Comparison

Oarca vs RowerTrain

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

Head to head
About

Oarca

Features
Read full description

Oarca is a rowing app built for the water and for the clubs that row on it. Track every stroke with your phone, follow a structured plan, book your seat in the club boat and see your progress week by week, month by month and year by year. YOUR ROWING, AT A GLANCE The home screen opens on your week. Switch to month or year, change the metric between time, distance, strokes and calories, and pull the week down to see every day as a bar. Your last workout and your next booked session sit side by side, so you always know what you did and what comes next. Today's weather for your rowing spot, with wind, humidity and sunrise, is right there too. TRACK EVERY STROKE • Live stroke rate (SPM) measured by your phone while you row • GPS route with distance, pace, split times and speed along the course • Heart rate and heart rate zones with a Bluetooth chest strap or Polar sensor • A clear live screen made for quick looks between strokes • Works without mobile signal: the workout is saved on the phone and syncs later TRAIN WITH A PLAN • Just Row for a free session • Single distance, single time and stroke count workouts • Constant and variable intervals with rest periods • Saved locations and a training calendar with reminders UNDERSTAND YOUR PERFORMANCE • Split by split breakdown and interval comparison • Pace, stroke rate and heart rate graphs for every session • Heart rate zone distribution • Week, month and year totals on the home screen • Share cards with your route and numbers for social media ROWING CALCULATORS Five tools for coaches and athletes: pace calculator, split time calculator, race predictor, heart rate zones and stroke analysis. Each one explains what the result means, how it is calculated and when to be careful with it. YOUR CLUB, IN YOUR POCKET Oarca connects athletes, coaches and club staff in one place. • See the club schedule and book your seat in a specific boat • Memberships, credit packages and booking rules handled for you • Cancel the exact seat you want and see why a booking was refused • Sessions shown in the club's own time zone • Coaches assign trainings to groups and boats and edit session details • Staff place rowers into boats or row themselves from the same screen • Member profiles with club tags and level • A club leaderboard and friends to row alongside • Notifications you can tune club by club SAFETY ON THE WATER Club staff can follow crews live on the water. If a rower raises an SOS, staff are notified so help can move quickly. CONNECT YOUR GEAR • Polar and other Bluetooth heart rate sensors • ActiveLook smart glasses to see your numbers without looking down • GoPro cameras to record your session alongside your data • The Oarca playlist on Spotify to keep your rhythm • A guide to mounting your phone safely in the boat BUILT FOR THE BOAT A calm black and white design that stays readable in bright sunlight, large numbers on the live screen, and an app that speaks more than 30 languages, so the whole crew can use it in their own. OARCA PRO Oarca is free to download and to start rowing. Oarca Pro adds live stroke rate tracking, structured training plans beyond Just Row, detailed post session analysis and unlimited training history. Subscriptions renew automatically unless cancelled at least 24 hours before the end of the current period and can be managed in your App Store account settings. WHO IT IS FOR Club rowers and scullers, masters and juniors, coaches who want to see their athletes' work, club managers who run bookings and memberships, and anyone who wants to row with purpose on open water. Download Oarca, take your phone to the boat and turn every stroke into progress. Terms of Use: https://www.apple.com/legal/internet-services/itunes/dev/stdeula/

About

RowerTrain

Connect your rowing machine via Bluetooth to track real-time performance metrics like power, stroke rate, and distance. Create custom workouts or use pre-set sessions, with options for resistance control and automatic Strava integration.

Highlights
  • Bluetooth rower connection
  • Real-time performance data
  • Customizable structured workouts
  • Resistance control
  • Strava integration
  • Local workout history
Features
Read full description

Connect your rowing machine via Bluetooth. Create, customize, and perform structured workouts with real-time tracking. COMPATIBLE EQUIPMENT • Domyos rowers: 900, Woodrower. • FTMS-compatible rowers: Concept2 PM5, Merach, Yosuda, Christopeit, and more. • Bluetooth Heart-Rate sensors. Note for Domyos 500B users: this rower is not compatible with RowerTrain. KEY FEATURES • Real-time data: Power, stroke rate, distance, time, calories, resistance, and HR. • Structured workouts: Use default sessions or create your own custom workouts. • Resistance control: Adjust resistance levels within the app (on compatible machines). • Strava Integration: Automatic upload of your activities to Strava. • Apple Health integration QUICK START Turn on your rower's Bluetooth. Launch RowerTrain and pair your device. Select a workout and start rowing! Export your session to Strava or keep it in your local history. Feedback or technical issues? Reach out at: support [at] rowertrain.com

Screenshots

Oarca4 screens
RowerTrain4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is iOS requirement: Oarca at 15.1 against RowerTrain's 17.0. On price, update cadence, ads and in-app purchases 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. Oarca sells 2 in-app purchases, starting at $4.99 per month and RowerTrain sells 1 one-off in-app purchase. Whichever you choose, the download price is not the number that matters.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

Oarca ships an update every 10 days, RowerTrain every 6 days. The most recent releases landed on October 30, 2026 and October 31, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard1 real difference · 9 level
Oarca versus RowerTrain: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterOarcaRowerTrain
PriceFreeFree
Rating—5.0 (1 ratings) — better
Positive reviews—100.0% of reviews
Number of ratings—1 — better
Update frequencyEvery 10 daysEvery 6 days — better
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesYesYes
Monetization—Free with in-app purchases
DevicesiPhone, iPad, iPodiPhone, iPad, Apple Watch
Requires iOS15.1 — better17.0
Further details — not scored
Size132 MB33 MB
Age rating12+4+
DeveloperHamla TeknolojiAdrian Papusoi

In-app purchases

2 purchases

Oarca

Subscriptions2
  • Premium Monthly$4.991 Month
  • Oarca Premium$49.991 Year
1 purchases

RowerTrain

One-time1
  • RowerTrain - Full Access$6.99

Questions

Is Oarca free?
Oarca is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Is RowerTrain free?
RowerTrain is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Do Oarca or RowerTrain have ads?
Neither Oarca nor RowerTrain shows ads.
Which is updated more often, Oarca or RowerTrain?
Oarca ships an update every 10 days, and RowerTrain every 6 days. Most recently, Oarca was updated on October 30, 2026 and RowerTrain on October 31, 2026.

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