# RowingCoach vs PocketCox

The clearest difference is review sentiment: PocketCox at 86% against RowingCoach's 38%. PocketCox also leads on rating (4.9 vs 3.3) and update cadence (every 3 weeks vs every 2 months). RowingCoach's advantage is ratings volume (117 vs 15). On price, ads, in-app purchases and monetization model there is nothing between them.

Both are free to download. RowingCoach sells 3 one-off in-app purchases and PocketCox sells 2 in-app purchases, starting at $1.99 per month. Whichever you choose, the download price is not the number that matters.

PocketCox holds the better App Store score, 4.9 against 3.3. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: RowingCoach has 117 ratings behind it against 15, 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 86% of PocketCox's.

RowingCoach ships an update every 2 months, PocketCox every 3 weeks. The most recent releases landed on September 21, 2026 and September 13, 2026 respectively.

## The numbers

| Metric | RowingCoach | PocketCox |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Price | Free | Free |
| Rating | [3.3 (117 ratings)](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/rowingcoach/id1202290980/reviews) | **[4.9 (15 ratings)](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/pocketcox-rowing-workouts/id6465291698/reviews)** |
| Number of ratings | **117** | 15 |
| Positive reviews | 38.4% of reviews | **85.7% of reviews** |
| In-app purchases | Yes | Yes |
| Ads | No | No |
| Update frequency | Every 2 months | **Every 3 weeks** |
| Monetization | Free with in-app purchases | Freemium |
| Size | 9 MB | 34 MB |
| Requires iOS | 17.0 | 17.0 |
| Devices | iPhone, iPad, Apple Watch | iPhone, iPad, Apple Watch |
| Age rating | 4+ | 4+ |
| Developer | [Gunther Cronenberg](https://appshunter.io/developer/1202290979) | [Nicolas Camenisch](https://appshunter.io/developer/1122054654) |

## 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


### PocketCox

[App page](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/pocketcox-rowing-workouts/id6465291698)

This app uses your Apple Watch to monitor on-water rowing performance, providing detailed metrics like stroke rate, speed, and heart rate. Analyze your sessions with graphs and share them across popular platforms. It's designed for rowers of all levels aiming to improve their training.

**Highlights:** On-water rowing workout tracking, Comprehensive performance metrics, Workout segmentation, Automatic workout pause, Detailed session analysis on iPhone, Workout sharing to Strava and others, Secure data storage in Apple Health

**In-app purchases (2)**

| Purchase | Price | Billing |
| --- | --- | --- |
| PocketCox Pro | $1.99 | per month |
| PocketCox Pro | $12.99 | per year |


## Frequently asked questions

### Is RowingCoach free?

RowingCoach is free to download, with in-app purchases available.

### Is PocketCox free?

PocketCox is free to download, with in-app purchases available.

### Which has better reviews, RowingCoach or PocketCox?

PocketCox is rated higher. RowingCoach averages 3.3 out of 5 from 117 ratings, while PocketCox averages 4.9 from 15 ratings.

### Do RowingCoach or PocketCox have ads?

Neither RowingCoach nor PocketCox shows ads.

### Which is updated more often, RowingCoach or PocketCox?

RowingCoach ships an update every 2 months, and PocketCox every 3 weeks. Most recently, RowingCoach was updated on September 21, 2026 and PocketCox on September 13, 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.*