How to Create a Fitness App That Inspires Users: 2024 Roadmap

How to create your own fitness app? The whole development process consists of multiple preparatory steps – from the market analysis and the choice of the solution type to the selection of a reliable IT partner. Besides, it’s crucial to make a fitness solution that acts as a positive reinforcement for users to keep up with their health and well-being goals. Additionally, fitness app development may help you establish revenue streams and facilitate your brand recognition and growth as a business owner.

In this step by step guide, we'll dive deeper into the overall fitness application development process, and in this guide, we’ll discuss the key fitness app types, the comprehensive steps to create a fitness app of your own, how much it will cost, and how you can start generating revenue.

We wouldn't be talking about how to build a workout app if this niche wasn't successful and promising, right? So we’ve decided to garner some optimistic predictions and statistics to strengthen further your decision to create your own fitness app.

According to a Statista report, fitness segment apps worldwide have reached revenue of 5,273.5 million in 2024. Furthermore, research by Vantage Market Research predicts that the global fitness app market size is expected to reach $15.2 billion by 2028.

Also, let’s overview more insights by Statista about fitness mobile app development:

• By 2025, 50% of fitness app users are projected to integrate wearables like smartwatches and fitness trackers into their fitness routines
• In 2024, MyFitnessPal – is one of the leading fitness and nutrition apps, generating in-app revenues of more than $12 million
• Nutrition apps are close to generating $5.40 billion in revenue in 2024, with an anticipated CAGR of 11.12% from 2024 to 2029, reaching $9.15 billion by 2029

As you can see, these are pretty impressive statistics, and they prove that creating your own fitness app may bring you significant benefits. Now, you’ll be able to examine the most vibrant fitness mobile app development trends you may want to implement within your unique solution:

The progress didn’t bypass the fitness industry. Here are the main popular tendencies in fitness app development:

• Incorporation of wearables. Compatibility with wearables has become essential in fitness mobile app development. Smart devices can provide valuable insights (heart rate, physical activity intensity, calorie burning, etc.), providing users with a full, valuable workout experience.
• Social media elements and gamification. The approach of the gamified process engages users more and simplifies their way to achieve physical and mental well-being. Additionally, social media feature integrations allow sports fans to share and discuss their progress.
• Customization for each user. Integration of artificial intelligence (AI) and machine learning elements can help you create your own fitness app where users can access personalized workouts and nutrition plans based on their parameters, food preferences, and free time.
• Remote workouts. Many gyms are now ready to cooperate with fitness apps to keep providing training for people even in remote conditions.

It may seem that fitness apps just show how to work out. In reality, these applications offer much more. The demand for fitness apps is so high that there’s a separate app type for almost every kind of activity. That’s why there are several fitness app types on the market to fulfill all users’ needs:

• Diet and nutrition
• Smart coaches
• Workout logging apps
• Activity tracking

Let’s discover each of them in detail.

Without a balanced diet, all physical activities are almost pointless. So, it’d be good to keep track of the calorie intake and nutritional value of food. Diet apps are designed to simplify this process. They let users log the food consumed during the day and see what microelements it contains.

Here’s the list of features to create your own fitness app with nutrition tracking:

• Large food database
• Adding custom food
• Recommended recipes
• Seamless navigation

Examples of diet-focused fitness apps: MyFitnessPal, Lifesum, FatSecret.

Personal coaches charge a considerable fee for their services, and people don’t always have time to attend gyms. In addition, a person who decided to try working out would hesitate to pay four times the gym pass cost for coach services.

That’s why companies create workout apps with a smart fitness coach inside. These apps create a personalized workout plan for each user based on their physical characteristics and objectives. Physical activities increase as the user progresses. Even though these apps can’t correct your physical mistakes while exercising, they become a great digital companion during your workout.

How to build a fitness app with smart coach features? Here are the main features:

• Workout identifying algorithms
• Workout levels
• Workout screens

Examples of smart coach fitness apps: Nike Training Club, FitBit, Peloton

As it comes clear from the name, these apps keep track of users’ activity. They all have a step tracker to analyze users’ mobility during the day. Besides, users can activate the app during the running or cycling training to make it remember the route.

