Coached plan or plain logger: which fits you
Fitness apps split into two families that look similar in the store and feel nothing alike in the gym. One tells you what to do. The other simply records what you already decided to do. Pick the wrong family and you will spend weeks fighting the app, so it helps to picture a few situations and see which one sounds like you.
If you open the gym and feel unsure what to train
A coached plan is built for this. Apps like Ladder hand you a program where the lifts, sets and target weights are decided in advance, and a named coach moves the load up on a schedule. You trade some freedom for the relief of never improvising, which for most people in this position is exactly the right trade. The structure is the product, and it is what keeps you turning up when motivation dips.
If you already run your own program
Then a coach is mostly something to override. A logger such as Hevy fits far better: you build your routines once and tap through them set by set, with your last weights and rest timers waiting where you need them. You keep full control of what you train, and you pay a few dollars rather than a few tens for the privilege. A coached app would only get in the way of a plan you already trust.
If you want a human in the loop
Some lifters do not want a program so much as a person. That is a different tier again, and Future is the clearest version of it: a real coach who messages you, watches your form on video, and rebuilds the week around your life. It costs accordingly, and it earns its price only if you actually send the check-ins. Picture whether you would talk to a coach week to week, because that is what you are buying, not just a plan.
If you mostly want variety and company
Sometimes the honest answer is neither. If your goal is to move more rather than to chase a number, a class library like FitOn or Peloton gives you a session for any mood without a plan to commit to. There is no progression to speak of, but there is always something to follow, and for plenty of people that is what keeps the habit alive.
So which is it
Sort yourself by how much direction you want, not by which app has the better advert. The more you want to be told what to do, the further toward coaching you sit; the more you already know, the closer to a plain logger. Once you have placed yourself, our ranking shows which apps land where, so you can test the right one rather than all of them.