# Rowing Workout vs Norwegian 4x4 Protocol

The clearest difference is ratings volume: Rowing Workout at 214 against Norwegian 4x4 Protocol's 66. On price, rating, review sentiment and update cadence there is nothing between them.

Both are free to download. Rowing Workout sells 4 in-app purchases, starting at $1.99 per month and Norwegian 4x4 Protocol sells 2 in-app purchases, starting at $8.99 per 7 days. Whichever you choose, the download price is not the number that matters.

On the App Store both sit at effectively the same score — 4.6 for Rowing Workout against 4.7 for Norwegian 4x4 Protocol. Both are backed by a comparable volume of ratings — 214 and 66 respectively. Written reviews are what separate them: 69% of Rowing Workout's written reviews are positive against 75% of Norwegian 4x4 Protocol's.

Rowing Workout ships an update every 2 weeks, Norwegian 4x4 Protocol fortnightly. The most recent releases landed on October 24, 2026 and October 21, 2026 respectively.

## The numbers

| Metric | Rowing Workout | Norwegian 4x4 Protocol |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Price | Free | Free |
| Rating | [4.6 (214 ratings)](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/rowing-workout/id6470894043/reviews) | **[4.7 (66 ratings)](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/norwegian-4x4-protocol-boreas/id6751464534/reviews)** |
| Number of ratings | **214** | 66 |
| Positive reviews | 68.7% of reviews | **75.0% of reviews** |
| In-app purchases | Yes | Yes |
| Ads | No | No |
| Update frequency | Every 2 weeks | **Fortnightly** |
| Monetization | Freemium | Freemium |
| Size | 41 MB | 9 MB |
| Requires iOS | 17.0 | **16.6** |
| Devices | iPhone, Apple Watch | **iPhone, iPad, Apple Watch** |
| Age rating | 4+ | 4+ |
| Developer | [Christoph Gogolin](https://appshunter.io/developer/511901280) | [Havard Tryman](https://appshunter.io/developer/1662964293) |

## What reviewers say

### 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


### Norwegian 4x4 Protocol

[App page](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/norwegian-4x4-protocol-boreas/id6751464534)

This app guides you through the Norwegian 4x4 interval training protocol to improve your VO2 max and cardiovascular fitness. It offers customizable warm-up and cooldown durations, voice guidance for intervals, and integrates with Apple Watch for heart rate and calorie tracking.

**Highlights:** Norwegian 4x4 workouts, Voice guidance for intervals, Apple Watch heart rate tracking, Calorie tracking, Save workouts to Health app, No sign-in required

**Features:** macOS Compatibility, Apple Watch app, Vision Pro support

**In-app purchases (2)**

| Purchase | Price | Billing |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Pro | $8.99 | per 7 days |
| Pro | $24.99 | per year |


## Frequently asked questions

### Is Rowing Workout free?

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

### Is Norwegian 4x4 Protocol free?

Norwegian 4x4 Protocol is free to download, with in-app purchases available.

### Which has better reviews, Rowing Workout or Norwegian 4x4 Protocol?

Norwegian 4x4 Protocol is rated higher. Rowing Workout averages 4.6 out of 5 from 214 ratings, while Norwegian 4x4 Protocol averages 4.7 from 66 ratings.

### Do Rowing Workout or Norwegian 4x4 Protocol have ads?

Neither Rowing Workout nor Norwegian 4x4 Protocol shows ads.

### Which is updated more often, Rowing Workout or Norwegian 4x4 Protocol?

Rowing Workout ships an update every 2 weeks, and Norwegian 4x4 Protocol fortnightly. Most recently, Rowing Workout was updated on October 24, 2026 and Norwegian 4x4 Protocol on October 21, 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.*