Fitness Tracker App Development: A Complete Guide

Fitness tracker app development can make millions for any healthcare software development company. User penetration for fitness apps is expected to hit 13.21 percent by 2029 and average revenue per user is anticipated to amount to $17.84 in 2024. There’s so much to gain in the fitness sector, but how to go start building a fitness tracker app? 

This article highlights the different types of fitness tracker apps, along with its major features. You will also understand the budget estimate and step-by-step process of fitness tracker app development. Let’s dive right in!

Fitness Tracker App: Market Insights

The fitness apps market is estimated to garner revenue of $6.86 billion in 2024 and is anticipated to reach $10.06 billion by 2029, with a CAGR of 7.96 percent during 2024 to 2029 forecasted period. The USA is projected to generate maximum revenue in 2024 ($2,061 million).

Market Drivers: In this fast paced world, users are looking for personalized and convenient means to stay healthy and fit. They are turning to fitness applications to track their workouts, training programs, and set measurable goals. The ability to access nutrition and fitness plans anytime, anywhere is the key facet driving market growth. Additionally, integration of fitness apps with wearables and social sharing features is expected to bolster the market growth in 2024 and beyond. 

Market Restraints: Out-of-budget fitness apps may hamper the market growth in the near future, so a cost-effective fitness tracker app can attract users from all walks of life.

Benefits of Fitness Tracker App Development

Healthcare software development companies need to take into account two different user groups while developing fitness tracker apps. These are the fitness trainers and the trainee. Both of them have different requirements, so it is paramount to build a fitness tracker app that benefits them both. 

Here’s a list of the benefits of fitness tracker app development for both these users:

Now that it is clear who your target audience are and what aspects benefit them, let’s move on to the next chapter of the article.

Types of Fitness Tracker Apps

Here are key types of fitness tracker apps that developers can create for their users.

1. Diet and Nutrition Apps

Diet and nutrition plays an important role in fitness. A well-crafted diet and nutrition app that includes meal plans, log entries, journal, healthy food recipes, and much more is bound to gain traction from people. 

Additionally, constant reminders for grocery shopping, calorie intake, and cheat meal days can make this app interesting. This app can work well for athletes, fitness coaches, people looking to lose weight, and the people with chronic disease like diabetes. 

2. Meditation and Yoga Apps

Meditation and yoga goes hand-in-hand. This form of workout is considered as a go-to option for all age groups. However, it is not possible for everyone to join a yoga class, especially those with a busy schedule. So, meditation and yoga apps are a convenient method to stay fit and healthy. 

Plus, meditation is a stress buster for people dealing with hectic work schedules. Meditation and yoga apps encompass features such as serene music beats, well-organized yoga routines, goal trackers, and knowledge about yoga. This helps users to stay on par with their health.  

3. Sports Activity Tracker Apps

For people who love to play sports or for those who are athletes, a sports activity tracker app can aid in their fitness journey. This application includes features such as GPS, varied types of sports to choose from, tracker, workout programs, social share, goals, and much more. These features help athletes to achieve their goal of excelling in their sport. 

4. Workout and Training Apps

Workout and training apps are made for gym trainers and fitness coaches. With these apps they can connect with users virtually and guide them through the workout routine. Such apps are loaded with features such as video conferencing, messaging, recorded workouts, and more. 

5. FemTech Apps

FemTech apps are made solely for females. They include features and functionalities that are suited only for females looking to uplift their fitness and health. Some of the commonly found features are mood tracker, menstrual tracker, diet plans, workout goals, social share, daily activity tracker, step tracker, and more.  

Must-Have Fitness Tracker App Features

To stand out from other fitness tracker apps, developers must incorporate features that will not only enhance their app, but also solve some common problems faced by users. For instance, offering safe payment methods, aesthetic designs, and responsiveness can build popularity of a fitness tracker app. 

1. Sign-Up/Login

Sign-up or login options are necessary to store user’s personal information under one umbrella. This usually includes name, demographics, fitness goals, and billing. To make fitness tracker apps user-friendly, implement sign-in options via social media platforms such Instagram, Facebook, Twitter, or Snapchat. Login via Gmail can also be included for those who wish to maintain social privacy. 

