Comparison

Tabata Timer Training vs Tabata Songs Plus

Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both apps, side by side — with what reviewers say about each.

Head to head
About

Tabata Timer Training

This app provides a customizable interval timer for high-intensity workouts. It supports background operation and offers voice and sound navigation to guide you through your training sessions. Manage your timers and track your progress with ease.

Highlights
  • Flexible and advanced timer
  • Customizable timers with cycles and sets
  • Background and screen-locked operation
  • Color, voice, and sound navigation
  • Built-in music player
  • Multiple themes
  • Manage training data
Features
Read full description

Tabata interval training is the single most effective type of high intensity interval training, it's also the most intense by far, and surprisingly it's the shortest in duration: only lasts for four minutes... but those four minutes produce remarkable effects. According to the Japanese founder, Professor Izumi Tabata, one of his four-minute sessions is equal to an hour of jogging, an hour of moderate cycling, two hours of walking, an hour of Zumba or two hours of yoga. What’s not to like? Quite a lot, actually. The idea is to increase your heart rate to its maximum by “going completely mental” for 240 seconds. This is supposed to give you both aerobic and anaerobic benefits (both cardio and muscle workout). But we’re talking about four minutes of pain. The full Tabata program is four minutes long. It will probably be the longest four minutes of your life. If you are going to try it, we would recommend going light with the weights until you find your range, there’s a good chance you will underestimate this workout and be begging people around you to help you off the floor. Tabata intervals follow this structure: Push hard for 20 seconds Rest for 10 seconds. Repeat this eight times. The secret of this effective is in your sprint interval. You have to go all out, so do as many reps as you can in 20 seconds, put it down for 10, then pick it up again and go hell for another 20 seconds.... Our customers around the world: しょっかんっ: とても使いやすくシンプル!継続して筋トレしてます! Uscana82: E ótimo simples mas completo Rofl클: 심플하고 좋음 Now, let's focus on your exercises and we handle the rest Run in foreground, background and screen locked, Tabata Timer allows you to specify an overall time as well as program Cycles, Warm Up time, Train/Rest interval and Cool down time. + Flexible and Advanced Timer + Clean, simple and easy to use (There is no learning curve here) + Customize your own timer with some taps + Fully customized timers with a complex of cycles and sets, + Run in the background, foreground, screen locked + Color, Voice and Sound Navigations (Customizable) + Built in Music Player (in sync with iOS Music Player) + Multiple themes to select + Manage your timers and data of training (you can edit and even delete unwanted time data) + Create your own alarms right in the app + Work on iPhone, iPad and iPod (Universal) + And a lot more features will be added in over time. How to use this app: There is no user manual here! -> Download it -> tap on play button -> you will see -> It’s super easy

About

Tabata Songs Plus

Access a vast library of music and workouts designed for high-intensity interval training. Stream content early, create custom playlists, and enjoy ad-free viewing of exclusive videos. Includes a free tabata timer and Apple Watch integration for comprehensive fitness tracking.

Highlights
  • Exclusive music and workout catalog
  • Create custom playlists
  • Early access to content
  • Ad-free video viewing
  • Free tabata timers
  • Apple Watch integration
  • Filter workouts by duration, equipment, and trainer
Features
Read full description

"All of our Music, Timers & Workouts in one place!" -Tabata Songs. TABATA SONGS PLUS provides easy access to our massive (and constantly growing) catalog of Music and Workouts. Now you can stream content before it is available, access the entire Tabata Songs music & video collection + timers and even create your own Playlists! FREE TABATA TIMERS ▷ Available to all ▷ Set to music PREMIUM CONTENT ▷ Available only to Tabata Songs Plus members▷ Music ▷ Workouts ▷ Special Features WORKOUTS ▷ Exclusive Workouts & Programs ▷ Filter workouts by Duration, Equipment & Trainer ▷ Watch our YouTube content ad-free  ▷ Watch our YouTube content before released on YouTube MUSIC ▷ Early Access to Unreleased Songs ▷ Tabata Songs Playlists ▷ Filter Music by Genre ▷ 150+ Tabata Songs ▷ Classic Songs ▷ Current Pop Songs ▷ Tabata Songs Original Songs ▷ Curated Playlists ▷ Create Your Own Playlist! FREE TABATA TIMER Just looking for a tabata-timer? Choose from one of our many timers and use for free! All follow-along videos feature our visual tabata timer. WHAT IS TABATA? ▷ 4 Minute High Intensity Interval Training (HIIT) ▷ 20 Seconds of Work ▷ 10 Seconds of Rest ▷ 8 Intervals Tabata Songs includes a Fitness Tracker for Apple Watch: ▷ APPLE WATCH INTEGRATION: - Use your Watch as a Remote: Play, stop, & rewind videos without interrupting workouts - Apple Watch integrates with Apple's Health app (Healthkit) to track workouts, duration, calories burned, heart rate, and active energy.  - You choose the data you want stored, and you can change it anytime in the Health app. - Workouts contribute to your daily goals. View stats and share your activity. - View heart rate/calories burned on your watch & video player. - Monitor Stats during workouts. Created by musicians, Tabata Songs offers music specifically for the 4 minute Tabata Workout Protocol (20 seconds Work, 10 seconds Rest, x8 rounds). Each song coaches the listener through the workout, telling the listener when to GO and when to STOP. This app provides full-access to the ever-expanding Tabata Songs music and workout catalog. We offer auto-renewing subscriptions. You'll receive unlimited access to content on all your devices. Payment is charged to your account at confirmation of purchase. Pricing varies by location and is confirmed prior to purchase. Subscription automatically renews each month unless canceled at least 24 hours before the end of the current billing period, or the trial period (when offered). Cancel anytime in Account Settings. Privacy Policy: https://plus.tabatasongs.com/pages/privacy-policy Terms of service: https://plus.tabatasongs.com/pages/terms-and-conditions

