Hevy Coach vs. Harbiz: An Overview
Harbiz is coaching software marketed as the #1 app for fitness professionals and personal trainers. Given the bold claims, we investigated to see if the platform matched the marketing claims. More importantly, we compared the platform to Hevy Coach to see who’s better.
Right from the start, we saw that Harbiz caters to a broader range of professionals, including yoga and pilates instructors, physiotherapists, and nutritionists. One stand-out feature is the ability to schedule various tasks on clients’ calendars: personal training sessions, cardio workouts, nutritional lessons, and more.
However, while Harbiz allows you to schedule various sessions and provide nutritional guidance, its workout builder is quite basic, you cannot edit entries in the exercise library, and the team feature is rigid and feels incomplete.
In contrast, Hevy Coach is a niche platform catering to strength coaches and trainers. This fact is reflected in the interface’s layout and the platform’s list of features.
Hevy Coach is superior to Harbiz for trainers and coaches because the workout builder has far more options, the exercise library is of higher quality (and is customizable), the program library allows you to organize plans in folders, the team feature allows you to manage coaches and their clients, and the client app is far more refined.
| Features Comparison | ||
| Feature | Hevy Coach | Harbiz |
| Client Activity Feed | ✅ | ✅ |
| Individual Exercise Performance | ✅ | ❌ |
| Body Measurements | ✅ | ✅ |
| Progress Photos | ✅ | ✅ |
| Program Folders | ✅ | ❌ |
| Drag and Drop | ✅ | ✅ |
| RPE | ✅ | ✅ |
| Automatic Rest Timers | ✅ | ❌ |
| Manage Coaching Teams | ✅ | limited |
| Lead Generation | ✅ | ❌ |
User Interface and Navigation
Harbiz’s interface is sleek and streamlined. The home screen displays essential information like your clients’ latest activities and upcoming scheduled events, but there are also some options you may not want to see all the time.
Hevy Coach has a cleaner dashboard that only displays the most relevant information: your clients’ latest logged activities on a feed (with an option to click on any of them for details), a button to get to your client list, and a graph displaying weekly active clients.
Beyond the dashboard, both platforms are easy to understand and navigate. The important sections are listed on the main menu, and subsections allow you to quickly access the areas you want.
The main menu on Harbiz provides access to your client list, team, library, agenda, and payment section. Hevy Coach’s menu takes you to your client list, program library, exercise library, chats, lead generation feature, and team.
“It’s a simple and easy dashboard that has a very clean app with UI. It has all the tools required to track progressive overload and ensure clients enjoy their workouts. Compared to other apps, they’re either too confusing or have too many bells and whistles that confuse clients. Hevy does a very good job at keeping things simple but extremely effective and easy to use. My clients love it.”
-Rashid K. (Source: Capterra)
Program Library
You can access Harbiz’s program library by clicking Library and selecting Programmes. The library lists individual programs with basic information: name, description, duration, the creator’s name, and the creation date.
The library supports unlimited programs, but you cannot organize them in folders or use more advanced filters to narrow your search results.
You can edit existing programs and create new ones from scratch. To build a new program, write a name and a brief description, and add as many weeks as you want. You can then assign a workout, cardio session, nutritional targets, a reminder to record progress, a form, or a message to any day.
Hevy Coach’s program library is available on the primary menu on the left. Once you navigate there, you can view your existing programs and the workouts that are part of each plan. You can organize your training plans in folders based on goals (e.g., strength gain), experience (e.g., beginner), or something else.
Use the drag-and-drop functions to rearrange workout plans and even move them between folders. For streamlined program building, you can duplicate programs and even whole folders.
The HevyCoach Library provides access to more than a dozen pre-built training plans you can review and import to your library. These plans are organized by available equipment, training goals, and experience.
