Comparison

asensei rowing vs Row Forge

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

Head to head
About

asensei rowing

Enhance your rowing performance with guided workouts from world-class athletes and AI coaching. Connect to compatible rowing machines for real-time analysis and personalized training programs designed to improve your technique and fitness.

Highlights
  • Personalized training programs
  • World-class athlete coaching
  • Real-time performance analysis
  • AI-driven technique correction
  • Hundreds of guided workouts
  • Compatibility with major rowing machines
Read full description

Workout with your Concept 2, Rogue Echo, WaterRower or FluidRower rowing machine. Be guided by world-class athletes and instructors. Follow structured training programs to improve yourself and your times or just choose your own workout. asensei customizes challenges to meet your capability and pushes you to your potential. asensei rowing guides and monitors your practice on and off your rowing machine. Hundreds of workouts, no need to plan - get a recommendation every time! Structured programs - build strength and fitness alongside skill and technique as you are guided, monitored and corrected by great coaches assisted by your personal AI coach, asensei. asensei rowing talks to the monitor on your rowing machine, analyzes your performance and uses that to inform your practice. Are you losing power at higher stroke rates? Are you losing length when you’re tired? Do you find it hard to hold lower stroke rates consistently? Are you rushing the recovery? Compensating for poor leg drive with over-use of your arms? asensei knows. And she’ll be sure to let you know. Practice. Perfected. FEATURES: PROGRAMS, PERSONALIZED: there's a program for you whether it's a 2km, 6km or 30min challenge you are looking for. Designed to challenge, improve and adapted for you. COACHING, UNPARALLELED: Some of the world´s best coaches. Olympic Gold Medalist Eric Murray, British Rowing, Johan Quie, Shane Farmer of Dark Horse Rowing. Watching, responding, adjusting, encouraging - just as they would live. ANALYSIS, DELIVERED: Row - record - watch - rewind - remember. asensei watches you move, as you move, responds in the moment and evaluates over time. PERFECT FOR: * Beginners - if you are new to rowing learn correct technique and be challenged as you workout. * Intermediate rowers - refresh your skills, learn new tips, get back into the groove and take things to the next level. * High-school or college athletes who wish to get win a seat in the boat, get recruited, or compete nationally and internationally. * Indoor Rowers or Crossfit (TM) athletes who wish to improve their indoor rowing technique and scores. * Getting fitter and stronger, the excitement of a studio fitness class and the attention of a personal trainer REQUIREMENTS: Requires a compatible rowing machine: * Concept 2 with a PM5 performance monitor * Rogue Echo Rower with Bluetooth * WaterRower with Bluetooth S4 monitor, S4+ComModule or NEW PowerPulley Performance Ergo * FluidRower with a Bluetooth console. We connect to the Health app to monitor heart rate on some workouts. WHAT PEOPLE ARE SAYING: “I was fortunate enough to have great coaches from the very beginning of my rowing career. This meant I wasn’t taking thousands of bad rowing strokes, ingraining bad habits. The potential for asensei to provide quality feedback before bad habits are formed is really exciting", Helen Glover, 2x Olympic Gold Medallist and World #1 Rower. "Just when you thought (sports) technology couldn't get any cooler, along comes asensei", CBS Television "... the next frontier in the fitness tech revolution ... a wildly ambitious goal ... able to guide you through everything from form and recovery to metrics and goals while improving your individual results ... future of personal training", Men's Health Here's what users had to say: "someone keeping an eye on you the whole time is really cool because ... it keeps you honest, keeps you on track in a way that I don't think a coach normally can unless you are doing a one on one session, so it was the benefit of a one on one, with the class dynamic, which I really like!" "It's a cool product. I've never ever seen anything like that. In 5 minutes I learned how to row, I thought I was doing it right, but I wasn't" "(asensei) said don't worry there's a bunch of exercises I'm going to give to you afterwards that are going to help you on that. ... that's amazing. ... this is not just about now, it's like building a relationship."

About

Row Forge

This app acts as a personal rowing trainer, offering personalized workouts and a scalable training program designed to improve your performance. It tracks your metrics and stats, providing targeted interval training and conditioning programs. Gamified elements like badges add a fun aspect to your fitness journey.

Highlights
  • Personalized signature workouts
  • Targeted High Intensity Interval Training
  • Effective conditioning program
  • Eleven baseline tests
  • Build a performance profile
  • Earn badges
Features
Read full description

