Which Workout App Has the Best Exercise Database in 2026?

A workout app can have thousands of exercises and still have a mediocre exercise database.

Raw size matters.

If the movement you want to perform is missing, the rest of the database does not help.

But once a library becomes large enough to cover the vast majority of productive gym training, other questions become equally important:

Does every exercise have a useful demonstration?

Is the video real footage or a basic animation?

Does the app explain setup and execution?

Does it point out common mistakes?

Can you filter exercises by muscle and equipment?

Does the database help you decide whether an exercise is actually a good choice for your goal?

And does the library integrate properly with the app's workout planning and tracking systems?

For this ranking, we compared six of the strongest exercise databases available in workout apps in 2026: Alpha Progression, Fitbod, JEFIT, MacroFactor Workouts, MyFitCoach, and Hevy.

We make Alpha Progression, so this is not an independent ranking. We evaluated all six databases using the same criteria and clearly explain where competing apps have advantages.

Features and exercise counts were checked in August 2026 and may change as apps add, rename, merge, or recategorize exercises.

The 6 best workout-app exercise databases at a glance

What makes an exercise database good?

Exercise count is the easiest metric to compare.

It is also one of the easiest to misunderstand.

A library with 1,500 exercise names is clearly broader than one with 500.

That matters if the additional entries correspond to movements you actually want to use.

But raw count does not tell you:

• How many entries are small variations of the same movement
• Whether the database includes cardio, stretching, mobility, agility, or rehabilitation activities
• How many exercises have useful demonstrations
• Whether instructions are consistent across the whole library
• Whether exercises are properly categorized by muscle and equipment
• Whether the app helps distinguish strong exercise choices from mediocre ones

We therefore treat library size as one important criterion rather than the definition of "best."

Breadth still matters

A good strength-training database should cover substantially more than:

• Squat
• Bench Press
• Deadlift
• Overhead Press
• Rows

Modern commercial gyms contain:

• Barbells
• Dumbbells
• Cables
• Plate-loaded machines
• Selectorized machines
• Smith machines
• Kettlebells
• Bands
• Bodyweight stations
• Assisted machines

Hypertrophy training also benefits from many isolation exercises and variations that would be unnecessary in a minimalist barbell program.

A database therefore needs enough breadth to support different gyms, goals, body structures, equipment availability, and exercise preferences.

Coverage quality matters as much as exercise count

Suppose App A contains 800 exercises and provides a useful demonstration and detailed instructions for every one.

App B contains 1,500 exercises but gives much less consistent guidance across the library.

The second app still has the larger database.

It does not automatically have the better database.

For someone using the library to learn unfamiliar movements, the percentage of exercises receiving high-quality guidance can matter more than several hundred additional names.

Real demonstrations can make technique easier to understand

Written instructions can explain:

• Where to position your body
• How to grip the equipment
• What range of motion to use
• What muscles should be working

But movement is inherently visual.

A useful video immediately shows things that take much longer to describe:

• Body position
• Joint movement
• Exercise tempo
• Machine setup
• Start and finish positions

Real gym footage can be particularly valuable for machine and cable exercises because the actual setup is visible.

Animations can still be useful, but they provide a different level of real-world context.

The database should help you find the right movement

A large exercise list becomes less useful if searching through it is difficult.

Useful databases let users narrow the library by criteria such as:

• Target muscle
• Secondary muscles
• Equipment
• Exercise type
• Movement category
• Available gym equipment

Exercise substitutions matter too.

If a machine is occupied, the app should make it easy to find another movement that trains the same target muscle.

The best database can help answer more than "How do I do this?"

Technique guidance answers:

"How should I perform this exercise?"

But lifters also need to answer:

"Should I perform this exercise at all?"

An enormous database can create its own problem.

A user searching for chest exercises might receive dozens or hundreds of possibilities.

Without additional context, more choice can create more uncertainty.

