RaceJoy vs Final Surge
Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both apps, side by side — with what reviewers say about each.
RaceJoy
Enhance your race day experience with real-time GPS tracking, progress alerts, and motivational cheers for participants and spectators. Offers live tracking for events and training, with features like progress updates and photo sharing.
- Live GPS phone tracking
- Send-a-Cheer motivational audio
- NearMe participant alerts
- MeetUp tool for location sharing
- Automatic progress postings
- Scored race results
- Official race photos
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RaceJoy is created specifically for running, cycling and triathlon events with a focus on the participant and spectator experience. Features vary by event and include live phone tracking, progress alerts, results, race information, photos, Send-a-Cheer and much more! There are two distinct experiences in RaceJoy: -Featured Events -Training Days Featured Events (shown with the Event Logo): These are events that have contracted with RaceJoy to provide a premium experience for participants and spectators. Features are free and provided by the event or sponsor(s). Features included: -Live GPS, phone tracking on the course map. -Send-a-Cheer! (fun motivational audio clips). -NearMe alerts (spectators and waiting relay teams get an alert when a participant is drawing near). -MeetUp tool for seeing where you are in relation to a participant. -Automatic Progress Postings to Twitter (with your approval, of course!). The following features may be provided by the event: -Scored Race Results within moments of crossing the finish line. -Essential race information like schedules, FAQs, race news, and more. -Your official race photos. -Optional Tracking with Progress Alerts: Some events offer BIBTAG tracking in addition to PhoneTrak. For these events there is no need to carry your phone as this is based on the participant’s BIB/chip as they cross over timing points on the course. Training Days This area enables athletes to have their friends and family track their progress live on a map and send motivational cheers during long training runs or rides. All PhoneTrak features are available in Training Days, along with special motivational cheers to help you through those tough moments. Training Days is a free always available area for your long training days. Based on our privacy policy you must setup a special tracking ID (PIN) with profile name and provide that to friends and family tracking you on your Training Days. Add a Race? If you would like a race to offer the full featured experience with official race progress alerts and results, please let the race director know about RaceJoy. Battery Usage RaceJoy’s live phone tracking feature is ONLY activated during the hours of the event. When using Training Days, the athlete turns on/off tracking as needed. Use of this GPS technology running in the background can dramatically decrease battery life. You may disable this under settings at anytime during the event to conserve battery life if needed. Feedback and Support We hope you enjoy using RaceJoy! Please share your experience in the App store to encourage others to try it out. If you have had any issues, or have feedback or ideas, please help us to improve the experience by contacting us at support@racejoy.com. RaceJoy is created by a small family business and is dedicated to changing the race experience.
Final Surge
This app helps endurance athletes, runners, cyclists, and triathletes manage their training. It offers features for planning, tracking workouts, and communicating with coaches or teams. Premium subscriptions unlock advanced analytics and tools.
- Dark Theme & Custom Icons
- Dynamic Font & Navigation
- Calendar Date Range & Labels
- Training Plan Management
- HRV & Morning Readiness (Premium)
- Route Builder (Premium)
- Apple Health & Wahoo Integration
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Introducing Final Surge 4.0 – Train with a Purpose. With our biggest update yet, Final Surge is here to help you reach your goals, whether you're a seasoned runner, triathlete, cyclist, endurance athlete, or just starting your fitness journey. If you work with a coach, club, or team, or you train on your own using a training plan, Final Surge has robust features to ensure your training is efficient and tailored to your needs. Final Surge is compatible with many GPS watches, cycling computers, and other with various devices. What's New: -Dark Theme & Custom App Icons: Discover the beauty of contrast and depth with our Dark Theme. -Dynamic Font Size: Adjust the size of the app text based on your preferences, ensuring optimal readability. -Dynamic Navigation: Adjust and customize your navigation panel based on your preferences. -Calendar Date Range & Labels: The enhanced calendar allows for range selection, providing quick features like adding date range labels or clearing specific training days. -Training Plan Management: Edit, add, move, and remove workouts from your personal calendar, team calendar, or a specific athlete's calendar. What's New for Athletes: -Subscribe to Athlete Premium and unlock additional features such as HRV & Morning Readiness, Weather & Forecasts, Partner Discounts, Route Builder and more! -Apple Health Integration: Sync your fitness workouts, vitals data, and completed workouts to and from your Apple watch. -Wahoo Integration: Sync planned structured workouts to your Wahoo devices, and sync completed workouts from Wahoo to Final Surge. -Widgets: Choose from various widgets to view your upcoming workouts and fitness data from your home screen. -Time Zone Auto Adjustments: Whenever you travel, we detect and align your workouts to your new time zone seamlessly. What's New for Coaches: -New Coach's experience within the app to make it more efficient and coach-friendly. -Manage athlete and team calendar settings. -Update structured workout settings within the app. -Access to Athlete Notebook. Training Made Easy: -Quickly access today's workout on your iPhone or Apple Watch. -Push structured workouts to your Apple Watch, and let Siri guide you through each step of the workout. -Create a custom training plan or utilize one of the hundreds available online at FinalSurge.com. -Build a workout library to create training schedules effortlessly. -Get a Weekly Snapshot of your fitness summary at a glance. -Keep tabs on the mileage you're putting on your gear. Teams & Clubs: -Athlete and coach communication through post-activity comments, workout feel, and pain and injury reports. -Post activities to the Social Wall to stay accountable and celebrate progress with teammates. -Coaches can manage training plans, schedule group runs, and track athletes and team progression.
