Comparison

The Pole Barn vs Coached Run

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

Head to head
About

The Pole Barn

Features
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This apps allows all clients of The Pole Barn to check in for a class. Further one can view class schedule, their purchase history and previous class check in, It also allows one to purchase a class membership, appointment or sign up for a workshop. New users can also register themselves using the app.

About

Coached Run

Features
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A running coach in your ear. Live. Over your own music or podcast. Coached Run guides you through the session by voice, so you can put the phone in your pocket and just run. The coach calls out what is happening, when each block starts and ends, when to push and when to ease off, and how far you have come. DYNAMIC SESSIONS, BUILT AUTOMATICALLY Pick a session type and duration between 20 and 60 minutes. The app composes it on the fly, tailored to your choice. Session types: - Easy runs - Long reps (6 minutes) - Medium reps (3 minutes) - Short reps (1 minute) - 30/30 intervals - Pyramid - Ladder - Fartlek (variable intervals called live by the coach) OUTDOORS OR TREADMILL, BY TIME OR BY DISTANCE The coach knows where you are. Outdoors you get splits every kilometre and a halfway turnaround. Reps run in minutes or in metres, from 400 up to 1,600, with mile equivalents if you prefer them. BUILD YOUR OWN SESSION If none of the ones the app brings suits you, My plan lets you pick the warm-up, how long each rep lasts, how many of them, the rest in between and the cool-down. Give it a name and it sits in Your plans, ready to run again. PICK YOUR COACH There are six, each with a voice and a way of talking to you. In English you run with Sarah, who is steady and to the point, with Mike, who is loud and locked in, or with Iris, the warmest of the three and the one to start with. In Spanish there are Diego, MarΓ­a and Luis. The free version gives you the coach for your language and full access opens all of them. THE COACH SEES YOUR HEART RATE If you wear an Apple Watch or any Bluetooth heart rate monitor, the coach uses it while you run. It tells you when you are above or below what the rep asks for, when you are not recovering between reps and, at the end, how many beats you dropped in that first minute. ON YOUR APPLE WATCH Carry the session on your wrist. You see the block you are in, what is left of it and your heart rate, and from there you pause, skip a block or finish without taking the phone out. The watch records the workout into Apple Health with its heart rate, calories and distance. TRACK YOUR FITNESS There is a twelve-minute test with no fast running in it. Repeat it every six weeks and see where you stand. The app also gives you a fitness score from 0 to 100 that puts together how much you run, how often you go out, how far your heart rate drops when you stop and where it sits at rest. It is calibrated against what someone genuinely fit runs, so climbing takes work, and you can open it to see what it is made of and what to move to improve it. If you use Apple Health, the app also looks at how you slept before suggesting today's session. WARM UP AND STRETCH Seven minutes of active warm up before you run and seven minutes of stretching afterwards, guided by voice and with an illustration for every exercise. OVER YOUR OWN MUSIC OR PODCAST The coach lowers the volume of your music the second before speaking, then hands it right back. Your Spotify playlist or podcast never stops. Compatible with Spotify (free and Premium) and any other audio playing on your device. ALONGSIDE WHAT YOU ALREADY USE You do not have to drop your running app. Coached Run keeps its own history and charts, and adds a coach in your ear on top of everything you already have. PRIVACY No account. No analytics. No tracking. Every voice clip and every session runs entirely on your iPhone. What the app reads from Apple Health stays on the phone, and so do your Spotify login and your location data if you run by distance. REQUIREMENTS iOS 16 or later. iPhone. Headphones recommended. The download is free and comes with 3 full sessions to try. After that, a single payment unlocks everything, with no subscription.

Screenshots

The Pole Barn4 screens
Coached Run4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is update cadence: Coached Run at every 5 days against The Pole Barn's every 16 months. The Pole Barn's advantage is iOS requirement (13.0 vs 16.0). On price, ads, in-app purchases and device support there is nothing between them.

Scored on Price Β· Rating Β· Positive reviews Β· Number of ratings Β· Update frequency Β· Ads Β· In-app purchases Β· Monetization Β· Best chart rank Β· Devices Β· Requires iOS

CostPrice Β· In-app purchases Β· Ads Β· Monetization

Both are free to download. Neither carries in-app purchases, so what you see is what you pay.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

The Pole Barn ships an update every 16 months, Coached Run every 5 days. The most recent releases landed on September 17, 2026 and October 14, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard2 real differences Β· 4 level
The Pole Barn versus Coached Run: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterThe Pole BarnCoached Run
PriceFreeFree
Update frequencyEvery 16 monthsEvery 5 days β€” better
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesNoNo
DevicesiPhone, iPodiPhone, iPad, Apple Watch β€” better
Requires iOS13.0 β€” better16.0
Further details β€” not scored
Size22 MB109 MB
Age rating4+4+
DeveloperApex Global SolutionsLuis Carvajal Hoyos

In-app purchases

None

The Pole Barn

No in-app purchases

None

Coached Run

No in-app purchases

Questions

Is The Pole Barn free?
The Pole Barn is free to download, with no in-app purchases.
Is Coached Run free?
Coached Run is free to download, with no in-app purchases.
Do The Pole Barn or Coached Run have ads?
Neither The Pole Barn nor Coached Run shows ads.
Which is updated more often, The Pole Barn or Coached Run?
The Pole Barn ships an update every 16 months, and Coached Run every 5 days. Most recently, The Pole Barn was updated on September 17, 2026 and Coached Run on October 14, 2026.

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