Every "best calisthenics app" list ranks five apps by star rating and calls it a day. That is the wrong axis. These apps are not five versions of the same thing — they solve different problems, and the right one depends on which problem you actually have.
One note before the table: we make PlayThenics. We have tried to be fair to the others, and where another app does something better, it says so below. If we have got a detail wrong about a competitor, tell us and we will fix it.
The four problems a calisthenics app can solve
- "Tell me what to do today." You want a program, a video, a session to follow. This is what most apps are.
- "Time my circuit." You train in rounds and intervals and want a clean timer and a workout generator.
- "Teach me this skill." You are chasing a muscle-up or a front lever and want the tutorial and the progression steps.
- "Tell me whether it is working." You already train. You want to know how many sets each pattern got this week, whether your best moved, whether you are recovered, and what rank your logged sets actually earn.
Most apps do the first well and the fourth barely at all. The reverse is also true.
The five, by what they are for
| App | Built for | Strongest at | Weakest at | Free tier |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Caliverse | Following programs, especially as a beginner | A large free library — hundreds of exercises with video, ready-made plans | Measuring capability. It records completed workouts, not where you rank or whether volume is in range | Substantial |
| Thenx | Follow-along video programs | Production quality and structured programs built around a well-known coach | Anything outside the programs. Logging your own sessions is not the point of it | Limited; subscription for programs |
| Madbarz | Circuits and interval training | A clean timer and a workout generator for HIIT-style bodyweight sessions | Skill progressions and strength measurement — it is a conditioning tool | Yes, with premium plans |
| Thenics | Learning street-workout skills | Skill-focused tutorials for the iconic moves | Reading your training back — volume, balance, readiness | Partial |
| PlayThenics | Measuring what your own log says | Rank per movement pattern from logged sets against published standards; weekly sets, days and readiness; owning progression steps as you earn them; auto-detected records; works offline with no account | It is not a video library. It does not play you a workout. If you want to be told what to do from zero, start elsewhere and bring the log here | Unlimited logging; Pro for the plan, readiness, full history, coach |
Pick by the problem
You are new and want to be shown what to do
Caliverse, honestly. The free library is large, the videos are clear, and a beginner needs demonstration more than measurement. Come back to a tracker once you have a few months of sessions worth reading.
You train in circuits and want a timer that does not get in the way
Madbarz. Its generator and timer are built for exactly this. PlayThenics logs cardio and conditioning in their own table so they never inflate your strength volume, but it is not a circuit timer.
You are chasing one specific skill
For the tutorial, Thenics or Thenx. For knowing where you are on the way there, PlayThenics: every exercise sits on a ladder, each rung is marked the moment a logged set clears its bar, and the next rung is always shown as the frontier. The two are complementary — learn the step there, own it here.
You already train and want to know whether it is working
This is the one PlayThenics was built for, and the one program apps do least well. Specifically:
- Rank, measured. Push, pull, core and legs scored from your logged sets against published calisthenics standards — each rank shows the set that earned it. Nothing is awarded for opening the app.
- The weekly plan. How many working sets each pattern needs this week, in a range with a floor and a ceiling; how many days to spread them across; whether you are recovered enough to take the load.
- Plateaus, named. The hold that has not moved in eight sessions, the push:pull ratio that drifted — surfaced before your shoulders notice.
- Local-first. No account, no network, no card to log. The log stays on the phone; sign in only if you want a second device.
Using two
The most common setup we hear about is a program app for the session and PlayThenics for the record. Follow the video, then log what you actually did — sets, reps, holds, how hard it felt. The program tells you what to do; the log tells you whether it worked. There is no reason those have to be the same app, and right now none does both well.
Questions people ask before choosing
What is the best calisthenics app for tracking progress?
If "progress" means which progression step you own and how your strength ranks against a published standard, PlayThenics is built specifically for that. If it means "did I complete this week's program", any of the program apps will tick the box.
Which calisthenics app works offline without an account?
PlayThenics: every training feature runs on the device and the log stays on the phone. Most program apps need an account to reach their content.
Is there a free calisthenics app?
Caliverse's free tier is genuinely large. PlayThenics is free to log without limits — sets, reps, holds, RPE, streaks, rank and CSV export — with Pro for the weekly plan, readiness, full history and the coach.
What is the difference between a program app and a tracker?
A program app tells you what to do. A tracker reads what you did back to you. Different problems; many athletes use one of each.
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