Screenshots
Verdict
The clearest difference is update cadence: Final Surge at every 2 weeks against RaceJoy's every 2 months. RaceJoy's advantage is ratings volume (1.6K vs 121). On price, rating, review sentiment 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
Both are free to download. RaceJoy sells 10 one-off in-app purchases and Final Surge sells 2 in-app purchases, starting at $9.99 per month. Whichever you choose, the download price is not the number that matters.
On the App Store both sit at effectively the same score — 3.9 for RaceJoy against 3.8 for Final Surge. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: RaceJoy has 1.6K ratings behind it against 121, so its average is the more settled of the two. Written reviews are what separate them: 53% of RaceJoy's written reviews are positive against 51% of Final Surge's.
RaceJoy ships an update every 2 months, Final Surge every 2 weeks. The most recent releases landed on September 22, 2026 and September 21, 2026 respectively.
| Parameter | RaceJoy | Final Surge |
|---|---|---|
| Price | Free | Free |
| Rating | 3.9 (1.6K ratings) — better | 3.8 (121 ratings) |
| Positive reviews | 53.2% of reviews — better | 51.1% of reviews |
| Number of ratings | 1.6K — better | 121 |
| Update frequency | Every 2 months | Every 2 weeks — better |
| Ads | No | No |
| In-app purchases | Yes | Yes |
| Monetization | Free with in-app purchases | Free with in-app purchases |
| Devices | iPhone, iPad | iPhone, iPad, iPod — better |
| Requires iOS | 16.6 | 15.0 — better |
| Further details — not scored | ||
| Size | 67 MB | 160 MB |
| Age rating | 4+ | 4+ |
| Developer | TriPerta LLC | Final Surge |
Customer experience
RaceJoy
Final Surge
Bugs and requests
RaceJoy
Reported bugs
4 issues- Tracking stops working mid-race
- App crashes frequently
- Inaccurate distance and pace tracking
- Notifications and updates delayed or not received
Requested features
4 requests- Automatic start/stop tracking
- Ability to view cheers after the race
- Integration with other fitness apps and devices
- More customization options for spectators
Final Surge
Not enough reviews yet to summarise bugs or requests.
In-app purchases
RaceJoy
- RaceJoy Phone Fun-Tracking$0.99
- RaceJoy Phone Fun-26.2 with DONNA$0.99
- RaceJoy Phone Fun-Cherry Blossom$0.99
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- RaceJoy Phone Fun-Pittsburgh Marathon$0.99
- RaceJoy Phone Fun-Glass City Marathon$0.99
- RaceJoy PhoneTrak-Vermont City Marathon$0.99
- PhoneTrak-Glass City Marathon$0.99
- PhoneTrak-Zions Bank Ogden Marathon$0.99
- PhoneTrak-Kentucky Derby Marathon Festival$0.99
- PhoneTrak-Burning River$0.99
Final Surge
- Final Surge Premium7 Days trial$9.991 Month
- Athlete Premium7 Days trial$99.991 Year
Questions
Is RaceJoy free?
Is Final Surge free?
Which has better reviews, RaceJoy or Final Surge?
Do RaceJoy or Final Surge have ads?
Which is updated more often, RaceJoy or Final Surge?
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