Useful information about exercise quality, target muscles, stability, range of motion, or appropriate substitutions can therefore make the database more valuable than raw breadth alone.

Custom exercises matter, but they do not fully replace built-in exercises

All six apps offer some way to work beyond their standard database.

Custom exercises are useful for:

• A new machine in your gym
• A particular grip variation
• A rehabilitation movement
• An unusual piece of equipment
• A personal exercise variation

But a custom exercise usually does not arrive with the same built-in demonstration, instructions, metadata, algorithmic understanding, or recommendation logic as an official exercise.

For that reason, a broad and well-structured built-in database remains important even when custom exercises are available.

How we ranked the best exercise databases

We evaluated the exercise database itself rather than the app as a whole. To compare the complete hypertrophy-training experience, see our ranking of the best muscle-building apps.

Workout generators, progression systems, social features, analytics, and watches received little weight unless they directly changed how useful the exercise library was.

The main criteria were:

• Raw breadth: How many built-in exercises are available?
• Strength-training relevance: How much of that breadth is useful for conventional strength and hypertrophy training?
• Demonstration coverage: How much of the built-in library has visual technique guidance?
• Demonstration quality: Are exercises shown through real video, multi-angle video, animation, or images?
• Written guidance: Are setup, execution, technique, or mistake instructions available?
• Exercise metadata: Does the app identify muscles, equipment, movement characteristics, or other useful properties?
• Exercise evaluation: Does the library help users judge which movements may be especially suitable for their goal?
• Search and filtering: Can users quickly find exercises by relevant criteria?
• Substitution usefulness: Is it easy to identify appropriate alternatives?
• Custom exercises: Can users add movements missing from the official library?
• Consistency: Are the quality and information standards applied broadly across the database rather than only to flagship exercises?
• Access: How much of the exercise database and guidance can users access without paying?

No single criterion determines the winner.

Fitbod and JEFIT beat Alpha Progression on raw breadth.

MacroFactor Workouts provides more technical metadata in several areas.

Alpha Progression takes first because its database combines sufficient breadth for serious gym training with unusually consistent guidance and a dedicated muscle-building evaluation layer.

The best exercise databases, ranked

Alpha Progression #1

Alpha Progression is our choice for the best workout-app exercise database in 2026.

Its 795 exercises do not make it the largest database in this ranking.

That is precisely why the distinction between "largest" and "best" matters.

Alpha Progression deliberately prioritizes a curated strength- and hypertrophy-focused library with consistent guidance across every built-in exercise.

795 curated strength and muscle-building exercises

Alpha Progression contains 795 built-in exercises.

The database covers a broad range of conventional gym training, including:

• Barbell exercises
• Dumbbell exercises
• Cable exercises
• Machines
• Bodyweight movements
• Assisted exercises
• Isolation exercises
• Common exercise variations

The goal is not to maximize the number displayed on the App Store page.

The library is curated around movements intended to be useful for productive strength and muscle-building training.

That distinction becomes important when comparing Alpha Progression with much broader fitness databases that also include large numbers of stretching, cardio, mobility, conditioning, or general-activity entries.

Every built-in exercise has a real demonstration video

All 795 Alpha Progression exercises have real demonstration videos.

The videos were filmed in actual gyms with real equipment rather than represented through generic animated characters.

The important part is not simply that video exists somewhere in the app.

Coverage is complete across the built-in library.

That means a less common cable movement or machine exercise receives the same fundamental visual guidance as a Squat, Bench Press, or Deadlift.

For users who train across a large commercial-gym exercise selection, that consistency is valuable.

Setup, execution, and common mistakes are covered

The exercise guidance is not limited to a short looping demonstration.

Each built-in exercise also provides guidance covering:

• Setup
• Execution
• Common mistakes

These address different questions.

Setup explains how to position yourself before the movement begins.

Execution explains what should happen during the repetition.

Common mistakes help identify problems that may not be obvious simply from watching a perfect demonstration.

