Nearly 1 in 5 smartphone users have downloaded a fitness app. That is a lot of people looking for a cheaper way to train at home.

The problem is that most of those apps are designed to stop being free the moment you build a habit. They lock basics like rest timers and history access to pressure you into a subscription. I have mapped the freemium mechanics of about a hundred workout apps, and the pattern is consistent: the free tier is a deliberately crippled version whose only purpose is to convert you into a subscriber.

The average workout app costs $34 per month — more than many gym memberships. For a stopwatch and a log.

The apps that genuinely stay free are rare, and they do not advertise loudly. You need to look at what the free tier withholds, not what it offers.