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5 Fitness Apps Worth Trying Instead of Google Health in 2026

Google Health provides a convenient place to review activity, sleep, nutrition and wellness information, particularly for people using Fitbit devices. However, it may not be the best fitness app for every goal.

Google renamed and redesigned the Fitbit app as Google Health beginning on May 19, 2026. The updated platform retained Fitbit’s core tracking functions while expanding its focus across exercise, sleep, nutrition and connected health data. On Android, it can also receive compatible information from third-party services through Health Connect.

That broad approach is useful, but some users need more specialised tools. A runner may prefer detailed route analysis and community challenges. Someone training at home may value guided workouts more than daily readiness scores, while another person may be primarily concerned with calories and macronutrients.

The following five apps provide strong alternatives to Google Health, each serving a different type of fitness user.

1. Samsung Health

Samsung Health is the closest all-purpose alternative for Android users who want activity, sleep, nutrition and wellness information in one place.

The app can monitor daily steps, exercise sessions, food intake, stress and sleep. It also includes more than 100 workouts and allows users to review weekly progress across categories such as activity, sleep, body composition and nutrition. A supported Galaxy Watch or Galaxy Ring adds automatic workout detection and more detailed overnight measurements.

Samsung Health is particularly effective for someone already using Samsung hardware. A compatible Galaxy Watch can provide heart-rate information, sleep stages, blood oxygen measurements and an Energy Score based on recent activity and sleep. Some regions and devices also support advanced functions through the separate Samsung Health Monitor application, although availability varies by country, phone and watch model.

The app is not restricted entirely to Samsung phones. Samsung says it can be downloaded on Android smartphones from other manufacturers, although certain services depend on a Galaxy device.

That hardware dependence is its main disadvantage. A Pixel, Motorola or OnePlus owner can use the basic platform, but several of its most interesting features are designed around Samsung’s own wearables and smartphones.

For a Galaxy Watch owner who wants a broad wellness dashboard, Samsung Health is arguably the most natural replacement for Google Health.

2. Strava

Strava is a stronger choice for runners, cyclists, walkers and hikers who care about outdoor performance and social motivation.

The app can record activities using a phone’s GPS or receive workout information from compatible watches, cycling computers and other fitness devices. Users can review their completed efforts and share activities with friends, turning exercise tracking into a community experience rather than a private collection of statistics.

Strava supports running and cycling particularly well, but its activity catalogue extends to walking, hiking, yoga and dozens of other sports. This makes it suitable for someone who alternates between several forms of exercise but still wants them presented within one training history.

Its social focus is one of the clearest differences from Google Health. Instead of primarily presenting general wellness summaries, Strava encourages users to follow friends, record consistent activity and compare personal progress over time.

Strava also offers Beacon, which generates a link that can be sent to selected contacts so they can follow an outdoor activity in near real time. The location updates depend on mobile connectivity, but the feature can provide additional reassurance during long rides, walks or runs.

The free version covers basic recording and sharing, while more advanced analysis and training features require a subscription. Strava is therefore less suitable for someone seeking detailed sleep, nutrition or general health information.

For outdoor exercise and community engagement, however, it offers a more focused experience than Google Health.

3. Nike Training Club

Nike Training Club is one of the best alternatives for someone who needs actual workout guidance rather than another dashboard displaying steps and calories.

The app provides more than 200 free workouts covering strength, endurance, cardio, high-intensity interval training, yoga and mobility. Sessions generally range from approximately five to 50 minutes, allowing users to select anything from a short movement break to a complete training session.

Its greatest advantage is accessibility. Many sessions require little or no equipment, making the app practical for home exercise, hotel rooms or small spaces. Other programmes are designed for gym-based strength work and structured training.

Nike Training Club also provides trainer-led instruction, which can help users understand exercise order, technique and timing. This is more useful for a beginner than simply being told that a daily movement goal has not been reached.

Android users can display compatible workouts on a television through Chromecast, creating a more comfortable hands-free experience than following instructions on a small phone screen.

The app is less comprehensive as an all-day health platform. It does not replace the sleep and wearable analysis offered by Google Health, Samsung Health or Garmin Connect. Its purpose is narrower: helping someone complete a workout.

That focus makes Nike Training Club particularly valuable for users who already know they should exercise but need structured sessions to turn that intention into action.

4. MyFitnessPal

MyFitnessPal is the strongest option for people whose primary goals involve nutrition, calorie intake, weight management or macronutrient tracking.

Google Health can display nutrition information, but MyFitnessPal is built around detailed food logging. Users can record meals, snacks, drinks and exercise while reviewing calories, carbohydrates, fat and protein across the day.

The free version includes food and exercise logging, weight and measurement tracking, progress views, custom foods, saved meals, recipes and adjustable calorie and macronutrient goals. It can also connect with selected partner applications so activity information contributes to a broader daily record.

Its redesigned Today section presents calories, meals, macros, water, exercise and step-related habits within a clearer daily view. A streak system also shows how consistently the user has recorded information.

MyFitnessPal works best when entries are recorded accurately. Food databases can contain user-submitted items with incorrect serving sizes or nutritional details, so packaged-food labels and verified entries should be checked rather than accepted automatically.

Several convenient functions are also reserved for Premium subscribers. These can include expanded nutritional analysis, meal-level macro information, data exports and additional goal controls.

Someone mainly interested in running routes or sleep stages will find it unnecessarily food-focused. For understanding eating habits and connecting nutrition with fitness progress, it is considerably more capable than a general wellness dashboard.

5. Garmin Connect

Garmin Connect is the strongest alternative for serious training, particularly when paired with a compatible Garmin watch or cycling computer.

The platform gathers activity and health information from Garmin devices and presents daily summaries alongside longer-term trends. Users can review weekly, monthly and yearly averages, examine previous workouts and customise which statistics appear most prominently.

Garmin Connect supports activities including running, walking, cycling, swimming, kayaking and strength training. The exact data available depends on the connected device, but compatible products can provide detailed information about pace, heart rate, recovery and training performance.

Garmin Coach adds adaptive workout plans and personalised guidance for selected goals. The platform also supports groups, step challenges, distance competitions and achievement badges, adding social motivation without making the entire experience resemble a conventional social network.

Its main limitation is straightforward: Garmin Connect is designed as an extension of Garmin hardware. Someone without a compatible watch, computer or fitness tracker will receive considerably less value from the app.

For an athlete already using Garmin equipment, that close integration is an advantage. The platform offers deeper training information than Google Health’s more general approach and is better suited to structured performance improvement.

Which Google Health Alternative Is Best?

The best replacement depends on the information the user actually wants to see.

Samsung Health provides the closest all-in-one alternative, especially for Galaxy Watch and Galaxy Ring owners. Strava is better for outdoor tracking and social motivation, while Nike Training Club offers guided sessions for people who need help deciding what exercise to perform.

MyFitnessPal is the strongest choice when nutrition is central to the goal. Garmin Connect provides the deepest experience for users training with Garmin wearables.

Switching platforms does not always require abandoning Google Health completely. Android’s Health Connect system allows compatible applications to exchange selected health and fitness categories after the user grants permission. Google Health can receive data from supported third-party services through this system, although individual integrations and available categories vary.

This means a specialised app can perform the main job while Google Health continues acting as a secondary dashboard. A runner might record activities in Strava, track meals in MyFitnessPal and allow approved information to move between connected services.

No single app is automatically superior in every category. The strongest option is the one that matches the user’s primary goal and encourages consistent action rather than simply collecting more data.

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