Best body recomposition apps (2026), compared

The best body recomposition app is the one that shows the four signals a flat scale hides: a rising strength trend, protein adherence (hitting your protein target most days), a trend weight that stays near maintenance, and changing photos or measurements. If you want lifts, food and trend weight in one iPhone app, pick Arrow. If you want body-fat and muscle estimates from photos, pick GainFrame. If you want a nutrition-only app that adjusts your calories each week from your weight and food logs, pick MacroFactor. If you want a free lifting log, pick Hevy and pair it with a food app. Most people still need at least two of these jobs covered.

Body recomposition, or "recomp," means losing fat and gaining muscle at the same time. The hard part is that the scale, your usual progress signal, barely moves. Fat loss and muscle gain can cancel each other out on the scale for months, so you need the other signals somewhere you'll actually look at them together, including whether your training and your food still match.

Disclosure: I make Arrow. I've tried to be specific about where other apps are the better choice. Competitor prices and features below were checked against each company's own site, help center or App Store listing on November 9, 2026. Sources are at the end. Spot something out of date? Email support@arrowfitnessapp.com.

This page is for lifters who want to lose fat and gain muscle at the same time, and who track food, lifts or both. Arrow is built for people who want their training and their food tracked in the same app. If you only want body-fat estimates from photos, GainFrame fits better, and if you only want a free gym log, Hevy fits better.

01What should a recomp app track?

Score any app against these four signals. If it misses two or more, it can't run a recomp on its own.

A food-only app covers protein and often trend weight. A lifting log covers strength, and a photo app covers how your body looks. So the "best recomp app" is really the best combination of apps for the jobs you won't do by hand.

02Which app should you pick?

• Arrow, for lifts, food and trend weight in one app. It has a full lifting log that records reps in reserve (RIR, how many more reps you could have done), food logging by photo, text, voice or barcode, calorie targets that adjust to your weight trend, and a weekly recap from Arrow Coach, the app's built-in coach, that covers training and food together. When your training stalls, when your weight gain stalls, or when you're gaining too quickly, Arrow automatically updates your calories, protein, carbs and fats.
• GainFrame, for body-fat and muscle estimates from photos. It estimates body fat, fat-free mass index (FFMI, a muscle-for-your-height score) and 12 muscle groups from progress photos, and its own site says it now also logs food against calorie and macro targets.
• MacroFactor, for nutrition only. The nutrition app is $71.99/yr. It estimates how many calories you burn from your food logs and weight trend, then adjusts your targets at a weekly check-in. Its lifting app, MacroFactor Workouts, is a separate app, and MacroFactor says the two don't automatically adjust each other at launch.
• Hevy, for a free lifting log. The free version includes logging with a 4-routine limit before Pro ($2.99/mo or $23.99/yr). Pair it with a food app and a tape measure.

03Who can realistically recomp?

A recomp comes easiest to a few groups. Barakat and colleagues' 2020 review in the Strength and Conditioning Journal concluded that it's also possible in trained lifters, but usually slower.

• Beginners. New training is a strong stimulus, so gaining muscle at maintenance or in a small deficit is common.
• Returning lifters. Regaining lost muscle tends to be faster than building it the first time.
• People with higher body fat. More stored energy makes it easier to build muscle without eating extra.
• Trained, lean lifters. Possible, but slow. Many will make faster visible progress with a dedicated cut (a fat-loss phase), then a lean bulk (a slow, controlled muscle-gain phase). If you're stuck choosing between those, see recomp or cut?.

The research shares the same requirements: lifting with steadily increasing weight or reps, high protein (the International Society of Sports Nutrition (ISSN) position stand puts active people at about 1.4-2.0 g/kg/day, and many recomp protocols aim near the top of that or a bit higher), and calories near maintenance or a small deficit. Longland et al. found lean mass gain and fat loss in a deficit when protein was high and training was hard.

04How do the apps compare?

US list prices checked November 9, 2026. Where a fact wasn't on an official page, the cell says so.

GainFrame is strongest at measuring your body from photos, and it now covers food logging too. Arrow is strongest when you want food and training in one place. MacroFactor is strongest as a nutrition-only coach, and Hevy as a cheap, proven lift log.

05How does Arrow handle a recomp?

1. You pick a goal. Lose weight, build muscle or maintain. That sets your starting workouts and calorie and macro targets.
2. You train and log food. Sets, reps, weight and RIR go in the workout log. Meals go in by photo, voice, text or barcode. Steps come from Apple Health.
3. Calories update weekly from your weight trend. Arrow starts estimating your daily calorie burn after about 7 complete logged days and 2 weigh-ins at least 7 days apart, and each weekly check-in moves calories by at most 150 (see apps that adjust calories from your weight trend).
4. When training stalls, weight gain stalls, or you're gaining too quickly, Arrow automatically updates calories, protein, carbs and fats. The detail is in how Arrow changes your macros when training stalls.
5. Arrow Coach reviews training and food together in the weekly recap.

A flat trend can still hide a muscle shift. That's covered in why weight-trend calorie targets can miss muscle.