Like Harbiz, you can store unlimited programs, create new plans, and edit existing ones. Clicking on a program opens the builder, which reveals more options:
- Drag-and-drop to rearrange workouts
- Duplicate, edit, and build workouts (more on that below)
- Write a note or description for the program
- Set a duration for the program
- See a plan summary on the right
- Copy workouts to other programs
Workout Builder
Harbiz’s workout builder has several functions worth discussing. To start, name the workout you’re creating and write a brief description. Below that, you can add:
- Exercises from the library (which is on the right)
- Blocks, where you describe in free-form text what your client should do
- Rest timer between activities
Once you add a movement to the workout, you can write the number of sets, the goal (such as rep target, RIR, or TUT), the recovery time, and a custom note with a tip or additional information. You can pair two or more exercises into a superset and click Organise to enable the drag-and-drop functions and rearrange the movements.
There’s also a built-in 1RM calculator based on the Brzycki formula. It shows percentages and a rough guideline of how many reps the client should be able to do with different weights.
While not bad, Harbiz’s workout builder is not nearly as refined or sophisticated as Hevy Coach’s.
First, finding the right exercises is far easier on Hevy Coach than on Harbiz. You use basic search terms like bench press or barbell row to find the right movements, whereas the Harbiz library often brings up irrelevant search results.
This means you can find the right exercises more quickly and save time when building several workouts, each with multiple movements.
Second, once you’ve added a movement to a workout, you can add or remove sets as needed and mark them by type: normal, drop set, to failure, or warm-up.
You can set specific weight, rep or rep range targets, and RPE for each set, which allows you to program more complex workouts, such as pyramid or reverse-pyramid style. There are also options to write custom notes for movements with additional information and set a rest timer that automatically starts when your clients mark a set as complete.
While building a workout in Hevy Coach, you can click the three dots icon on a movement to reveal additional options: pair movements into a superset, swap or remove an exercise, or edit its how-to instructions and attach a video.
Another practical option in the workout builder is adding a plain warm-up activity and writing a custom note instructing your client. For example, do a 5-minute dynamic warm-up consisting of arm and leg swings, wrist twists, elbow rotations, arm circles, high knees, and jumping jacks. You can attach an instructional video for your clients to follow along.
Finally, you can use the drag-and-drop functions at any point without turning them on to rearrange the exercises in the workout. All the changes you make to the workout are saved automatically.
“The best coaching app I’ve used (and I’ve used a few!). The ability to write up client workouts so that all they have to do is hit “start routine” is such a time saver on their side! It’s just super easy to use and intuitive.”
-Dan I. (Source: Capterra)
Exercise Library
Harbiz’s exercise library is quite extensive, with 900+ entries. Each movement comes with a short demonstrational video and basic how-to instructions.
Unfortunately, one huge drawback is that you cannot edit any details of movements in the library. So, if you want to attach a different video (say one of yourself), change the how-to instructions, or add additional helpful information, you can’t.
Your only option here is to add your version of the movement with the details how you want them. However, that defeats the purpose of the existing library and creates a lot of work for you.
The search bar is also not the most sophisticated one and often brings up irrelevant results or no results at all. For example, searching for barbell squats doesn’t bring up anything:
Given the size of the library, some search terms are the opposite: they bring up lots of results you must scroll through to find the one you want. For instance, here is what plank brings up:
Compared to Harbiz, Hevy Coach’s exercise library is smaller, with around 450 entries, but they are highly curated and far more relevant for personal trainers and strength coaches. This means you can find the right movements with simple search terms, often without using the filters for muscle groups and equipment.
Each movement includes high-quality step-by-step instructions on setup and execution, a demonstrational animation, and additional information about the equipment needed, target muscles, and type (e.g., weight/reps).
You can edit the how-to instructions and attach your preferred video, be it a file upload or a YouTube link.
You can also add custom exercises with an image, video, how-to instructions, and other relevant information. So, even if you prescribe less common movements, you can add them to your library.
On that note, you can invite other coaches to your team or join one. This pools all members’ custom exercises, which means you gain access to other trainers’ movements, and they can also use yours. More on that below.
Client List and Client Profile
You can access your client list from the main menu in Harbiz. It displays your clients with information on their payment plan, status, activation date, assigned coach, and compliance percentage.
Clicking on a client’s name opens their profile, where you get access to their calendar. You can select any day and assign a task, be it a workout, educational video, reminder to record progress, scheduled message, or something else.
