8 Best Online Personal Trainers (2024): Tested by Experts

Very few online personal training apps compare to our top pick for the best overall: Future. We’ve had several people on our team use Future, including GGR founder Coop Mitchell, who has been using it for over three years now. He says, “I think the biggest evidence of my feelings toward Future is that I’ve used it every week since September 2020. I also pay for my wife to use it, I’m that big of a believer.”

GGR Senior Director of Content Kate Meier, CPT, USAW-L1, CF-L1, has used the app as well over the past couple of years. “I admit: I didn’t think I’d still be with Future after doing the initial review, but two years later, and I’m still with it,” she says. “The program has actually helped me after I suffered a weightlifting injury that needed surgery.”

Future recommends a few different coaches for you after asking some basic questions on your workout habits, or you can search for your own coach from the dozens of options. After a video call, your coach will personalize a program tailored to your needs and routine. The equipment needed is based on the fitness equipment you have available.

Future also has great accountability, with daily notifications from your coach and routine check-ins, leading Kate to rate the accountability a 5 out of 5. Instructions during workouts are both visual and auditory, but also includes in-app recording of videos to receive feedback from your coach.

The main drawback is the price. At $199 a month, this is one of the more expensive options for a workout app. However, the features and online coaching are pretty expansive, making it a pretty good value still. You can see more of the team’s thoughts in our Future App review.

If you want training that’s backed by research, consider Caliber, a fitness app grounded upon scientific principles to help you with your strength training. The personalized plans and nutrition programming available are data-driven to ensure you’re getting results. Along with this, you can connect with a certified coach for video coaching and weekly lessons.

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The app can track a lot, including metrics and macronutrients. The app tracks these metrics to show results in an easy-to-read visual format.

Our tester, Amanda Capritto, CPT, CNC, CES, CF-L1, found the pricing to be worded strangely, as the pricing is explained as about $7 a day, although it’s a monthly payment. She was able to get in touch with a customer service rep, however, who helped clear up the confusion. There are three tiers available:

• A free-forever version that gives you access to a library of prepared workouts
• Caliber Premium Coaching, which connects you with a coach and individualizes workout plans, priced at $200 a month
• An expanded package that’s $266 per month, which includes monthly Zoom calls to talk about live strategy

All paid versions offer coaching across all of their training pillars: strength and conditioning, nutrition, and healthy habits. Amanda used the premium coaching option and found the app easy enough to use, although she wishes there were more options to integrate fitness trackers. Currently, Caliber only offers connectivity with Apple watches. Sending pictures to her trainer could have been streamlined more, as well.

This is a pricey app, but Amanda feels that the price is worth it, giving it a 5 out of 5 on value. As a personal trainer, she says, “One-on-one training isn’t cheap; it just isn’t. But it’s almost always worth it, especially if you are struggling with accountability and consistency.” The amount of interaction and accountability features for this app are pretty expansive, too, making it a great choice even before considering the science-backed data it boasts.

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Aaptiv can be a great option for those looking to begin their fitness journey, as its cost is fairly low compared to other online personal trainers at $14.99 a month. If you’re new to fitness training or fitness apps, this is a pretty low barrier to entry. Plus, our tester Amanda Capritto, CPT, CNC, CES, CF-L1, found this app to have high value, giving it a 4.5 out of 5.

This app provides an easy-to-use interface that can navigate through a database of workouts to suit your fitness goals and needs. There’s sufficient expertise in the instructions, as Amanda says, “The trainers who create the workouts are clearly knowledgeable; one of the workouts I did was a completely contralateral session using off-balanced weights, and this is something only a knowledgeable and experienced trainer would likely program.”

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“There is not always an instructor on screen, though,” she continues. “In some of the workouts it’s more like an animation of a person doing the movements and the trainer speaking in the background. This might throw some people off.” If you’re looking for that human interaction in the app, you may not always get it.

The app is great for beginners as there are many features to keep you motivated and accountable, such as push notifications. You can also add workouts to your phone’s calendar, displaying them as appointments. A robust community feed is present as well, where people can share, like, and comment on other people’s workouts. Challenges are even held regularly, keeping new fitness lovers motivated.

If you’re looking for an online personal trainer to help manage your weight loss journey, Trainwell (formerly CoPilot) is a great option. This app allows you to choose a certified personal trainer who matches your fitness goals and training style, which will help you burn calories. In addition, some trainers are also certified nutritionists and can give you guidance on creating meal plans.

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Trainwell offers unlimited interaction with your personal coach, through messaging, feedback, and video calls. After a short assessment, Trainwell recommends coaches who you can connect with, although the final choice is your own. Your coach will personalize programming based on your needs, along with live feedback during your workouts.

Our product tester and certified personal trainer Lindsay Scheele tested out the Trainwell app on her iPhone and Apple Watch. Her experience was very positive, as she says, “It is a very easy app to follow with, the workouts that were programmed had videos to follow along with, and if you have an iPhone and Apple Watch the experience goes over the moon. I was very impressed with the overall design and simplicity of the app and the integration of the iPhone and Apple Watch.” She notes that beyond a coach, there is not community or other means of accountability.