What about the features required to build your own fitness app that tracks activity:

• Geolocation
• Accelerometer

Examples of activity-tracking fitness apps: Runtastic, Nike Run Club, Samsung Health

This one is the simplest option to create a fitness app. With these apps, users keep track of their workouts. They don’t provide personalized training sessions. Instead, users can find more information about every exercise they perform. The number of calories burned, affected muscle groups, and overall health impact. With third-party smart devices, apps can track even more data. For example, users can monitor muscle-to-fat ratio with smart scales.

How do you make your own fitness app that logs workouts? Here’s the list of basic features:

• Adding workout notes
• Integration with third parties
• Workout database

Examples of workout logging apps: Fitbod, JEFIT, Strong

To make your own fitness app, you need to think about its features. When building digital products from scratch, it makes sense to build an MVP first. MVP stands for a minimum viable product. Its features will help you understand whether your product is useful for clients and how you can improve it in the future.

In this section, we’ll go through all MVP features for a fitness app.

Registration is an essential process for the majority of apps. It may be non-obligatory if your app is a simple step tracker. However, if you provide unique training or meal plans, then users should always register. Registration lets you get more user data and make their experience with the app more personalized.

How to create a fitness app with a personalized approach? First of all, let users manage their personal physical information. Data like height, weight, age, and other parameters help to create personal workouts and achieve results faster. Besides, you can reward users with interactive badges for their achievements. They can find rewards in their profiles.

The main purpose of fitness apps is to track physical activity, so workout screens are obligatory. Menus can differ depending on the app type, but the idea remains the same. For example, smart fitness coach apps will have a menu with workout options and a video explaining how to perform the exercise. At the same time, the activity tracking app displays the time spent on the training and real-time statistics of the session.

When developing a fitness app, take care of a minimalistic and intuitive menu. Users should be able to find the exercises they’ve performed during their workout easily.

Detailed statistics help users understand their progress when they can’t notice visual changes. There are two types of statistics:

• Global. It displays global progress for a chosen period of time (week, month, year). These stats are useful to track user weight, muscle mass, and training intensity changes.
• Local. It’s a short-term statistic that lets you create your own fitness app that helps users track the progress from one training session to another. Local stats show running pace, cadence, travel distance, heart rate, and so on. With these stats, sportspeople can monitor their performance during each workout.

Build a fitness app representing stats in the form of charts and diagrams rather than in a pure text form. Visualization makes post-training analytics more engaging.

A single fitness and health app with MVP features can’t be a jack-of-all-trades in terms of health and wellness. To truly stand out in fitness and wellness, you need to extend your app's abilities by syncing it with other fitness and health applications and devices. For example, your app might calculate the calories burned after a workout, while a third-party diet app provides data about meals consumed, enabling your app to analyze the lack or surplus of daily calories.

Synchronization with platforms like Apple Health and Google Fit allows for seamless integration with devices like smartwatches and fitness trackers, enhancing the user experience. Similarly, nutrition apps, coupled with smart sugar-measuring devices, can aid in creating personalized diet plans. Leveraging these connections ensures your app aligns with the latest trends in health and fitness application development while supporting diverse monetization strategies for fitness apps.

Devices like fitness trackers, smartwatches, heart rate monitors, smart scales, and others give even more statistical data for your app. On top of that, you can make a fitness app for wearable platforms in the future. Thus, users can leave their cell phones at home and get the same app features on their smartwatches.

Without regard to the app type, it should have a large fitness-related database. If you’re building a diet app, give users a choice of products to add to their ration. If they can’t find particular meals in your app, they’ll probably abandon it and start looking for alternatives.

The same thing concerns workout app development. The apps should deliver a wide choice of exercises, explain their influence on the body, and make clear how many calories users will burn during the workout. A large exercise database is obligatory so that users can work on different muscle groups and create diverse training plans. If your app doesn’t have enough content, it’ll be hard to retain users.

