Lucy vs Bend: which stretching app suits you

The honest summary

These two apps disagree about one thing, and it is not content.

Bend is the established app in this category, built by Bowery Digital. It has a large library, a routine builder, an Android build, and a progress dashboard with streaks and analytics. It has been going for years and it is good at what it does. If you want the most stretching content available for the least money, this comparison should end with you downloading Bend.

Lucy is smaller on purpose. Sixteen routines, nothing longer than six minutes, iPhone only, and no streak anywhere in it. It is built on the premise that the hard part is not choosing a stretch, it is doing one today.

If you have abandoned a fitness app because you broke a streak and could not face the screen afterwards, that is the specific thing Lucy is designed around.

Side by side

Where the difference actually bites

Streaks, and whether they help you

This is the real disagreement and it is worth more than the feature list.

Bend shows you a streak and a progress dashboard. For a lot of people that works: seeing the number climb is the reason they open the app on a Wednesday.

Lucy does not have one. The progress screen counts the days you completed a routine and does not count the days you did not. There is no chain to break and no red anything.

Which is better depends entirely on how you respond to a broken streak. If it motivates you, Bend's approach is a feature and Lucy's absence of it will feel like a missing piece. If a broken streak is historically the moment you delete the app, that is the problem Lucy is built to avoid.

Length, and the research behind the cap

Lucy caps everything at six minutes. Bend offers longer sessions.

The cap is not modesty. A 2025 meta-analysis in Sports Medicine, pooling 189 studies and 6,654 adults, found that gains within one session levelled off at roughly four minutes per muscle group, and that weekly gains levelled off at around ten minutes per muscle group with no advantage to how the minutes were divided.

A longer session is not a better session by that evidence. Whether you want the option anyway is a fair preference, and Bend gives it to you.

Library size

Bend's library is several times Lucy's and that is a genuine advantage if variety is what keeps you interested.

Lucy's position is that sixteen routines covering neck, shoulders, chest, back, hips, hamstrings, ankles, mornings, evenings and post-workout is enough for someone who sits all day, and that growth should come from tomorrow's session rather than more routines. That is a bet, not a fact, and you may disagree with it.

Download on theApp Store

The free tier

Bend's free tier is broader. Lucy's is one routine of sixteen, complete and forever, with no account.

The difference in kind: Lucy's free routine is a whole six-minute routine rather than a sample, but it is one of them. Bend gives you more choice at no cost.

If free content is the deciding factor, Bend wins this outright and we are not going to pretend otherwise.

Platform

Bend is on iPhone and Android. Lucy is iPhone only, iOS 18 or later, with no Android build and none promised.

If you are on Android, the comparison is over.

Accounts and offline use

Lucy has no account at all: no signup, no login, no email address, no password. It works offline in full. Bend is account-based, which is what lets it sync across devices.

Different trade-off rather than a better one. An account buys you sync; no account buys you nothing to leak.

Choose Bend if

• You are on Android
• You want the largest library and the most free content
• Streaks and progress analytics are what keep you going
• You want sessions longer than six minutes
• You want your history synced across devices

Choose Lucy if

• You are on iPhone and want the session to be over in five minutes
• A broken streak is the thing that has made you quit an app before
• You sit all day and want routines aimed at that specifically
• You would rather have no account than sync
• You want three routines that work standing in a square metre, with no mat

What neither of them does

Both are general wellness apps. Neither provides medical advice, diagnosis or treatment, and neither is adapted to an injury or a diagnosis. If you are looking for treatment for something specific, a physiotherapist is the right call and not an app. Our fitness and safety note sets out what that means before you start.

Neither app should be taken as promising a result. Bodies differ, and so do results.

FAQ

Is Lucy better than Bend?

For most measurable things, no: Bend is larger, on more platforms, and has a broader free tier. Lucy is better for one specific person, who wants a five-minute routine and finds streaks counterproductive. On the rest, Bend has the stronger feature list.

What is the main difference between Lucy and Bend?

Streaks. Bend tracks and displays them; Lucy deliberately does not count missed days at all. Everything else, including the six-minute cap, follows from the same idea that guilt is what stops people stretching.

Does Bend have a free version?

Yes, Bend is free to download with a selection of free routines and a premium upgrade. Its free tier is broader than Lucy's single free routine. Check its own listing for what is currently included, since this changes.

Is Bend available on Android and is Lucy?

Bend is on both iPhone and Android. Lucy is iPhone only, iOS 18 or later, with no Android build.

Are Lucy's routines shorter than Bend's?

Yes. Lucy caps every routine at six minutes. Bend has longer sessions available as well as short ones.

Which is better for someone who sits at a desk all day?

Both target that audience. Lucy is narrower: three of its sixteen routines work standing in about a square metre, which is the constraint that usually decides whether an office worker does the routine at all. Bend covers more ground overall.