There’s also an information subcategory where you can see and edit details about your clients: name, email address, goals, scheduled forms for them to fill out, notes, payment plan information, and payment history.
Inside clients’ profiles, you can assign nutritional plans and track progress: body weight, body fat, circumference measurements, and progress photos. Each metric is shown in a separate tab on a graph. You can also add metrics and upload progress photos for clients.
While Harbiz handles client profiles well and uses subcategories to make navigation easier, Hevy Coach does a better job through simplicity and more relevant information for personal trainers and strength coaches.
Your client list shows the most relevant information: the client’s name, training plan, progress on the plan, activity in the last seven days, and assigned coach (in case it’s someone from your team).
Inside clients’ profiles, you get several sub-menus with all the information you need to guide your coaching decisions:
- Overview – see your client’s latest logged activities on a feed, their training plan, and workout statistics like time spent training, volume load, sets completed, and monthly activity; write and review notes (only visible to you)
- Workout Program – see a summary of the client’s training plan and click to edit it; examine their completed workouts on a feed and click on each for additional details
- Exercise Statistics – examine your client’s performance on any exercise in the last 12 weeks, year, or all time; this is ideal if you work with performance-focused athletes, such as Olympic weightlifters or powerlifters
- Advanced Statistics – examine your client’s set count per muscle group, time spent training, volume load, and total sets completed on individual graphs
- Body Measurements – monitor your clients’ body weight, body fat, and circumference measurements; display them on individual graphs
- Progress Pictures – see your clients’ uploaded progress photos and put them side by side to compare and see visual changes
As you can see, Hevy Coach client profiles contain the most relevant information, outlined in multiple tabs. This allows you to monitor performance and body composition more effectively.
Client App
The Harbiz app allows clients to see their assigned workouts and other activities, access their calendars to log previously completed tasks, watch prescribed educational videos, log their progress, and chat with their coach.
The progress tracking section is quite thorough. Your clients can upload body weight, body fat, and circumference measurements and set goals for each metric. They can also upload progress photos and review them anytime.
To log a scheduled workout, your client must navigate to the home section and see the session under Today’s plan. They can click on it to see more details and select Start workout to begin logging it.
Clients can log each exercise and input the weight and reps or duration set by set, review performance history, write a comment for any movements, and use the built-in calculator.
Before marking the workout as complete, clients can use a slider to select a difficulty from 1 to 10, set a duration, leave a comment for the coach, upload an image or video, and rate the workout.
Aside from scheduled workouts, clients can log free activities, such as a tennis class or a casual run in the park. They can input details about the session, use the slider to select effort on a scale from 1 to 10, leave a comment for you, and upload an image or video.
The Harbiz client app offers some flexibility, especially for logging workouts and tracking progress. Still, the Hevy client app, used by millions of athletes to log workouts, track performance, and engage with others, is superior.
First, workout logging is far more flexible and intuitive. Your client can pick from the prescribed workouts and freely log them. Once they start a session, a stopwatch starts tracking the workout’s duration, and clients can see all the details about the workout: exercises, sets, reps, weight target, rest periods, and custom notes.
Clients can input training details for individual sets and mark them as complete, which starts the automatic rest timer.
Unlike Harbiz, the Hevy client app allows your clients to edit the training details if necessary. They can add or remove sets, mark sets by type, adjust the rest timer, and add, remove, or swap exercises.
That way, clients can adjust their workouts and log them as they’ve done them. For example, the client can swap an exercise if one machine is unavailable or particularly busy. Similarly, if they need to leave early, they can remove an exercise or two, reduce the number of sets, and even pair movements into supersets.
Clicking on the stopwatch opens a new window with options to:
- Pause the workout timer in case the client has to stop and finish the workout later
- Select a start date and time to log a previously completed workout
Before completing the workout, the client can upload photos and videos and leave a comment for you. This is similar to the Harbiz app.
Like the Harbiz app, Hevy allows your clients to log unscheduled sessions. But unlike Harbiz, your clients can log any type of workout, whether a simple run or an improvised strength session.
