# RowingCoach vs RowUp

The clearest difference is update cadence: RowUp at every 3 days against RowingCoach's every 2 months. RowingCoach's advantage is iOS requirement (17.0 vs 26.0). On price, ads, in-app purchases and device support there is nothing between them.

Both are free to download. RowingCoach sells 3 one-off in-app purchases and RowUp sells 1 one-off in-app purchase. Whichever you choose, the download price is not the number that matters.

RowingCoach ships an update every 2 months, RowUp every 3 days. The most recent releases landed on October 8, 2026 and September 27, 2026 respectively.

## The numbers

| Metric | RowingCoach | RowUp |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Price | Free | Free |
| Rating | **[3.3 (117 ratings)](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/rowingcoach/id1202290980/reviews)** | — |
| Number of ratings | **117** | — |
| Positive reviews | 38.4% of reviews | — |
| In-app purchases | Yes | Yes |
| Ads | No | No |
| Update frequency | Every 2 months | **Every 3 days** |
| Monetization | Free with in-app purchases | — |
| Size | 9 MB | 13 MB |
| Requires iOS | **17.0** | 26.0 |
| Devices | **iPhone, iPad, Apple Watch** | iPhone, Apple Watch |
| Age rating | 4+ | 4+ |
| Developer | [Gunther Cronenberg](https://appshunter.io/developer/1202290979) | [Fernando Balandran](https://appshunter.io/developer/1781458616) |

## 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


### RowUp

[App page](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/rowup/id6777244251)

**Features:** macOS Compatibility, Apple Watch app, Vision Pro support

**In-app purchases (1)**

| Purchase | Price | Billing |
| --- | --- | --- |
| RowUp Premium | $4.99 | one-time |


## Frequently asked questions

### Is RowingCoach free?

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

### Is RowUp free?

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

### Do RowingCoach or RowUp have ads?

Neither RowingCoach nor RowUp shows ads.

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

RowingCoach ships an update every 2 months, and RowUp every 3 days. Most recently, RowingCoach was updated on October 8, 2026 and RowUp on September 27, 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.*