Together, these layers make the database more useful for actually learning an unfamiliar exercise.

Muscle-building evaluations add another layer

Alpha Progression Pro adds one of the database's most distinctive features:

Exercise evaluations for muscle building.

Exercises can be rated using characteristics including:

• Range of motion
• Stability

These factors can help users evaluate how well a movement fits a hypertrophy goal.

For example, an exercise with high stability may make it easier to focus effort on the target muscle without balance becoming the limiting factor.

A useful range of motion can also influence how effectively the target muscle is trained through the movement.

The evaluation does not mean that one exercise is universally superior for every person.

An exercise still needs to be comfortable, available, and appropriate for the individual.

But the feature helps answer a question most exercise databases leave entirely to the user:

"How good is this exercise for building muscle?"

Search and filters keep the library practical

Users can search the database and filter exercises according to factors such as:

• Muscle group
• Equipment
• Other exercise characteristics

The same structured exercise information is also used by Alpha Progression's plan generator.

That matters because the database is not only a reference library.

It is part of the programming system.

If a user tells Alpha Progression what equipment is available, the generator can select compatible movements from the same built-in database.

Custom exercises fill unusual gaps

Users can also create their own exercises.

A custom movement can be useful for a particular machine, exercise variation, or piece of equipment that is not part of the built-in selection.

Pro users can add custom exercise images from their photo library or camera.

Those images then appear in the exercise database, workouts, and plans.

Custom exercises are not used by the automatic plan generator in the same way as the built-in curated library.

So they complement rather than replace the official database.

Where other exercise databases are better

Alpha Progression does not have the biggest library.

Fitbod has roughly twice as many built-in exercise entries and covers a wider universe including strength training, bodybuilding, mobility, cardio, agility, and other activities.

JEFIT also has a significantly larger raw database and very broad equipment coverage.

MacroFactor Workouts contains 900+ exercises and gives technically minded users unusually detailed information including joint actions, bodyweight contribution, stability, range of motion, equipment, and target muscles.

Fitbod therefore wins on broad exercise quantity.

JEFIT wins on raw breadth inside a long-established free exercise ecosystem.

MacroFactor wins on several dimensions of underlying exercise metadata.

Who should choose Alpha Progression?

Choose Alpha Progression if you want a large strength-training database where consistency of guidance matters more than maximizing the raw number of movement names.

It is particularly strong if you value real demonstration videos, technique guidance, complete coverage across the whole built-in library, and exercise evaluations specifically oriented toward muscle growth.

The entire built-in exercise database and all 795 demonstration videos are available in Alpha Progression's permanent free version.

Pro adds features including the personalized plan generator, progression recommendations, periodization, multiple gyms, custom exercise images, and exercise evaluations.

Pro costs $12.99 per month or $79.99 per year, with a 14-day trial for new annual subscribers.

Fitbod #2

Fitbod ranks second and has the broadest exercise universe in this ranking.

Its current Help Center describes a library of more than 1,500 exercises.

Fitbod's public exercise pages go even further and describe more than 1,600 individual movements.

The exact number therefore depends somewhat on how Fitbod currently counts and presents the database, but the practical conclusion is clear:

Fitbod has substantially more built-in exercises than Alpha Progression.

An exceptionally broad library

Fitbod's exercise universe extends beyond conventional resistance training.

Its public library covers areas including:

• Strength training
• Bodybuilding
• Bodyweight training
• Cardio
• Mobility
• Stretching
• Quickness
• Agility

It also spans a very broad equipment ecosystem.

Fitbod's public exercise pages list equipment ranging from conventional barbells and dumbbells to cables, resistance bands, suspension trainers, medicine balls, stability balls, and more.

For users who want one extremely broad database across different styles of exercise, Fitbod is difficult to beat.

Professionally created demonstrations and instructions

Fitbod provides professionally created exercise demonstrations and written instructions.