Clients can also see their performance history for any movement they’ve logged in the app and upload progress photos and body metrics, such as weight, body fat percentage, and circumference measurements.
Aside from workout logging, your clients can access more advanced workout stats, such as set count per muscle group, muscle group distribution, the most logged exercises, and their consistency displayed on a calendar. This information provides valuable insight and can motivate your clients to stay consistent.
When examining previous performance, your clients can see their 1RM, best set and session volume, and progress from workout to workout. Clicking on a movement provides access to the written step-by-step instructions (which you can edit through the platform) and demonstrational animation.
As a quick side note, your client can also chat with you through the app.
In addition, the Hevy app allows your clients to follow others, gain followers, and show support by leaving comments and likes on their workouts. Those not interested in the social aspect can set their profiles to private.
“My clients love using the app, from simple tracking and social sharing to more advanced features like 1rm predictions and workout muscle usage charts.”
-Pete S. (Source: G2)
Coach App
Harbiz Manager is the coach app. It has many of the features you get on the desktop: you can access your client list and agenda, see your scheduled activities, go to your library, and review clients’ payment plans.
During our tests, we noticed that the app can sometimes become buggy. The client list fails to load, the app slows considerably, and the horizontal menu at the bottom sometimes appears too low, making the icons unresponsive.
One good thing about the app is that you can log client workouts. To do so, navigate to Clients, pick a person from your list, and select today’s session. Then, click Complete and log the workout set by set.
Before marking the session complete, you can rate the client’s effort, set a duration for the workout, leave a comment, and upload a photo.
Aside from workout logging, you would be better off creating workouts, tracking clients’ progress, assigning tasks, and doing other day-to-day coaching things on a desktop.
The Hevy Coach app is more basic but just as functional because it provides everything you need: the ability to review clients’ programs, log workouts for clients, invite new clients, and chat with them.
To log a workout, navigate to the Clients tab, select a person from your list, and click Start session on the workout they must do that day. A new window will open, allowing you to log the session set by set, just as your client would through the Hevy app.
You can see your client’s previous performance on each exercise, add or remove sets, mark sets by type, reorder and replace exercises, and pair movements into supersets. This gives you the freedom and flexibility to adjust your clients’ workouts during training.
Also, you can pause the workout timer if the client can’t complete the session now and change the start date and time if you want to log a previously completed workout.
Before marking a set as complete, you can upload images and videos and write a note for the session.
Coaching Team
Harbiz allows you to invite other trainers to join your team. The advantage of this feature is that all custom exercises, workouts, and training programs are automatically shared between all team members.
For instance, if one coach creates a custom exercise, all trainers on the team gain access to it and can use it when building workouts.
That said, coaches you invite to your team can access a limited version of Harbiz with only three menu options: Clients, Library, and Agenda.
While coaches can schedule tasks for themselves and access the library, they cannot invite clients. The coach who invites trainers on the team also cannot assign or reassign clients. The only option is to click on a team member’s name and open a new window with basic information like joining date and active clients.
You cannot invite trainers with Harbiz accounts because it displays an error: Email address is already registered.
Hevy Coach also has a team feature, but it works much better. As a coach on the platform, you can create a team or join one. As a team’s owner or admin, you can invite and remove coaches, change their roles, assign clients to them, or transfer clients to another trainer.
You can visit other trainers’ profiles to see an overview of logged activities and a weekly active clients graph, clients list with an option to visit their profiles, and programs list where you can copy any plan to your library.
In addition to sharing training programs, custom exercises created by one coach are added to the libraries of all other members, similar to Harbiz.
Lastly, your ability to monitor clients and assign them to any coach you want allows you to manage your team more effectively and build a thriving coaching business.
Grow: Generating New Leads
Hevy Coach has Grow, a feature that allows you to create a lead generation form with a cover image, a brief message to prospects, and a unique invite link. You can share your link on your website, social media profiles, and elsewhere.
People who click the link can apply for your coaching services with their name, email address, and a brief message explaining who they are and why they want to work with you.
All applications appear under the Leads section in the Grow tab. You can look through them and accept or decline any of them.