YOUR CONCEPT2 GIVES YOU DATA. ROW FORGE TELLS YOU WHAT TO DO WITH IT. Row Forge is a connected training system for Concept2 RowErg, SkiErg, and BikeErg athletes. Connect your PM5, test your fitness, discover your strengths and weaknesses, and train with workouts built around your performance. Row Forge Intelligence helps you decide what to train next, understand your results, and stay on track. And when you want more hands-on guidance, Row Forge Coaching connects you with a real coach who can help guide your training. ROW FORGE INTELLIGENCE Stop guessing what workout to do. • Today's Workout — Get a workout recommendation based on your fitness tests, training history, and campaign progress. • Post-Workout Analysis — Understand what your completed workout means and what to carry into your next session. • Ask Row Forge — Ask questions about your training, results, weaknesses, and what to work on next. ROW FORGE COACHING Take your training further with guidance from a real coach. Available coaching plans can include personalized training, scheduled coaching sessions, direct coach messaging, and feedback on your workouts. Your coach can work with the same training context you build inside Row Forge, helping connect your workouts, performance, and goals in one place. VIKING POWER PROFILE Your 2K doesn't tell the whole story. Build your Viking Power Profile through fitness tests across different distances. Row Forge uses your results to show your strengths, identify areas to improve, and set training targets based on your own performance. STRUCTURED TRAINING Choose from workouts built around different training goals: • Signature Workouts • HIIT sessions • Fitness tests and benchmarks • Training campaigns • Personalized power targets • Free Row • Free Ski • Free Cycle CONNECTED TO YOUR CONCEPT2 Connect directly to a compatible Concept2 PM5 over Bluetooth. During supported workouts, Row Forge displays live performance data including watts, pace, distance, stroke rate, elapsed time, heart rate, and workout targets. ROW. SKI. CYCLE. Row Forge supports Concept2 RowErg, SkiErg, and BikeErg equipment with compatible PM5 monitors. Keep your training history together whether you're rowing, skiing, or cycling. TRACK YOUR PROGRESS Review completed workouts with detailed results, splits, pace, watts, stroke rate, heart rate, and other performance data. Track your progress over time and keep the context behind every workout. Eligible completed workouts can also be uploaded to your Concept2 Online Logbook. APPLE WATCH Use Apple Watch with supported Row Forge workouts to bring heart-rate data into your training experience. COLD IMPACT Track cold exposure alongside your training and explore how cooling relates to your own performance. TRAIN WITH PURPOSE Whether you're chasing a faster 2K, building your aerobic base, improving your power, or simply trying to get more from your Concept2, Row Forge gives your training direction. Use Row Forge Intelligence for data-driven guidance. Add Row Forge Coaching when you want a real person in your corner. Test. Train. Learn. Improve. Some features require an active Row Forge membership or Coaching subscription. Feature availability may depend on your plan, device, connected equipment, and permissions. Row Forge is independently developed and is not affiliated with or endorsed by Concept2, Inc. Concept2, RowErg, SkiErg, BikeErg, and PM5 are trademarks of Concept2, Inc. Terms of Use (EULA): https://www.apple.com/legal/internet-services/itunes/dev/stdeula/

Screenshots

asensei rowing4 screens
Row Forge4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is rating: asensei rowing at 4.8 against Row Forge's 3.9. asensei rowing also leads on in-app purchases (none vs 6) and ratings volume (4K vs 36). Row Forge's advantage is ads (none vs shown) and update cadence (fortnightly vs every 2 months). On price, review sentiment, monetization model and device support 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. Row Forge sells 6 in-app purchases, starting at $8.99 per month. asensei rowing asks for nothing beyond the download.

ReceptionRating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings

asensei rowing holds the better App Store score, 4.8 against 3.9. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: asensei rowing has 4K ratings behind it against 36, so its average is the more settled of the two. Written reviews point the same way: 76% of asensei rowing's written reviews are positive against 69% of Row Forge's.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

asensei rowing ships an update every 2 months, Row Forge fortnightly. The most recent releases landed on October 7, 2026 and October 12, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard5 real differences · 5 level
asensei rowing versus Row Forge: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
Parameterasensei rowingRow Forge
PriceFreeFree
Rating4.8 (4K ratings) — better3.9 (36 ratings)
Positive reviews76.2% of reviews — better69.0% of reviews
Number of ratings4K — better36
Update frequencyEvery 2 monthsFortnightly — better
AdsYesNo — better
In-app purchasesNo — betterYes
MonetizationFree with in-app purchasesFreemium
DevicesiPhone, iPad, iPodiPhone, iPad, iPod, Apple Watch — better
Requires iOS14.0 — better15.1
Further details — not scored
Size95 MB77 MB
Age rating4+17+
DeveloperASensei IncRow Forge LLC

Customer experience

asensei rowing

All ratings4,030 ratings
Positive95.8%
Neutral1.7%
Negative2.5%
Written reviews206 reviews
Positive76.2%
Neutral9.7%
Negative14.1%

Row Forge

All ratings36 ratings
Positive69.4%
Neutral8.3%
Negative22.2%
Written reviews29 reviews
Positive69.0%
Neutral6.9%
Negative24.1%

Bugs and requests

asensei rowing

Reported bugs

3 issues
  • Inconsistent pace and split time calculations
  • Workout history not saving properly
  • Bluetooth connectivity problems

Requested features

5 requests
  • Ability to select and customize workout programs
  • Integration with Apple Health and Strava
  • More detailed performance analytics and progress tracking
  • Live/virtual rowing classes and competitions
  • Support for more rowing machine models

Row Forge

Not enough reviews yet to summarise bugs or requests.

In-app purchases

None

asensei rowing

No in-app purchases

6 purchases

Row Forge

Subscriptions6
  • Monthly1 Month trial$8.991 Month
  • Row Monthly Subscription$29.991 Month
  • Row Monthly with Two Week Trial14 Days trial$29.991 Month
Show 3 more
  • Annual1 Month trial$89.991 Year
  • Regular Six-Month Membership$143.996 Months
  • Six-Months with Two Week Trial14 Days trial$143.996 Months

Questions

Is asensei rowing free?
asensei rowing is free to download, with no in-app purchases.
Is Row Forge free?
Row Forge is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Which has better reviews, asensei rowing or Row Forge?
asensei rowing is rated higher. asensei rowing averages 4.8 out of 5 from 4K ratings, while Row Forge averages 3.9 from 36 ratings.
Do asensei rowing or Row Forge have ads?
asensei rowing shows ads; Row Forge does not.
Which is updated more often, asensei rowing or Row Forge?
asensei rowing ships an update every 2 months, and Row Forge fortnightly. Most recently, asensei rowing was updated on October 7, 2026 and Row Forge on October 12, 2026.

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