Best 75 Hard App (2026): Free Options, the Official App and What Actually Works
Compare the best 75 Hard apps for tracking workouts, water, diet and progress photos. See why lifters outgrow basic checkboxes and what to use instead.
Completing the 75 Hard challenge requires completing five strict daily rules for 75 consecutive days: two 45-minute workouts (one outdoors), one US gallon of water (3.8 litres), a structured diet with zero alcohol and no cheat meals, 10 pages of reading, and a daily progress photo. Missing a single task on Day 74 sends you back to Day 1.
Whilst the challenge tests mental toughness, your tracking setup should not be an extra obstacle. The official 75 Hard app offers authentic branding and strict countdowns, but it reduces your hard training and nutrition to empty checkboxes. It cannot tell you what weight you benched, how many grams of protein you ate, or how your water intake paced throughout the day.
Short answer: PeakBFF is the best all-in-one 75 Hard app for lifters who want a real workout log, food macro tracking, water logging, and private photo records in one place. If you only want a simple, zero-cost daily checklist and do not care about logging sets or calories, free habit apps like HabitNow or Loop are great options. If you prefer the original Andy Frisella branding and midnight reset timer, the official 75 Hard app ($4.99 USD per month or $39.99 USD per year) delivers the classic checklist experience.
Best 75 Hard apps compared
The table below compares the top options for tracking the 75 Hard challenge as of November 2026:
| App | Daily Workouts (Sets & Reps) | 3.8 L (1 US Gallon) Water Tracking | Diet & Macro Log | Progress Photo Vault | Cost (App Store, Nov 2026) | Best For |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| PeakBFF | Live gym log (sets, reps, rest timer, prefilled weights) plus outdoor activity | Quick water logging with presets up to 3.8 L (1 US gallon) | Photo, typed, and barcode food entry with protein and calories | Private on-device photo log with date tags | Free tier available; PeakBFF Plus $49.99 USD/year or $7.99 USD/week | Lifters who want training, macros, water, and streaks unified |
| Official 75 Hard App | Simple checkbox only | Basic counter without nutrition link | Checkbox only (no food or macro entries) | Built-in camera checklist | $4.99 USD/month or $39.99 USD/year | Fans of official branding who only want a task list |
| BeHard (75 Day Tracker) | Simple checkbox only | Counter increments | Checkbox only | Daily photo attachment | Free with ads; optional $4.99 to $9.99 unlock | Anyone wanting a dedicated 75-day countdown on a budget |
| HabitNow / Loop | Checkbox or custom numeric target | Custom daily count (3.8 L or 128 fl oz) | Habit checkbox only | None (stored in phone camera roll) | Free (Loop is open source; HabitNow free tier) | Minimalists who want a generic offline habit tracker |
| Multi-App Stack (Hevy + Cronometer) | Dedicated lifting log with volume and rest timers | Integrated in Cronometer or Apple Health | Comprehensive verified nutrition database | Phone camera roll or separate vault | $23.99/year (Hevy) + $79.99/year (Cronometer) | Athletes willing to run 3 to 4 specialised apps daily |
1. PeakBFF: best unified tracker for lifters
PeakBFF solves the primary frustration of serious lifters attempting 75 Hard: the disconnect between habit checkboxes and actual fitness data. Instead of marking an abstract checkmark after a heavy squat session, PeakBFF lets you record your actual exercises, working sets, weights, and reps with a built-in rest timer. Your previous session weights prefill automatically so you never wonder what to load on the bar.
When it is time to tackle your outdoor workout, you can record your outdoor walk, run, or ruck directly. Nutrition is handled in the same daily view: log meals by taking a quick photo, typing foods, or scanning a barcode to keep your calories, protein, carbohydrates, and fats on target. For the mandatory 3.8 litres (one US gallon) of water, the quick-log water tool lets you tap common cup sizes or enter custom millilitres and ounces to hit your target.
Daily progress photos save privately inside your personal log, keeping your camera roll clean whilst building a visual transformation timeline. A rolling activity heatmap displays your completed workouts, nutrition entries, and water targets so you can monitor your 75-day momentum at a glance.
Key capabilities:
- Detailed workout logging for indoor lifting sessions and outdoor cardio.
- Multi-mode food logging (photo, typed, barcode) tracking protein and calories.
- Rapid water logging with custom daily goals up to a full 3.8 litres (128 fl oz / 1 US gallon).
- Private photo check-in history without cluttering your public photo album.
- Rolling activity heatmap card showing consistency across training, food, and water.
Limitations: PeakBFF is built around lifting, nutrition, and daily body composition check-ins. If you want an app that strictly enforces a 10-page book reading timer or locks you out at midnight, you will still check your reading off independently.
Best for: Lifters and fitness enthusiasts who want their workouts, nutrition, water, and daily photos consolidated into one streamlined app.
