What is a good alternative to the wger exercise API?
If you want exercise data without running and maintaining your own server, WorkoutDB is a hosted alternative to wger: a managed REST API where every one of ~873 exercises ships a demonstration video, GIF, and photos, with ranked search and four languages built in.
Hosted and media-complete vs. self-hosted
wger is a capable open-source project, but using its data often means self-hosting, accepting variable media coverage, and maintaining the stack yourself. WorkoutDB is fully managed: no server to run, consistent demonstration media for every exercise, and a CDN handling delivery.
You also get developer ergonomics out of the box — a predictable { data, meta, requestId } envelope, ranked fuzzy + full-text search, combinable filters, an OpenAPI 3.1 spec, and a TypeScript SDK — so integration is fast and the media is uniform across the catalog.
- Fully hosted — no self-managed server or database.
- A demo video, GIF, and photos on every exercise, served via CDN.
- Ranked search, combinable filters, and EN/ES/PT/FR content.
- Free tier to evaluate: 5,000 requests/month with no credit card required.
Related questions
- Do I have to self-host WorkoutDB like wger?
- No. WorkoutDB is a managed API — you call an HTTPS endpoint with your key and the media is served over a CDN. There is nothing to host or maintain.
- Is WorkoutDB open source?
- WorkoutDB is a hosted commercial API rather than a self-hosted open-source project. The trade-off is consistent media, search, and tooling with no infrastructure to run.
Build it on WorkoutDB
~873 exercises with demo video, ranked search, and four languages — over a clean REST API. Start free: 5,000 requests/month, no credit card.