Alpha Progression vs GainsLog: Paid or Free Weight Targets?

It depends on whether you'll pay for the targets. Both apps can build a program and tell you what weight and reps to aim for next. In Alpha Progression, the recommendations and the plan generator need Pro, which costs $12.99 a month or $79.99 a year in the US as of October 2026. In GainsLog, the weight and rep targets for exercises you've logged recently are free, and the program builder and ready-made programs need Premium, at $39.99 a year. Alpha runs on iPhone and Android, GainsLog on iPhone, iPad and Apple Watch.

Alpha Progression's prices, limits and rules below come from its US and Swedish App Store listings, its website and its guides to the recommendations and the plan generator, read on 28 October 2026. GainsLog's come from its listings, its Premium page and the app's code. Alpha's own comparison pages, such as Alpha Progression vs Hevy, are written by Alpha Progression; this one is written by the maker of the other app. For Alpha alone, including what you keep if you cancel Pro, see my Alpha Progression review.

Alpha Progression's free version has unlimited logging and lets you build your own plans, but its pricing card says "No recommendations" (Alpha Progression). With Pro, the app shows a weight and a rep count before each working set. Its guide says they come from your previous performance on the exercise, the sets you've already done that day, your planned rep target and the weights your gym has, plus your RIR (reps in reserve, the reps you could still have done) if you track it. There's no recommendation the first time you log an exercise (Alpha Progression). When Pro ends, logging and your own plans keep working, but the recommendations stop (Alpha Progression).

GainsLog sets a weight and rep target for each set from the weight, reps and reps in reserve you logged on that exercise in the last 12 weeks, and adds an RIR target in some cases. It does that on the free version. Inside a Premium program, the targets come from earlier weeks of the same workout. An exercise or set number you haven't logged in that window starts without a target. There's nothing to cancel to keep the targets. The weight-progression guide explains when a target goes up.

To keep Alpha's set-by-set targets you pay for Pro, $79.99 on the yearly plan, which also includes the plan generator and charts. GainsLog's targets cost nothing. For the money, Alpha's recommendations stay within the weights you've listed for your gym, with a separate list for each gym. They can also add reps before a big weight jump and change between sets in the same workout (Alpha Progression, App Store).

Alpha's plan generator, a Pro feature, asks for your experience, goal, gym and equipment, how often you train, how long sessions should be, your gender and which muscles to prioritize. It picks the split, exercises, sets and rep targets, and you can let it choose the split or pick one yourself. A plan runs 4 weeks by default, or 5, 6 or 7 weeks, or with no end date, and you can edit everything (Alpha Progression). If you turn on periodization, later weeks can have different sets, rep targets and RIR targets from earlier ones, as part of the plan (Alpha Progression).

GainsLog's program builder, a Premium feature, asks for your equipment, experience, the muscles you want to prioritize, how many days you can train, how long a session can be and your split. Before you start, it shows each muscle's weekly sets and checks them against fixed ranges, such as 10 to 15 sets a week for a muscle you prioritize. Each workout then repeats every week with the same exercises and sets until the program ends or you change it. GainsLog also has five ready-made programs, also Premium.

With periodization on, Alpha changes sets, reps and RIR across the weeks of a plan. A program from GainsLog's builder repeats the same exercises and sets each week and shows you the weekly sets before you start. If you want to check a week of training against GainsLog's ranges, the volume calculator uses the same numbers as the app, and the training volume guide covers how many sets to do.

A year of Alpha Progression Pro costs $40.00 more than a year of GainsLog Premium in the US, and 300 kr more in Sweden (App Store, App Store, App Store, App Store). Alpha's 14-day trial is for new customers on the yearly plan only, and the full year is charged when it ends unless you cancel in time. Alpha refunds on request; if you bought through the App Store, you ask Apple first (Alpha Progression).

GainsLog's listing sells Premium Lifetime for $79.99, paid once, the price of one year of Alpha Pro. The app says Lifetime includes everything in Premium except Gains Coach, its AI coach. Alpha's listing also shows "[Legacy]" plans at $24.99 a month and $99.99 a year (App Store) that its subscribe page doesn't sell (Alpha Progression). GainsLog's listing shows a $29.99 yearly offer and two products named Gains Premium, at $14.99 and $49.99, that its Premium page doesn't list. Check the price on the paywall before you pay.

• Android. Alpha runs on iPhone and Android, and an account syncs your data between them (Alpha Progression). GainsLog's Android app is in closed beta.
• RIR targets and planned changes between weeks. With RIR turned on, Alpha can give an RIR target for each working set, and periodization changes sets, reps and RIR across the weeks of a plan (Alpha Progression). GainsLog sets an RIR target only in some cases, and a program from its builder repeats the same sets each week.
• A bigger exercise library. Alpha has 795 exercises with videos, all free (Alpha Progression). GainsLog's library is smaller, and its listing says it prioritizes machines (App Store).
• More on the free version. Alpha's free version lets you build your own plans and exports your data as CSV (Alpha Progression). GainsLog's free version saves three workouts, and GainsLog has no import or export.
• Several gyms. Pro keeps separate gym profiles, each with its own equipment and weights, and the recommendations follow the gym you pick (App Store).

• Pick Alpha Progression if you train on Android, want RIR targets on your working sets or a plan that changes from week to week, both of which need Pro, or train at more than one gym, and you'll pay $79.99 a year for the recommendations.
• Pick GainsLog if you're on iPhone and want free weight and rep targets based on what you logged. Pay for Premium if you want the program built around your schedule and the muscles you want to prioritize, at $39.99 a year.
• Neither app imports another app's history, so switching means starting a new log, though Alpha lets you add old workouts by hand (Alpha Progression).
• For more apps that set your next weight, see the progressive overload app comparison and RP Hypertrophy vs GainsLog.

If you want free weight and rep targets based on what you logged, see how GainsLog works.

Researched and drafted with AI assistance from Alpha Progression's App Store listings, website and guides and from GainsLog's listings and code, checked against those pages on 28 October 2026. Prices change, so the pages used are listed below.

• Alpha Progression on the US App Store: prices, free and Pro, gym profiles
• Alpha Progression on the Swedish App Store: prices
• Alpha Progression: features, pricing and FAQ
• Alpha Progression: subscribe page
• Alpha Progression: how the recommendations work
• Alpha Progression: how the plan generator works
• Alpha Progression: the complete guide
• Alpha Progression vs Hevy, by Alpha Progression
• GainsLog on the US App Store: prices, platforms, exercises
• GainsLog on the Swedish App Store: prices
• GainsLog Premium