Fitness apps don’t always store vital information such as medical data (which is found in healthcare apps). So, they may or may not be safeguarded with HIPAA regulations. However, if a company is developing a fitness app that demands medical records, then users have to check if the app is HIPAA compliant or not. Apart from this, install biometrics and passwords to protect user profiles from hackers. 

2. User Profile and Personalization

User profile encompasses several key information that helps trainers to plan out the perfect workout routine. If the fitness tracker app contains in-built workout programs then demographics and fitness goals help the app to automatically plan out an exercise program for the user. 

Furthermore, users have the option to personalize the app as per their taste. This can include color and theme of app, time of workout, selecting music, and choosing a personal trainer. 

3. GPS

Include GPS during fitness tracker app development. This is a must-have feature for people who go for trail runs, hiking, mountain biking, or rock climbing into remote regions. With a GPS, users can easily send their location to their loved ones, so in case of adverse events their family can come to the rescue. 

Plus, a GPS locator tracks the route, miles, and hours, so users know how to get back in case they’re lost in the wilderness. 

4. Achievements

Motivation plays a key factor when it comes to health and fitness. Include achievements section, so users feel energized and ready to take on new challenges. 

The app can have weekly, monthly, or quarterly goals for users to complete. Upon completion, the users can be rewarded with batches or medals, just to keep up the motivation.

5. Activity Tracker

Activity tracker shows workout data such as distance covered, steps taken, time, date, and calorie burn. An activity tracker allows users to stay on par with their workout regime, and decide on future fitness plans. When synced with wearables, activity tracker extracts the data and displays it on the app in the form of charts. 

6. Workout Programs

Include a robust workout program feature in the fitness tracker application. There are two ways to install a workout program. Either onboard a trainer who will coach the users virtually or design animated figures who will show exercise forms to the users. 

Developers can also include automation features that will design the workout routine for users as per their fitness goals. 

7. Diet and Nutrition Plans

Right diet and nutrition plan elevates health and fitness levels. Fitness tracker apps can include a wholesome diet based on workout level, weight, calorie intake, and overall fitness goals. 

To enhance diet and nutrition plans add water intake tracker, and links to external sources for recipes and diet tips. Also let the app dynamically change meal plans based on calorie intake and health goals. 

8. Notifications

Constant workout reminders push users to maintain consistency and discipline. Design push notifications that won’t stop popping up until the workout is completed for the day. This way even the lazy bones can stay consistent. 

Also, include notifications for every meal plan, achievements, and due payments, and user profile settings update.  

9. Gamification

Who doesn’t like entertainment? Gamification feature fulfills this factor for fitness tracker app development. This feature may end up attracting huge traffic to your application. 

For instance, include weekly fitness goals along with a leaderboard, so every user on the app knows who’s in the lead. Include prizes for the performer of the month.  

10. Social Sharing

This is the era of social influencers. So, social sharing features take priority. A must-have feature for fitness influencers and nutrition experts. They can easily share their achievements on social media, so their followers can follow in their footsteps and download the app to stay fit. 

11. Goal Setting

A mandatory requirement for athletes, fitness enthusiasts, and trainers. To unlock any major milestone, it is paramount to have a goal, so you can plan accordingly and achieve it quickly. Goal setting feature helps users to get closer and fulfill their fitness goals faster. 

12. Audio/Video Player Integration

A lot of runners love to listen to music to keep up the pace. Integration of fitness apps with Apple music or Spotify can augment user experience and satisfaction rate. 

Moreover, integration with video players such as Zoom can allow fitness trainers to conduct live virtual workout sessions. Users can enjoy these sessions from the comfort of their homes. 

13. Wearable Device Connect

There’s a steady increase in the use of wearable technology. This technology has proved to be useful for the remote care and fitness industry. 

Fitness tracker apps can easily extract data such as vitals, water intake, sleep patterns, oxygen consumption, activities accomplished, etc., and compile them in charts. So, users can easily understand the data and gain insights to enhance their fitness performance. 

