The best planche apps in 2026, compared
Planche apps do one of two jobs. Some give you a program, some measure your clip. Nine apps compared on what they check, what they cost and where they run, with US prices read on 6 November 2026.
Short answer
For a free planche progression, Thenics: the planche is one of its free skills. For a full calisthenics program with a big library and community, Thenx or Calisteniapp. To find out whether your hold meets a written standard, SkillScan, which I build: it measures seconds held and seconds clean against the gymnastics Code of Points, and scans are free. If you're on Android or want scores across many skills, CaliLens is the closest alternative.
Two kinds of planche app
Search the App Store for "planche" and you get two different products under the same word.
Program apps tell you what to train. They have progressions from tuck to full, follow-along videos, sets and rest times. Thenx, Thenics, Calisteniapp and Caliverse are in this group, and most have years of reviews behind them.
Measuring apps look at a clip of you and tell you something about it. They're all new: all five went live on the App Store between April and September 2026, and none has more than 24 US ratings. They differ a lot in what they measure and against what. SkillScan, CaliLens, Calis AI, CaliPro and FormCheck are in this group.
The two jobs fit together. A program tells you to hold a tuck planche for 10 seconds; a measuring app tells you whether your 10 seconds had straight arms. Plenty of people will want one of each.
The nine apps at a glance
Planche apps on the US App Store, read 6 November 2026
| App | Measures your clip | Planche program | Price (US) | Platforms | US rating |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| SkillScan | Yes Against the FIG gymnastics code | Yes Paid plan | Scans free; plan $9.99/mo or $89.99/yr | iPhone | 5.0 (1) |
| CaliLens | Yes Against its own rulebook, score out of 100 | Partly Tracks the four tiers | 3 free scored scans a week; Pro $4.99 or $34.99 | iPhone, Android | None yet |
| Calis AI | Yes No standard named | Yes Included | Subscription to scan: $9.99/mo or $39.99/yr; Unlimited from $5.99/wk | iPhone | 5.0 (1) |
| CaliPro | Yes Against "reference form", score 1 to 100 | Partly Suggests drills | $6.99/wk or $79.99/yr | iPhone | 3.7 (24) |
| FormCheck | Yes No standard named, labeled an estimate | Yes Premium | Some features free; $6.99/mo or $49.99/yr | iPhone, iPad | None yet |
| Thenics | No | Yes Free skill | Planche free; Pro in-app | iPhone, Android | 4.8 (994) |
| Thenx | No | Yes Skill challenge | $9.99 to $19.99/mo; $89.99 to $119.99/yr | iPhone, Android | 4.8 (12,417) |
| Calisteniapp | No | Yes Guided tutorial | Free tier; PRO in-app | iPhone, Android | 4.8 (1,665) |
| Caliverse | No | Partly Skill plans in Premium | Free tier; Premium in-app | iPhone, Android | 4.8 (1,165) |
"Measures your clip" means the app looks at video of you and returns something about your form. None of the program apps say they do this, in their listing or on their site.
Apps that measure your clip
SkillScan
You pick your tier, film one attempt side-on and get two numbers: seconds held, and seconds clean. A clean second is one where your elbows are within 15° of straight and your body is within 20° of horizontal, the smallest deduction band in the FIG Men's Artistic Gymnastics Code of Points FIG MAG CoP 2025-2028 · Art. 9.2.8, 9.2.9. It also names the fault behind the gap and shows the frame where your form broke, with a replay and a share video of your skeleton over the hold.
Scans are free every session. The paid part is the Next Tier Plan, weekly sessions dosed from your own measured hold: $89.99 a year or $9.99 a month, with $39.99 a year for the first 100 members and a free week on the annual plan. The clip goes to SkillScan's server in Paris, is measured there and deleted right after; your history keeps the skeleton, not the footage.
The limits: it does the planche and nothing else, it's iPhone only, and it has one US rating. It also can't see things a coach would check, like your shoulder blades or whether you used a band.
CaliLens
The closest match to SkillScan in what it returns, and the broadest. CaliLens scores 11 skills out of 100, including all four planche tiers, and reports hold time and the main fault on every scan. Its rulebook is its own: each skill has written rules, the same for everyone, but they aren't tied to the gymnastics code. It runs on iPhone and Android, in four languages.
Its site says scoring runs on the phone and the video is then saved to your account. The free plan is 3 scored scans every 7 days according to its FAQ, although the same page also says "unlimited scans". Pro is listed at $4.99 and $34.99 in the App Store, without the billing periods.
