If you run a structured supplement protocol — creatine, ashwagandha, beta-alanine, citrulline, a tiered nootropic stack — your lifting log has a different job than a generic set tracker. It is your dependent variable. The lifts are how you discover whether your stack actually moved the needle.
That framing changes which app fits. A bare-bones logger that captures sets and reps will not surface the patterns a multi-month experiment needs to expose. Privacy posture matters extra, too — self-experimenters tend to keep granular protocol data they do not want sitting on a marketing-funded ad-tech backend. And long-term data export matters because protocols play out over quarters and years, not weeks.
We use three apps day-to-day to do this work — and one of them is our own sister product. We make Prova. We feature LiftProof here because we use it ourselves, evaluate fairly, and disclose our involvement up-front. The comparison below ranks the three apps on the criteria that matter to a lifter-experimenter, not the criteria that flatter our own product.
How we evaluated
Three criteria — each weighted higher than they would be in a generic-lifter listicle:
Trackable variables. Beyond sets and reps. Can you log RPE? Can you log subjective recovery? Can you tag sessions with notes that let you cross-reference what was in your stack that week? RPE in particular is sensitive to recovery, sleep, and the supplement context — useful as a low-cost proxy for "is this stack helping or hurting?"
Privacy posture. Where does your data live? On-device only, encrypted local, or cloud-by-default? Does the app run analytics SDKs that ship aggregated behavior to ad-tech vendors? Self-experimenters generally prefer minimum data exposure, and a protocol log + lifting log together is more identifying than either alone.
Long-term export. A creatine experiment runs eight to twelve weeks. A magnesium experiment runs four to six. An ashwagandha experiment runs eight. By the time you have meaningful signal across three or four stack iterations, you are six to eighteen months in. Can you get every set, every RPE, every workout out of the app in a portable format?
We did not rank on app polish, social features, or onboarding friendliness here — those matter for general audiences, but they are not the binding constraint for a lifter running a structured protocol.
1. LiftProof — strongest on privacy and RPE depth
LiftProof is a privacy-first iOS lifting app built by Stoa LLC. The defining design choice is that nothing leaves the device — no account, no cloud sync at v1.0, no analytics SDK in the binary. Workouts live in Core Data on the phone, full stop.
For a lifter logging supplements separately and trying to read causation, that is the differentiator. Your stack data sits on Prova (or wherever you log it) and your lifting data sits on LiftProof — neither one is a single cloud dossier that gets sold downstream or scraped in a breach. LiftProof's own on-device explainer lays out the engineering decisions in detail.
RPE is first-class in the set logger. You log every set with RPE built-in, which is the single most important variable for tracking recovery shifts on a stack. If you are running an adaptogen protocol and your usual sets at the same weight start feeling like RPE 7 instead of RPE 9, that signal will show up in your data if it is in fact there.
Apple Watch integration is full — five complications, four widgets, Live Activity for active workouts. If you wear an Apple Watch and capture HealthKit metrics, the lifting context lines up with the recovery context without extra plumbing.
Tradeoffs we read honestly. LiftProof v1.0 is iOS-only. Android users cannot use it today. There is no cloud sync — if you switch phones, your data moves via export/import, not magic. Social features do not exist; LiftProof has published its rationale for that decision. The free tier covers the core logger; recovery insights and Watch features sit behind a $9.99/mo subscription.
If your stack-tracking discipline already lives on-device (Prova, Bearable, paper) and you want your lifting tracker to match that posture, LiftProof is the strongest fit.
2. Hevy — strongest on scale and routine library
Hevy is the most-installed lifting tracker on the App Store and Play Store. It has a polished UI, a large routine library, a social feed if you want one, and a community of users who post programs and feedback. Cloud sync is the default — your workouts back up automatically and travel with your account.
For a lifter running a supplement protocol, that cloud-default posture is a genuine tradeoff, not a flaw. If you trust the operator and your protocol is not personally sensitive, Hevy's scale and routine library are real benefits. The active user base means program templates are battle-tested and improvements ship frequently.
RPE is supported but not as central to the logging flow as it is on LiftProof — you can add it, but it is one field among many rather than a primary variable.