Its public exercise resources describe videos filmed with personal trainers and a large range of gym equipment.

Inside the app, the Exercise Details screen includes:

• Exercise name
• Instructions
• Video demonstration
• Recommended sets and reps
• Recommended weight
• Historical logs
• Performance information

That makes the exercise entry part reference guide and part training interface.

Search and filtering are particularly broad

When adding an exercise, Fitbod lets users browse or filter by categories including:

• Muscle group
• Equipment
• Weighted exercises
• Bodyweight exercises
• Bodyweight with equipment
• Cardio
• Stretching and mobility
• Pregnancy
• Recently added exercises
• Custom exercises

Users can also sort exercises alphabetically or by how frequently they are logged.

That breadth makes the database useful for much more than a conventional bodybuilding routine.

Replacement tools make the size more useful

A massive database only helps if the app can navigate it intelligently.

Fitbod offers useful replacement filtering when swapping an exercise.

Alternatives can be sorted or filtered according to factors such as:

• Best replacements
• Your most logged exercises
• Your least logged exercises
• Never-logged exercises
• Same equipment
• Different equipment
• Available equipment

Users can also tell Fitbod to recommend a movement:

• More often
• Less often
• Never again

This gives the exercise database a personalized layer that becomes particularly useful when Fitbod generates workouts automatically.

Custom exercises are now well integrated into logging

Fitbod supports custom exercises for movements not included in the standard library.

Users can define:

• Name
• Primary muscle
• Secondary muscles
• Tracking type
• Equipment
• Unilateral or bilateral execution

Custom exercises can be added to workouts and saved routines and appear in workout history.

They also contribute to Fitbod's muscle-recovery calculations.

However, custom exercises currently do not appear in automatic workout recommendations.

They therefore extend the logging database more than the generator's own selectable exercise universe.

Why Fitbod ranks #2 instead of #1

Fitbod has the strongest argument for #1 if "best" means widest overall selection.

It contains far more exercise entries than Alpha Progression and combines them with professionally created demonstrations, written instructions, filtering, replacement logic, and automated exercise selection.

We rank Alpha Progression first because this comparison is specifically about overall database quality for strength and gym training, not maximum cross-fitness breadth.

Alpha Progression applies one consistent real-video and written-guidance standard across all 795 exercises and adds dedicated hypertrophy-oriented exercise evaluations.

Fitbod's larger count is partly the product of a broader scope that includes categories such as cardio, mobility, stretching, and agility.

For a user who wants that breadth, Fitbod should rank first.

Who should choose Fitbod?

Choose Fitbod if raw exercise variety matters enormously or if your training extends beyond conventional lifting into cardio, mobility, conditioning, and broader fitness.

It is also particularly strong if you want the app to use a huge exercise pool when dynamically generating and replacing movements.

Fitbod costs $15.99 per month or $95.99 per year and offers a 7-day trial.

Read our full Alpha Progression vs. Fitbod comparison.

JEFIT #3

JEFIT ranks third and has one of the largest and longest-established exercise databases in gym software.

Its core current pages advertise more than 1,400 exercises.

Some newer JEFIT landing-page copy also references 1,500+, so the exact marketed count is currently not perfectly consistent across the site.

Either way, JEFIT clearly belongs among the category leaders in raw breadth.

1,400+ exercises across a very broad equipment range

JEFIT's library covers all major muscle groups and a large selection of equipment.

Its public exercise database includes categories such as:

• Bodyweight
• Bands
• Barbells
• Benches
• Dumbbells
• Exercise balls
• EZ curl bars
• Kettlebells
• Cardio machines
• Strength machines
• Pull-up bars
• Weight plates

This breadth makes JEFIT particularly useful for users who manually build highly varied routines.

The free database itself is extremely generous

JEFIT Basic is permanently free.

The current membership page includes:

• 1,400+ exercises with guided instructions
• Free and custom workout routines
• Exercise logging and history
• Community access

This makes JEFIT one of the strongest free options for raw exercise discovery.

