---
title: "ExerciseDB vs free-exercise-db: Hosted API or Open Dataset?"
canonical: "https://aifitnessapi.com/compare/exercisedb-vs-free-exercise-db"
cluster: "Comparisons"
primary_query: "exercisedb vs free-exercise-db"
last_reviewed: "2026-10-22"
description: "ExerciseDB is a hosted API (1,500 GIF exercises free, MP4 video on RapidAPI plans); free-exercise-db is 876 public-domain exercises as JSON with images."
publisher: "AIFitnessAPI — independent, not sponsored"
cite_as: "\"ExerciseDB vs free-exercise-db: Hosted API or Open Dataset?\", AIFitnessAPI, https://aifitnessapi.com/compare/exercisedb-vs-free-exercise-db"
---

# ExerciseDB vs free-exercise-db: Hosted API or Open Dataset?

> Pick ExerciseDB when you need animated GIFs or video from a hosted API; pick free-exercise-db when you want exercise data you own outright, with no key, no fee and no license obligations. ExerciseDB, now sold by AscendAPI, serves 1,500 exercises with GIFs free and without a key, and its V2 adds an MP4 video per exercise on RapidAPI plans, free for a watermarked 200-exercise trial. free-exercise-db is a public-domain (Unlicense) dataset on GitHub: 876 exercises and 1,746 JPEG images when we counted its combined JSON on October 22, 2026, served as static files rather than a live API.

- Canonical: https://aifitnessapi.com/compare/exercisedb-vs-free-exercise-db
- Last reviewed: 2026-10-22
- Publisher: AIFitnessAPI (https://aifitnessapi.com) — independent, not sponsored
- Cite as: "ExerciseDB vs free-exercise-db: Hosted API or Open Dataset?", AIFitnessAPI, https://aifitnessapi.com/compare/exercisedb-vs-free-exercise-db

---

## First, which ExerciseDB?

The exercisedb.dev home page now reads "Previously ExerciseDB" above the name AscendAPI, and AscendAPI's documentation, read on October 22, 2026, describes two products:

- **ExerciseDB V1.** A free hosted tier of "1,500 exercises with 180p GIFs. No authentication required", at `oss.exercisedb.dev/api/v1/exercises`, plus a paid RapidAPI tier with 360p to 1080p images and GIFs. Records carry `bodyParts`, `targetMuscles`, `equipments` and a `gifUrl`.
- **ExerciseDB V2.** On RapidAPI only, with an MP4 video per exercise and a stated 11,000+ exercises. Its free Basic plan gives 2,000 requests a month and 200 exercises, with watermarked media.

An older ExerciseDB listing on RapidAPI, published by justin-WFnsXH_t6 and covered by the [ExerciseDB integration guide](/integrate/exercisedb-api), also exists; we could not read it today or establish whether it is the same product. AscendAPI's paid prices and terms of use were out of reach too, and none of it is self-hostable: when we cloned [its GitHub repository](https://github.com/ExerciseDB/exercisedb-api) on October 22, 2026 it held only a README and an AGPL-3.0 LICENSE.

So ExerciseDB is an API you call, free to start, with the full catalogs on paid plans. free-exercise-db is the opposite model: files you download and own.

## ExerciseDB vs free-exercise-db at a glance

| Dimension | ExerciseDB (AscendAPI) | free-exercise-db |
|---|---|---|
| What it is | A hosted API: V1 free and keyless, V1 paid and V2 through RapidAPI | A static dataset on GitHub, JSON plus images |
| Catalog | 1,500 free on V1, "over 2,000" in V1, 11,000+ in V2 (AscendAPI's figures) | 876 exercises in `dist/exercises.json`, counted October 22, 2026 (README says 800+) |
| Media | GIFs on V1 (180p free, up to 1080p paid); an MP4 per exercise plus images on V2, watermarked on the free plan | 1,746 JPEG images, two per exercise for 873 exercises and none for 3; no GIFs or video |
| Access | No key for V1 free; a RapidAPI key for everything else | No key, no signup: clone the repo or fetch raw GitHub URLs |
| License | AscendAPI's terms of use, not readable from our environment | The Unlicense: public domain, no attribution required |
| Cost | Free tiers; paid plans on RapidAPI, prices not read | $0 for the data; you pay for wherever you serve it |
| Rate limits | Free plans 1,000 requests per hour per key; V2 Basic 2,000 a month | None: the files are yours |

For the cost side across the whole category, see [exercise database API pricing](/pricing/exercise-database-api-pricing).