This is one of the less expensive one-on-one online personal trainers on the market at $99, but it still is a pricey monthly cost. Some Android users complain about some bugs and interface issues with the app, so be mindful if you don’t have an iPhone.

Our pick for the best online personal trainer for women is Obe Fitness, an app specially designed for women and their workouts. In addition to recommending workouts after an initial assessment, the app also includes extra features, such as a mood check-in and menstrual cycle insights—with the app then recommending different classes based on your cycle.

One of the strengths of the app is the instruction. GGR editor Frieda Johnson tested out Obe Fitness and says, “The instruction is solid. The instructor does all the moves with you and explains them as you do them. They also give form cues and other tips.” She tried strength classes, a dance HIIT class, and a stretching class, and said coaching was motivating without being obnoxious. She gives the instruction a 4 out of 5.

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Once the app recommends a workout schedule, you’re still able to add your own workouts, but Frieda had trouble trying to remove or modify the recommended workouts. You’re able to add workouts to your calendar, however, to get notifications and boost accountability in the app. Aside from live classes, though, the app doesn’t have too many interactive features.

At $24.99 per month, this can be a bit pricey for the amount it offers, although Frieda does mention, “I do think it could be great for someone who takes advantage of all of the features, like the live classes, mood tracker, and cycle insights.” But if those features don’t interest you, this may not be the best fitness app for you. Also, buyer beware; you’ll have to call to cancel.

If you’re looking for an app that provides the closest experience to in-person training as possible, FlexIt is a strong contender. While we haven’t tested this app ourselves yet, the fitness app provides scheduled sessions with an actual trainer through the app between 30 and 60 minutes, depending on your plan.

After taking a brief assessment to determine current fitness levels and goals, you can search and connect with a certified personal trainer or nutritionist to help pursue those goals. You pay in a bundle of sessions, like in-person training, either in four, eight, or 12 sessions at 30, 45, or 60 minutes long. You schedule sessions with your trainer and they’ll be present during your training session.

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Customer reviews are mixed, however, as the app seems to have high strengths, but big weaknesses, too. The app has a 3.9 out of 5 stars rating on the Google Play store. Reviews are wildly positive about the coaching and interaction, but the user interface of the app is clunky and not as intuitive as users would like.

One review claims, “Coach and interaction is great. The app is a big fail, and really gets in the way of the workout. Wish they would try to be less fancy (I don’t need to press and hold to complete a set) and just get the basics right—like being able to hit send when trying to message my coach.” 

However, if you can navigate the app, you’ll have access to a great personal trainer, albeit a bit on the pricey side.

Our pick for a customizable yoga experience is Down Dog, an inexpensive app with a nice user interface and plenty of customization options. GGR editor Frieda Johnson tried out the app and says, “I like how easy Down Dog is to customize based on what you want on any given day. The sessions I’ve done have been challenging but attainable for my experience level and I’ve enjoyed them.”

Although there’s no free trial, Frieda gives the value a 5 out of 5, as the app’s monthly subscription cost is only $7.99 per month; plus, it gives you access to their HIIT, meditation, prenatal yoga, and Barre apps as well. If you’re looking to diversify at-home bodyweight workouts, this is a great, inexpensive way.

Setup is easy, as you fill out a quick questionnaire on preferences, like the length of sessions and type of music. These settings are easy to adjust in individual yoga sessions, too. Frieda gives the ease of use a 5 out of 5, saying about the customization, “You get to pick what you want for an impressive number of categories, including type of music, person leading the flow, length of session, and body-part focus.”

While workouts are audio-guided and include videos and descriptions of the workouts, there are limited interactive features or accountability for those looking for support from a community or from the app. However, for its price, it’s a great app for guided yoga sessions.

If you’re looking for personalized strength training based entirely on your metrics and strength levels, one of our favorite apps is JuggernautAI. Using an in-depth assessment of your current experience—weight, training load, personal records, training schedule, and fitness goals—JuggernautAI makes a program personalized to your specific needs. 

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Developed by an accomplished powerlifter and coach, Chad Wesley Smith, this app doesn’t have you interact with an online trainer. Instead, an algorithm is used to create and structure a workout program suited for your needs and goals. Each workout will prompt questions on your level of fatigue or soreness and make adjustments to future workouts, as well.

Former GGR senior staff writer Amanda Capritto, CPT, CNC, CES, CF-L1, has used JuggernautAI on and off to supplement her fitness training and running over the last year and loves the app. “I’ve felt a notable increase in my work capacity, as in I don’t get fatigued as quickly and feel like I can workout harder for longer,” she says, adding, “The JuggernautAI training has also paid off in my triathlon training, as I’ve improved in all three disciplines: swimming, biking, and running.”

Amanda does note that the training app can be a little overwhelming at first, but after a couple workouts, you should get the hang of it; she rates the ease of use a 4.5 out of 5. While the app goes above and beyond other apps with accountability, you’re essentially working only with the app; users who are looking for an actual coach may find this off-putting. 

You can check out our full thoughts on this strength app in our JuggernautAI Review.