Arrow has real gaps today. There's no photo body-fat tool, there's no free version (just one paid subscription after a 7-day free trial), the latest features are iPhone only, and no Apple Watch app is listed on the App Store page as of our last check. If you need Android or a free gym log, pick something else below.

06How should you set up a recomp in any app?

Calories. Start at estimated maintenance, or about 10-15% below if you have more fat to lose. If your app adjusts calories from your weight trend, let it correct the estimate after a couple of weeks of real logging.

Protein. About 1.6-2.2 g/kg of bodyweight daily is a common starting range. Spread it across 3-5 meals.

Training. Add weight or reps over time on big multi-joint lifts like squats, bench press and deadlifts. If your heaviest sets aren't creeping up over a month, check sleep, protein and the program before you blame the app.

Once a week, take 5 minutes to check where you are:

• If trend weight is flat, lifts are up and your waist is down, that's a textbook recomp. Keep going.
• If trend weight and your waist are both rising, you're eating more than you burn (lean bulk territory). Trim about 100-200 calories a day.
• If trend weight is falling quickly and lifts are dropping, you're cutting, maybe too hard. Add calories back toward maintenance.
• If everything has been flat for 8+ weeks, a dedicated cut or lean bulk may move you faster. See best app to track a cut and best app for a lean bulk.

07When should you pick another app over Arrow?

• If you want body-fat and muscle estimates from photos, GainFrame does that better than Arrow today. Arrow doesn't analyze progress photos.
• If you want a nutrition-only app that adjusts your calories and don't need lifts in the same app, pick MacroFactor.
• If you want to pay $0 for lifting, use Hevy's free version. Arrow has no free version, just one paid subscription after a 7-day free trial.
• If you're on Android, Arrow's latest features are iPhone only. Hevy, MacroFactor and MyFitnessPal ship on Android.
• If you track vitamins and minerals in depth, use Cronometer (see cronometer.com/gold for current pricing on Gold, its paid plan).

08Which one should you start with?

1. Need body-fat estimates from photos first? Start with GainFrame.
2. Need lifts and food tracked together on iPhone? Start with Arrow.
3. Need only calorie targets that adjust to your weight? Start with MacroFactor, and add Hevy if you don't already log lifts.
4. Need free lifting only? Start with Hevy and add any food app.
5. Unsure whether to recomp at all? Read recomp or cut? before you buy another subscription.

09FAQ

What's the best app for body recomposition tracking?

Match the app to the signal you're missing. Arrow covers lifts, food and trend weight together. GainFrame covers body-fat estimates from photos (and now food). MacroFactor covers nutrition with calories that adjust weekly, and Hevy covers free lifting. Most serious recompers still need at least two of those jobs covered.

How do I track recomp progress if the scale doesn't move?

Watch strength on your main lifts, protein adherence, waist and arm or leg measurements, and photos every 2-4 weeks. A flat trend weight with rising lifts and a smaller waist is what a recomp looks like.

Can you lose fat and build muscle at the same time?

Yes, especially if you're a beginner, a returning lifter or carrying more body fat. Trained, lean lifters can too, but it's usually slower.

How much protein do I need for a recomp?

A common starting range is 1.6-2.2 g per kg of bodyweight a day. Research on hard training in a deficit supports aiming toward the higher end.

Should I eat at maintenance or a deficit for a recomp?

Maintenance or a small deficit (around 10-15% below maintenance) is typical. If you have more fat to lose, use a small deficit. If you're already lean, stay closer to maintenance.

Is GainFrame good for recomp?

Yes, for the measurement job. It estimates body fat, FFMI and muscle groups from photos, and its site now includes calorie and macro targets with food logging. Treat the photo numbers as estimates, not a replacement for a DEXA scan (the lab scan that measures body fat), and keep a strength log in Hevy (which GainFrame can import) or another training app.

Does MacroFactor's workout app change my macros?

MacroFactor's own Workouts page says that at launch there are no shared coaching features or automatic program adjustments between nutrition and training. Body metrics and related data sync, but the diet plan doesn't rewrite itself from your sets.

10Sources

Checked November 9, 2026 unless noted.

• Recomposition in trained lifters: Barakat et al. 2020, Strength Cond J, doi.org/10.1519/SSC.0000000000000584
• Higher protein in a deficit: Longland et al. 2016, Am J Clin Nutr, PubMed 26817506
• Protein needs for active people: ISSN position stand, Jäger et al. 2017, PubMed 28642676
• Protein and resistance training gains: Morton et al. 2018 meta-analysis, Br J Sports Med, PubMed 28698222
• GainFrame: gainframe.app · features · pricing and free-tier note, blog roundup
• MacroFactor: prices and bundle, macrofactor.com/workouts/price · nutrition/workouts integration FAQ, macrofactor.com/workouts · App Store listing for adaptive coach and database size
• Hevy: hevy pricing comparison (prices as of October 14, 2026 on that page)
• MyFitnessPal: membership pricing tiers · Premium+
• Cronometer Gold: cronometer.com/gold
• Arrow: App Store listing · stall and calorie-adjustment details on our journal pages linked above