Comparison

True Pace vs Pace Tools

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

Head to head
About

True Pace

Calculate your race finishing time with dynamic pacing strategies. Visualize your pace changes and plan your race with mile-by-mile notes. Share your race plans with friends or coaches.

Highlights
  • Calculate finishing times with variable paces
  • Compare different pacing strategies
  • Graphically visualize pace changes
  • Add mile-by-mile race notes
  • Share race plans via PDF or app-to-app
  • Supports 5K to marathon distances
Features
Read full description

Most pace calculators assume you’ll run the same pace for the entire race. Real races rarely work that way. True Pace helps you build a race plan with paces that can vary by mile or kilometer, so you can see how hills, fueling, fatigue, strategy, and late-race surges affect your finish time. With True Pace 4.5, race planning can also include the course itself. Choose from an included library of selected major race courses, see the course outline and elevation profile, and build a Course-aware pacing plan that adjusts your target splits for climbs and descents. For your own races, you can attach a GPX file to add a course outline, elevation details, and, when usable elevation data is available, Course-aware pacing. With True Pace you can: • Plan even, positive, negative, step-based, or Course-aware pacing strategies • Choose an included race course and start planning faster • Import GPX files for custom race courses • See course outlines, elevation profiles, total gain/loss, and per-split elevation • Adjust individual miles or kilometers • Send your race or training-run pace targets to the Workout app on Apple Watch • Compare different race plans without starting over • Account for hills, water stops, fueling, and key course landmarks • See your pacing plan visually with an interactive Paceline graph • Add notes to any split • Export or print race plans as PDFs • Share saved races with friends, coaches, or other True Pace users • Plan common race distances including 5K, 10K, 10 mile, half marathon, marathon, and custom distances Course-Aware Pacing Course-aware pacing starts with your flat-equivalent pace, then adjusts your split targets based on the course profile. Use it to understand where a hilly course may naturally slow you down, where descents may help, and how those changes affect your estimated finish time. Course Profiles Included race courses can show the shape of the course, elevation gain and loss, and elevation details for each split. If you are planning a local race, trail race, or any event that is not in the included library, you can attach a GPX file from Files. Pacing Strategies True Pace makes it easy to test different ways to run the same race. Want to know what happens if you run steady through mile 20, then pick up the pace for the final 10K? Want to compare that against starting more conservatively and getting faster every few miles? True Pace lets you build, duplicate, and adjust those plans with very little data entry. Paceline The Paceline graph gives you a quick visual view of how your pace changes over the course of the race. For races with course data, you can also show elevation on the graph, then swipe across it to inspect individual splits and understand exactly where your plan gets faster, slower, climbs, or descends. Race Notes Add notes to any mile or kilometer so your plan includes more than numbers. Mark climbs, turns, water stops, gels, landmarks, or reminders for the moments you know will matter. Sharing and Printing Saved races can be shared with other True Pace users, sent to friends or coaches, exported as PDFs, or printed for race day. True Pace was built by an independent runner who wanted a better way to plan races than spreadsheets and generic calculators. You can use the app for free, with a one-time purchase available if you want to save unlimited races.

About

Pace Tools

Calculate running paces, track split times, and monitor personal bests. This tool helps athletes of all levels analyze performance and achieve training goals with customizable features and event history.

Highlights
  • Flexible pace and time input
  • Calculate split times
  • Compare team split times
  • Generate pacing tables
  • Track personal bests
  • View event history
  • Filter personal bests by date
Features
Read full description

Elevate your running experience with the ultimate pace calculator and personal best tracker! Whether you are a coach, beginner or a seasoned track or road athlete, Pace Tools is designed to help you achieve your training and racing goals and keep track of your progress with ease. Key Features: - Flexible Entry: Input any distance and time to calculate your pace effortlessly. - Split Times: Calculate split times for any distance based on your selected pace, ensuring you stay on track during your runs. - Teams: Calculate and compare split times across multiple athletes. - Distance Pacing Tables: create tables based on total time, pace per mile, or pace per km - Personal Bests: Track your personal bests for all distances and celebrate your achievements. - Event History: View a detailed history of your events for each distance, allowing you to analyze your performance over time. - Date Range Filter: Filter your personal bests within specific date ranges to see your progress in a given period. - Customizable Distances: Customize the list of distances used throughout the app to fit your training needs. Stay motivated and improve your running performance with Pace Tools. Take the next step towards your next personal best! Pace Tools was built and is supported by an independent developer and endurance athlete. Feedback and new feature ideas are always welcome. Let's Go!

Screenshots

True Pace4 screens
Pace Tools4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is rating: Pace Tools at 5.0 against True Pace's 4.3. Pace Tools also leads on update cadence (every 4 days vs every 3 weeks) and iOS requirement (17.4 vs 26.0). On price, ratings volume, 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. True Pace sells 1 one-off in-app purchase and Pace Tools sells 5 one-off in-app purchases. Whichever you choose, the download price is not the number that matters.

ReceptionRating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings

Pace Tools holds the better App Store score, 5.0 against 4.3. Both are backed by a comparable volume of ratings — 3 and 3 respectively.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

True Pace ships an update every 3 weeks, Pace Tools every 4 days. The most recent releases landed on November 3, 2026 and October 30, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard3 real differences · 7 level
True Pace versus Pace Tools: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterTrue PacePace Tools
PriceFreeFree
Rating4.3 (3 ratings)5.0 (3 ratings) — better
Positive reviews100.0% of reviews—
Number of ratings33
Update frequencyEvery 3 weeksEvery 4 days — better
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesYesYes
MonetizationFree with in-app purchasesFree with in-app purchases
DevicesiPhone, iPadiPhone, iPad
Requires iOS26.017.4 — better
Further details — not scored
Size18 MB2 MB
Age rating4+4+
DeveloperJosh AdamsJay Levy

Customer experience

True Pace

All ratings3 ratings
Positive100.0%
Neutral0.0%
Negative0.0%
Written reviews1 reviews
Positive100.0%
Neutral0.0%
Negative0.0%

Pace Tools

All ratings2 ratings
Positive100.0%
Neutral0.0%
Negative0.0%

In-app purchases

1 purchases

True Pace

One-time1
  • Unlock the full app$3.99
5 purchases

Pace Tools

One-time5
  • Zone 1: Warm-Up$2.99
  • Zone 2: Base Builder$4.99
  • Zone 3: Tempo Time$7.99
Show 2 more
  • Zone 4: Threshold Push$9.99
  • Zone 5: Sprint to Glory$14.99

Questions

Is True Pace free?
True Pace is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Is Pace Tools free?
Pace Tools is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Which has better reviews, True Pace or Pace Tools?
Pace Tools is rated higher. True Pace averages 4.3 out of 5 from 3 ratings, while Pace Tools averages 5.0 from 3 ratings.
Do True Pace or Pace Tools have ads?
Neither True Pace nor Pace Tools shows ads.
Which is updated more often, True Pace or Pace Tools?
True Pace ships an update every 3 weeks, and Pace Tools every 4 days. Most recently, True Pace was updated on November 3, 2026 and Pace Tools on October 30, 2026.

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