Alpha Progression vs Hevy
Alpha Progression and Hevy both hold 4.92 stars, which tells you almost nothing about which to buy, because they are aimed at different lifters. Alpha Progression is a programming tool: it builds the plan and advances the loads. Hevy is a logging tool: it records what you decided to do and shows you the graphs. The price gap between them is roughly five to one, so it is worth being clear about which job you are paying for.
Updated August 2026
The short answer
- Pick Alpha Progression if you want a plan built around your goals and progressed for you, and you are happy paying for that service.
- Pick Hevy if you already have a split, want it logged cleanly, and would rather spend $23.99 a year than $79.99.
- Price: Alpha Progression is $12.99 a month or $79.99 a year, with plan generation limited on the free tier. Hevy is $2.99 a month, $23.99 a year, or $74.99 once.
- Review base matters here: both sit at 4.92, but Hevy's is from 85,100 US ratings and Alpha Progression's from 2,089. A high rating on a small base is a weaker signal.
- Hevy extras: a social feed and a web app. Alpha Progression has neither, and does not need them.
SayLift logs your whole workout from one spoken sentence. iPhone only, 873 exercises built in, 3 days free then $49.99 a year.
Start the free trialProgramming and logging are separate purchases
Alpha Progression's product is the algorithm. It creates a training plan from your goals and equipment, then decides how the loads should advance week to week. If you have never run a structured programme, or you have stalled trying to write your own progression, this is a real service and the price is defensible.
Hevy's product is the record. It assumes the programming question is answered and concentrates on making the logging fast, the history readable and the whole thing cheap. Its extras are all built around that: the feed, the web app, the ChatGPT routine builder.
So the honest framing is: are you buying a coach or a notebook? Paying Alpha Progression prices to log a plan you wrote yourself is the same mistake as paying Fitbod to log a split you already run.
Side by side
| Alpha Progression | Hevy | |
|---|---|---|
| Core job | Build and progress the plan | Log the plan you have |
| App Store rating | 4.92 (2,089) | 4.92 (85,100) |
| Free tier | Limited plan generation | 4 routines, 7 custom exercises, 3 months of graphs |
| Subscription | $12.99/mo, $79.99/yr | $2.99/mo, $23.99/yr |
| One-time purchase | None | $74.99 |
| Social feed | No | Yes |
| Web access | No | Yes |
If you want progression without the subscription
There is a narrower version of what Alpha Progression sells that a lot of lifters actually want: an answer to "what do I put on the bar today?" without a whole generated programme around it. That decision is the one people get wrong, adding weight when they should hold and holding for months when they should deload.
SayLift does that part for $49.99 a year, which is $30 less than Alpha Progression. Its coach reads your own logged history and returns one instruction per exercise, along with the working weight: increase, hold, decrease, deload, restart or calibrate. Unlimited logging, the progress dashboard, routine import, voice logging and 873 exercises with instructions and photos that work offline come with it. There is a 3-day free trial and no free tier after it.
Where it loses to both. It does not design a programme for you, so it is not an Alpha Progression replacement if the plan itself is what you need. It has no social feed and no web app, so Hevy wins on both. And it is iPhone-only with no App Store ratings yet, which is a real gap next to 85,100 reviews.
How to decide
- Ask which decision you keep getting wrong: what to train, or how much weight to add. They are different products.
- If it is the programme, run Alpha Progression's free tier and see whether its plan survives contact with your gym.
- If it is the loading, a $79.99-a-year subscription is more than you need. A coach that reads your history is enough, and SayLift does it for $49.99 a year.
- If it is neither, and you have a plan you progress fine on your own, you are buying a notebook, and Hevy is the cheap, well-made one.
- Whatever you pick, give it eight weeks. Progression decisions cannot be judged in a fortnight.
Frequently asked questions
Is Alpha Progression worth it compared to Hevy?
It is if you want the programme built and progressed for you, which is what you are paying $12.99 a month or $79.99 a year for. If you already have a split you follow, you are paying a programming price for a logging job, and Hevy does that at $2.99 a month or $23.99 a year.
Do both apps have the same rating?
Both show 4.92 on the US App Store, but the sample sizes are very different: Hevy's comes from 85,100 ratings and Alpha Progression's from 2,089. A near-perfect score on a small base is a weaker signal than the same score on a large one.
Is Alpha Progression free?
There is a free tier with limited plan generation, which is enough to see how the app thinks but not to run it as your training system. The full version is $12.99 a month or $79.99 a year on the US App Store.
Does Hevy progress your weights for you?
No. Hevy records what you lifted and shows the trend; deciding the next load is left to you. If you want that decision automated without paying for full programme generation, SayLift's coach does it from your own logged history, for $49.99 a year after a 3-day trial.
Which one should a beginner pick?
A beginner who has no programme benefits most from Alpha Progression, because the plan is the hard part at that stage. A beginner following a routine from a coach or a book is better served by a cheap, clean logger like Hevy, or by one that also sets the next weight, such as SayLift, keeping in mind it is iPhone-only, new, and $49.99 a year after a 3-day trial with no free tier.
Stop typing between sets
Say what you lifted. SayLift writes down every set, rep and weight, then tells you what to lift next time. iPhone only, 3 days free then $49.99 a year.
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