5 Best Home Gym & Dumbbell Workout Apps for Android (2026)

Quickstart

Training in a garage or living room brings up problems a big commercial gym never has. You might lift with a pair of adjustable dumbbells, a 15 kg short bar, or two pairs of 10 kg plates instead of a pair of 20s. Kinoku and FitNotes handle a home gym log on Android with no account and no routine cap. Kinoku also adds a per-hand dumbbell weight switch, equipment swaps, and free dumbbell plans such as a push, pull, and legs (PPL) split. Caliber, Hevy, and Strong ask for an account first and add exercise videos, coaching, or iPhone sync.

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Four friction points in a home or dumbbell gym

A workout log built for a big gym often stumbles on four everyday home-gym chores:

1. Per-hand dumbbell math. Nobody wants to double numbers in their head after a hard set of dumbbell presses just to keep weekly volume right.
2. Missing machines. A plan written for a commercial gym will ask for a lat pulldown or leg press that you need to swap for a pull-up or goblet squat.
3. Odd bars and missing plates. A home rack often uses an EZ (a curved curl bar that eases wrist strain) bar, a 15 kg bar, or a small stack of iron plates.
4. One-sided holds and carries. Side planks and suitcase holds need a clock that times your left side and your right side without making you add extra sets by hand.

Side by side

Every cell for another app comes from a page that app publishes or from our dated Android 16 emulator runs. Where an app’s pages do not mention a feature, such as a one-rep max (1RM) tool, the table says “Not stated”.

Each app for home and dumbbell training

FitNotes

Best for: Home barbell lifters on Android who want a configurable plate calculator and no account.

FitNotes is a local Android gym log that gives home barbell lifters the math tools they need without a sign-up screen.

• What it does well: Its privacy page says you are “not required to register an account” to log sets, and its homepage says it is “Free to use and no ads - ever.” Its workout tools page includes a 1RM tool, a warm-up set tool, and a plate calculator that “will display the plates that are required on each side of barbell to make up that weight.”
• Home gym perk: If your garage gym mixes pound dumbbells with kilo plates, FitNotes’ settings page notes that “you can specify the unit when … individual exercises by purchasing the FitNotes Supporter app on Google Play.”
• Where it stops: FitNotes runs on Android only and ships no ready-made dumbbell or home routines, so you build every routine yourself. Versus page: Kinoku vs FitNotes.

Kinoku

Best for: Home gym and dumbbell lifters who want per-hand dumbbell math, equipment swaps, and free dumbbell templates with no account.

Kinoku is a free, account-free Android tracker built to handle both a barbell rack and a pair of dumbbells in a spare room.

• Per-hand dumbbell weight and two-sided holds: Turn on Weight is per hand on any dumbbell or kettlebell lift. You type the weight of one dumbbell, such as 20 kg, and Kinoku doubles the set volume to 40 kg per rep so your tonnage charts match barbell work. For one-sided timed holds like side planks, turn on Both sides so the clock runs your left side and your right side in one set.
• Free dumbbell plans and swaps: The free Starter Packs include Home Dumbbell and Bodyweight Basics. The free program list also includes Dumbbell PPL (a six-day split) and Dumbbell Stopgap (a three-day full-body plan). When a plan asks for a machine you do not own, Replace exercise shows swaps matched by muscle and gear.
• Plate and warm-up math: The plate calculator and warmup generator are free, with bar weights for 20 kg, 15 kg, or EZ bars. Pro adds custom plate counts if your home rack is short a pair of 20s.
• Where it stops: Kinoku runs on Android and Wear OS today, with an iPhone version in the works. It uses one unit system at a time rather than mixing pounds and kilos on one screen.

Caliber

Best for: Home lifters who want free form videos from coaches or paid 1-on-1 training.

Caliber is a strength app for iOS and Android that pairs a free workout log with optional coaching upgrades.

• What it does well: When you train alone at home with no coach watching your form, Caliber’s Google Play listing includes “step-by-step videos and pro tips” from Caliber coaches on the free version, along with “Create and track unlimited workouts.”
• What its pages say about limits: Caliber’s download page asks you to “log in using your email address and password.” Its Google Play listing puts “create custom exercises and supersets, swap exercises” and coach-designed plans inside the paid Caliber Plus tier. Versus page: Hevy vs Caliber.

