Durata vs Liftosaur: an honest comparison
Liftosaur is the closest thing to Durata in spirit: it holds the rules of a program and works out the next session for you. It is open source, and its programs are written in Liftoscript, a small text language, so any progression you can describe you can run.
Durata does the same job without the code. You pick a program, or tap a rule onto your own lift, and the app tells you in a sentence why the weight moved. Which is better depends on whether you want to write the rule or read it.
Checked 18 October 2026 against Liftosaur's own pages · Durata v1.1.1.105
- Stay on Liftosaur if you want full control of the progression logic, an open-source app, a web editor or an Apple Watch app.
- Move to Durata if you want the same automatic progression with nothing to write, free charts, and a logger designed to be read at a glance between sets.
- Durata imports from Hevy and Strong free. There is no Liftosaur import yet.
Durata and Liftosaur, line by line
| Durata | Liftosaur | |
|---|---|---|
| Price | Free. Pro £2.99 a month, £19.99 a year or £49.99 once | Free. Premium $4.99 a month, $39.99 a year or $99.99 once (US App Store) |
| Ads | None | None |
| Open source | No | Yes, AGPL-3.0 |
| Named programs | 50, each with its own page | About 60 built in (GZCLP, 5/3/1, Starting Strength, PHUL and more) |
| Progression | Built in, free; tap a rule onto your own lifts (Pro) | Written in Liftoscript, any logic you like, free |
| Why this weight | A sentence on every lift | The script |
| Charts | All of them, free | Premium |
| Plate calculator | Free | Premium |
| Watch | No Apple Watch app | Apple Watch (Premium) |
| Web app | Pro | Yes, with a program editor |
| Offline | Yes | Yes |
| AI assistants | No | ChatGPT, Claude and Gemini through an MCP server |
| Import | Hevy and Strong, free | Not advertised |
- Any progression you can describe. Liftoscript runs rules Durata does not have a tap for: RPE-driven loads, custom wave schemes, your own deload logic. If you have ever wanted to program the program, this is the app.
- Open source. The whole app is on GitHub under AGPL-3.0; you can read it, build it and trust it.
- A web editor for writing programs, an Apple Watch app, and AI assistants that can log and analyse through MCP.
- The built-in programs run with their progression free, as Durata's do.
- No code. Pick a program, or tap a rule onto a lift, and it runs. Tap the lift and the reason for today's weight is a sentence, not a script.
- More for free. Charts, the plate and warmup calculators, the strength story and the reviews are free in Durata; Liftosaur keeps graphs, plates and insights for Premium.
- Cheaper for life. $59.99 once in the US, against $99.99; $22.99 a year against $39.99.
- A logger built to be read between sets: Minisets on their own rows, HIIT blocks that run themselves, tempo per lift, records caught the moment you rack the bar, a receipt for every session.
- Free import from Hevy and Strong, so your history comes with you.
Moving from Liftosaur to Durata
Durata does not import from Liftosaur yet. If your history is also in Hevy or Strong, import from there, free.
Most of Liftosaur's built-in programs are in Durata's catalogue by name: GZCLP, 5/3/1 and its variants, nSuns LP, PHUL and more. Pick one and your training max or starting weights are asked for once.
A program you wrote yourself becomes a plan of your own in Durata: four sessions are free, and Pro adds the progression rules to it.
Common questions
Is Durata open source like Liftosaur?
No. Durata's progression engine is deterministic and replayed by a test harness on every build, but the code is not public.
Can I write my own progression rule in Durata?
You choose one: add weight every session, reps then weight, a percentage of a training max, and the program-specific rules each catalogue program carries. There is no scripting language. If you need one, Liftosaur is the better tool.
Are the programs free in both apps?
Yes. Both run their built-in programs with the progression free. Durata keeps charts and calculators free too; Liftosaur puts those in Premium.
Can I import my Liftosaur history into Durata?
Not yet. Durata imports from Hevy and Strong, free.
Bring your history across, free
Durata is free to use: 50 programs with the progression built in, every chart, and the import from Hevy and Strong. Keep Liftosaur installed while you decide.
Checked on 18 October 2026. Prices are the US App Store's where Liftosaur publishes them there, and change; the links are the places to confirm them. If anything here is out of date, email [email protected] and it will be fixed.