Overbar vs Thenx
Thenx is a big calisthenics app: daily workouts, programs from beginner to elite, and tutorials for skills like muscle-ups and handstands. Overbar does one thing: it coaches you from zero to your first strict pull-up, measuring your hang, hold and lower and estimating your date. Pick by your goal: every skill, or that first rep.
By Aleksandr Chichkanov, maker of Overbar · Updated October 27, 2026
We make Overbar, so we’ve stuck to facts you can check on each app’s App Store listing and Thenx’s own site (checked October 2026), and we say where the other app is the better pick.
In short: Pick Thenx if you want the wider world of calisthenics (muscle-ups, handstands, planche), a large video library and a free tier with lots of workouts, on iPhone or Android. Pick Overbar if you can’t do a pull-up yet and want a plan built only for that, which measures where you start, adapts every session and shows an estimated date.
At a glance
| What | Overbar | Thenx |
|---|---|---|
| Built for | Your first strict pull-up, from zero | Calisthenics workouts and skills, beginner to advanced |
| Price | Free download; Day 1 and Quick Hangs free. Pro $49.99/yr with a 1-week free trial, or $5.99/wk | Free download with “more than 1000 free exercises” (its site); Premium listed at $9.99 or $19.99/mo and $89.99 or $119.99/yr (its site: $19.99/mo, $119.99/yr) |
| A program for the first pull-up | Yes, the whole app: six stages from hangs to the first rep | Not described in its listing; pull-ups are among its exercises |
| Measures you first | Day 1: hang, top hold, slow lower, rows | Recommends workouts by your level and goals |
| Estimated date | Yes, with a range, updated after every workout | No |
| Skills beyond the pull-up | Rep Builder, from one pull-up to five | Muscle-ups, handstands, planche and more |
| Video library | Obie does every exercise with you, on screen | Large: video tutorials for skills like muscle-ups, handstands and planche |
| Account and data | No account. Workouts kept on your device; usage and crash reports with a random ID, deleted if you ask. Its privacy label lists nothing used to track you | Its privacy label lists your email address, name, identifiers and purchases linked to you |
| Runs on | iPhone and iPad, iOS 26 or later | iPhone (iOS 16+) and Android |
| Languages | English | English |
| US ratings | New, none yet | 4.8 from about 12,400 |
Where Thenx is stronger
- Breadth. Muscle-ups, handstands, planche and full-body programs. Overbar stops at five pull-ups in a row.
- A big free tier. Its site lists more than a thousand free workouts.
- Video tutorials for skills like muscle-ups, handstands and planche.
- Android and older iPhones. It runs on Android and on iOS 16; Overbar needs iOS 26.
- A track record. More than 12,000 US ratings.
Where Overbar is stronger
- Built for the first rep. If you can’t do a pull-up yet, every session is aimed at that one rep, in six stages with goals you can see: a 30-second hang, a 15-second top hold, a 10-second slow lower.
- It measures you first. Day 1, free, times your hang, top hold, slow lower and rows.
- Slow lowers at the centre. Lowering builds more strength than lifting the same load (Roig 2009), so the middle of the plan is built on them.
- An estimated date. You see how close you are, and the estimate moves after every workout.
- Your equipment, or none yet. A doorway bar, bands, a gym’s assisted machine, or table and towel rows until you have a bar.
- A lower yearly price. $49.99 a year, against the $89.99 to $119.99 Thenx lists.
- No account. Your workouts are kept on your phone.
Which one should you pick?
If you can already do a few pull-ups, or you want to learn calisthenics skills, Thenx gives you far more to do. If you can’t do one yet and that’s the goal, Overbar is built for exactly that and nothing else. You can start with a plan for the first pull-up and move to a skills app once you have it.
Not sure how far you are? The first pull-up calculator gives an estimate in a minute.
Questions
Is Thenx free?
Thenx is free to download, and its site lists more than a thousand free exercises and workouts. Premium costs extra: the App Store lists $9.99 or $19.99 a month and $89.99 or $119.99 a year, and its site shows $19.99 a month or $119.99 a year.
Is Thenx good for beginners?
Its listing says its programs suit beginners to elite athletes. If you can’t do a pull-up yet, check that the program you pick starts with hangs, holds and slow lowers rather than pull-ups.
Does Thenx have a program for your first pull-up?
Its App Store listing doesn’t describe one; pull-ups appear among its full-body exercises. Overbar is built only for the first pull-up.
Is Thenx worth it?
If you want skills beyond the pull-up and you’ll use its library, it may be: it has a 4.8 rating from about 12,400 US ratings. If your only goal right now is your first pull-up, a plan built for that costs less a year.
Is Overbar on Android?
No. Overbar is for iPhone and iPad with iOS 26 or later. Thenx is on both iPhone and Android.
Your first pull-up, before the skills.
Overbar measures you on Day 1 and coaches you from zero to one strict pull-up, with a date that moves after every workout. Day 1 and Quick Hangs are free; Pro is $49.99 a year with a free week, or $5.99 a week.
Download on the App Store