Comparison

running.COACH vs Pacecraft

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

Head to head
About

running.COACH

Generate a personalized, dynamic running training plan for any runner, from beginner to pro. Adapt your workouts based on progress and choose your training goals. Connect with coaches and sync data from popular fitness trackers.

Highlights
  • Individualized training plans
  • Dynamic plan adaptation
  • Training by pace, heart rate, or power
  • Chat with a personal coach
  • Data sync with Garmin, Strava, Fitbit
  • GPS tracking and voice feedback
Features
Read full description

Individual and dynamic running training plan for runners of any level. The individual and dynamic training plan running app from running.COACH is your personal coach! No matter if you are a running beginner or a running pro, if you run a marathon, half marathon or any distance from 5000m to an ultra marathon. Do it like 150'000 other runners all over the world and join the running.COACH running community. "running.COACH" is the first running app that generates a personal running training plan that is tailored to you and your needs and dynamically adapts accordingly. You benefit from the experience of European champion Viktor Röthlin and world-class endurance athlete Mathias Kyburz. FEATURES OF YOUR RUNNING TRAINING PLAN - Individual training plan tailored to you. Workouts are analyzed by the system and adapted to reflect your progress as needed. - Choose your training days, your training goal (start running, general fitness or a target race) and your preparation races, if applicable. The plan is then personalized to you around your specifications. - Training according to pace, heart rate or power specifications (watts) - If needed: Special mountain running plans - Chat with your personal coach - Synchronization of training data from Garmin, Polar, Suunto, Strava, Fitbit etc. - Videos on strengthening, stabilization and fitness exercises COMPATIBLE DEVICES FOR THE TRANSMISSION OF WORKOUTS - Connect your account to other running platforms to automatically submit your workouts to running.COACH - Compatible with Garmin, Polar, Suunto, Strava, runkeeper, Fitbit, etc. SPORT & FITNESS TRACKER - Record your runs with the app - VoiceOver: Voice inputs from a coach during your workout with information about pace, duration, distance and lap times - and a few light-hearted sayings - Your smartphone becomes a GPS device This app integrates with the Health app. Running.COACH terms of use: https://runningcoach.me/en/pages/terms

About

Pacecraft

Features
Read full description

Pacecraft is a running coach that builds a training plan around your fitness and your race, then sends every session straight to your Apple Watch. It is free, there is no account to create, and your health data stays on your device. Most training plans treat every runner the same. Pacecraft starts from where you are today. It reads your recent runs and cardio fitness from Apple Health, works out your current fitness, and predicts your times from 5K to the marathon, with an honest range rather than a number designed to flatter you. BUILT AROUND YOUR RACE Choose your distance, date and goal, and Pacecraft builds a plan that fits the weeks you have left. Set a marathon, half marathon, 10K or 5K, and it structures the whole block for you, from easy running through threshold, intervals and long runs. STRAIGHT TO YOUR WATCH Every session arrives in the Workout app on your Apple Watch with its pace and heart rate targets already in place. Outside, it guides you on pace. On the treadmill, it switches to heart rate so the alerts stop fighting you. TRAINING THAT KNOWS THE COURSE Add the route for your race and Pacecraft reads its climbs, its descents and the short bridges that tend to arrive late on tired legs, then works the right preparation into your training so nothing on the day comes as a surprise. HONEST COACHING Pacecraft tracks your form, training load and recovery, and tells you plainly when to ease off. If your goal has drifted out of reach it will say so, rather than pretending everything is on track. As your fitness changes, it updates the paces for the sessions still to come, without touching the ones you have already run. FREE AND PRIVATE There is no account, no subscription and no adverts. Pacecraft runs on your device, and your health and training data never leaves it. Granting Apple Health access is optional. You can also enter a recent time by hand and use the plan without it. Pacecraft provides general training information and is not medical advice. Consult a qualified professional before starting or changing a training programme.

Screenshots

running.COACH4 screens
Pacecraft3 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is in-app purchases: Pacecraft at none against running.COACH's 2. running.COACH's advantage is device support (3 vs 1) and iOS requirement (15.1 vs 26.5). On price, update cadence and ads 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. running.COACH sells 2 in-app purchases, starting at $16.99 per month. Pacecraft asks for nothing beyond the download.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

running.COACH ships an update every 2 weeks, Pacecraft every 8 days. The most recent releases landed on October 15, 2026 and October 1, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard3 real differences · 7 level
running.COACH versus Pacecraft: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
Parameterrunning.COACHPacecraft
PriceFreeFree
Rating4.3 (29 ratings) — better—
Positive reviews80.0% of reviews—
Number of ratings29 — better—
Update frequencyEvery 2 weeksEvery 8 days — better
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesYesNo — better
MonetizationFree with in-app purchases—
DevicesiPhone, iPad, iPod — betteriPhone
Requires iOS15.1 — better26.5
Further details — not scored
Size166 MB4 MB
Age rating4+4+
DeveloperQuevita AGBarnaby Ritchley

In-app purchases

2 purchases

running.COACH

Subscriptions2
  • running.COACH Bronze$16.991 Month
  • running.COACH Bronze Yearly$179.991 Year
None

Pacecraft

No in-app purchases

Questions

Is running.COACH free?
running.COACH is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Is Pacecraft free?
Pacecraft is free to download, with no in-app purchases.
Do running.COACH or Pacecraft have ads?
Neither running.COACH nor Pacecraft shows ads.
Which is updated more often, running.COACH or Pacecraft?
running.COACH ships an update every 2 weeks, and Pacecraft every 8 days. Most recently, running.COACH was updated on October 15, 2026 and Pacecraft on October 1, 2026.

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