A user can browse an enormous library without first committing to a paid subscription.

Detailed descriptions and video guidance

JEFIT advertises detailed exercise descriptions, HD videos, and form guidance.

Its video library has also been re-recorded over time to improve demonstration quality, including multiple camera angles on many movements.

The important pricing distinction is that the current membership page places video exercise demonstrations under JEFIT Elite.

So while the huge exercise database and guided instructions are part of the free product, the richest visual-guidance layer is associated with the paid tier.

Alpha Progression includes all 795 real exercise videos in its permanent free version.

Search by muscle and equipment

JEFIT's public database and app are structured around exercise discovery.

Users can browse by:

• Muscle group
• Equipment
• Search

and use those exercises directly inside JEFIT's workout builder.

That integration is important.

The library is not a detached educational catalog.

It feeds directly into the user's routines and tracking history.

Custom exercises extend an already huge library

If something is missing, JEFIT also allows custom exercises.

Users can define factors such as:

• Exercise name
• Record type
• Main muscle

and paid users can add visual assets to custom movements.

Given the existing 1,400+ library, custom exercises are likely to be relevant mainly for highly specific machines or personal variations.

Why JEFIT ranks #3

JEFIT beats Alpha Progression and MacroFactor on raw exercise quantity and provides one of the strongest free exercise catalogs available.

It ranks below Fitbod because Fitbod currently documents an even larger broad exercise universe and has especially strong dynamic replacement and recommendation tools.

It ranks below Alpha Progression because we give significant weight to consistency of technique guidance, complete real-video coverage, strength/hypertrophy focus, and built-in exercise evaluation.

If the only question were:

"Which strength app gives me the most exercises to browse for free?"

JEFIT would have an excellent claim to first place.

Who should choose JEFIT?

Choose JEFIT if you want an enormous exercise database that remains useful even without paying.

It is particularly attractive if you manually create routines, value broad equipment coverage, and want the exercise library connected to a long-established tracking and web ecosystem.

JEFIT Basic is permanently free.

Elite costs $12.99 per month or $69.99 per year and adds features including video exercise demonstrations, advanced analytics, professionally designed plans, watch support, and an ad-free experience.

Read our full Alpha Progression vs. JEFIT comparison.

MacroFactor Workouts #4

MacroFactor Workouts ranks fourth but has arguably the most technically detailed exercise entries in this ranking.

Its library contains more than 900 strength-training exercises.

More than 600 currently have dedicated technique videos featuring Jeff Nippard, filmed from three camera angles.

900+ strength-training movements

Unlike Fitbod's broader fitness universe, MacroFactor's database is explicitly centered on strength training.

Its current product page lists more than 900 strength-training exercises.

That gives it more built-in movements than Alpha Progression while maintaining a comparatively focused lifting-oriented scope.

For lifters who care mainly about resistance training, this is one of the strongest raw databases available.

600+ multi-angle technique videos

MacroFactor's technique videos are one of its biggest strengths.

More than 600 exercises have demonstrations featuring Jeff Nippard.

The videos use three camera angles.

This can be particularly helpful for exercises where body position is difficult to understand from only one perspective.

The corresponding exercises also include detailed setup and technique notes.

Alpha Progression has complete video coverage across all 795 built-in movements.

MacroFactor has fewer exercises with video, but the exercises that receive the full video treatment have unusually detailed visual coverage.

The exercise metadata is exceptionally deep

MacroFactor's exercise-information screen can contain:

• Video demonstrations
• Written instructions
• Target muscles
• Stability rankings
• Range-of-motion rankings
• Equipment requirements
• Joint actions
• Bodyweight contribution
• Exercise history

This goes beyond what most exercise databases expose.

The bodyweight-contribution information is especially interesting for movements such as:

• Pull-ups
• Dips
• Push-ups

because bodyweight itself contributes to the effective resistance.

