Comparison

Ski vs Virtual Backyard Ultra

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

Head to head
About

Ski

Enhance your indoor skiing performance with this comprehensive workout companion. Track every movement, set personal challenges, and gain detailed insights into your training. Seamlessly integrates with Apple Watch and iPhone for real-time stats and convenient control.

Highlights
  • Precise workout tracking
  • Personal best challenges
  • iPhone and Apple Watch integration
  • Convenient workout control
  • GameCenter leaderboards
  • Export to Strava & Concept2
  • Bluetooth SkiErg monitor connection
Features
Read full description

Reach your peak performance on the ski ergometer with Ski Workouts for Apple Watch. Ready to take your skiing training to the next level? The all-new Ski Workouts app for your Apple Watch is here! This isn’t just an app for tracking your workouts – it’s your ultimate companion for every glide and pull on the indoor ski ergometer. Features: Precise Tracking: Monitor every skiing session with pinpoint accuracy. The app captures your movements, calculates estimated distances, and provides detailed insights into your training. Track your daily or weekly meters skied and refine your technique with live feedback. Personal Challenges: Push your limits by competing against your personal bests. Share your progress, beat your records, and draw motivation from your training milestones. Seamless iPhone and Apple Watch Integration: While you train with your Apple Watch, your iPhone serves as a sleek, real-time display for all your key stats. Keep track of your activity rings, calories burned, heart rate, strokes per minute, speed, and more – all on your iPhone screen. Convenient Control: Start, pause, or stop your workout effortlessly from your iPhone or Apple Watch. Need a quick breather? Your workout will pause automatically and resume seamlessly when you’re ready. All your data is securely stored in HealthKit for a complete view of your fitness journey. GameCenter Integration: Compete with others on leaderboards for achievements like the fastest 1000m and 2000m times, the longest distance skied over 14 days, and more. Challenge friends or test yourself against the global best and celebrate your victories. NEW! Export your workouts to Strava & Concept2 Logbook Take your training data with you wherever you go. You can now export your completed workouts directly to Strava and the Concept2 Logbook—including distance, time, heart rate, and all essential metrics. Keep your progress synchronized across the platforms you love and stay motivated by tracking your achievements everywhere. Connect Your SkiErg Monitor via Bluetooth: Enjoy precise and detailed data tracking by pairing your SkiErg monitor with the app via Bluetooth. Access key metrics such as distance and stroke rate with unparalleled accuracy. With this integration, the app works even without an Apple Watch – just connect your skiing machine and dive into your training. Introducing Optional Subscription Benefits: Detailed Analyses: Access in-depth performance insights with graphs and stats. Visualize metrics like strokes per minute, power output, and split times for a deeper understanding of your progress. Advanced Stats & Comparisons: Compare training sessions over time, track your improvement, and gain actionable insights to achieve your fitness goals. Download Ski Workouts now and start your journey to becoming a fitter, stronger skier – one stroke at a time! Be Aware: Ski Workouts requires an Apple Watch to track your movements and training data unless you connect an SkiErg with PM5 Monitor via Bluetooth. Health App Integrations: Ski Workouts integrates with the Health App (HealthKit) to display your calories burned, record your workouts, and monitor your heart rate in real-time. Privacy Policy: http://apps.gogolith.com/privacy Terms and Conditions: http://apps.gogolith.com/ski-terms

About

Virtual Backyard Ultra

Features
Read full description

Virtual Backyard Ultra turns the last-one-standing race format into something you can run solo, anywhere. The rules are simple. Every hour, on the hour, you run a "yard" — a set loop. Finish inside the hour and you earn a rest until the next one begins. Miss the cutoff and you're out. The last runner standing wins, so the only goal is one more yard. Virtual Backyard Ultra is your timekeeper and distance tracker for every yard: • Corral clock — a clear countdown to the top of the hour, with audio, haptic, and spoken cues at 3-2-1 and the starting bell. • GPS distance — track how far you cover each yard, with live distance-to-go and turnaround prompts on out-and-back courses. • Your format — set the yard distance, interval, and course type. The classic 4.167 mi per hour (24 yards = 100 miles) is one tap away. • Live Activity & Dynamic Island — keep the corral clock on your lock screen and in the Dynamic Island while you run. • Apple Watch — the corral clock on your wrist: the yard you're on, the countdown to the next bell, and your distance. It taps you at the bell, when you finish, and if you miss a corral. • Race resume — if the app goes down mid-race, from a crash or a force-quit, reopening it puts you straight back in with the clock where it should be. • History & personal best — every run is logged, with your longest streak front and center. • Export & share — save a finished run to Apple Health as a running workout, one segment per yard with your route, or export a .fit or .gpx file. Share a result card when you're done. • Screen-off friendly — distance keeps counting in your pocket, and the bell still rings. No account. No sign-up. Just you, the clock, and one more yard. Free to download.

Screenshots

Ski4 screens
Virtual Backyard Ultra4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is in-app purchases: Virtual Backyard Ultra at none against Ski's 2. Virtual Backyard Ultra also leads on update cadence (every 6 days vs every 2 weeks). On price, ads, device support and iOS requirement 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. Ski sells 2 in-app purchases, starting at $1.99 per month. Virtual Backyard Ultra asks for nothing beyond the download.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

Ski ships an update every 2 weeks, Virtual Backyard Ultra every 6 days. The most recent releases landed on November 4, 2026 and October 31, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard2 real differences · 8 level
Ski versus Virtual Backyard Ultra: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterSkiVirtual Backyard Ultra
PriceFreeFree
Rating4.0 (4 ratings) — better—
Positive reviews50.0% of reviews—
Number of ratings4 — better—
Update frequencyEvery 2 weeksEvery 6 days — better
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesYesNo — better
MonetizationFreemium—
DevicesiPhone, Apple WatchiPhone, Apple Watch
Requires iOS17.0 — better18.0
Further details — not scored
Size41 MB14 MB
Age rating4+4+
DeveloperChristoph GogolinCow Cow Technologies LLC

In-app purchases

2 purchases

Ski

Subscriptions2
  • All Pro features (monthly)$1.991 Month
  • All Pro features (yearly)7 Days trial$19.991 Year
None

Virtual Backyard Ultra

No in-app purchases

Questions

Is Ski free?
Ski is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Is Virtual Backyard Ultra free?
Virtual Backyard Ultra is free to download, with no in-app purchases.
Do Ski or Virtual Backyard Ultra have ads?
Neither Ski nor Virtual Backyard Ultra shows ads.
Which is updated more often, Ski or Virtual Backyard Ultra?
Ski ships an update every 2 weeks, and Virtual Backyard Ultra every 6 days. Most recently, Ski was updated on November 4, 2026 and Virtual Backyard Ultra on October 31, 2026.

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