Comparison

Paddle Paddle vs ZEN Kayak

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

Head to head
About

Paddle Paddle

Track your kayaking, canoeing, paddleboarding, or rowing sessions with detailed metrics and a full-screen map. Enjoy high-visibility mode for bright days and set targets for your routes. Syncs with Apple Health and offers export options.

Highlights
  • Full-screen route mapping
  • Real-time speed, distance, and stroke rate tracking
  • High-visibility mode for sunny conditions
  • Target setting for routes
  • Stroke rate measurement via motion sensors
  • Apple Watch integration
  • GPX/TCX export and Strava sync
Features
Read full description

Paddle Paddle is the tracker made for life on the water. Kayak, canoe, paddle board or rowing shell: start a session and Paddle Paddle maps every stroke, keeps your numbers big and readable in the sun, and saves each outing so you can relive it, share it and beat it next time. See everything at a glance. A full-screen map shows your route as you paddle, while clean floating panels keep speed, one-minute and total average speed, distance, stroke rate, stroke effort and heart rate in view. On bright days, switch to high-visibility mode for opaque panels, extra-large numbers and full screen brightness. Pause, Resume and Finish use slide-to-confirm controls, so splashes and wet fingers never stop your session by accident. Paddle with purpose. Long-press anywhere on the map to set a target and Paddle Paddle shows the direction and distance to it. Loved a past route? Choose “Paddle this route again” and follow it on the map. Voice cues announce your time, distance, speed, heart rate and battery at the interval you choose, so you can keep your eyes on the water. Lock your iPhone and put it in a dry bag: tracking continues until you press Finish. Know your stroke. Paddle Paddle measures your stroke rate with the iPhone’s motion sensors, tuned separately for kayak, canoe, paddle board and rowing. Wear an Apple Watch for even better wrist-based stroke rate, or pair a standard Bluetooth heart-rate strap for live heart rate. Every session, beautifully organized. History gives you monthly totals, an eight-week trend and a route preview on every session, plus a map of everywhere you’ve paddled. Open a session to see your route colored by speed, charts of speed, stroke rate and heart rate over time, weather at the start and finish, notes and a timeline of your pauses. Trim the end of a session, merge two sessions, or change the equipment in a tap. A real Apple Watch app. Start a session right from your wrist with live time, distance, speed, stroke rate and heart rate, plus Water Lock built in. Leave your iPhone on shore if you like: sessions recorded on the watch sync to your iPhone automatically. Paddling with both? Your watch adds its stroke rate and heart rate to the session recorded on your iPhone. Share and sync. Create a shareable image of any session, export GPX or TCX files for other apps and services, or send sessions to Strava. Keep your history safe and in sync across your devices with iCloud. Paddle Paddle works with Apple Health: it reads your weight and age for accurate calorie estimates and saves each session as a paddle-sports workout. Distances can be shown in kilometers, miles or nautical miles. Paddle Paddle is free to download and use for tracking, with ads. An optional subscription removes ads and unlocks iCloud sync, automatic upload to Strava and the full set of voice cues. Monthly and annual subscriptions are available, and the annual plan offers the best value. Payment is charged to your Apple Account at confirmation of purchase. Subscriptions renew automatically unless auto-renew is turned off at least 24 hours before the end of the current period, and you can manage or cancel them in your App Store account settings. Terms of Use: https://oxigenator.com/products/paddle-paddle/terms-of-use/ Privacy Policy: https://oxigenator.com/products/paddle-paddle/privacy-policy/ Grab your paddle. See you on the water!

About

ZEN Kayak

Discover and map kayaking spots, share your paddling journeys, and find new trails. Record your routes with GPS and read or leave reviews for other users. Premium features include offline maps and dark mode.

Highlights
  • Map kayaking launch and takeout spots
  • Share GPS recordings of journeys
  • Leave ratings and reviews
  • Find kayak launches near you
  • Discover new trails
  • Record and track kayak trails
  • Offline maps (Premium)
Read full description

Find your ZEN on the water with ZEN Kayak! Join us in building the ultimate map of kayaking spots: • Add your favorite launch and takeout spots. • Share your GPS recordings of your kayaking journey. • Leave ratings and reviews so others know what to expect. The path to your next adventure: • Find kayak launches near you or search by location. • Find new trails to follow. • See ratings and reviews from other users or add your own. Track your kayak trails: • Record the path you take using our GPS tracker. • Keep a record of previous locations you have kayaked. • Share your recorded paths with other users. ZEN Kayak Premium: • Offline Maps: Download maps to use offline so you don't need to worry about having a connection while you're out on the water. • Dark Mode: Enable our "dark mode" for an experience that is easier on both your battery and your eyes.