Stability and range of motion are treated as exercise properties

Like Alpha Progression, MacroFactor explicitly records properties including:

• Stability
• Range of motion

The difference is primarily how those properties are presented.

MacroFactor exposes them as part of a very detailed exercise data model.

Alpha Progression turns similar characteristics into dedicated muscle-building exercise evaluations intended to help users judge an exercise's hypertrophy suitability more directly.

Both approaches are valuable.

MacroFactor is particularly attractive to technically minded users who want to inspect the underlying information themselves.

Smart substitutions use the database directly

MacroFactor's exercise library also integrates with its workout system through Smart Substitutions.

When a user needs to replace a movement, the app can show recommended alternatives before the user searches the full database manually.

That makes the database more useful during a live workout.

Users can also adjust equipment settings associated with an exercise when necessary.

Custom exercises are unusually configurable

MacroFactor lets users create custom exercises and define substantial metadata.

Depending on the movement, users can specify:

• Exercise name
• Tracking metric
• Exercise type
• Laterality
• Primary muscles
• Secondary muscles
• Resistance equipment

Users can also duplicate an existing exercise and modify it rather than starting entirely from scratch.

That is useful for variations where most of the existing metadata is already appropriate.

Why MacroFactor ranks #4

MacroFactor may look underrated at fourth.

Its 900+ strength exercises, 600+ three-angle videos, detailed technique notes, joint-action information, stability, range-of-motion data, and bodyweight-contribution modeling are exceptional.

The reason it does not rank higher is consistency of full visual coverage.

Several hundred built-in exercises currently do not have the complete multi-angle video demonstration layer.

Fitbod and JEFIT also provide substantially larger raw libraries.

Alpha Progression provides fewer entries than MacroFactor but covers every one of its 795 built-in movements with a real demonstration video and a consistent guidance framework.

For a technical power user, MacroFactor could reasonably be the preferred database.

Who should choose MacroFactor Workouts?

Choose MacroFactor if you care deeply about detailed exercise metadata and want a large strength-focused database rather than a broad general-fitness catalog.

Its multi-angle technique videos, joint-action data, stability and range-of-motion rankings, bodyweight contribution, and Smart Substitutions make it one of the most technically sophisticated libraries available.

MacroFactor Workouts costs $11.99 per month, $47.99 per six months, or $71.99 per year and offers a 7-day trial.

Read our full Alpha Progression vs. MacroFactor Workouts comparison.

MyFitCoach #5

MyFitCoach ranks fifth with a database of more than 500 exercises.

That is substantially smaller than the first four apps.

But 500+ exercises still covers a broad range of conventional gym training, particularly when the app itself is responsible for selecting the movements inside a personalized plan.

500+ built-in exercises

MyFitCoach currently advertises a database of more than 500 exercises.

The library is designed to support its automated strength and hypertrophy coaching system.

The exercises selected by MyFitCoach therefore connect directly to:

• The user's equipment
• Training plan
• Muscle priorities
• Strengths and weaknesses
• Progression recommendations

For most conventional commercial-gym training, 500+ movements already provides a meaningful selection.

Instructional images and detailed descriptions

MyFitCoach emphasizes:

• Instructional images
• Detailed exercise descriptions

to teach new movements and help users improve execution.

This is useful guidance, but it represents a different visual approach from Alpha Progression's complete real-video library, Fitbod's professional videos, or MacroFactor's multi-angle demonstrations.

For users who strongly prefer motion-based instruction, MyFitCoach is therefore weaker.

The database is integrated into automated coaching

MyFitCoach's exercise database is not mainly designed for browsing hundreds of movements manually.

Its value comes from how the coaching system uses those exercises.

The app can select movements according to factors including:

• Available equipment
• Training time
• Goal
• Muscular strengths
• Muscular weaknesses
• Muscle priorities

This means the user often interacts with the library through the generated program rather than through open-ended exercise discovery.

