Comparison

Fartlek vs RunSplit

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

Head to head
About

Fartlek

Features
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Tell your AI coach your goal and the days you can run, and get a training plan that adapts every week to how your runs go. Need a single workout? Describe it or paste a screenshot, and it's ready in seconds. Then just run: voice and haptic cues guide every interval, even with your screen off. 25 workouts runners actually love โ€” HIIT, fartlek, tempo, hills, Yasso 800s. On iPhone and Apple Watch. Because running the same pace every day only makes you better at running the same pace. Break the plateau. EVERY RUN IS A NEW CHALLENGE Every workout here has a specific goal and a different feel โ€” so you actually train different muscles, systems, and skills instead of just logging miles. Your running workout is fun now :) Speed: 200m pops, ladders, strides, sprint finishers Strength: Hill repeats, power builders, switchbacks Stamina: HIIT, Cruise intervals, tempo waves, Yasso 800s Endurance: Progressive aerobic, negative splits, scenic cruises Fun: Fartlek games, stoplight play, music flow runs Each workout has a warm-up, main set, and cooldown โ€” with clear effort guidance through every phase. AI WORKOUT GENERATOR Tell the AI coach what you want โ€” "30 minutes, hill repeats, moderate" or "a fartlek that doesn't bore me" โ€” and get a runnable workout in seconds. Paste a screenshot of a workout you saw online and we'll convert it into intervals. TRAIN BY EFFORT, NOT NUMBERS Every interval shows a target effort (80% for work, 30% for recovery). No heart rate monitor needed. GPS pace lies anyway โ€” effort just works better. AUTO-LAP BY DISTANCE OR TIME Distance intervals auto-complete when you hit 200m, 400m, 800m, or whatever target you set. Time intervals count down with precision. No fumbling with lap buttons mid-stride. AUDIO & HAPTIC CUES Get notified at interval start, halfway, and end. Works with your screen off, works on Apple Watch. Built for running outside, where you can't keep glancing at a screen. APPLE WATCH COMPANION Run straight from your wrist. Leave your phone behind for track sessions โ€” the Watch app handles everything on its own. CLEAN, GET-OUT-OF-THE-WAY DESIGN Big, glove-friendly controls. Dark mode. One-screen run view with your current interval front and center, and what's next right there too. AFTER YOUR RUN Review every completed interval โ€” distance, time, pace. Auto-syncs to Apple Health. WORKOUT TYPES Tempo: Sustained-effort training Intervals: Structured speed work Fartlek: Mixed-pace playful running Hills: Uphill repeat sessions Long Run: Extended endurance efforts 3 DURATION OPTIONS Quick (10โ€“15 min): Short, sharp sessions Standard (20โ€“35 min): Complete workouts Long (40โ€“60+ min): Extended training WHO IT'S FOR - Runners looking to improve their times - Runners who like variety and fun - Amateur athletes who want to gain leg strength and power - Anyone looking to improve overall fitness and health - Anyone looking to lose weight with HIIT (High-Intensity Interval Training) - Anyone who wants to run intervals without 10 minutes of setup - Anyone tired of complex running apps that feel more like Instagram No social feeds. No data mining. Just running. Terms of use: https://www.apple.com/legal/internet-services/itunes/dev/stdeula/

