# RowingCoach vs RP3 Rowing Lite

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.

Both are free to download. RowingCoach sells 3 one-off in-app purchases. RP3 Rowing Lite asks for nothing beyond the download.

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.

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.

## The numbers

| Metric | RowingCoach | RP3 Rowing Lite |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Price | Free | Free |
| Rating | **[3.3 (117 ratings)](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/rowingcoach/id1202290980/reviews)** | [1.8 (10 ratings)](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/rp3-rowing-lite/id1393038366/reviews) |
| Number of ratings | **117** | 10 |
| Positive reviews | **38.4% of reviews** | 8.3% of reviews |
| In-app purchases | Yes | **No** |
| Ads | No | No |
| Update frequency | **Every 2 months** | Every 6 months |
| Monetization | Free with in-app purchases | **Free** |
| Size | 9 MB | 19 MB |
| Requires iOS | 17.0 | **16.0** |
| Devices | **iPhone, iPad, Apple Watch** | iPhone, iPad |
| Age rating | 4+ | 4+ |
| Developer | [Gunther Cronenberg](https://appshunter.io/developer/1202290979) | [RP3 Rowing B.V.](https://appshunter.io/developer/1393038365) |

## What reviewers say

### RowingCoach

[App page](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/rowingcoach/id1202290980)

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:** macOS Compatibility, Siri integration, Apple Watch app, Vision Pro support

**In-app purchases (3)**

| Purchase | Price | Billing |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Unltd. recs & export (1 Month) | $0.99 | one-time |
| Unltd. recs & export (3 Months) | $1.99 | one-time |
| Unltd. recs & export (1 Year) | $4.99 | one-time |

**What reviewers like**

- ⌚ Excellent Apple Watch integration
- 🗺️ Accurate GPS tracking for on-water rowing
- ❤️ Heart rate monitoring functionality
- 📊 Comprehensive workout statistics and metrics
- 🔄 Seamless syncing with Apple Health

**What reviewers complain about**

- 🐛 Frequent crashes and freezes
- 📏 Inaccurate distance estimation (especially indoors)
- ⚠️ Strokes per minute (SPM) consistently underreported
- 🔋 Excessive battery drain on Apple Watch
- ❌ Data loss after pausing workouts

**Reported bugs**

- 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%)

**Requested features**

- Calibration settings for different rowing machines
- Automatic pause/resume detection
- Customizable workout countdown timers
- Bluetooth connectivity for Concept2 PM5
- Improved calorie burn calculations


### RP3 Rowing Lite

[App page](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/rp3-rowing-lite/id1393038366)

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:** macOS Compatibility

**In-app purchases:** none


## Frequently asked 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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*Compared by [AppsHunter](https://appshunter.io/) from daily US App Store data. Review summaries are generated from verbatim App Store reviews.*