Comparison

RowingCoach vs RP3 Rowing Lite

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

Head to head
About

RowingCoach

Track your rowing sessions on land or water with detailed metrics like stroke rate, distance, pace, and calories burned. Use your iPhone or Apple Watch independently or together for flexible workout recording and progress analysis. Syncs with iCloud and Apple Health, and exports to popular fitness platforms.

Highlights
  • Track stroke rate, distance, pace, pulse, and calories
  • Use iPhone or Apple Watch for recording
  • Siri integration for workout control
  • Automatic stroke detection
  • Workout display on map
  • Export to Strava, TrainingPeaks, and more
  • iCloud synchronization
Features
Read full description

RowingCoach, available also for the Apple Watch, allows you to track your rowing sessions, compare your workouts and see your overall progress – whether you train on land or on water. == RowingCoach displays the following metrics: • Your current and overall stroke rate (SPM) • The distance covered • Your current and overall pace • Your pulse • Your calories burned == Use the app as suits you best: • Track your session on the iPhone • Only use your Apple Watch to record the training (and leave your iPhone onshore!) • Use the iPhone as display for your Apple Watch recording. Very useful for indoor rowing. == RowingCoach also offers these features: • Use Siri to start and stop your workout • Automatic Stroke detection • Get notified after a certain distance covered, strokes reached or time passed • Display your workout on a map • Speed/pulse shown in color-coding • Share your rowing track with iMessage • Weather conditions are recorded for outdoor workouts • iCloud synchronisation: Have your workouts on all your devices. • Apple Health App integration • Watch Complication: See your weekly progress at a glance • Use Force Touch in the Watch app to quickly start and stop a workout • Today Widget: See your weekly and monthly progress from the Today screen • Add notes (to remember who was cox for example) == Export and upload your workouts to other platforms: • Upload to Strava • Export to RowsAndAll • Upload to MapMyFitness • Upload to TrainingPeaks • Upload to Concept2 Logbook • Upload to Intervals.icu External bluetooth heart rate monitors are supported. If you want to export your workouts via e-mail or want to record more than 3 workouts - you can get to a subscription right in the app.

About

RP3 Rowing Lite

This application connects to your RP3 rowing ergometer via Bluetooth to provide real-time performance data. Analyze stroke rate, speed, distance, and heart rate, with in-depth force curve analysis. Program custom interval training sessions and export your workout data for further analysis.

Highlights
  • Bluetooth connectivity to ergometer
  • Real-time stroke rate, speed, distance, heart rate
  • In-depth force curve analysis
  • Customizable interval training programming
  • Workout data export to online portal
  • Performance analysis
Features
Read full description

Your monitor for the RP3 Rowing ergometer. Get the most precise insights in your performance for the True rowing experience. RP3 Rowing is designed to connect to your RP3-S or RP3-T ergometer through Bluetooth. It provides a training tool that any rower can use to get real-time stroke rate, speed, distance, heart rate information, in depth force curve analysis and much more. Program an interval training consisting of duration, strokes or distance parts and measure your performance while doing so, if it is just a full on 2K performance test or an hour long HIIT training. Each stroke of your workout is recorded and can be exported to your RP3 Rowing account on https://portal.rp3rowing.com/. Go online to get a deep dive into your data or export it for further analysis.

Screenshots

RowingCoach4 screens
RP3 Rowing Lite3 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is rating: RowingCoach at 3.3 against RP3 Rowing Lite's 1.8. RowingCoach also leads on review sentiment (38% vs 8%) and update cadence (every 2 months vs every 6 months). RP3 Rowing Lite's advantage is in-app purchases (none vs 3). On price, ads, device support 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. RowingCoach sells 3 one-off in-app purchases. RP3 Rowing Lite asks for nothing beyond the download.