Screenshots

Tabata Timer Training4 screens
Tabata Songs Plus4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is monetization model: Tabata Timer Training at free with in-app purchases against Tabata Songs Plus's subscription. Tabata Timer Training also leads on review sentiment (67% vs 47%). Tabata Songs Plus's advantage is ads (none vs shown) and update cadence (every 2 months vs every 5 months). On price, rating, in-app purchases and iOS requirement there is nothing between them.

Scored on Price · Rating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings · Update frequency · Ads · In-app purchases · Monetization · Best chart rank · Devices · Requires iOS

CostPrice · In-app purchases · Ads · Monetization

Both are free to download. Tabata Timer Training sells 1 one-off in-app purchase and Tabata Songs Plus sells 5 in-app purchases, starting at $0.99 per month. Whichever you choose, the download price is not the number that matters.

ReceptionRating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings

On the App Store both sit at effectively the same score — 4.5 for Tabata Timer Training against 4.6 for Tabata Songs Plus. Both are backed by a comparable volume of ratings — 87 and 269 respectively. Written reviews are what separate them: 67% of Tabata Timer Training's written reviews are positive against 47% of Tabata Songs Plus's.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

Tabata Timer Training ships an update every 5 months, Tabata Songs Plus every 2 months. The most recent releases landed on October 11, 2026 and October 16, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard6 real differences · 4 level
Tabata Timer Training versus Tabata Songs Plus: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterTabata Timer TrainingTabata Songs Plus
PriceFreeFree
Rating4.5 (87 ratings)4.6 (269 ratings) — better
Positive reviews67.1% of reviews — better46.8% of reviews
Number of ratings87269 — better
Update frequencyEvery 5 monthsEvery 2 months — better
AdsYesNo — better
In-app purchasesYesYes
MonetizationFree with in-app purchases — betterSubscription
DevicesiPhone, iPad, iPodiPhone, iPad, iPod, Apple TV, Apple Watch — better
Requires iOS15.614.0 — better
Further details — not scored
Size23 MB78 MB
Age rating4+4+
DeveloperThang NguyenTabata Songs, LLC

Customer experience

Tabata Timer Training

All ratings87 ratings
Positive85.1%
Neutral8.0%
Negative6.9%
Written reviews70 reviews
Positive67.1%
Neutral7.1%
Negative25.7%

Tabata Songs Plus

All ratings269 ratings
Positive90.3%
Neutral3.0%
Negative6.7%
Written reviews47 reviews
Positive46.8%
Neutral10.6%
Negative42.6%

Bugs and requests

Tabata Timer Training

Not enough reviews yet to summarise bugs or requests.

Tabata Songs Plus

Reported bugs

6 issues
  • App crashes
  • Purchased content lost after update
  • Unlocked songs stop after 20 seconds
  • Paid songs unavailable on new devices
  • Extra songs won't unlock
Show 1 more
  • App not working after update to 'plus'

Requested features

9 requests
  • Customizable timer settings (work/rest times)
  • Ability to queue multiple songs
  • Pause and resume functionality
  • Playlist creation
  • Add new music regularly
Show 4 more
  • Include specific songs (e.g., 7-minute workout song)
  • AirPlay functionality
  • Fix issues with unlocking paid content
  • Option to pay a higher one-time fee instead of subscription

In-app purchases

1 purchases

Tabata Timer Training

One-time1
  • Go Pro$4.99
5 purchases

Tabata Songs Plus

Subscriptions4
  • Tabata Songs Pro1 Month trial$0.991 Month
  • Tabata Songs Pro1 Month trial$4.991 Year
  • Monthly Plan7 Days trial$4.991 Month
Show 1 more
  • Annual Plan7 Days trial$49.991 Year
One-time1
  • Unlock all songs$4.99

Questions

Is Tabata Timer Training free?
Tabata Timer Training is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Is Tabata Songs Plus free?
Tabata Songs Plus is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Which has better reviews, Tabata Timer Training or Tabata Songs Plus?
Tabata Songs Plus is rated higher. Tabata Timer Training averages 4.5 out of 5 from 87 ratings, while Tabata Songs Plus averages 4.6 from 269 ratings.
Do Tabata Timer Training or Tabata Songs Plus have ads?
Tabata Timer Training shows ads; Tabata Songs Plus does not.
Which is updated more often, Tabata Timer Training or Tabata Songs Plus?
Tabata Timer Training ships an update every 5 months, and Tabata Songs Plus every 2 months. Most recently, Tabata Timer Training was updated on October 11, 2026 and Tabata Songs Plus on October 16, 2026.

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