MacroFactor Workouts is a strong, well-reviewed tracker with rule-based progression. Anneal is built around showing the rule behind every weight, runs on your Apple Watch, and is free to start with no account. Here is a plain comparison, including where MacroFactor is ahead.
A good fit if you already use MacroFactor for nutrition and want one team behind both, if you train on Android, or if you want deeper set types and technique videos today. It costs more and has no free subscription tier.
A good fit if you want the reason behind every weight, an Apple Watch app now, a free tier you can keep, a try-first trial with no card, and no account. It has no Android app and no nutrition side.
| Anneal | MacroFactor Workouts | |
|---|---|---|
| Platforms | iPhone, iPad and Apple Watch | iPhone, iPad, Mac (Apple silicon), Apple Vision and Android |
| Apple Watch | Free companion app: next set, rest-timer haptics, adjust reps and weight | Not listed on its App Store page in October 2026; its April 2026 newsletter said a Watch app was in progress |
| Raises your weights for you | Yes, every program, generated session and lift you add yourself | Yes, rule-based Smart Progression on its programs and on your own |
| Why a weight changed | Tap any exercise to see the rule that fired; every rule is published | Help articles explain the idea; we found no increment sizes or deload rules there, which may be documented elsewhere |
| Rep patterns in generated programs | Vary reps over time in the program builder (2.2 update): lighter to heavier, heavier to lighter, or undulate | Static, Linear, Reverse Linear or Undulating, per its version 1.4.1 notes |
| Set types | Warm-up sets today; drop, myorep and partial sets in the 2.2 update, all kept out of your next weight | Supersets, partial reps, myoreps, drop sets and failure sets, per its page. It lists more than Anneal does |
| Daily readiness | HRV, sleep and resting heart rate from Apple Health can scale a day back, never past your plan (reshaping is Pro) | Not described on the pages we read |
| Gym profiles and plate math | Gym profiles and plate-true rounding | Gym profiles and a plate calculator |
| Exercise demos | Illustrated demos for a growing set of exercises | Technique videos. It is ahead here |
| Nutrition and body tracking | Body weight log; weight flows through Apple Health | A separate MacroFactor nutrition app, sold alone or in a bundle, plus progress photos |
| Free tier and trial | 14 days of everything, no signup, no card, then a free logger, every bundled template, one custom program, 90 days of analytics and CSV export | 7-day free trial; no free subscription tier |
| Paid price (US) | $8.99/month, $59.99/year, $149.99 once | $11.99/month, $71.99/year or $47.99 per 6 months; no lifetime option seen |
| Bring your history | Imports Strong, Hevy and Fitbod CSV exports | Its page says you cannot import past workout data from other apps |
Last checked October 20, 2026. MacroFactor details are from its own pages, which describe its intent rather than independent testing: macrofactor.com/workouts, its App Store listing and its help center. Prices vary by region and change; check the App Store for the current figures. A feature we mark as not listed may still exist. Anneal details are from our own listing.
Anneal Pro is $59.99 a year against $71.99 for MacroFactor Workouts, or $8.99 a month against $11.99, and Anneal also offers a $149.99 one-time option. MacroFactor sells a bundle with its nutrition app (about $89.99 a year, per its help center in October 2026), which is the better value if you want both. Anneal's free tier and 14-day no-card trial let you judge the progression before you pay anything.
Anneal imports Strong, Hevy and Fitbod CSV exports (Settings, then Data, then Import CSV), so the engine can start from real numbers. It does not import from MacroFactor. If you are leaving MacroFactor Workouts, you would start Anneal fresh or enter your current working weights by hand.
How the engine uses that starting point is described in how Anneal decides each weight, and the numbers are in the full progression rules.
Anneal 2.2 is the next App Store update. Until it is live, the items below are not in the version you can download today.
MacroFactor Workouts offers a 7-day free trial and, per its App Store listing in October 2026, no free subscription tier. Anneal gives new users 14 days of full access with no signup and no card, then keeps a free logger with every bundled template.
Its App Store listing in October 2026 does not list Apple Watch among supported devices, and its April 2026 newsletter described a Watch app as in progress. Anneal has a free Apple Watch companion app today.
Not yet. Anneal imports Strong, Hevy and Fitbod CSV exports, but it does not support importing from MacroFactor.
Both apps use rules rather than generative AI. Anneal publishes its full rules, including increments, stalls, deloads and return-to-lifting ramps, and every exercise shows the rule that set its weight.
Also compare: Anneal vs Hevy · Anneal vs Strong · Anneal vs Fitbod
14 days of everything with no signup and no card, then a free logger for as long as you like, or Pro.
Download on the App Store