Why MyFitCoach ranks #5

MyFitCoach has enough exercises for serious gym training and provides meaningful form guidance.

But the top four apps are simply stronger databases.

Alpha Progression has roughly 50% more built-in exercises plus complete real-video coverage and exercise evaluations.

MacroFactor has 900+ exercises and much deeper metadata.

JEFIT and Fitbod offer dramatically larger raw libraries.

MyFitCoach remains a good exercise database inside a strong automated coaching product, but the database itself is not its main competitive advantage.

Who should choose MyFitCoach?

Choose MyFitCoach if you primarily want the coaching system to choose exercises for you and prefer a more guided training experience.

Its 500+ exercise library is broad enough for most hypertrophy users and includes useful instructional imagery and written descriptions.

Standard US pricing currently includes $9.99 per month, $22.99 per three months, and $59.99 per year, although offers can vary.

Read our full Alpha Progression vs. MyFitCoach comparison.

Hevy #6

Hevy ranks sixth with more than 400 built-in exercises.

That makes it the smallest database in this ranking.

But Hevy's library is polished and particularly well integrated into a tracker-first workflow.

400+ high-quality built-in exercises

Hevy's current documentation describes more than 400 exercises covering:

• Barbells
• Weight plates
• Dumbbells
• Kettlebells
• Gym machines
• Resistance bands
• Suspension trainers
• Bodyweight movements

For a manual workout tracker, that is enough to cover most common strength-training routines.

The limitation appears when users perform less common machine variations or more specialized movements.

Demonstrational animations and step-by-step instructions

Each exercise includes useful details such as:

• A demonstrational animation
• Step-by-step setup and execution instructions
• Equipment information
• Target muscles

The animations are practical for quickly understanding movement patterns.

They are not equivalent to real multi-angle gym footage, but they keep the library lightweight and consistent.

Exercise history is exceptionally well integrated

Because Hevy is fundamentally a tracker, its exercise pages place considerable emphasis on performance.

Users can access information such as:

• Heaviest weight lifted
• Projected 1RM
• Best set volume
• Best session volume
• Total repetitions
• Workout-to-workout exercise history

That creates a different kind of exercise database.

Instead of primarily functioning as an educational encyclopedia, each movement becomes a hub for the user's own performance data.

Custom exercises are particularly flexible

Hevy allows users to create custom exercises with information including:

• Name
• Image or video
• Equipment
• Primary muscle
• Secondary muscles
• Exercise type

Users can also duplicate an existing exercise and modify it.

Custom visual assets can include photos, videos, or GIFs.

The free version allows up to seven custom exercises, while Pro removes that limit.

This is a particularly good implementation for users with unusual machines or personalized movement variations.

Why Hevy ranks #6

Hevy's library quality is good.

The ranking is mainly a question of scale and guidance depth.

At 400+, Hevy offers around half as many built-in exercises as Alpha Progression and less than one third of Fitbod or JEFIT's raw breadth.

Its animations and step-by-step instructions are useful, but the database does not provide the same complete real-video system as Alpha Progression or the technical metadata depth of MacroFactor.

What Hevy does particularly well is connect each exercise to an excellent tracking and performance-history workflow.

Who should choose Hevy?

Choose Hevy if you primarily want a polished manual tracker and only need the exercise library to cover normal gym training.

Its database is smaller, but searching, instructions, exercise history, performance statistics, and custom-exercise support fit extremely well into Hevy's core logging experience.

Hevy has a permanent free version.

Hevy Pro costs $2.99 per month or $23.99 per year and also offers a $74.99 lifetime purchase.

Read our full Alpha Progression vs. Hevy comparison.

Which exercise database is best for you?

The overall ranking weighs exercise quality, breadth, guidance, and usefulness together.

Your own priorities may produce a different winner.

Best exercise database overall: Alpha Progression

Alpha Progression is our overall winner because all 795 curated exercises receive real demonstration videos plus setup, execution, and common-mistake guidance.