14. Payment Methods

Payment systems are an essential aspect to consider during the fitness tracker app development. It helps to monetize the app through freemium, subscription, or pay-per-use monetization models. 

Include safe and secured payment methods for users. Plus, they have a variety of payment options such as PayPal, Debit/Credit card payment, or direct bank transfers. 

15. Educational Content

Educational materials such as fitness basics and nutrition tips can keep up the morale. For instance, include bite-size tips and tricks to lose weight or get that perfect abs. Encompass versatile educational content formats such as blogs, reels, videos, or microblogs.  

16. Journaling 

For those who have constant mood swings or doubt their capacity, journaling helps to keep all the negative thoughts at bay. This diary records all the ups and downs, which can be revisited to remind the users why they started their fitness journey. 

17. Customer Services

Fitness tracker app developers can include a robust CMS to address user queries. Sometimes, it is not possible for trainers to be available 24/7, so chatbots can be a go-to option to answer user questions anytime.

Fitness Tracker App Development: A Step-by-Step Process

1. Market Research and Planning

The first step in market research and planning is knowing the target audience. Two key components make up the identification of the target audience: preferences and demography. Location, age, gender, work status, and income are examples of demographics. With this data, app developers can determine their target audience and preferences. The next part is goal setting. 

Ask questions such as:

1. What is the objective of the fitness tracking app for users?
2. What are the distinctive characteristics of the healthcare app?
3. What are the goals to ensure the longevity of the fitness app concept?

After understanding the bullet points mentioned above, move to the next aspect, and that’s planning. Creating a plan for fitness tracker app development is crucial for outlining a development strategy and schedule. Establishing clear timelines to mitigate delays and enhance resource utilization by scheduling meetings with the fitness app development team.

Planning in advance enables us to establish the appropriate wireframes for the application. Before handing it over to the design team, plan out the interface of the app, including features and functionalities. 

2. Design and Prototype Development

During design and prototype development, it is advisable to hire an expert in the field as it requires specific UI/UX skills.

This phase focuses on transforming a fitness tracker app into its initial significant version – a prototype. The initial phase of creating a fitness trainer app involves creating a simple design prototype before moving on to a more detailed version. Finally, the app is validated and improved by testing with trial customers to guarantee that the solution meets expectations and elicits favorable responses.

3. Back-end Development

Back-end development is all about coding. For this select a tech stack. This is usually done at the planning stage, but if not then do it now. First is selecting a platform. Fitness enthusiasts utilize both Android and iOS platforms. The price of fitness tracker app development fluctuates depending on the platform.

However, the technology lineup does not stop at this point. The next part is selecting technologies that are easy to use. Usually, the majority of the developers choose between Flutter and React Native.

Furthermore, it is important to disregard the performance and usability of the application during the development stage. Read and talk about tips that can improve performance with the fitness app development company.

In conclusion, ensuring data privacy and security should be equally important and a subject for discussion during meetings with the development team. Have a conversation with the team about strategies for guaranteeing security in mobile apps.

4. App Testing

Testing plays a crucial role during the fitness tracker app development. Once the development phase is finished, move on to the testing and iteration phases.

This stage involves extensive testing to uncover and address bugs and usability concerns in the fitness app. Developers and designers collect feedback from testers, address the problems, and send them for retesting to detect any lingering issues. This cycle continues until the application is deemed free of bugs.

5. Release and Maintenance

Final stage is to release the fitness tracker application on Play Store. Optimize the app by improving app store information. Create compelling graphics to illustrate the purpose of the fitness application for users, showcasing its key features and capabilities. 

Next, have a marketing strategy for the application. And finally, track the marketing efforts. Fitness tracker application maintenance involves constant updating, customization, and offering customer services. This keeps the app free from bugs and hackers. 

If you want to develop a fitness tracker app then connect with Arkenea, a leading healthcare software development company. With over 14 years of experience in the field, we’ve got you covered. Contact us for more information.