## What is actually in free-exercise-db

We downloaded the combined file the README points to and counted it on October 22, 2026, rather than repeating the README's "800+". Every record has `id`, `name`, `force`, `level`, `mechanic`, `equipment`, `primaryMuscles`, `secondaryMuscles`, `instructions`, `category` and `images`, validated against a JSON Schema in the repository.

| Category | Exercises |
|---|---|
| strength | 584 |
| stretching | 123 |
| plyometrics | 61 |
| powerlifting | 38 |
| olympic weightlifting | 35 |
| strongman | 21 |
| cardio | 14 |

By level, 525 are beginner, 294 intermediate and 57 expert. The gaps are documented: the README lists `force`, `mechanic` and `equipment` as incomplete in some files, and in our count those fields were null in 30, 87 and 77 records respectively. Five records have an empty instructions list, and the README notes "a small number of duplicate images". Muscles come from a fixed list of 17 values (`biceps`, `lats`, `quadriceps` and so on), and IDs are strings built from the name, such as `Alternate_Incline_Dumbbell_Curl`.

Serving it takes no backend. The README's documented shortcut is to fetch the combined JSON from raw.githubusercontent.com and prefix each image path with the repository's `exercises/` raw URL:

```bash
curl -O https://raw.githubusercontent.com/yuhonas/free-exercise-db/main/dist/exercises.json
# an image path such as Air_Bike/0.jpg becomes:
# https://raw.githubusercontent.com/yuhonas/free-exercise-db/main/exercises/Air_Bike/0.jpg
```

For production, copy the files to your own storage or CDN rather than hot-linking GitHub. The repository also has Makefile tasks to rebuild the combined file and to emit newline-delimited JSON for a PostgreSQL import, and a searchable Vue front end at yuhonas.github.io/free-exercise-db for browsing.

On provenance, the README says the data was restructured from wrkout/exercises.json, and that upstream repository's LICENSE.md is also the Unlicense. Neither README we read names who made the original photographs; if image provenance matters to your legal review, that is the question to ask.

## Where ExerciseDB pulls ahead

Media and scale. If your UX depends on a moving demonstration, ExerciseDB is the only one of the two that serves it: animated GIFs on V1, free at 180p, and on V2 a record with a `videoUrl` pointing at an `.mp4`, plus `overview`, `exerciseTips`, `variations`, `keywords` and `relatedExerciseIds` that free-exercise-db has no equivalent for. V2 also names muscles anatomically ("Pectoralis Major Clavicular Head" in its sample) and tags a `gender` for its demonstrations. And it is a live service: someone else hosts it, adds exercises and fixes data, and V1's free tier lets you try that without a key.

## Where free-exercise-db pulls ahead

Ownership and zero obligations. The Unlicense dedicates the work to the public domain, so you can ship the data and images in a closed-source commercial app with no attribution, no share-alike and no copyleft. There is no key to leak, no quota to hit, no per-request bill, and no terms of use that can change under you. Because the whole dataset is about a megabyte of JSON, you can bundle it into an app and search it offline. The cost is that you own everything a service would do: hosting, search, fixes, and filling the null fields.

## Which should you pick?

- **You need GIF or video demonstrations:** ExerciseDB. V1 for GIFs, free at 180p, or V2 for MP4 video on RapidAPI plans; read the terms that govern the media files before you ship them.
- **You need data you can own, with no license strings:** free-exercise-db. It is the most permissive exercise source this site has reviewed.
- **You are prototyping:** either works for free. free-exercise-db works offline and has no terms to read; ExerciseDB V1's free tier needs no key but comes with terms we could not read. Move to a paid plan once you know whether motion is worth paying for.
- **You want an open catalog with an API and translations instead:** neither; look at wger, with its AGPL code and per-entry Creative Commons data. The [wger alternatives](/alternatives/wger-alternatives) page compares it against both of these.

## Moving between them

It is a field-by-field re-map, not a swap. free-exercise-db's `primaryMuscles` uses 17 broad group names; ExerciseDB V1 uses `targetMuscles` arrays such as `pectorals`, and V2 anatomical names; the older RapidAPI listing used a single `target` in our July review. Equipment labels differ in vocabulary and case (`body only` and `e-z curl bar` in free-exercise-db against `LEVERAGE MACHINE` in the V2 README sample). IDs share nothing, so keep a mapping table keyed by your own IDs. Media is the expensive part: going from ExerciseDB to free-exercise-db means two still images per exercise where you had motion, and going the other way means checking that the exercises your users already logged exist in the new catalog. For other ways out of either product, see [ExerciseDB alternatives](/alternatives/exercisedb-alternatives).