However, you may want to refine your fitness app by adding the following advanced functionalities:

• AI-driven personal trainers
• Real-time activity tracking
• Wearable device integration
• Personalized workout plans
• Progress tracking with advanced analytics
• Gamification and challenges
• Nutritional and meal-planning tools
• Video tutorials and live-streamed sessions

There’s a range of preparations that you should take before developing a fitness app. Now, let’s overview each step you must go through to create a reliable and functional digital fitness solution:

The fitness app industry is crowded with various options. To obtain true success, it’s vital to analyze the industry and the competitor's experience. The deep research may help you determine the industry gaps that your solution may fill.

Also, pay attention to competitors' users’ feedback. It will give you an opportunity to define their key pain points and their expectations about how their dream fitness app must look.

To give you a hint on how to decide on the main goals in your fitness application development, here is the list of questions you should ask yourself first:

• What is the app’s main purpose? (e.g.,improve overall well-being, physical shape, nutrition, activity tracking, etc.)
• Which technologies should be implemented to make a solution innovative?
• What user engagement method will be incorporated?
• What user data safeguarding approach will be utilized?
• How am I going to profit from fitness mobile app development?
• Does the solution meet the user's pain points?
• Is the solution convenient for an average user?, etc.

The list may widen depending on your unique project vision and requirements.

After you decide on the fitness solution goals, you have to determine who your average users are. Analyze factors like lifestyles, preferred workout types, age, gender, location, financial capabilities, etc. to offer a solution that will accomplish potential users needs and meet their pain points. When you comprehend the exact challenges your potential users are facing, you’ll be able to offer more appealing solutions to point out exact issues.

To choose a suitable revenue generation strategy, you need to know more about the willingness of your target audience to pay. Obtaining mutual understanding with your users may help you avoid major pitfalls. Also, analyze what monetization models are the most successful among your competitors. Remember that the offering should be well-balanced with the price you set.

Note that over time, you can experiment with monetization models. This approach may help you define the pros and cons of each approach and finally find your specific golden mean.

The whole process of fitness mobile app development extends beyond the development itself. The largest part of financial spending will definitely be used for product engineering. However, here is the basic list of areas the money is usually allocated to:

• Research and planning
• Design
• Development and Quality Assurance
• Marketing and promotions
• Server infrastructure
• Regulatory compliance (data privacy, app store fees, legal requirements, etc.)
• Ongoing support and maintenance

Remember to save some finances for unexpected expenses in order to be ready for sudden changes in the project creation planning.

Planning to make your own fitness app, you can form an in-house team or cooperate with remote experts. The in-house cooperation may seem more convenient in terms of workflow tracking and communication. But, working with a remote team may appear cheaper and more advanced, as it gives your exit to a wider pool of international expertise that aligns with your requirements and budget.

Working with a reliable IT partner may ensure the high quality and advanced functionality of your fitness solution.

Here are key factors you should consider before selecting a software development company:

• Domain experience. Check if the company of your choice has significant experience in delivering similar solutions and solid expertise in fitness app development.
• Customer feedback. The reviews of past clients will give you the image of the vendor: their working approaches, the capability of dealing with complications, alignment with deadlines, communication strategies, work quality, etc. Feel free to check our client's review left on Clutch to gain insight into their cooperation experience with the Cleveroad team.
• Portfolio. Examine the previous projects delivered by the vendor to see their technical abilities, accuracy, and approaches to meet customers' requirements
• Compliance. Ensure that the potential partner’s professional activity aligns with regulations and legal compliance. Check how they care about data safety and whether they sign a Non-Disclosure Agreement (NDA).

This step is tightly incorporated with discovery phase services. This step implies the accurate definition and analysis of a solution’s requirements, which include:

• The detailed feature set
• Tech stack
• Functional and non-functional requirements definition
• The platform of launch
• Integration with third-party services, etc.

At this stage, your team members provide you with an approximate project cost estimate and timelines.