Calis AI
Calis AI scans the planche, handstand and muscle-up, has an AI coach you can chat with and structured progressions for those three skills. Its listing says every feature, scanning included, needs a subscription: $9.99 a month or $39.99 a year, or an "Unlimited" tier at $5.99 a week, $12.99 a month or $59.99 a year.
Its privacy policy says regular scan videos stay on your phone, and that 2 to 4 low-resolution frames from each scan are sent to AI models such as GPT-4.1 and Claude Sonnet for the form feedback. When a scan sets a personal best, the full clip is uploaded to a public leaderboard. I compare it with SkillScan in more detail in SkillScan vs Calis AI.
CaliPro
CaliPro scores a clip from 1 to 100 across six aspects of form, compared to what it calls "reference form", and suggests drills. It covers more skills than the planche. Pricing is $6.99 a week with a 3-day trial or $79.99 a year with a 7-day trial. On iPhone the video stays on the device and only one still thumbnail is uploaded, according to its privacy policy. It has the most US ratings of the measuring apps, 24, averaging 3.7.
FormCheck
FormCheck analyzes video of the planche, front lever and handstand on the device, with no video server, and builds workouts from the weaknesses it detects. Its listing is upfront that automated recognition is an estimate and may be inaccurate. Some features are free; Premium is $6.99 a month or $49.99 a year. It has no US ratings yet.
Apps that give you a program
Thenics
The cheapest way to a structured planche progression: Thenics lists the planche among its free skills, broken into progressions. It has 994 US ratings averaging 4.8, an Android version, and a Pro tier for the rest.
Thenx
The biggest name here, with 12,417 US ratings averaging 4.8. Thenx is a full calisthenics program with workouts, programs and skill challenges, the planche among them. It costs $9.99 to $19.99 a month or $89.99 to $119.99 a year. If you want one app for your whole training and the planche is one goal among several, it's the obvious candidate. SkillScan vs Thenx covers how the two fit together.
Calisteniapp
A Spanish-made app with 40-plus guided programs and guided tutorials for skills including the planche. There's a free tier and a PRO subscription. When I counted App Store ratings by country in October, it had more ratings in Spain and Mexico than any other calisthenics skills app.
Caliverse
Caliverse gives away a lot: more than 200 workouts and 500-plus exercises in the free version, plus all base training plans and monthly challenges. Plans aimed at specific skills are in Premium.
How to choose
If money is the constraint, start with Thenics for the progression and film yourself. SkillScan's scans are free, so you can measure the holds you film without paying for anything.
If you want someone, or something, to tell you what to do every day, a program app is the right buy. Thenx and Calisteniapp have the deepest libraries.
If your question is "does my hold count?" or "why is my planche stuck?", you need a measuring app, and the important difference between them is what they measure against. SkillScan uses the gymnastics code, so its numbers mean the same thing a judge's would. CaliLens and CaliPro use their own standards and give you a score. Calis AI and FormCheck don't name one.
If you're on Android, the only measuring app here that runs there is CaliLens.
What no app can do yet
A phone camera sees joints from one side. It can measure an elbow angle and a body line well when you film side-on, and it can time a hold to a fraction of a second. It can't see your shoulder blades from the side, it can't tell a tuck from an advanced tuck without asking you, and it doesn't know whether you used a resistance band or felt pain in your wrist. Every measuring app on this list either asks you for those things or ignores them. A good coach watching you in person still sees more.
Questions people ask
What is the best app for the planche?
It depends on the job. For a free progression, Thenics. For a complete program, Thenx or Calisteniapp. To check whether a hold meets the gymnastics standard, SkillScan. For scores across many skills or on Android, CaliLens.
Is there a free planche app?
Thenics lists the planche among its free skills. Calisteniapp and Caliverse have free tiers with large workout libraries. SkillScan's scans are free every session; only its training plan is paid.
Is there an app that checks planche form?
Yes, five on the US App Store as of November 2026: SkillScan, CaliLens, Calis AI, CaliPro and FormCheck. SkillScan is the only one that measures against the FIG gymnastics Code of Points.
Is there an Android app that checks planche form?
CaliLens runs on Android and scores the planche from video. SkillScan, Calis AI, CaliPro and FormCheck are iPhone only.
Do I need an app to learn the planche?
No. A progression from a coach or a free guide, a phone propped up side-on and an honest way of timing your holds will get you a long way. Apps save time: a program app decides what to train, and a measuring app reads the clip so you don't have to scrub it frame by frame.