Screenshots

Paddle Paddle4 screens
ZEN Kayak3 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is review sentiment: Paddle Paddle at 67% against ZEN Kayak's 0%. Paddle Paddle also leads on ratings volume (386 vs 1). ZEN Kayak's advantage is rating (5.0 vs 4.7). On price, update cadence, ads and in-app purchases 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. Paddle Paddle sells 2 in-app purchases, starting at $2.99 per month and ZEN Kayak sells 2 in-app purchases, starting at $4.99 per month. Whichever you choose, the download price is not the number that matters.

ReceptionRating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings

ZEN Kayak holds the better App Store score, 5.0 against 4.7. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: Paddle Paddle has 386 ratings behind it against 1, so its average is the more settled of the two. Written reviews complicate that: 67% of Paddle Paddle's written reviews are positive against 0% of ZEN Kayak's, so the app with the better star average is not the one people write more warmly about.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

Paddle Paddle ships an update every 3 weeks, ZEN Kayak every 2 weeks. The most recent releases landed on October 29, 2026 and September 24, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard3 real differences · 7 level
Paddle Paddle versus ZEN Kayak: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterPaddle PaddleZEN Kayak
PriceFreeFree
Rating4.7 (386 ratings)5.0 (1 ratings) — better
Positive reviews66.7% of reviews — better0.0% of reviews
Number of ratings386 — better1
Update frequencyEvery 3 weeksEvery 2 weeks — better
AdsYesYes
In-app purchasesYesYes
MonetizationFree with in-app purchasesFree with in-app purchases
DevicesiPhone, iPod, Apple WatchiPhone, iPad, iPod
Requires iOS15.614.0 — better
Further details — not scored
Size19 MB49 MB
Age rating4+4+
DeveloperOXiGENATOR LLCZEN Trails LLC

Customer experience

Paddle Paddle

All ratings386 ratings
Positive94.8%
Neutral2.8%
Negative2.3%
Written reviews21 reviews
Positive66.7%
Neutral9.5%
Negative23.8%

ZEN Kayak

All ratings1 ratings
Positive100.0%
Neutral0.0%
Negative0.0%
Written reviews4 reviews
Positive0.0%
Neutral0.0%
Negative100.0%

Bugs and requests

Paddle Paddle

Reported bugs

5 issues
  • 🐛 App freezes when viewing history
  • 🐛 History not showing without upgrade
  • 🐛 Apple Watch shows speed in km/hr despite miles setting
  • 🐛 No data collected in Apple Watch stats
  • 🐛 Cannot view history due to unavailable ads/subscription

Requested features

7 requests
  • 💡 Add watch version
  • 💡 Grab heart rate data from Apple Watch
  • 💡 Make app fully functional without subscription
  • 💡 Improve Apple Watch integration
  • 💡 Allow starting/pausing/stopping recording on Apple Watch
Show 2 more
  • 💡 Show useful data on Apple Watch
  • 💡 Explain color coding (red, orange, green)

ZEN Kayak

Not enough reviews yet to summarise bugs or requests.

In-app purchases

2 purchases

Paddle Paddle

Subscriptions2
  • Monthly Subscription$2.991 Month
  • Annual Subscription$29.991 Year
2 purchases

ZEN Kayak

Subscriptions2
  • Premium Monthly$4.991 Month
  • Premium$29.991 Year

Questions

Is Paddle Paddle free?
Paddle Paddle is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Is ZEN Kayak free?
ZEN Kayak is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Which has better reviews, Paddle Paddle or ZEN Kayak?
ZEN Kayak is rated higher. Paddle Paddle averages 4.7 out of 5 from 386 ratings, while ZEN Kayak averages 5.0 from 1 ratings.
Do Paddle Paddle or ZEN Kayak have ads?
Both Paddle Paddle and ZEN Kayak show ads.
Which is updated more often, Paddle Paddle or ZEN Kayak?
Paddle Paddle ships an update every 3 weeks, and ZEN Kayak every 2 weeks. Most recently, Paddle Paddle was updated on October 29, 2026 and ZEN Kayak on September 24, 2026.

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