A well-worked visual concept is the first thing that can help you attract users' attention. Stick to simple forms and color schemes, and make the design user-centered. Think about the compatibility of all icons, screens, and interactive elements to make it fitness-related.

Apart from this, think about creating a solution prototype to preview and vitalize user interactions with the app’s interface elements.

Note: At Cleveroad, we provide top-notch UI/UX design services that help our clients receive visually appealing software solutions that are intuitive for users

It’s highly recommended to start launching your fitness application development journey by making MVP or Minimal Viable Product version. This implies that your team will help you with the development of a simplified version of an app only with core functionality enough to be usable. This approach lets you release the project faster and test its concept in real-world conditions, gathering valuable insights and real user feedback.

The final solution release is a process conducted by your fitness mobile app development team. The team helps you to place it into the digital marketplaces (Google Play, App Store) and, after launch, handles necessary project materials.

However, at this point, your cooperation is not over. After the release, your team will help you to enhance the solution by implementing new advanced functionality, bug fixing, code optimization, etc. To learn more, check our guide about software development process at Cleveroad.

As your features are ready, it’s time to think about your profit. How to make a fitness app that generates revenue? Let’s discover the most popular monetization models.

With this model, users pay to install the app. This revenue model gets you an instant profit, but you won’t get a lot of revenue in perspective. Considering the fact that you have to maintain a group of developers to develop new updates and fix bugs, the app price should be high enough to cover these expenses. In this case, users might not buy the unknown app, which costs a fortune.

The only reasonable use case for this strategy is when you have a simple fitness app without serious plans for the future. You can set an affordable price to cover the development expenses and attract an audience. Later you can integrate other revenue models into this project.

For example, a healthy recipe app Oh She Glows is available on iOS for $1,99 with in-app purchases and $2,49 on Android.

According to this strategy, you create a fitness app and distribute it for free. The free app version provides users with basic features that are more than enough to get a seamless experience. However, the app also has some additional features for an additional fee. Users aren’t obliged to buy them, but in most cases, if users really like the idea of your app, they will buy features that extend its basic functionalities.

Almost every fitness app has in-app purchases. Apps like MyFitnessPal and LifeSum provide an optional subscription that provides users with additional features.

If you choose this strategy, you will display your partners’ ads inside the app. There are different types of ads. You can integrate ads that promote products in the app's different menus. Another option is to use video ads that appear after particular actions (after a successful workout, for example). It’s crucial not to overuse advertisements because users don’t like them. Think beforehand about the ad layout during workout app development.

In-app ads are popular among the major players on the fitness market. For example, Adidas Runtastic displays ads to users.

You can combine several models to achieve the highest revenue. For example, if your app displays ads, users can remove them with a paid subscription. Thus, you’ll get profit both from unsubscribed users and premium ones.

It’s hard to find an app that doesn’t use the combined model. The main benefit of the subscription is that users get rid of ads. Almost every company understands it and uses it in its favor.

It’s definitely hard to provide an accurate number on the fitness mobile app development price, as each case has its unique requirements.

Here are key cost-driving aspects for you to consider:

• The final cost of a fitness app development depends on the development team size and the time spent on the project creation
• The time period of fitness app development starts from 4 months, excluding the discovery phase
• The key factors that may influence the project development timeline are the app type, the chosen platform (Android, iOS, web), and the number and complexity of implemented functionality

We’d like to give an example of how we estimate the project price in Cleveroad. There are two types of estimates: Rough and Detailed.

A rough estimate is an estimate that is provided by our specialists at the initial stages. It’s made to navigate you about the financial resources required as well as define the development stages. Rough estimation also can be divide by two types -- solution design and discovery phase rough estimate. The Solution Workshop provides a high-level rough estimate based on project goals, risks, and non-functional requirements, offering options to balance features and budget. At the same time, the Discovery Phase refines this with detailed analysis of processes, features, and architecture for clearer, more accurate planning.

