Monolith)

In-app purchases

None

531 Trainer

No in-app purchases

6 purchases

Five/Three/One

One-time6
  • Custom Weight Plates$2.99
  • Tip$4.99
  • Beyond 5/3/1 Pack$5.99
Show 3 more
  • Custom Assistance$8.99
  • Large Tip$9.99
  • Enormous Tip$24.99

Questions

Is 531 Trainer free?
531 Trainer is free to download, with no in-app purchases.
Is Five/Three/One free?
Five/Three/One is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Which has better reviews, 531 Trainer or Five/Three/One?
Five/Three/One is rated higher. 531 Trainer averages 4.3 out of 5 from 10 ratings, while Five/Three/One averages 4.9 from 1.2K ratings.
Do 531 Trainer or Five/Three/One have ads?
Neither 531 Trainer nor Five/Three/One shows ads.
Which is updated more often, 531 Trainer or Five/Three/One?
531 Trainer ships an update fortnightly, and Five/Three/One every 2 weeks. Most recently, 531 Trainer was updated on October 2, 2026 and Five/Three/One on October 2, 2026.

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