The Program by Bandit Running vs Run Joy
Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both apps, side by side — with what reviewers say about each.
The Program by Bandit Running
This app offers a free guided training experience for marathon and half marathon runners. It generates personalized training plans based on your race, goal time, and weekly mileage. Get instant answers to training questions with the integrated coach feature.
- Free guided training plans
- Marathon and half marathon focus
- Personalized plan generation
- Interactive training schedule
- Instant coach answers
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The Program is a 100% free guided training experience for marathons and half marathons powered by Bandit Running. Select your race, goal finish time, and weekly mileage, and an interactive training plan will be automatically generated for you. Plus, access Coach for instant answers to all your fundamental training questions.
Run Joy
This app helps you plan and track your running workouts to achieve your fitness goals. It offers personalized training plans, interval training support, and detailed analysis of your pace, distance, and calories burned. Ideal for both beginners and experienced runners preparing for races or maintaining fitness.
- GPS running tracker
- Interval training support
- Personalized training plans
- Pace, distance, and calorie analysis
- Half-Marathon preparation tools
- Intuitive analytics
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RunJoy — Your Perfect Running Companion! Plan your workouts, track your runs, and achieve your best results with RunJoy. The app supports interval training, provides tailored plans for beginners and advanced runners, and helps you monitor pace, distance, calories, and progress. Perfect for marathon preparation or maintaining top physical shape. Key Features: • GPS running tracker • Interval training support • Personalized training plans • Pace, distance, and calorie analysis • Half-Marathon preparation tools • Simple and intuitive analytics Should you choose to upgrade to a Premium Membership, payment will be charged to your iTunes account at confirmation of purchase. Subscription prices are shown in the app before purchase and may vary by location. Your subscription renews automatically unless cancelled at least 24 hours prior to the end of the current period and cancellation of the current active subscription period is not allowed. Auto-renewal may be turned off in your Account Settings in iTunes after purchase. You can also manage your subscriptions in Account Settings after purchase. Terms of use: http://appbysnap.tilda.ws/terms The application supports Health app: At your request, the data on completed training will be automatically added to the Health app. Start running with RunJoy today!
Screenshots
Verdict
The clearest difference is rating: The Program by Bandit Running at 3.9 against Run Joy's 1.0. The Program by Bandit Running also leads on in-app purchases (none vs 3) and ratings volume (115 vs 2). Run Joy's advantage is review sentiment (85% vs 73%). On price, update cadence, ads and device support 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. Run Joy sells 3 in-app purchases, starting at $4.99 per month. The Program by Bandit Running asks for nothing beyond the download.
The Program by Bandit Running holds the better App Store score, 3.9 against 1.0. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: The Program by Bandit Running has 115 ratings behind it against 2, so its average is the more settled of the two. Written reviews complicate that: 73% of The Program by Bandit Running's written reviews are positive against 85% of Run Joy's, so the app with the better star average is not the one people write more warmly about.
The Program by Bandit Running ships an update every 2 weeks, Run Joy every 3 weeks. The most recent releases landed on October 22, 2026 and October 20, 2026 respectively.
| Parameter | The Program by Bandit Running | Run Joy |
|---|---|---|
| Price | Free | Free |
| Rating | 3.9 (115 ratings) — better | 1.0 (2 ratings) |
| Positive reviews | 72.7% of reviews | 85.2% of reviews — better |
| Number of ratings | 115 — better | 2 |
| Update frequency | Every 2 weeks — better | Every 3 weeks |
| Ads | No | No |
| In-app purchases | No — better | Yes |
| Monetization | Free — better | Free with in-app purchases |
| Devices | iPhone | iPhone, Apple Watch — better |
| Requires iOS | 16.4 — better | 17.0 |
| Further details — not scored | ||
| Size | 31 MB | 37 MB |
| Age rating | 4+ | 4+ |
| Developer | Bandit Running | Alexander Senin |
Customer experience
The Program by Bandit Running
Run Joy
Bugs and requests
The Program by Bandit Running
Reported bugs
3 issues- Login screen freezes
- Incompatible with older devices
- Account creation problems
Requested features
2 requests- Dark mode option
- Advanced analytics dashboard
Run Joy
Not enough reviews yet to summarise bugs or requests.
In-app purchases
The Program by Bandit Running
No in-app purchases
Run Joy
- Run PRO for a Month7 Days trial$4.991 Month
- Run PRO for a Year7 Days trial$29.991 Year
- Tip developer$0.99
Questions
Is The Program by Bandit Running free?
Is Run Joy free?
Which has better reviews, The Program by Bandit Running or Run Joy?
Do The Program by Bandit Running or Run Joy have ads?
Which is updated more often, The Program by Bandit Running or Run Joy?
Other comparisons
