Comparison

True Pace vs PMPRunCal

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

PMPRunCal

This app helps serious runners and coaches improve performance with advanced training tools. It offers race time predictions, personalized training zones, and precision lap timing. Coaches can manage multiple athletes and track their progress effectively.

Highlights
  • Race Predictor using Riegel Power Law
  • VDOT Training Zones
  • Precision Lap Timer
  • Run History and PR logging
  • AI Coach for personalized advice
  • Individual Athlete Timers
  • Team Management for coaches
Features
Read full description

PMPRunCal is the training calculator built for serious runners — athletes and coaches who know that what gets measured gets improved. FOR ATHLETES • Race Predictor — estimate finish times for any distance using your real training data and the proven Riegel Power Law formula • VDOT Training Zones — personalized E, T, I, and R pace zones based on Jack Daniels' system • Lap Timer — precision split tracking for every workout • Run History — log every session, split, and PR • AI Coach — asks questions based on your actual run history to give personalized, science-based advice FOR COACHES • Individual Athlete Timers — time each athlete separately and simultaneously. No more juggling your phone between athletes • Team Management — manage your entire roster from one place • Athlete Progress Tracking — see every athlete's history, paces, and trends THE SCIENCE PMPRunCal's predictions use peer-reviewed formulas trusted by elite coaches: • Riegel's Power Law (1977) — race time predictions proven across distances • Jack Daniels' VDOT System — training zones calibrated to your real fitness PRO SUBSCRIPTION • Athlete Pro: $4.99/month — unlimited history, AI Coach, full analytics • Coach Pro: $9.99/month — all Athlete features + team management + individual athlete timers Subscriptions auto-renew unless cancelled. Manage in Settings > Apple ID > Subscriptions. ——— Athlete Pro and Coach Pro are auto-renewable monthly subscriptions. Payment is charged to your Apple Account; the subscription renews automatically unless canceled at least 24 hours before the end of the period. Manage or cancel anytime in your Apple Account settings. Terms of Use (EULA): https://www.apple.com/legal/internet-services/itunes/dev/stdeula/ Privacy Policy: https://pmprunning.com/en/privacy

Screenshots

True Pace4 screens
PMPRunCal4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is rating: PMPRunCal at 5.0 against True Pace's 4.3. PMPRunCal also leads on update cadence (every 5 days vs every 3 weeks) and iOS requirement (17.0 vs 26.0). True Pace's advantage is ratings volume (3 vs 1). On price, review sentiment, 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 PMPRunCal sells 2 in-app purchases, starting at $4.99 per month. Whichever you choose, the download price is not the number that matters.

ReceptionRating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings

PMPRunCal holds the better App Store score, 5.0 against 4.3. Both are backed by a comparable volume of ratings — 3 and 1 respectively. Written reviews split almost evenly too, at 100% and 100% positive.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

True Pace ships an update every 3 weeks, PMPRunCal every 5 days. The most recent releases landed on November 3, 2026 and November 5, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard4 real differences · 6 level
True Pace versus PMPRunCal: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterTrue PacePMPRunCal
PriceFreeFree
Rating4.3 (3 ratings)5.0 (1 ratings) — better
Positive reviews100.0% of reviews100.0% of reviews
Number of ratings3 — better1
Update frequencyEvery 3 weeksEvery 5 days — better
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesYesYes
MonetizationFree with in-app purchasesFreemium
DevicesiPhone, iPadiPhone, iPad
Requires iOS26.017.0 — better
Further details — not scored
Size18 MB22 MB
Age rating4+17+
DeveloperJosh AdamsHenri Pablo Forcella Quintero

Customer experience

True Pace

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

PMPRunCal

All ratings1 ratings
Positive100.0%
Neutral0.0%
Negative0.0%
Written reviews1 reviews
Positive100.0%
Neutral0.0%
Negative0.0%

In-app purchases

1 purchases

True Pace

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

PMPRunCal

Subscriptions2
  • Athlete Pro$4.991 Month
  • Coach Pro$9.991 Month

Questions

Is True Pace free?
True Pace is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Is PMPRunCal free?
PMPRunCal is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Which has better reviews, True Pace or PMPRunCal?
PMPRunCal is rated higher. True Pace averages 4.3 out of 5 from 3 ratings, while PMPRunCal averages 5.0 from 1 ratings.
Do True Pace or PMPRunCal have ads?
Neither True Pace nor PMPRunCal shows ads.
Which is updated more often, True Pace or PMPRunCal?
True Pace ships an update every 3 weeks, and PMPRunCal every 5 days. Most recently, True Pace was updated on November 3, 2026 and PMPRunCal on November 5, 2026.

Other comparisons