Comparison

ScanLift vs Pace Buddy

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

Head to head
About

ScanLift

Features
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ScanLift makes tracking your gym workouts effortless. Simply point your camera at any machine and ScanLift instantly recognizes it โ€” no more searching through lists or typing exercise names. Register your gym machines once with a photo. Next time you work out, just scan the machine and log your sets, weights and reps in seconds. Decimal weights like 80.5 kg are fully supported. Each machine can be tagged with one or more muscle groups โ€” such as chest, back and shoulders at once โ€” so your training overview always reflects how you actually train. Track weight, reps and volume for every exercise and follow your strength development over time with clear charts showing weight, volume and reps โ€” by week, month, year or all time. Personal records are highlighted automatically so you always know when you hit a new PR. ScanLift is a one-time purchase with no subscription required.

About

Pace Buddy

Features
Read full description

Set a goal. Get a plan. Let your watch coach every run. Pace Buddy answers one question every day: why run today? You pick a goal โ€” a 5K, a 10K, a half, a marathon, or just the habit of running more โ€” and Pace Buddy turns it into a training plan where each day is the next step toward it. Your progress is always in front of you. Then your Apple Watch takes over. It runs each workout hands-free, guiding you by voice. Leave your phone at home. WHAT IT DOES โ€ข Goal to plan. Choose a race or a habit and get a training plan built around it, laid out day by day. โ€ข Your watch coaches you. Pace, heart rate, distance, and the current step on screen โ€” and in your ears. Pace Buddy speaks each step change, a heads-up before the next one, the halfway point, and every split with its pace. โ€ข Pace nudges. On a pace-target run it tells you when you drift โ€” speed up, ease off โ€” and when you're back on. โ€ข Fully offline on the watch. No phone, no signal needed. Cues play over the watch speaker, AirPods, or any Bluetooth headphones. โ€ข Saved to Apple Health. Every run is saved as a workout with its route and an effort score, so it counts toward your rings. โ€ข Paces that fit you. Your targets come from your recent 5K time โ€” type it in, pick a run from Health, or run the built-in 5K time trial. Run a faster 5K and Pace Buddy offers to update the rest of your plan. โ€ข Just want to run? Quick Start gives you an easy run, a long run, a tempo, intervals, or a fartlek with no setup at all. โ€ข Stays in step. Reminders on training days, a watch-face complication, the Smart Stack, and "ask Siri for today's run." Your plan lives in your own iCloud and reaches your watch automatically. NO LOCK-IN No account. No subscription. Your identity is your own iCloud, your health data stays in Apple Health, and a plan someone shares with you opens straight in the app. Pace Buddy is the coach โ€” the goal and the plan are yours. The run itself needs an Apple Watch: live GPS, heart rate, and voice coaching all happen on your wrist.

Screenshots

ScanLift4 screens
Pace Buddy3 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is update cadence: Pace Buddy at every 2 weeks against ScanLift's monthly. Pace Buddy also leads on device support (3 vs 1). ScanLift's advantage is iOS requirement (18 vs 26.6). On price, ads and in-app purchases 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. Neither carries in-app purchases, so what you see is what you pay.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

ScanLift ships an update monthly, Pace Buddy every 2 weeks. The most recent releases landed on October 31, 2026 and November 6, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard3 real differences ยท 3 level
ScanLift versus Pace Buddy: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterScanLiftPace Buddy
PriceFreeFree
Update frequencyMonthlyEvery 2 weeks โ€” better
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesNoNo
DevicesiPhoneiPhone, iPad, Apple Watch โ€” better
Requires iOS18 โ€” better26.6
Further details โ€” not scored
Size7 MB19 MB
Age rating4+4+
DeveloperChristian AlfredssonMarcello Mascia

In-app purchases

None

ScanLift

No in-app purchases

None

Pace Buddy

No in-app purchases

Questions

Is ScanLift free?
ScanLift is free to download, with no in-app purchases.
Is Pace Buddy free?
Pace Buddy is free to download, with no in-app purchases.
Do ScanLift or Pace Buddy have ads?
Neither ScanLift nor Pace Buddy shows ads.
Which is updated more often, ScanLift or Pace Buddy?
ScanLift ships an update monthly, and Pace Buddy every 2 weeks. Most recently, ScanLift was updated on October 31, 2026 and Pace Buddy on November 6, 2026.

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