Hevy

Best for: Home lifters who want form videos, a friends feed, and Apple Watch or Wear OS logging.

Hevy is a social workout logger for iOS, Android, watches, and the web.

• What it does well: Hevy’s Google Play listing highlights “free high-quality videos” across hundreds of lifts so you can check your form. Its help centre also lists “rest timers, plate calculators, and RPE tracking” for rate of perceived exertion (RPE), alongside reps in reserve (RIR) in Kinoku.
• What its pages say about limits: Hevy’s help centre states that “Hevy Pro also includes access to the Warm-Up Calculator.” In our September 6, 2026 test of Hevy 3.1.12, the free account stopped at 4 routines and 7 custom exercises, which can pinch if you add custom moves for bands or home attachments. Versus page: Kinoku vs Hevy.

Strong

Best for: Home barbell lifters on 5x5 who want a quiet log synced between Android and iPhone.

Strong is a clean set-table logger for iPhone, Apple Watch, and Android.

• What it does well: Strong’s Google Play listing says it is built around “a progressive barbell routine” such as Starting Strength or StrongLifts 5x5, which are two of the most common three-day home barbell plans. It also includes “Detailed exercise instructions with a growing library of animated videos.”
• What its pages say about limits: Strong’s help docs note that you are “prompted to sign up” before logging a workout. It caps the free version at 3 Workout Templates and puts its “Warm Up Calculator”, “Plate Calculator”, and full charts inside Strong PRO. Versus page: Kinoku vs Strong.

Frequently asked questions

How should I log dumbbell weight: one dumbbell or both together?

Most lifters write the weight of one dumbbell, such as 25 kg, and want their volume chart to count both hands, or 50 kg per rep. Kinoku has a Weight is per hand switch on every dumbbell lift so you type one dumbbell’s weight and the app doubles the volume for you.

Which app has a free plate calculator for a home barbell setup?

FitNotes and Kinoku both have a free barbell plate tool inside the workout log. FitNotes lets you set up your plate rack for free. Kinoku has standard kilo and pound plates plus bar weights for free, and puts custom plate counts in Pro. Strong puts both barbell tools in Strong PRO.

Which apps include free dumbbell-only workout routines?

Kinoku has a free Home Dumbbell starter pack and two multi-week dumbbell plans in the free list: Dumbbell PPL (a six-day push, pull, and legs split) and Dumbbell Stopgap (a three-day full-body plan). The other four apps let you build your own dumbbell routines, with Caliber offering coach plans in Caliber Plus.

What if a program calls for a gym machine I do not have at home?

In Kinoku, tapping Replace exercise during a workout or inside a routine shows swaps that work the same main muscles. You can trade a cable row for a one-arm dumbbell row in two taps, or make as many custom lifts as you want for odd home gear on the free plan.

Can I mix pound dumbbells and kilogram barbell plates in one app?

FitNotes’ settings page says you can set the weight unit on single lifts by buying the FitNotes Supporter app on Google Play. The other apps on this page use one unit setting at a time, though Kinoku converts your saved weights cleanly when you switch between kilos and pounds.

Related pages

• Best calisthenics workout tracker apps for Android: Six apps compared for pull-ups, dips, and bodyweight load math at home.
• Best free apps to build your own workout routines: Seven apps sorted by how many routines and custom exercises the free plan allows.
• Kinoku vs FitNotes: The two account-free Android logs compared side by side.
• FitNotes vs Strong: FitNotes’ free barbell tools compared with Strong’s three-template free tier.

Which one fits you

• Choose Kinoku if you train at home with dumbbells or a barbell, want a per-hand weight toggle so volume doubles on its own, want free Dumbbell PPL or Home Dumbbell starter routines, and want no account.
• Choose FitNotes if you lift on a home barbell rack on Android, want a free plate calculator set to your own plates, and only need a fast set-and-rep log.
• Choose Caliber if you train alone at home and want step-by-step video tutorials from coaches, or want to pay for Caliber Plus or 1-on-1 coaching.
• Choose Hevy if you want exercise videos to check your form at home, train with friends on a feed, and four free routines cover your week.
• Choose Strong if you run a three-template barbell plan like StrongLifts 5x5 at home and want your log synced to an iPhone or Apple Watch.