A detailed estimate is a precise calculation of a project’s cost with nearly 100% accuracy. Engaged developers, solution architects, and project managers lean onto the discovery phase requirements and use it as a foundation to provide you with the most accurate numbers. The specialists include:

• Project specifications
• Functional and non-functional requirements
• Rates and the amount of hours spent on project development

While taking all the factors described before, generally, the cost to develop a fitness application ranges between $20,000-$100,000+ depending on included functionality.

What sets a truly successful fitness mobile app development project apart from the rest? Generally, it’s all about innovativeness and user-friendliness. It’s vital to master fitness software that offers unique capabilities and experiences for your audience. Let’s unpack some of the best modern practices that will elevate your fitness app:

AI-driven personalization is definitely capable of bringing the fitness experience to a brand new level. AI tools can seamlessly analyze user goals, preferences, and activity levels, and as a result, your app can deliver customized workout plans, meal suggestions, and progress updates that feel specifically tailored to each user. Plus, with adaptive algorithms, users get real-time adjustments to their routines, keeping them motivated and on track.

By incorporating gamification elements within your fitnes app development (e.g., reward systems, animated assistants, mini-games, etc.), you can turn workouts into an exciting game. Consider adding features like badges, leaderboards, and challenges to make fitness feel more engaging and rewarding. Whether users are competing with friends or working towards personal milestones, gamification keeps things fun and motivating. Talking about rewards systems, like points redeemable for perks or discounts, can add extra excitement and build loyalty.

According to Statista, globally, the number of smartwatch users is projected to reach approximately 740.53 million by 2029, which is 62.86% more than in 2024. In this way, you can bring fitness and technology together by integrating with popular wearables like Apple Watch, Fitbit, or Garmin. Enable your users to track their workouts, heart rate, and steps directly in the app, offering a complete picture of their health in one place. Wearable integration adds convenience and makes the app a must-have companion for anyone serious about staying on top of their fitness goals.

There are not only sports enthusiasts and newbies among fitness app users – fitness professionals also utilize these tools. Give personal trainers all the instruments they need to succeed with advanced analytics dashboards. Trainers can use the app to monitor progress, assign custom workout plans, and provide real-time feedback to clients. This feature not only supports users looking for expert guidance but also creates a premium service opportunity for your business.

Cleveroad is a high-tier custom software development company based in the heart of European IT outsourcing - Estonia. We help startups and well-established businesses to bring their concepts into life by providing our expertise in development of reliable software solutions.

Cleveroad in numbers:

• 12+ years on the market
• 280+ in-house engineers
• 200+ successful projects
• 8+ expertise industries

Here’s what benefits you’ll receive by cooperating with us:

• Cooperation with certified IT partner including ISO/IEC 27001:2013 for security management and ISO 9001:2015 for quality management
• On-demand IT services: custom software development, UI/UX design, Discovery Phase, IT consulting, legacy software modernization, etc.
• Free Solution Workshop stage that’ll help you align your project vision with developers’ efforts and establish efficient fitness app development planning
• R&D centers located in Estonia, Poland, Ukraine. and representative offices in the US (Claymont), and Norway (Oslo) that provide flexibility of cooperation

To prove our expertise, we’d like to share our experience in creating a software system for organizing and managing sports events:

Our customer is a US-based company that reached out to us with the idea of gathering spectators, sports teams, and sports lovers in one digital environment. However, they lacked the technical capabilities to do it properly. So, our main goal was to create software that could unite sports lovers in one virtual space. The software had to include the users, their activity, content, and events managing tool, and it also added value to the customer’s existing business model.

Our team created an application where users can unite by interest and skills and participate in various sports events. Also, we’ve delivered a web-based application for administrators who can now manage users and functionality easily.

As a result, our customers received a reliable, secure, and well-designed sports service ecosystem that allows, the customer to attract new users and increase user retention rate. Besides, the software allows the company to profit from accepting teams to events, promoting teams to sponsors, and generating more revenue via modernized approach incorporation.

Here’s what, John Salmon, owner of DeltaSport says about cooperation with Cleveroad: