Comparison

Explore the World by Bowflex vs Monk

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

Head to head
About

Explore the World by Bowflex

Virtually travel the globe from home while exercising. The app syncs with compatible fitness equipment to adjust video playback to your speed. Track your progress, explore new destinations, and stay motivated on your fitness journey.

Highlights
  • Virtual global destinations
  • Adaptive video playback
  • Fitness data tracking
  • Sync with popular fitness apps
  • New destinations added monthly
  • Six free premium maps
Features
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FUEL YOUR FITNESS JOURNEY WITH A SENSE OF ADVENTURE The Explore the World™ App allows you to virtually travel the globe from the comfort of home and automatically adjusts in real-time to the speed of your Bluetooth® enabled Bowflex, Schwinn Fitness, and Nautilus fitness equipment. Take control of your journey with dozens of high definition destinations and course lengths to choose from, including 5K’s through the Japanese Countryside, 10K’s through the Scottish Highlands, full marathons through the streets of Prague, and many more. Challenge yourself to travel the entire globe, and stay motivated with new destinations added each month. Plus, Explore the World allows you to track time, distance, speed, calories, and heart rate, helping you stay on top of your fitness journey and celebrating your successes as you beat your best course times. You can even sync your fitness data with other popular apps like Strava®, UA Record™, MapMyRun®, Apple Health, and more. Explore the World™ today! FEATURES INCLUDE: • Dozens of locations from around the world (subscription only) • Six free premium maps for unlimited use • Adaptive video playback that matches your speed • Track and store your data • Sync your data with your Strava or MapMyRun account Note: The Explore the World app is only compatible with Bluetooth® enabled Schwinn, Bowflex, & Nautilus fitness equipment. Subscription necessary to unlock full suite of virtual courses and trails. IN-APP SUBSCRIPTION AVAILABLE - SUBSCRIBE TODAY! Yearly: SAVE with an Explore the World annual subscription at only $59.99 per year - a savings of over $59 compared to the monthly price! Monthly: A monthly Explore the World subscription is only $9.99 per month. Cancellation: You may cancel your subscription at any time and enjoy the use of your subscription through the remainder of your current subscription period, as applicable. See below for additional details. By completing your purchase in the Bowflex JRNY™ app, you are certifying that you are at least 18 years old and that you understand and agree to our Terms of Use and Privacy Policy. Read our full Terms of Use at (https://www.bowflex.com/global-assets/legal/terms-of-use.html) and our Privacy Policy at (https://www.bowflex.com/global-assets/legal/privacy-policy.html). Your subscription, whether yearly or monthly, will renew automatically for another month unless you cancel it at least 48 hours prior to the end of your current subscription period. Your account will be charged upon renewal of your subscription at the current applicable subscription rate. You can manage a subscription purchased in the Bowflex JRNY™ app, including cancelling it, in your Account Settings in the App Store after purchase. Payments will be charged through your iTunes account.

About

Monk

Features
Read full description

100% free. 100% on your phone. Monk is a complete workout tracker with no subscription, no paywall, no ads and no account. Every feature is free, including the ones other gym apps charge for. Your training data never leaves your iPhone: there's no sign-up, no server and no tracking. WHY MONK • Free forever: unlimited routines, full stats, PRs, charts and calculators • Local-only: your workouts are stored on your device, not in someone's cloud • Works offline: in a basement gym with no signal, everything still works • No account: open the app and start lifting LOG A SET IN ONE TAP • Last session's weights and reps are filled in, so most sets take one tap • Progressive overload built in: each workout is pre-filled with your next target, one more rep or the next weight step, with an automatic deload when you stall • Warm-up, drop and failure sets, plus optional RPE • Supersets, exercise notes and sticky notes that show up every session • Add a belt or vest to dips, pull-ups and any bodyweight exercise • Rest timer that starts automatically, with a Live Activity on the Lock Screen and in the Dynamic Island • Choose your rest-timer sound; it plays over your music without pausing it • Kilograms or pounds, kilometres or miles, switchable at any time UNLIMITED ROUTINES • As many routines and folders as you want • Ready-made programs: 5×5, Push/Pull/Legs, Upper/Lower, Full Body • After a workout, save what you actually did back to the routine PROGRESS YOU CAN SEE • Body map showing which muscles you've trained • Estimated 1RM, heaviest weight, best set volume and rep records for every exercise • PR alerts mid-workout, and a feed of every record you've set • Weekly volume, sets per muscle group, muscle distribution and streaks • Monthly reports and a training calendar • Body weight, body fat and measurement tracking with charts APPLE HEALTH • Optional: save finished workouts to Apple Health, with estimated calories • Sync body weight both ways with the Health app 660+ EXERCISES • Illustrated exercise library with instructions • Filter by body part or equipment, or add your own BUILT-IN TOOLS • Plate calculator for any bar and plate set • Warm-up set generator • 1RM and rep-max calculator YOUR DATA, YOUR FILES • Import your history from a CSV export of your old workout app • Export to CSV, or back up everything to a single file you keep in Files or iCloud Drive • Delete the app and your data goes with it, so take a backup first No subscription. No in-app purchases. No ads. No account. Just lifting.

Screenshots

Explore the World by Bowflex4 screens
Monk4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is in-app purchases: Monk at none against Explore the World by Bowflex's 2. Monk also leads on update cadence (every 6 days vs every 5 months). Explore the World by Bowflex's advantage is device support (3 vs 1) and iOS requirement (13.0 vs 17.6). On price and ads 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. Explore the World by Bowflex sells 2 in-app purchases, starting at $9.99 per month. Monk asks for nothing beyond the download.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

Explore the World by Bowflex ships an update every 5 months, Monk every 6 days. The most recent releases landed on November 3, 2026 and November 10, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard4 real differences · 6 level
Explore the World by Bowflex versus Monk: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterExplore the World by BowflexMonk
PriceFreeFree
Rating2.1 (316 ratings) — better—
Positive reviews19.1% of reviews—
Number of ratings316 — better—
Update frequencyEvery 5 monthsEvery 6 days — better
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesYesNo — better
MonetizationSubscription—
DevicesiPhone, iPad, iPod — betteriPhone
Requires iOS13.0 — better17.6
Further details — not scored
Size71 MB30 MB
Age rating4+4+
DeveloperTreoJashith Vanam

Bugs and requests

Explore the World by Bowflex

Reported bugs

3 issues
  • App crashes frequently
  • Subscription issues and lack of support
  • Inaccurate data sync and reporting

Requested features

5 requests
  • Add more video routes and destinations
  • Improve data sync with Apple Health
  • Allow background mode and pause/resume
  • Integrate heart rate and cadence tracking
  • Add audio options like nature sounds

Monk

Not enough reviews yet to summarise bugs or requests.

In-app purchases

2 purchases

Explore the World by Bowflex

Subscriptions2
  • Monthly Subscription1 Month trial$9.991 Month
  • Annual Subscription$59.991 Year
None

Monk

No in-app purchases

Questions

Is Explore the World by Bowflex free?
Explore the World by Bowflex is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Is Monk free?
Monk is free to download, with no in-app purchases.
Do Explore the World by Bowflex or Monk have ads?
Neither Explore the World by Bowflex nor Monk shows ads.
Which is updated more often, Explore the World by Bowflex or Monk?
Explore the World by Bowflex ships an update every 5 months, and Monk every 6 days. Most recently, Explore the World by Bowflex was updated on November 3, 2026 and Monk on November 10, 2026.

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