Comparison

Exercise Timer vs Cadence

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

Head to head
About

Exercise Timer

Create and guide custom interval training routines with this app. It supports timed and rep-based exercises, offers voice coaching, and logs your workout history with detailed analytics. Track progress over time and organize routines into training plans.

Highlights
  • Custom workout routines
  • Voice coach for next exercise
  • Timed and rep-based exercises
  • Workout logging and analytics
  • Training plans
  • Background operation
  • Apple Watch support
Features
Read full description

Create custom workout routines & let Exercise Timer guide you through your interval training. Exercise Timer supports both timed exercises and even reps-based exercises (press 'done' when exercise complete). Use Exercise Timer with your screen on or even in the background with your screen locked. Keep your phone in your pocket & Exercise Timer will still let you know which exercise is coming up by voice, vibration & bell. Keep a log of every workout along with an exercise breakdown & take notes. Know how much time you spend exercising with weekly, monthly & yearly charts. In addition to this, Exercise Timer generates reports of individual exercises with overall totals & Exercise Progression charts FEATURES • Create your custom workout routines • Voice Coach announces the next exercise • Optional Metronome to improve cadence • Multiple Bell Sounds • Group Exercises. E.g.: for Warm-Up/Cool-Down • Timed Exercises & Reps exercises supported • Color code your Exercises • Explain your exercises better with our library of exercise GIFs • Log & keep track of your workouts • Workout Analytics • Organize your workouts in Training Plans • Training plans designed by our fitness experts • Works in Background with device locked and screen off • Use Exercise Timer on your Apple Watch IDEAL FOR: • Interval Training, Tabata & Circuit Training • Yoga • Boxing • Keeping all your Workout Routines & Plans in one place • Gym Timer ARE YOU A FITNESS TRAINER? Create your Training Plans and workout routines in Exercise Timer and easily share them with your clients. APPLE WATCH Yes, Exercise Timer works on your Apple Watch! All your workouts are automatically synced on your Apple watch. Workouts performed on your apple watch are also logged on your phone. Download Exercise Timer Now and get moving! UNLOCK PREMIUM FEATURES Exercise Timer Premium is available with a monthly or annual subscription. If you choose to purchase Exercise Timer Premium, payment will be charged to your iTunes account, and your account will be charged for renewal 24-hours prior to the end of the current period. Your subscription will automatically renew unless cancelled at least 24hrs before the end of the current period. Subscriptions may be managed by the user and Auto-renewal may be turned off at any time by going to the ‘Manage Subscription’ page after purchase. Any unused portion of the free trial period, if offered, will be forfeited when the user purchases a subscription to that publication, where applicable. Terms of service: https://exercisetimer.net/terms Privacy policy: https://exercisetimer.net/privacypolicy

About

Cadence

This app helps movement instructors lead classes hands-free by syncing class timing, sequences, and cues to their Apple Watch. Build custom routines with detailed notes and transitions, and deliver polished sessions without needing to check your phone.

Highlights
  • Hands-free class leading
  • Apple Watch sync
  • Custom routine builder
  • At-a-glance timing
  • Tactile haptic cues
  • Custom form prompts
  • Offline class execution
Features
Read full description

Teach the room, not the clock. Cadence is the class timer for instructors. Pilates first, and just as at home in barre, yoga, HIIT, bootcamp, and personal training. Plan the flow once on iPhone, then teach it from your Apple Watch, your iPhone propped on the reformer, or an iPad the whole room can read. It shows the current move, your private cue, and what is next, and taps you before every transition. Your eyes stay on your clients. Plan the class once • Name each move, set the seconds, and add the coaching cue only you see. • Color-code warm-up, work, and cool-down so the runner reads at a glance. • Repeat a block for rounds, rest between them, and open with a Get Ready countdown (Cadence Pro). • Start from a template: a 45-minute reformer flow, a 50-minute mat class, a 30-minute private, a 45-minute barre class, Tabata, HIIT, a five-station circuit, EMOM. • Tag routines Mat, Reformer, Private, Barre, Yoga, HIIT, or Strength and filter the library by class format. • Duplicate and remix any routine. Bring in the plans you already have (Cadence Pro) • Paste straight from Google Sheets, Excel, Numbers, or Notes. Cadence reads the moves, times, and cues and shows you a review before anything is saved. • Open CSV and tab-separated files. • Send a routine to a colleague as a link or a CSV. They open it in Cadence. Nothing is uploaded anywhere. Teach from whatever is closest • Apple Watch: current move, countdown, up next, and step count, with a tap at every change and five seconds before it. Pause, skip, redo a step, or end early from your wrist. • iPhone: the same view, big enough to prop on the reformer. Focus mode strips it down to the move and the time. • iPad: turn it sideways for a studio display, countdown and cue on one side, the full routine on the other. • Lock the screen so a stray touch cannot skip a move. Hold to unlock. • The Lock Screen and Dynamic Island show the current step and countdown, with pause and skip buttons (Cadence Pro). Cues the way you want them, or not at all • Everything is silent until you turn it on. • Haptics, plus a chime, beep, or bell at each step, a warning near the end, and a finish tone. • Voice cues read the move and your coaching cue aloud (Cadence Pro). • Halfway cues for longer holds. • Keep running when locked, with play, pause, and skip from AirPods or the Lock Screen. • Music from other apps dips while a cue plays, then comes back. Quick Intervals on Apple Watch (Cadence Pro) Set work, rest, and rounds on your wrist and start without the phone. Compound routines (Cadence Pro) Chain a warm-up, a main block, and a cool-down into one class that runs start to finish. Siri and Shortcuts "Hey Siri, start Thursday Reformer in Cadence." Count classes, not minutes Cadence keeps a tally of the classes you teach and marks the milestones along the way: 10 classes, 100 classes, a 12-week streak. Four looks Choose the appearance that suits your studio, from a dark boutique look to a light serif one. Your Watch follows. Free and Pro Cadence is free with up to 2 active routines, templates, step colors, sound alerts, and headphone controls. Cadence Pro adds unlimited routines, archiving, import and export, rounds, share links, the Lock Screen timer, voice cues, compound routines, and Quick Intervals for $9.99 a month after a 7-day free trial, or $59.99 a year. Payment is charged to your Apple ID account at confirmation of purchase. The subscription renews automatically unless it is cancelled at least 24 hours before the end of the current period. Your account is charged for renewal within 24 hours before the end of the current period. Manage or cancel in your App Store account settings. Any unused portion of a free trial is forfeited when you purchase a subscription. Terms of Use: https://cadencetimer.ai/terms Privacy Policy: https://cadencetimer.ai/privacy Cadence sends anonymous usage analytics: no account, no name, nothing about your routines.