Tradeoffs. Cloud-by-default means your lifting log is on Hevy's infrastructure, governed by Hevy's privacy policy. The social-feed surfaces are opt-out rather than opt-in, which some self-experimenters find noisy when they are trying to focus on their own data. Free tier is generous; the paid tier ($5.99/mo or annual) unlocks deeper analytics and unlimited routines.
If you want a strong general-purpose tracker with active community signal and you are comfortable with cloud sync, Hevy is a defensible pick.
3. Strong — strongest on simplicity for beginners
Strong is the longest-running of the three. The strength is the same as the weakness — simplicity. It logs sets and reps cleanly, the routine editor is straightforward, and the curve is short. RPE is supported via custom fields but is not a first-class part of the model.
For a lifter just starting to layer a supplement protocol on top of training, Strong's simplicity is an asset — it does not get in the way. For a lifter already running multi-variable experiments, Strong's lack of richer trackable variables becomes the binding constraint.
Export is solid — CSV out, portable, complete. Cloud sync is iCloud-based, which keeps the data inside Apple's ecosystem if that is your preference. Free tier covers basic logging; paid tier ($4.99/mo) adds analytics + custom exercises.
Tradeoffs. No native social feed (which some readers will count as a feature). The trackable-variables ceiling is lower than the other two — Strong is best for lifters who want a clean log, not for lifters running structured experiments that lean on RPE, recovery, and notes as analytic surfaces.
What about Prova for the supplement layer?
We make Prova, the supplement-and-protocol tracker that pairs naturally with whichever lifting app you choose. Prova handles the stack side — your daily compounds, timing, dose tier, perceived effects, sleep and energy ratings. It is not a lifting tracker and we do not try to make it one. The two tools sit beside each other in a properly composed experiment stack — Prova for what you put in, the lifting app for what you can lift.
Our companion essay How experimenters track multi-variable health stacks walks through how the layers fit together when you are running more than one variable at a time.
Cross-link: the general-fitness perspective
Our sister site GetHealthyCalculators runs a broader best-iOS-lifting-apps listicle targeted at general lifters — without the supplement-protocol framing. If your binding constraint is "best general lifting app for an everyday lifter" rather than "best lifter for someone running structured experiments", that is the more relevant comparison. PeptideWise also publishes a peptide-context variant for readers whose protocols run in regulatory-grey territory; the tradeoff frame there leans even harder on privacy and on-device storage.
How LiftProof thinks about evaluating its own ranking
When LiftProof publishes its own honest-comparison essays, it discloses the methodology behind every listicle that ranks it. The meta-essay How we write app listicles explains how they audit themselves and where they refuse to rank #1. That kind of disclosure is the credibility move — and the reason we are comfortable featuring LiftProof here without it reading as a banner ad.
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Putting it together
For a supplement-protocol-running lifter, the binding constraints are RPE depth, privacy posture, and long-term export. LiftProof leads on all three. Hevy wins on scale and active community and is the defensible pick if you trust cloud-default infrastructure. Strong is the simplest of the three and the best fit for a lifter just starting to add structured variables to their training.
The bigger picture is that no single tool composes a full experiment stack — your lifting tracker plus your protocol tracker plus your wearable plus your notes is the system. Pick the lifting tracker that matches the rest of your data posture, and the analysis problem stays tractable.
Disclosure: We make Prova. We feature LiftProof here because we use it ourselves; we evaluate fairly and disclose our involvement.
This article is for informational purposes only and does not constitute medical or training advice. Supplements may interact with medications or pre-existing conditions; consult a qualified healthcare professional before starting any new protocol.
Sources
- LiftProof — Why on-device only. liftproof.app, 2026. https://www.liftproof.app/blog/why-on-device-only/
- LiftProof — What's missing from LiftProof v1.0. liftproof.app, 2026. https://www.liftproof.app/blog/whats-missing-from-liftproof-v1/
- Helms, E. R., Cronin, J., Storey, A., & Zourdos, M. C. (2016). Application of the Repetitions in Reserve-Based Rating of Perceived Exertion Scale for Resistance Training. Strength & Conditioning Journal, 38(4), 42-49. — methodology basis for RPE in strength training tracking.