The problem with most home workout apps is that they're a library of 20-minute videos, and a library doesn't get you stronger. You need the same thing you'd need in a gym: a program, and a way to know whether this week beat last week. Here's the field sorted by what you've got in the spare room.
Nothing but a floor
Nike Training Club
Nike stopped charging for it years ago and never went back. 185-plus trainer-led video workouts, multi-week programs, Apple Watch and Health integration. No personalization, no progression logic, no tracking of your loads.
Skip it if you lift with a barbell and want your numbers tracked. It's a video library, not a logbook.
Freeletics is the other name here: AI-built bodyweight and HIIT plans that adapt to your feedback, with a limited free tier and a subscription for the coach. If you have no equipment and want a plan rather than a menu, it's the pick.
Dumbbells, a kettlebell, some bands
Ladder
Pick a coach, join their team, press play. Six-week progressive strength blocks with the coach in your ear, team chat, badges. Garage Gym Reviews gave it 5/5 on progressive overload and 2/5 on price. Expensive, but it's the closest thing to a class you can carry.
Skip it if you're a true beginner (form cues are verbal, nobody's watching you), you're on Android, or $30 a month is a lot.
Fitbod
You tell it your equipment and it generates today's session from a muscle-fatigue model and a 1,600-exercise library with HD video. Good for people who never want to think about what to do. The "AI" is a recommendation algorithm, not a coach, and it can get repetitive.
Skip it if you have a plan you like already; you'll fight the generator constantly.
Centr
Chris Hemsworth's platform grew into an all-in-one: strength, boxing, MMA-style conditioning, yoga, meal plans, meditation. Good production, big trainer roster, and it stopped being a celebrity gimmick a while ago.
Skip it if you only want lifting. You'll pay for a lot of content you never open.
A rack, a bar, adjustable dumbbells
At this point you don't have a home workout, you have a gym that happens to be in your garage, and you should train like it: a structured block, working weights that progress, a log.
GymAdapt AI: Workout Coach
Tell it your goal, days per week, experience and what equipment you have, and it builds a 6-week block with real video demos for every exercise. Then it watches what you actually log. If you hit 10 reps at 2 reps in reserve, next session's target goes up and it tells you why. If you stall, it steps back before it deloads. Plate calculator, supersets, rest timer, Apple Health sync, and a coach chat that can trim a workout to the time you have.
Skip it if you're on Android, or you want a pure logger with no opinions.
The equipment question in GymAdapt's setup is what makes it work at home. Say "dumbbells and a bench" and you won't get a leg press. Swap any exercise mid-session for one you can actually do and the swap is remembered.
Hevy
The most usable free tier in the category: unlimited workouts, four routines, three months of charts, no ads. The paid tier is the cheapest around and the lifetime price beats three years of anyone else's annual. Social feed if you like that, ignorable if you don't.
Skip it if you want the app to write your program. Hevy Trainer on Pro helps, but it's a template builder, not a coach.
Questions people ask
What is the best free home workout app?
Nike Training Club. Fully free, 185-plus trainer-led videos, plenty of bodyweight-only options, no upsell.
What home workout app works with just dumbbells?
Fitbod and GymAdapt both build programs from the equipment you list. Ladder has dumbbell and kettlebell coach-led programs. Apple Fitness+ strength classes are dumbbell-only follow-along.
Can GymAdapt make a home workout plan?
Yes. Tell it what equipment you have during setup and it builds the 6-week block from that. Any exercise can be swapped mid-workout for one you can do at home.
A real program for the garage, not a video playlist.
Tell GymAdapt what you own. It builds the block, shows the video, and progresses the weights.
Get GymAdapt on the App Store → $7.99 a month or $49.99 a year, with a 7-day free trial. iPhone only.