Screenshots

Exercise Timer4 screens
Cadence4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is review sentiment: Cadence at 100% against Exercise Timer's 73%. Cadence also leads on update cadence (weekly vs monthly) and rating (5.0 vs 4.8). Exercise Timer's advantage is ratings volume (1K vs 4). On price, ads, in-app purchases 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. Exercise Timer sells 3 in-app purchases, starting at $4.99 per month and Cadence sells 2 in-app purchases, starting at $9.99 per month. Whichever you choose, the download price is not the number that matters.

ReceptionRating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings

Cadence holds the better App Store score, 5.0 against 4.8. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: Exercise Timer has 1K ratings behind it against 4, so its average is the more settled of the two. Written reviews point the same way: 73% of Exercise Timer's written reviews are positive against 100% of Cadence's.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

Exercise Timer ships an update monthly, Cadence weekly. Both last shipped on October 29, 2026.

Scorecard4 real differences · 6 level
Exercise Timer versus Cadence: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterExercise TimerCadence
PriceFreeFree
Rating4.8 (1K ratings)5.0 (4 ratings) — better
Positive reviews73.2% of reviews100.0% of reviews — better
Number of ratings1K — better4
Update frequencyMonthlyWeekly — better
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesYesYes
MonetizationFreemiumFreemium
DevicesiPhone, iPad, Apple WatchiPhone, iPad, Apple Watch
Requires iOS1717.0
Further details — not scored
Size49 MB6 MB
Age rating4+4+
DeveloperNeurondigital LtdTrue AI Ventures

Customer experience

Exercise Timer

All ratings1,027 ratings
Positive95.9%
Neutral1.8%
Negative2.3%
Written reviews56 reviews
Positive73.2%
Neutral7.1%
Negative19.6%

Cadence

All ratings4 ratings
Positive100.0%
Neutral0.0%
Negative0.0%
Written reviews2 reviews
Positive100.0%
Neutral0.0%
Negative0.0%

Bugs and requests

Exercise Timer

Reported bugs

6 issues
  • Syncing issues with Apple Watch
  • Randomly locking users out and requiring upgrade
  • Deleting all routines after uninstalling
  • Exercises not updating properly on Apple Watch
  • Apple Watch app causing native exercise app to crash
Show 1 more
  • Phone locked, no chime when locked

Requested features

5 requests
  • Sync workouts across devices without logging out/in
  • Ability to duplicate workouts on iPhone
  • Search, sort, or reorder routines
  • Connect with Apple Health app
  • Shortcut/automation support

Cadence

Not enough reviews yet to summarise bugs or requests.

In-app purchases

3 purchases

Exercise Timer

Subscriptions2
  • Exercise Timer Premium Monthly3 Days trial$4.991 Month
  • Exercise Timer Premium Yearly3 Days trial$30.991 Year
One-time1
  • Exercise Timer Lifetime$69.99
2 purchases

Cadence

Subscriptions2
  • Cadence Pro7 Days trial$9.991 Month
  • Cadence Pro Yearly$59.991 Year

Questions

Is Exercise Timer free?
Exercise Timer is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Is Cadence free?
Cadence is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Which has better reviews, Exercise Timer or Cadence?
Cadence is rated higher. Exercise Timer averages 4.8 out of 5 from 1K ratings, while Cadence averages 5.0 from 4 ratings.
Do Exercise Timer or Cadence have ads?
Neither Exercise Timer nor Cadence shows ads.
Which is updated more often, Exercise Timer or Cadence?
Exercise Timer ships an update monthly, and Cadence weekly. Most recently, Exercise Timer was updated on October 29, 2026 and Cadence on October 29, 2026.

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