Strong alternative: how Novastra compares (2026)
Switch if Strong's three-routine cap will not let you build your four- or six-day split. Do not switch for the history: Strong gives it unlimited and free, same as we do. And do not switch if you train with an iPhone.
The table, figure by figure
Let us start with what we are not going to sell you: Strong is not limiting your history. Its free plan saves unlimited workouts, exactly like ours. What it does limit is your routines.
| On the free plan | Strong | Novastra |
|---|---|---|
| Your own routines | 3 | 12 |
| Catalogue programs you can adopt | — | All 14, and they do not use your cap |
| Saved workouts | Unlimited | Unlimited |
| History | No age limit | No age limit |
| Bringing history in from another app | — | Imports Strong and Hevy, free |
| Where it runs | iPhone, Android and Apple Watch | Android. And the browser, to review and edit (for now) |
Strong’s free plan checked on 10 September 2026 in its own App Store description: “the free version of Strong can save unlimited workouts, but is limited to 3 custom routines”. Both apps change prices by country and by promotion, so prices are not in the table.
The cap only counts what you write
This is the difference a table cannot show. Novastra's free plan lets you write 12 routines and 3 programs of your own. On top of that you can adopt all 14 catalogue programs, and those do not use up your cap: adopt one that comes with six routines and your 12 are still untouched.
The reason is simple. An adopted program is our work, not yours. Charging you to keep it would be charging you for the catalogue, and the catalogue is what makes the app useful on day one. What has a cap is what you write from scratch, and the number is printed here and in the app before you ever run into it.
We lead with the number on purpose. "Unlimited free routines" would be a lie, and an app that lies to you on its home page will lie to you somewhere else.
Three routines is the problem, and it is not a small one
A four-day upper/lower split does not fit in three routines. A six-day push-pull-legs is six routines if you want each day on its own. With three, you either cram exercises into a routine they do not belong to, or you rewrite it every week, or you pay. That is the moment most people find out Strong has a paid tier.
In Novastra that same push-pull-legs is six of your twelve routines. And if you take it from the catalogue instead of writing it yourself, it costs you none of them.
- If you train with an iPhone. There is no iPhone or Apple Watch app today, and from the browser you can review and edit but not log a session. It is on the way and coming soon; until then, if that is your phone, do not switch.
- If three routines is plenty. If you run the same full-body session three days a week, Strong's cap will never get in your way.
- If you prefer an app that does one thing. Strong is a training log and nothing else: no ranks, no runes, no community. There is a game layer here that some people love and others find unnecessary.
- If you already bought Strong PRO for life. That money is spent.
Bring your history over in two minutes, free
You do not start from scratch. Novastra reads the CSV Strong exports and adds those sessions to yours, with their sets, weights, reps and dates. Any exercise it cannot match in the catalogue is created under the name it came with, so not a single set is lost.
Importing is free and there is no limit on how many times you do it. No subscription, no trial: it is the first thing anyone switching apps does, and charging for it would mean charging you before you have even seen the app from the inside.
How to move your Strong history into Novastra, step by step
And what you get if you do switch
907 exercises, 880 with the movement animated and 189 with the technique written by hand, 14 complete programs you can adopt without touching your cap, nine training guides, your full history, CSV and JSON export, and the same account in the browser so you can build routines with a keyboard. No ads. What is free and what Premium adds, price included, is on the home page.
Free on Google PlayThe other app's figures come from its own public documentation, on the date the table gives. Both change prices and limits whenever they like: if something no longer matches, write to contact@novastra.fit and we will fix it.