About

RunSplit

Features
Read full description

RunSplit is the running app built around the thing that actually makes you faster: clean, color-coded intervals. Green means WORK. Red means REST. No guesswork - just a phone that knows what phase you are in and a coach that runs with you. FREE FOREVER - WITH A TIP JAR RunSplit is completely free. Every feature, every update, no paywall. There's a single ad slot in Settings. Prefer to support a solo developer? Leave a Gel, Energy Bar, or Race Entry tip and RunSplit goes ad-free permanently across every device on your iCloud. SMART INTERVAL COACHING Pick your work and rest blocks in seconds or meters, then tap Start. RunSplit counts you in, tracks the set, and hands you the next interval the second your rest is up. An on-device Smart Coach, powered by Apple Intelligence, talks you through every phase. Choose your tone - Hype, Calm, Drill, or Mindful - and your voice (boy or girl) and you get a runner, not a stopwatch, in your ear. STRETCH BEFORE RUN Three built-in dynamic warmups - Quick (3 min), Standard (5 min), Full (6 min) - made of the 12 stretches running coaches actually recommend: leg swings, walking lunges, hip circles, hamstring scoops, high knees, butt kicks, more. Wire one to a profile and tap Play. Pick "Stretch + Run" or skip. Animated visuals show the motion. Apple Watch chains right into your run when the routine finishes. FREE RUN - JUST RUN No Work/Rest splits, no countdown beeps. Free Run records your GPS route, distance, pace, and heart rate while you set your own pace. Perfect when you want to run by feel. WALK MODE Open record walks with GPS, live steps and heart rate with no Work/Rest bar LIVE CROSS-DEVICE RUN MIRROR Glance at your Apple Watch mid-run and see exactly what your iPhone is tracking. Run from your watch and your iPhone shows the same tile. If a device dies mid-run, the other one still has the live snapshot. FLYOVER VIDEOS Generate a cinematic 3D satellite flyover of any saved run - 9:16, ready to post. Every video opens with an establishing wide shot and closes with a pull-back reveal of the whole route. Duration and camera scale to long routes, elevation gain shows in the HUD, and PACE reflects your actual pace at each point. MOUNTAINS Hike mode auto-tags the highest GPS point on your route as a mountain, builds a Summit Collection, and lets you fix or add a peak retroactively from any past hike's detail screen. ACHIEVEMENTS, PRs, AND TOP-10 MEDALS Marathon distance, sub-5:00/km pace, early-morning run, weekly streaks, per-shoe PRs, mileage milestones. Plus a top-10 medal that lands on every saved run when you place in your lifetime ranks. CONDITIONS - YOUR BODY ON ONE SCREEN Weight, height, body temperature, resting heart rate, HRV, VO2 Max, blood oxygen, walking speed, plus today's steps, exercise minutes, and stand hours - all from Apple Health. Trend charts with a NEW PR badge when you set a lifetime best. SMART CALORIE TRACKING Log meals fast with Quick Add presets, free-form descriptions, or a manual editor. iPhones with Apple Intelligence parse your text into calories and macros on-device. Every other iPhone uses a curated library of 150 runner foods to estimate the same numbers offline. STRAVA SYNC Connect once and every outdoor run pushes automatically. Manual "Push to Strava" on any saved run, with de-dup so you never get duplicate uploads. APPLE WATCH The companion app runs the same interval engine on your wrist. Walk mode counts steps live. Profiles with a stretch routine show "Stretch + Run" instead of Start - same library, same visuals, then chains straight into the run. YOUR GEAR, TRACKED Add a pair, snap a photo, and RunSplit logs every mile. Live wear bar, per-pair pace, cadence, heart zones, total mileage across your rotation. ON-DEVICE, PRIVATE, YOURS No account. No login. No subscription. Your runs, routes, shoes, and music taste stay on your iPhone. The Smart Coach runs on-device using Apple Intelligence. Download free - lace up, pick an interval, and go.

Screenshots

Fartlek4 screens
RunSplit4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is ads: Fartlek at none against RunSplit's shown. On price, update cadence, in-app purchases and device support there is nothing between them.

Scored on Price ยท Rating ยท Positive reviews ยท Number of ratings ยท Update frequency ยท Ads ยท In-app purchases ยท Monetization ยท Best chart rank ยท Devices ยท Requires iOS

CostPrice ยท In-app purchases ยท Ads ยท Monetization

Both are free to download. Fartlek sells 3 in-app purchases, starting at $1.99 per 7 days and RunSplit sells 4 one-off in-app purchases. Whichever you choose, the download price is not the number that matters.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

Fartlek ships an update every 4 days, RunSplit every 2 days. The most recent releases landed on October 30, 2026 and October 31, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard1 real difference ยท 5 level
Fartlek versus RunSplit: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterFartlekRunSplit
PriceFreeFree
Update frequencyEvery 4 daysEvery 2 days โ€” better
AdsNo โ€” betterYes
In-app purchasesYesYes
DevicesiPhone, Apple WatchiPhone, iPad, Apple Watch โ€” better
Requires iOS18.518.0 โ€” better
Further details โ€” not scored
Size29 MB18 MB
Age rating4+4+
DeveloperAxis SAZeus Solomon Olivar

In-app purchases

3 purchases

Fartlek

Subscriptions3
  • Weekly Plan$1.997 Days
  • Monthly premium$4.991 Month
  • Yearly Premium3 Days trial$29.991 Year
4 purchases

RunSplit

One-time4
  • Gel$0.99
  • Remove Ads$0.99
  • Energy Bar$2.99
Show 1 more
  • Race Entry$4.99

Questions

Is Fartlek free?
Fartlek is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Is RunSplit free?
RunSplit is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Do Fartlek or RunSplit have ads?
RunSplit shows ads; Fartlek does not.
Which is updated more often, Fartlek or RunSplit?
Fartlek ships an update every 4 days, and RunSplit every 2 days. Most recently, Fartlek was updated on October 30, 2026 and RunSplit on October 31, 2026.

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