Comparison

asensei rowing vs Hydrow

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

Hydrow

Access over 5,000 on-and-off rower workouts led by elite athletes filmed in beautiful locations. Track performance, connect with a community, and share achievements. Compatible with Concept2 PM5 rowers for integrated metrics and leaderboards.

Highlights
  • 5,000+ on-and-off rower workouts
  • Elite athlete instructors
  • Global scenic filming locations
  • Performance tracking
  • Rowing community features
  • Strava and Apple Health integration
  • Concept2 PM5 rower compatibility
Features
Read full description

Hydrow offers more than just a full-body workout – access over 5,000 on-and-off rower workouts led by elite athletes and filmed in stunning locations around the globe. Feature overview: • Track your performance and stay connected to a passionate rowing community: cheer on fellow rowers, form racing teams, and review racing stats • Share your achievements on Strava • Apple Health integration for further personalization • Now compatible with Concept2 PM5 rowers, Hydrow offers serious rowers the variety they seek, allowing you to pair your iPhone or iPad for in-workout rowing metrics and participate in competitive leaderboards Whether you aim to build strength, improve endurance, or perfect your technique, Hydrow delivers the benefits of rowing wherever you are.

Screenshots

asensei rowing4 screens
Hydrow4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is in-app purchases: asensei rowing at none against Hydrow's 1. asensei rowing also leads on review sentiment (76% vs 59%) and iOS requirement (14.0 vs 18.6). Hydrow's advantage is ads (none vs shown) and update cadence (every 3 weeks vs every 2 months). On price, rating, ratings volume and monetization model 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. Hydrow sells 1 in-app purchase, starting at $29.99 per month. asensei rowing asks for nothing beyond the download.

ReceptionRating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings

On the App Store both sit at effectively the same score — 4.8 for asensei rowing against 4.8 for Hydrow. Both are backed by a comparable volume of ratings — 4K and 3.5K respectively. Written reviews are what separate them: 76% of asensei rowing's written reviews are positive against 59% of Hydrow's.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

asensei rowing ships an update every 2 months, Hydrow every 3 weeks. The most recent releases landed on October 7, 2026 and October 15, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard5 real differences · 5 level
asensei rowing versus Hydrow: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
Parameterasensei rowingHydrow
PriceFreeFree
Rating4.8 (4K ratings)4.8 (3.5K ratings)
Positive reviews76.2% of reviews — better59.2% of reviews
Number of ratings4K — better3.5K
Update frequencyEvery 2 monthsEvery 3 weeks — better
AdsYesNo — better
In-app purchasesNo — betterYes
MonetizationFree with in-app purchasesFree with in-app purchases
DevicesiPhone, iPad, iPodiPhone, iPad, Apple Watch
Requires iOS14.0 — better18.6
Further details — not scored
Size95 MB186 MB
Age rating4+4+
DeveloperASensei IncHydrow, Inc.

Customer experience

asensei rowing

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

Hydrow

All ratings3,459 ratings
Positive96.4%
Neutral1.6%
Negative1.9%
Written reviews103 reviews
Positive59.2%
Neutral18.4%
Negative22.3%

User reviews

asensei rowing

From 4K App Store ratings

What we love

  • 👍 Great coaching and feedback
  • 🚀 Seamless integration with Concept 2 rower
  • 💡 Personalized workouts and performance tracking
  • 🤩 Motivating and engaging experience
  • 🌟 Excellent customer support

Room to improve

  • 🐛 Occasional connectivity issues
  • 🕹️ Unintuitive user interface
  • 🕰️ Slow workout downloads
  • 💾 Limited data tracking and export options
  • 🔇 Music volume issues

Hydrow

From 3.5K App Store ratings

What we love

  • 🚀 Smooth motion
  • 🚀 Engaging video coaching
  • 👍 Variety of workouts
  • 👍 Motivating instructors
  • 👍 Convenient for travel

Room to improve

  • 🐛 App issues (no iPad support, audio sync, etc.)
  • 🔒 Lack of account management features
  • 💰 Expensive subscription cost
  • 💰 Requires expensive rower hardware

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

Hydrow

Reported bugs

3 issues
  • App crashes during workouts
  • Difficulty logging in or syncing account
  • Inconsistent video/audio quality

Requested features

4 requests
  • Ability to search/filter workouts
  • More data analytics and tracking
  • Integration with other fitness devices/apps
  • Ability to manage account on app/website

In-app purchases

None

asensei rowing

No in-app purchases

1 purchases

Hydrow

Subscriptions1
  • Digital Basic1 Month trial$29.991 Month

Questions

Is asensei rowing free?
asensei rowing is free to download, with no in-app purchases.
Is Hydrow free?
Hydrow is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Which has better reviews, asensei rowing or Hydrow?
asensei rowing and Hydrow are both rated 4.8 out of 5 on the App Store, from 4K and 3.5K ratings respectively.
Do asensei rowing or Hydrow have ads?
asensei rowing shows ads; Hydrow does not.
Which is updated more often, asensei rowing or Hydrow?
asensei rowing ships an update every 2 months, and Hydrow every 3 weeks. Most recently, asensei rowing was updated on October 7, 2026 and Hydrow on October 15, 2026.

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