2. Official 75 Hard App: original checklist with strict timers
Created by 44Seven Media and Andy Frisella, the official 75 Hard app is the direct digital companion to the book and podcast. Its interface centres on the five core tasks: two workouts, one US gallon of water (3.8 litres), diet adherence, 10 pages of reading, and a progress photo.
The main benefit of the official app is psychological rigidity. It includes a countdown timer to midnight. If you fail to check off every single box before the clock strikes 12:00 AM, the app automatically resets your counter back to Day 1. There is no editing past days, no excuses, and no manual overrides. For purists who want the exact discipline tool designed by the creator, that inflexibility is a feature.
However, the app offers virtually zero fitness utility. A grueling 45-minute leg workout is recorded with the exact same checkbox as a casual walk. There is no way to log what you lifted, no way to track macronutrients or calories, and no way to export workout volume over the course of the 75 days. At $4.99 USD per month or $39.99 USD per year on the App Store, many users find themselves paying for a very basic checklist.
Pros:
- Authentic 75 Hard branding and rule alignment.
- Unforgiving midnight reset clock enforces mental accountability.
- Built-in photo log tied directly to each challenge day.
Cons:
- High subscription cost ($39.99 USD/year) for basic checkbox functionality.
- No workout tracking: cannot record exercises, sets, reps, or weights.
- No macro or calorie tracking: cannot verify nutritional compliance.
- No social features or community feeds within the base tool.
Best for: 75 Hard purists who want the exact official countdown timer and do not mind running separate apps for their lifting sets and meal tracking.
3. BeHard (75 Day Challenge): lightweight dedicated clone
BeHard is one of several dedicated 75-day challenge apps that appeared in app stores to offer an alternative to the official tool. It replicates the core five tasks in a clean, minimalist interface with a daily task checklist, progress photo capture, and a visual calendar showing your day counter.
The primary advantage of BeHard over the official app is pricing accessibility. It can be used for free with ads, or upgraded with a one-time purchase or lower tier subscription depending on the platform. It also includes reminder notifications throughout the day to ensure you do not forget your second workout, your final water bottle, or your reading session.
Like the official app, BeHard remains purely a habit tracker. It will not track your barbell bench press, nor does it provide a database for checking whether your lunch fits your dietary rules.
Pros:
- Straightforward interface focused entirely on the 75-day format.
- Customisable reminder notifications for individual daily tasks.
- Lower cost than the official app.
Cons:
- Ad-supported free version can feel intrusive during daily check-ins.
- Zero fitness depth: no sets, reps, exercises, or macro counts.
- Photos are stored in standard formats without advanced physique comparison.
Best for: Anyone who wants a dedicated 75-day countdown app without paying the ongoing subscription of the official app.
4. HabitNow and Loop: the free habit tracker route
If you want zero subscription fees and complete control over your daily routine, general-purpose habit trackers like Loop Habit Tracker (Android, open source) or HabitNow (Android) provide a flexible foundation. On iOS, apps like Strides or Habit offer comparable free tiers.
To use a habit app for 75 Hard, you manually configure the five daily rules:
- Workout 1: 45 min (indoor or outdoor)
- Workout 2: 45 min (outdoor mandatory)
- Drink 1 US Gallon of Water (3.8 L or 128 fl oz target)
- Clean Diet (no cheat meals, zero alcohol)
- Read 10 Pages (non-fiction)
- Take Daily Progress Photo
Loop and HabitNow excel at offline privacy, zero advertising, and flexible scheduling. You can track numeric values (such as logging millilitres or ounces of water throughout the day) and view long-term completion graphs.
The downside is that habit trackers require full manual configuration. If you fail a task, they do not automatically reset your entire routine to Day 1 unless you manually clear your streak. More importantly, they provide no workout logging tools, no nutrition databases, and no photo vault.
Pros:
- Completely free and private (Loop is open source with no ads).
- Highly customisable reminders and flexible widgets.
- Numeric tracking available for water intake and reading pages.
Cons:
- Requires manual setup of all 75 Hard rules and reset conditions.
- No photo storage (photos must be managed in your phone camera roll).
- No exercise, set, rep, or food logging capabilities.
Best for: Budget-conscious users who want an offline, ad-free checklist and are comfortable tracking workouts and meals separately.
5. Multi-App Stack: the specialist approach
For data-obsessed athletes, no single app can match the depth of running individual best-in-class tools for every category. A common power-user setup includes:
- Gym Lifting: Hevy or Strong ($23.99 to $29.99 USD/year) for tracking sets, reps, progressive overload, and rest times.
- Nutrition: Cronometer ($79.99 USD/year) or MacroFactor for micronutrient and macronutrient accuracy.
- Hydration: Waterllama or Apple Health for logging millilitres or ounces.
- Checklist & Photos: Apple Notes or phone camera roll for photos and reading.
This setup gives you unmatched detail: verified micronutrient breakdowns, exercise volume graphs, and precise rest intervals.
