# Coxwain vs Rowing Workout

The clearest difference is in-app purchases: Coxwain at none against Rowing Workout's 4. Coxwain also leads on review sentiment (100% vs 68%) and rating (5.0 vs 4.6). Rowing Workout's advantage is ratings volume (208 vs 2). On price, update cadence, ads and device support there is nothing between them.

Both are free to download. Rowing Workout sells 4 in-app purchases, starting at $1.99 per month. Coxwain asks for nothing beyond the download.

Coxwain holds the better App Store score, 5.0 against 4.6. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: Rowing Workout has 208 ratings behind it against 2, so its average is the more settled of the two. Written reviews point the same way: 100% of Coxwain's written reviews are positive against 68% of Rowing Workout's.

Coxwain ships an update every 2 weeks, Rowing Workout every 3 weeks. The most recent releases landed on July 9, 2026 and September 23, 2026 respectively.

## The numbers

| Metric | Coxwain | Rowing Workout |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Price | Free | Free |
| Rating | **[5.0 (2 ratings)](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/coxwain/id1597101340/reviews)** | [4.6 (208 ratings)](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/rowing-workout/id6470894043/reviews) |
| Number of ratings | 2 | **208** |
| Positive reviews | **100.0% of reviews** | 68.2% of reviews |
| In-app purchases | **No** | Yes |
| Ads | No | No |
| Update frequency | **Every 2 weeks** | Every 3 weeks |
| Monetization | **Free** | Freemium |
| Size | 2 MB | 39 MB |
| Requires iOS | **15.0** | 17.0 |
| Devices | **iPhone, iPad, iPod** | iPhone, Apple Watch |
| Age rating | 4+ | 4+ |
| Developer | [TANKTES MAKINA IMALAT VE MUHENDISLIK HIZMETLERI SANAYI VE TICARET LIMITED SIRKETI](https://appshunter.io/developer/1597101342) | [Christoph Gogolin](https://appshunter.io/developer/511901280) |

## What reviewers say

### Coxwain

[App page](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/coxwain/id1597101340)

This app assists users in tracking their running pace and can act as a virtual pacer using audio cues. It's designed to help athletes monitor their performance during workouts.

**Highlights:** Pace measurement, Audio pacing, Workout tracking, Performance monitoring

**Features:** macOS Compatibility

**In-app purchases:** none


### Rowing Workout

[App page](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/rowing-workout/id6470894043)

Track your indoor rowing sessions with detailed stroke analysis and real-time progress monitoring. Compete with yourself and others on leaderboards, and seamlessly export your data to popular fitness platforms.

**Highlights:** Precise stroke and distance tracking, Real-time iPhone display of metrics, Automatic workout pause/resume, GameCenter leaderboards and challenges, Export to Strava & Concept2 Logbook, Bluetooth connectivity for rowers, Detailed performance analytics (subscription)

**Features:** Apple Watch app

**In-app purchases (4)**

| Purchase | Price | Billing |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Pro - monthly | $1.99 | per month |
| All Pro features (monthly) | $1.99 | per month |
| Pro yearly | $12.99 | per year |
| All Pro features (yearly) | $19.99 | per year |

**What reviewers like**

- 👍 Clean, intuitive, Apple-like interface design
- 📊 Comprehensive rowing metrics and analytics
- ⌚ Excellent Apple Watch integration
- 🏥 Seamless Apple Health synchronization
- 🎮 Engaging gamification with Game Center leaderboards

**What reviewers complain about**

- 🐛 Frequent Bluetooth connectivity issues with rowers
- 🐛 Apple Watch syncing delays and failures
- ⚠️ Inaccurate stroke counting at low rowing speeds
- ⚠️ Inconsistent distance measurement recording
- 🐛 App lags 10-30 seconds behind watch display

**Reported bugs**

- Bluetooth connection drops between app and PM5/rowers
- Apple Watch connection failures and sync issues
- Stroke detection unreliable at slow rowing speeds
- Distance calculations significantly undercount actual distance
- Phone app metrics lag behind watch display

**Requested features**

- Support for additional rower types beyond PM5 (FTMS protocol support)
- Landscape orientation for iPhone app
- Strava integration and syncing
- Ability to edit distance in completed workouts
- Custom heart rate zone configuration


## Frequently asked questions

### Is Coxwain free?

Coxwain is free to download, with no in-app purchases.

### Is Rowing Workout free?

Rowing Workout is free to download, with in-app purchases available.

### Which has better reviews, Coxwain or Rowing Workout?

Coxwain is rated higher. Coxwain averages 5.0 out of 5 from 2 ratings, while Rowing Workout averages 4.6 from 208 ratings.

### Do Coxwain or Rowing Workout have ads?

Neither Coxwain nor Rowing Workout shows ads.

### Which is updated more often, Coxwain or Rowing Workout?

Coxwain ships an update every 2 weeks, and Rowing Workout every 3 weeks. Most recently, Coxwain was updated on July 9, 2026 and Rowing Workout on September 23, 2026.

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*Compared by [AppsHunter](https://appshunter.io/) from daily US App Store data. Review summaries are generated from verbatim App Store reviews.*