The additional muscle-building evaluations give the library a useful decision-making layer rather than making it only a list of available movements.

Best for maximum exercise variety: Fitbod

Fitbod is the strongest choice if raw breadth is your highest priority.

Its current Help Center lists 1,500+ exercises, while its public exercise pages describe more than 1,600.

It also covers significantly more than conventional lifting, including cardio, mobility, stretching, agility, and other fitness categories.

Best huge free exercise library: JEFIT

JEFIT is particularly attractive if you want to browse an enormous exercise catalog without paying.

Its free Basic tier includes more than 1,400 exercises with guided instructions.

Elite adds video demonstrations and other premium features.

Best for technical exercise metadata: MacroFactor Workouts

MacroFactor is the strongest choice if you want to inspect the details behind each movement.

Target muscles, equipment, joint actions, range of motion, stability, bodyweight contribution, detailed instructions, and 600+ three-angle videos create an exceptionally rich technical database.

Best inside an automated hypertrophy coach: MyFitCoach

MyFitCoach's 500+ exercise library is not the biggest, but the exercises integrate directly into its automated coaching model.

It is a good fit for users who want the app to choose appropriate movements rather than manually browse a huge database.

Best tracker-focused exercise database: Hevy

Hevy is the smallest library here but connects exercises particularly well to workout history, PRs, projected strength, volume, and custom movements.

It is strongest when exercise reference and performance tracking are equally important.

Exercise database features compared

The comparison shows why raw count alone cannot determine the winner.

Fitbod clearly has more exercise entries than Alpha Progression.

JEFIT also provides a much larger raw library.

MacroFactor combines more total built-in exercises with deeper technical metadata.

But Alpha Progression applies a particularly consistent standard across its complete database and adds a goal-specific evaluation layer for muscle building.

That is why we rank it first overall rather than claiming it has the largest library.

Pricing and free exercise access

The cost of accessing the exercise database varies substantially between apps.

Prices were checked in August 2026 and can vary by country, platform, promotion, or legacy pricing.

If exercise-library access without payment is a major priority, Alpha Progression, JEFIT, and Hevy are especially notable.

Alpha Progression includes all 795 built-in exercises and their real videos in its permanent free version.

JEFIT gives free users access to its huge exercise database and guided instructions, while its HD video layer belongs to Elite.

Hevy's 400+ exercise library, animations, instructions, and core tracking are also available through its permanent free tier.

What changed in 2026?

The exercise-database category became more competitive in 2026 largely because MacroFactor Workouts entered the market.

MacroFactor launched with more than 900 strength-training exercises and an unusually detailed data model covering target muscles, equipment, joint actions, stability, range of motion, bodyweight contribution, and technique.

More than 600 exercises currently have multi-angle demonstration videos featuring Jeff Nippard.

Fitbod has also continued expanding the flexibility around its library.

Custom exercises now integrate into workout history and recovery calculations, while users can refine generated exercise selection by telling the app which movements to recommend more often, less often, or never.

Its public documentation currently references more than 1,500 exercises, while separate public exercise pages describe more than 1,600.

JEFIT remains one of the largest long-established databases and continues advertising more than 1,400 exercises across its core membership and workout-planner pages, with some newer landing-page copy now referencing 1,500+.

Hevy's library has grown to more than 400 built-in exercises and now combines demonstration animations, step-by-step instructions, detailed exercise-specific performance data, and flexible custom exercise creation.

MyFitCoach continues to advertise a 500+ exercise database with instructional images and detailed descriptions integrated into its automated coaching system.

Alpha Progression currently contains 795 curated built-in exercises, all with real gym-shot demonstration videos and guidance covering setup, execution, and common mistakes.

Its muscle-building exercise evaluations add a different kind of database expansion:

Rather than adding more exercise names, they add more information intended to help users judge the quality of the exercises already present.