Harbiz doesn’t have a lead generation form option.
Pricing
Harbiz offers a free 14-day trial (no credit card required). Beyond that, their most affordable plan starts from €19 monthly for up to five clients. There’s also an annual plan that starts from €168 for up to five clients.
Hevy Coach offers a 30-day free trial (no credit card required) with no limitations on the number of clients or features. Beyond that, the most affordable plan is $25 monthly for up to ten clients.
As a bonus, all your clients get a free Hevy app Pro subscription. Check out the pricing page for all the details.
| Table Comparison | ||
| Hevy Coach | Harbiz | |
| UI and Navigation | It has a clean, sleek, and easy-to-navigate interface. | The interface is streamlined and easy to figure out. |
| Dashboard | It displays your list of active and inactive clients, their most recent logged activities, and weekly active clients. | It displays your clients’ most recently logged activities and upcoming scheduled tasks. |
| Program Library | Create, import, and store unlimited programs. Organize them in folders and see what workouts are part of each plan. | It holds unlimited programs, but you cannot organize them in folders. Edit any program, add or remove weeks, and schedule various tasks. |
| Workout Builder | Add exercises from the library, add or remove sets, adjust the variables (e.g., load and reps), mark each set by type, create supersets, and write custom notes. | Add exercises from the library, write notes, set training variables such as the number of sets, weight, rep target and rest period, and create supersets. |
| Exercise Library | It has 400+ entries with step-by-step instructions, a demo animation, and other important information. Edit the how-to instructions, attach videos, and add custom exercises. | It has 900+ entries with how-to instructions and a short demonstration video. You can add custom exercises but cannot edit the details of the existing оnes. |
| Client Profile | See your clients’ logged activities and examine their training plan, individual session performance, advanced statistics, body metrics, and progress photos. | Access your client’s calendar, view their payment history, and analyze progress metrics such as their body weight and body fat, as well as progress photos. |
| Client App | Clients gain access to the Hevy app to log individual workouts, add body metrics, upload progress photos, monitor their performance, chat with you, and engage with other users. | Clients can see their scheduled activities, upload progress metrics like weight and photos, log workouts, leave feedback, and log simple exercise sessions like a tennis match or run. |
| Coach App | Chat with clients and log workouts for them. Upload images and videos and write custom notes before marking workouts as complete. Edit the training details during training and chat with your clients. | The app has many features you get on desktop, including the ability to log workouts for clients. However, while functional, it would be easier to do most things on your computer. |
| Teams | Create or join a coaching team. As an admin, you can invite and remove coaches, change their roles, and reassign clients. Custom exercises and workout plans are shared between all members. | You can invite other coaches to join your team. They gain access to a limited version of Harbiz and cannot invite clients. Custom exercises, workouts, and training programs are shared between all team members. |
| Lead Generation | Create a lead generation form with a cover image, custom message, and invite link. Prospects can apply for coaching through it. | No |
| Pricing | Starts from $25 monthly for up to ten clients | Starts from €19 monthly for up to five clients |
| Free Trial | 30-day free trial (no credit card required) | 14-day free trial (no credit card required) |
To Conclude
Harbiz is a decent coaching platform with good features, but does it qualify as the #1 app for fitness professionals and personal trainers?
Some of the platform’s positive qualities include its simple and sleek interface, an extensive exercise library, a good program library, and a decent app for your clients.
However, while good in some ways, several areas must be improved for the platform to be in the conversation about the best apps for fitness professionals. These include making the workout builder more flexible, allowing coaches to edit the entries in the exercise library, and simplifying client profiles.
Hevy Coach is the better option for personal trainers and strength coaches because its workout builder has more features, you can edit details of existing exercises in the library, the program library allows you to organize training plans in folders, and client lists and profiles are far more informative.
The Hevy client app is also far more refined and allows for seamless workout logging and progress tracking. Plus, the team feature has more relevant options, allowing you to manage many trainers and their clients.
Combined with the more affordable price, Hevy Coach is the clear choice. So, sign up for a free 30-day trial today and see what it’s all about.
