Comparison

Runbuds vs Gulpo

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

Head to head
About

Runbuds

This app allows you to run with friends in real-time, seeing each other's avatars on a virtual track. It includes a run tracker with lock screen support, group relay challenges, and detailed performance statistics with shareable visualizations.

Highlights
  • Real-time avatar tracking
  • Live lock screen activities
  • Group relay challenges
  • Detailed run statistics
  • Shareable run visualizations
Read full description

Runbuds is the social running app that is truly built for your friends first. /// THE TRACK /// ・ Your avatar moves around a physical track ・ Your friends move around the track with you ・ Pass (or get passed oh no !!!) by your friends /// LOG RUNS /// Our run tracker lets you choose between: ・ An in-app full screen view ・ Live activities on your lock screen /// GROUP RELAYS /// Run towards a shared goal: ・ Set a total distance target ・ Set a timeframe ・ Add your friends to the Relay ・ Run run run run run !!! /// BEAUTIFUL STATS & VISUALS /// ・ See beautiful visualizations of your past runs ・ Sort by date, pace, distance, or difficulty ・ Share images of your runs with your friends /// GET IN TOUCH /// ・ Hit us up with ANY feedback or requests !!! ・ Contact support@runbuds.app

About

Gulpo

This app helps you track your hydration by visualizing your progress and offering flexible logging methods. It accounts for water content in various beverages and adjusts goals based on factors like weather and workouts. Your data is kept private and synced via iCloud.

Highlights
  • Pace line visualization for hydration progress
  • Flexible logging: manual, voice, camera, bottle tracking
  • Accounts for water content in various beverages
  • Dynamic goal adjustment based on weather and workouts
  • Private data storage and iCloud syncing
Features
Read full description

Hydration is more than reaching a number. Gulpo helps you understand the pace behind it. The pace line shows where you could be by now, so you can see at a glance whether you’re on track, ahead, or falling behind. Tap it to see exactly how much. Log the way that feels natural. Manually choose a beverage and amount, say what you drank and how much all at once, or point the camera at your drink. Carry a bottle? It gets even easier. Just tell Gulpo how much of it you finished. Save the drinks you reach for often, from your morning glass to your desk mug, so they’re always close by. However the drink happened, there’s probably a quick way to log it. Now you’ve got one less excuse not to log :) Coffee, tea, milk, juice, smoothies and more all contain water. Gulpo accounts for the water in each drink instead of treating everything as plain water. Some days need more water than others too, so weather, workouts and details you choose to share through Apple Health can help Gulpo adjust your daily goal. There’s no Gulpo account and no sign-up. Your data stays on your devices and can sync through your own iCloud account. Gulpo doesn’t need to know who you are to know how much you drank. Gulpo Reserve is available as a monthly or yearly auto-renewing subscription, or a one-time lifetime purchase. Payment is charged to your Apple Account at confirmation. Subscriptions renew automatically unless cancelled at least 24 hours before the end of the current period, and can be managed or cancelled in your Apple Account settings. Gulpo Terms: https://gulpo.app/terms Privacy Policy: https://gulpo.app/privacy Terms of Use (EULA): https://www.apple.com/legal/internet-services/itunes/dev/stdeula/

Screenshots

Runbuds3 screens
Gulpo4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is in-app purchases: Runbuds at none against Gulpo's 3. Runbuds also leads on review sentiment (96% vs 75%) and ratings volume (64 vs 3). On price, rating, 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. Gulpo sells 3 in-app purchases, starting at $1.99 per month. Runbuds asks for nothing beyond the download.

ReceptionRating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings

On the App Store both sit at effectively the same score — 4.9 for Runbuds against 5.0 for Gulpo. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: Runbuds has 64 ratings behind it against 3, so its average is the more settled of the two. Written reviews are what separate them: 96% of Runbuds's written reviews are positive against 75% of Gulpo's.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

Both ship on a similar rhythm, roughly every 2 days. The most recent releases landed on October 14, 2026 and October 12, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard5 real differences · 5 level
Runbuds versus Gulpo: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterRunbudsGulpo
PriceFreeFree
Rating4.9 (64 ratings)5.0 (3 ratings) — better
Positive reviews96.3% of reviews — better75.0% of reviews
Number of ratings64 — better3
Update frequencyEvery 2 daysEvery 2 days
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesNo — betterYes
MonetizationFree — betterFree with in-app purchases
DevicesiPhone, Apple Watch — betteriPhone
Requires iOS18.0 — better26.1
Further details — not scored
Size56 MB31 MB
Age rating4+4+
DeveloperLight NudgeRaja Vijayaraman

Customer experience

Runbuds

All ratings64 ratings
Positive98.4%
Neutral0.0%
Negative1.6%
Written reviews27 reviews
Positive96.3%
Neutral0.0%
Negative3.7%

Gulpo

All ratings3 ratings
Positive100.0%
Neutral0.0%
Negative0.0%
Written reviews8 reviews
Positive75.0%
Neutral0.0%
Negative25.0%

In-app purchases

None

Runbuds

No in-app purchases

3 purchases

Gulpo

Subscriptions2
  • Monthly$1.991 Month
  • Yearly$9.991 Year
One-time1
  • Lifetime$29.99

Questions

Is Runbuds free?
Runbuds is free to download, with no in-app purchases.
Is Gulpo free?
Gulpo is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Which has better reviews, Runbuds or Gulpo?
Gulpo is rated higher. Runbuds averages 4.9 out of 5 from 64 ratings, while Gulpo averages 5.0 from 3 ratings.
Do Runbuds or Gulpo have ads?
Neither Runbuds nor Gulpo shows ads.
Which is updated more often, Runbuds or Gulpo?
Runbuds ships an update every 2 days, and Gulpo every 2 days. Most recently, Runbuds was updated on October 14, 2026 and Gulpo on October 12, 2026.

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