RideByHeart vs PaceVault
Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both apps, side by side — with what reviewers say about each.
RideByHeart
This app offers indoor cycling training without a subscription. It connects to FTMS-compatible smart trainers and heart rate monitors for professional-grade workouts. Enjoy structured training, real-time metrics, and workout export features.
- FTMS-compatible smart trainer connection
- Bluetooth heart rate monitor support
- Structured workouts
- FTP-based power training
- Heart rate zone training with automatic resistance
- Real-time metrics (power, cadence, speed, HR, calories)
- Workout recording and TCX export
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Indoor cycling training without the subscription. RideByHeart connects to any FTMS-compatible smart trainer and Bluetooth heart rate monitor for professional-grade workouts. TRAIN YOUR WAY No subscriptions. No accounts. No forced updates. Free during the introductory testing phase. (In future ... if free app is unsustainable we might ask for a one time pay, train forever) SMART TRAINER SUPPORT • Tested and verified: Wahoo KICKR • Should work with any FTMS-compatible trainer: - Tacx Neo, Flux, and Flow - Elite Direto, Suito, and Justo - Saris H3 and M2 - Other Bluetooth FTMS trainers Note: App uses the standard FTMS protocol. While tested on KICKR, it should work with all FTMS-compatible trainers. Feedback welcome! FEATURES • Structured workouts • FTP-based power training • Heart rate zone workouts with automatic resistance (You choose an HR zone to train and the trainer resistance will adjust to keep your heart-rate in that zone) • Real-time metrics: power, cadence, speed, heart rate and calories • Workout recording and TCX export for Strava • BIAS control for mid-workout adjustments • Import custom workouts via .zwo files • Direct Strava upload for completed workouts • Expanded structured workout library
PaceVault
Analyze your running history with best efforts, route matching, and lifetime trends. This private app provides insights into your personal records and wellness signals, all processed on your device.
- Best efforts and PR detection
- Route matching and ranking
- Year-over-year trend analysis
- Wellness signal tracking
- 100% on-device processing
- No account or cloud required
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Best-efforts records, matched routes, and lifetime trends — all on your iPhone, all private. PaceVault turns your Garmin activity history into the analytics you've been missing. • Best efforts — every PR across every distance, auto-detected • Route matching — see every run of your favorite loop, ranked • Year-over-year trends across your whole history • Wellness signals gathered in one place — how you feel is yours to read • 100% on-device. No account, no cloud, nothing leaves your phone Free, forever. Every feature, for every user.
Screenshots
Verdict
The clearest difference is in-app purchases: RideByHeart at none against PaceVault's 3. RideByHeart also leads on ratings volume (7 vs 1). PaceVault's advantage is review sentiment (100% vs 67%) and rating (5.0 vs 4.7). On price, update cadence, ads and monetization model 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. PaceVault sells 3 one-off in-app purchases. RideByHeart asks for nothing beyond the download.
PaceVault holds the better App Store score, 5.0 against 4.7. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: RideByHeart has 7 ratings behind it against 1, so its average is the more settled of the two. Written reviews point the same way: 67% of RideByHeart's written reviews are positive against 100% of PaceVault's.
RideByHeart ships an update weekly, PaceVault every 6 days. The most recent releases landed on October 24, 2026 and October 10, 2026 respectively.
| Parameter | RideByHeart | PaceVault |
|---|---|---|
| Price | Free | Free |
| Rating | 4.7 (7 ratings) | 5.0 (1 ratings) — better |
| Positive reviews | 66.7% of reviews | 100.0% of reviews — better |
| Number of ratings | 7 — better | 1 |
| Update frequency | Weekly | Every 6 days — better |
| Ads | No | No |
| In-app purchases | No — better | Yes |
| Monetization | Free | Free |
| Devices | iPhone, iPad | iPhone, iPad |
| Requires iOS | 18.6 | 17.0 — better |
| Further details — not scored | ||
| Size | 4 MB | 5 MB |
| Age rating | 4+ | 4+ |
| Developer | jithu joseph | ZACHARY THOMAS MULLEN |
Customer experience
RideByHeart
PaceVault
In-app purchases
RideByHeart
No in-app purchases
PaceVault
- Small Tip$1.99
- Medium Tip$4.99
- Large Tip$9.99