## Watch the fine print

Our counts describe free-exercise-db's main branch as we downloaded it on October 22, 2026; a later commit can change them. ExerciseDB's catalog and media figures are AscendAPI's own, its free tiers are as its documentation described them that day, and its paid prices and terms sit on pages we could not read from our environment, so verify them before you budget.

## Sources

- [github.com/yuhonas/free-exercise-db/blob/main/README.md](https://github.com/yuhonas/free-exercise-db/blob/main/README.md) — dataset description, raw-URL hosting, Makefile tasks, incomplete fields, duplicate images, provenance (checked 2026-10-22)
- [github.com/yuhonas/free-exercise-db/blob/main/LICENSE.md](https://github.com/yuhonas/free-exercise-db/blob/main/LICENSE.md) — Unlicense (checked 2026-10-22)
- [github.com/yuhonas/free-exercise-db/blob/main/schema.json](https://github.com/yuhonas/free-exercise-db/blob/main/schema.json) — fields, 17 muscle values, category and level enums (checked 2026-10-22)
- [github.com/yuhonas/free-exercise-db/blob/main/dist/exercises.json](https://github.com/yuhonas/free-exercise-db/blob/main/dist/exercises.json) — counted: 876 exercises, categories, levels, null fields, 1,746 JPEG image paths (checked 2026-10-22)
- [github.com/wrkout/exercises.json/blob/master/LICENSE.md](https://github.com/wrkout/exercises.json/blob/master/LICENSE.md) — upstream dataset is also the Unlicense (checked 2026-10-22)
- [github.com/ExerciseDB/exercisedb-api](https://github.com/ExerciseDB/exercisedb-api) — README claims, v2 sample record, playground warning; repository still README + LICENSE only (checked 2026-10-22)
- [github.com/ExerciseDB/exercisedb-api/blob/main/LICENSE](https://github.com/ExerciseDB/exercisedb-api/blob/main/LICENSE) — AGPL-3.0 license file (checked 2026-10-22)
- [exercisedb.dev/](https://exercisedb.dev/) — AscendAPI, previously ExerciseDB (snapshot) (checked 2026-10-22)
- [docs.ascendapi.com/products/edb-v1/overview](https://docs.ascendapi.com/products/edb-v1/overview) — V1 free and paid tiers, fields (snapshot) (checked 2026-10-22)
- [docs.ascendapi.com/products/edb-v2/overview](https://docs.ascendapi.com/products/edb-v2/overview) — V2 catalog, MP4, watermark (snapshot) (checked 2026-10-22)
- [docs.ascendapi.com/quickstart/overview](https://docs.ascendapi.com/quickstart/overview) — free Basic plan (snapshot) (checked 2026-10-22)
- [docs.ascendapi.com/guides/ratelimiting](https://docs.ascendapi.com/guides/ratelimiting) — free-plan rate limit (snapshot) (checked 2026-10-22)

## FAQ

### How many exercises are in free-exercise-db?

876, when we counted the combined dist/exercises.json on its main branch on October 22, 2026; the README rounds this to 800+. The same file references 1,746 JPEG images, two for each of 873 exercises and none for three. Recount after pulling, since community commits can change the total.

[Permalink](https://aifitnessapi.com/compare/exercisedb-vs-free-exercise-db#faq-1)

### Is free-exercise-db an API?

No. It is a static dataset: individual JSON files plus a combined exercises.json and an images folder in a GitHub repository. You can clone it, or fetch the JSON and images from raw GitHub URLs as its README describes, but there are no endpoints, search or filters; you build those yourself or load the data into your own database.

[Permalink](https://aifitnessapi.com/compare/exercisedb-vs-free-exercise-db#faq-2)

### Can free-exercise-db images be used in a commercial app?

Its repository's LICENSE.md is the Unlicense, which places the work in the public domain for any purpose, commercial or not, with no attribution required, and the README presents the images as part of the dataset. The upstream project it was restructured from carries the same license. Neither README names who made the original photos, so ask that question if your legal review needs provenance. This is not legal advice.

[Permalink](https://aifitnessapi.com/compare/exercisedb-vs-free-exercise-db#faq-3)

### Does free-exercise-db have GIFs or exercise videos?

No. Every image path in the dataset is a still JPEG, two per exercise for all but three exercises, which have none. If you need motion, AscendAPI's ExerciseDB V1 serves animated GIFs, free at 180p with no key, and its ExerciseDB V2 gives each exercise an MP4 video through RapidAPI, watermarked on the free plan.

[Permalink](https://aifitnessapi.com/compare/exercisedb-vs-free-exercise-db#faq-4)