However, the multi-app stack comes with significant friction. During 75 Hard, you are already managing two workouts, meal prep, and daily reading. Having to open four separate apps every morning, afternoon, and evening turns tracking into a part-time job. Furthermore, paying for multiple annual subscriptions can easily exceed $100 to $130 USD per year.
Pros:
- Maximum analytical depth in every category (lifting volume, macros, water).
- Barcode scanning with massive nutrition databases.
- Granular exercise libraries with animated demo instructions.
Cons:
- High cumulative cost ($100+ USD per year across multiple subscriptions).
- High daily friction: switching between four apps multiple times per day.
- No unified dashboard or single streak counter showing overall 75 Hard status.
Best for: Advanced competitive athletes who prioritise granular data over daily simplicity and do not mind paying for multiple premium services.
How to set up PeakBFF for 75 Hard
If you choose PeakBFF as your central 75 Hard companion, here is how to configure your daily routine to cover every physical rule:
1. Configure the 1-gallon water goal
Open the water tracking card on your home screen and set your daily target to 3,800 millilitres (or 128 fluid ounces). Throughout the day, use the quick-log buttons to add water as you finish your bottle. If you sync your health data, water logged in PeakBFF can write directly to your system health app. For a step by step walkthrough on setting up water targets, see our guide on how to sync water intake to Apple Health.
2. Log both 45-minute workouts
For your indoor session, tap Start Workout in PeakBFF to log your weight training. Record your sets, reps, and weights. The app automatically displays your previous session's performance so you can focus on progressive overload. For your outdoor session (walk, run, hike, or calisthenics), log your activity duration to ensure you hit the 45-minute threshold. To see how to balance strength sessions with daily cardio, read our breakdown on how to track 75 Hard workouts and meals.
3. Track meals and eliminate cheat foods
75 Hard requires selecting a diet and sticking to it with zero cheat meals and no alcohol. Whether you follow a high-protein deficit, ketogenic diet, or clean whole-food approach, use PeakBFF's photo scanning, barcode reader, or typed entry to log your food. Seeing your calories and macros update in real time ensures you hit your nutritional targets without accidental slips. For more on consolidating meals and training, check our review of the best app to track protein, water, and workouts together.
4. Capture your daily progress photo
Take your daily check-in photo directly inside the private photo log. Keeping these photos in PeakBFF ensures your progress timeline is organised chronologically without cluttering your personal photo album with 75 consecutive mirror selfies.
5. Review your activity heatmap
At the end of each day, check the rolling activity heatmap card. You will see a clear visual confirmation of your logged workouts, completed water target, and recorded meals. Maintaining that unbroken chain provides the visual satisfaction needed to push through tough days.
The bottom line: what actually works
The hardest part of 75 Hard is not the physical exertion: it is the mental discipline of executing every single task without compromise when life gets busy.
If your tracking system requires juggling four different apps, you increase the risk of forgetting a log or burning out from administrative fatigue. If your app only provides empty checkboxes, you finish 75 days of brutal training with no record of your strength gains or nutritional habits.
PeakBFF bridges that gap by giving you a genuine strength training log, full nutrition and macro tracking, quick water logging, and private photo storage in a single cohesive interface.
Download PeakBFF on the App Store or Google Play when you want your workouts, water, diet, and 75-day streak unified in one daily routine.
Questions, answered
Is there a free app for 75 Hard?
Yes. General habit trackers like HabitNow on Android and Loop Habit Tracker provide free checklists where you can manually set up the five daily rules. For strength training and nutrition, PeakBFF includes a free tier that lets you record workout sets, log meals, track daily water and review streak history without paying for a subscription.
Is the official 75 Hard app worth paying for?
The official 75 Hard app costs $4.99 USD per month or $39.99 USD per year on the App Store as of November 2026. It offers Andy Frisella's original task list and a strict midnight reset timer. However, it only records binary checkboxes. It does not track actual workout weights, sets, reps or food macros, which leads many lifters to switch to dedicated fitness apps.
What are the exact daily rules of the 75 Hard challenge?
The challenge requires five daily tasks for 75 consecutive days: follow a structured diet with zero alcohol and no cheat meals, complete two separate 45-minute workouts with at least one outdoors, drink one US gallon (3.8 litres) of plain water, read 10 pages of a non-fiction book and take a daily progress photo. Missing any task resets your count to Day 1.
Can I use multiple apps to track 75 Hard?
Yes. Many participants stack Hevy or Strong for lifting, Cronometer or MyFitnessPal for meals, a water app for hydration and their camera roll for photos. Whilst effective, juggling four separate apps creates daily logging fatigue. Consolidated trackers like PeakBFF bring your lifting sets, macro entries, water intake and private photos into one daily screen.
How do you track 75 Hard with friends?
Social accountability significantly increases completion rates for 75 Hard. Look for apps with shared activity heatmaps, challenge leaderboards and workout sharing. Sharing your daily progress helps training partners confirm each other's outdoor sessions, 3.8-litre water intake and daily diet adherence without needing manual update texts.
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