ReceptionRating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings

RowingCoach holds the better App Store score, 3.3 against 1.8. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: RowingCoach has 117 ratings behind it against 10, so its average is the more settled of the two. Written reviews point the same way: 38% of RowingCoach's written reviews are positive against 8% of RP3 Rowing Lite's.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

RowingCoach ships an update every 2 months, RP3 Rowing Lite every 6 months. The most recent releases landed on September 21, 2026 and August 3, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard6 real differences · 4 level
RowingCoach versus RP3 Rowing Lite: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterRowingCoachRP3 Rowing Lite
PriceFreeFree
Rating3.3 (117 ratings) — better1.8 (10 ratings)
Positive reviews38.4% of reviews — better8.3% of reviews
Number of ratings117 — better10
Update frequencyEvery 2 months — betterEvery 6 months
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesYesNo — better
MonetizationFree with in-app purchasesFree — better
DevicesiPhone, iPad, Apple Watch — betteriPhone, iPad
Requires iOS17.016.0 — better
Further details — not scored
Size9 MB19 MB
Age rating4+4+
DeveloperGunther CronenbergRP3 Rowing B.V.

Customer experience

RowingCoach

All ratings117 ratings
Positive49.6%
Neutral16.2%
Negative34.2%
Written reviews151 reviews
Positive38.4%
Neutral24.5%
Negative37.1%

RP3 Rowing Lite

All ratings9 ratings
Positive11.1%
Neutral0.0%
Negative88.9%
Written reviews12 reviews
Positive8.3%
Neutral0.0%
Negative91.7%

Bugs and requests

RowingCoach

Reported bugs

20 issues
  • Distance resets to zero when workout is paused
  • SPM not displaying in real-time during workouts
  • App crashes when receiving phone calls
  • GPS tracking stops working after iOS updates
  • Stroke count significantly underreported (off by 30-50%)
Show 15 more
  • Distance values wildly inaccurate (2-3x actual distance)
  • Workouts not appearing in app history despite being tracked
  • Subscription validation fails on Apple Watch
  • App hangs on workout start
  • Data not uploading to Apple Health
  • Clock overlay blocking metrics on Apple Watch
  • Display elements overlapping when phone is rotated
  • SPM showing zero for entire workouts
  • Metrics switching between metric and imperial units mid-workout
  • App freezing when trying to save workouts
  • PM5 connection showing as connected but not syncing data
  • Strava export missing distance data for indoor rows
  • Watch app not appearing after installation
  • Contact/feedback link in app not functional
  • Inconsistent heart rate detection

Requested features

18 requests
  • Calibration settings for different rowing machines
  • Automatic pause/resume detection
  • Customizable workout countdown timers
  • Bluetooth connectivity for Concept2 PM5
  • Improved calorie burn calculations
Show 13 more
  • Watt power output calculations
  • Distance per stroke efficiency metric
  • Audible stroke rate announcements
  • Always-on display support for Apple Watch
  • Manual workout editing capabilities
  • Automatic Strava uploads
  • Detailed heart rate and pace graphs
  • Training plan integration
  • Ghost/challenge mode for self-competition
  • Garmin Connect integration
  • Multiple language support (French, German)
  • Improved watch display optimization for larger screens
  • Better contrast for outdoor visibility

RP3 Rowing Lite

Not enough reviews yet to summarise bugs or requests.

In-app purchases

3 purchases

RowingCoach

One-time3
  • Unltd. recs & export (1 Month)$0.99
  • Unltd. recs & export (3 Months)$1.99
  • Unltd. recs & export (1 Year)$4.99
None

RP3 Rowing Lite

No in-app purchases

Questions

Is RowingCoach free?
RowingCoach is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Is RP3 Rowing Lite free?
RP3 Rowing Lite is free to download, with no in-app purchases.
Which has better reviews, RowingCoach or RP3 Rowing Lite?
RowingCoach is rated higher. RowingCoach averages 3.3 out of 5 from 117 ratings, while RP3 Rowing Lite averages 1.8 from 10 ratings.
Do RowingCoach or RP3 Rowing Lite have ads?
Neither RowingCoach nor RP3 Rowing Lite shows ads.
Which is updated more often, RowingCoach or RP3 Rowing Lite?
RowingCoach ships an update every 2 months, and RP3 Rowing Lite every 6 months. Most recently, RowingCoach was updated on September 21, 2026 and RP3 Rowing Lite on August 3, 2026.

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