Comparison

RunOrithm vs Marathon Coach

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

Head to head
About

RunOrithm

Features
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RunOrithm builds a fully personalized running training plan around your life, not the other way around. Whether you're chasing your first 5K or targeting a marathon PR, RunOrithm uses your Apple Health data, your schedule, and your current fitness to create a plan that's genuinely yours. Your Plan, Built Around You Tell RunOrithm your goal race, your target date, how many days a week you can run, and your current fitness level. RunOrithm analyzes your Apple Health history to suggest safe target distances, habitual running days, and accurate training paces - all before generating your plan. A built-in feasibility check makes sure your goal is achievable, and warns you if you're pushing too hard too fast. Your plan is structured into proven training phases: Base, Build, Taper, and Race with every session categorized as an easy run, tempo effort, interval workout, or long run. Paces are calibrated to your race distance using evidence-based principles aligned with Daniels and Pfitzinger methodology. A Dashboard That Tells the Full Story The Dashboard shows your current training week at a glance: today's workout, upcoming sessions, a weekly mileage chart, and a race countdown. After each run, completed workouts are automatically matched to your scheduled sessions using your Apple Health data: no manual logging required. Know When You're Ready Your Readiness Score combines five health signals from Apple Health - VO2 Max, resting heart rate, HRV, sleep quality, and training consistency into a single number that tells you how well recovered you are right now. Check your daily readiness before heading out. RunOrithm Pro Unlock the full coaching experience: - Dynamic Adaptation - Your plan automatically adjusts upcoming run distances based on your actual recovery and compliance. Missed sessions trigger volume reductions and recovery weeks to keep you safe. Strong weeks open the door to progressive overload. - Apple Watch Sync - Structured workouts are exported directly to your Apple Watch via WorkoutKit. Intervals, warm-ups, and cool-downs appear right on your wrist. - Coach's Intelligence - Deep, explainable insights into why your plan is adapting. Understand the exact contribution of your HRV, sleep, heart rate, and consistency to each adjustment. - Manual Override - If you feel more fatigued than your data shows, toggle Prioritize Recovery and RunOrithm will soften the next few sessions accordingly. Privacy First No account, no email, no server. Your subscription is tied to your Apple ID. All your health data and training history stays on your device and syncs privately via iCloud to your other Apple devices. LEGAL Terms of Use (EULA): https://www.apple.com/legal/internet-services/itunes/dev/stdeula/ Privacy Policy: https://runorithm.app/privacy

About

Marathon Coach

Features
Read full description

Marathon Coachβ„’ β€” Train Smarterβ„’ Set your goal once. Get an adaptive race training plan that appears in the native Apple Watch Workout app β€” no chat coach, no spreadsheets. THREE PILLARS β€’ Glanceable β€” Open the app and see today’s workout instantly: distance, pace guidance, and your week at a glance. β€’ Autonomous β€” Plans build and adapt from your real runs, sleep, heart rate, and training load. No typing to an AI chat coach. β€’ Watch-native β€” Send your plan to Apple Watch. Workouts appear under Scheduled in the Workout app via WorkoutKit. HOW IT WORKS 1. Set your race goal, target time, and training level (~2 minutes). 2. Connect Apple Health (optional but recommended) for personalized adaptation. 3. Train where you are β€” Start outdoor runs on iPhone GPS from the app, or open plan sessions on Apple Watch under Workout β†’ Scheduled. Lock the phone for Live Activity metrics while you run. 4. Weekly reviews and recovery signals adjust your plan as you train. FREE CORE The full core experience stays free: goal setup, adaptive plan, Apple Health, Apple Watch β†’ Scheduled, outdoor iPhone GPS runs with Live Activity (time, distance, pace), weekly plan review when you open the app, and share cards. No account required for free use. MARATHON COACH PRO (OPTIONAL) Upgrade to Marathon Coach Pro for deeper coaching β€” daily plan tune-ups, recovery-aware adjustments after rough days, post key-workout reviews, background plan refresh when entitled, and post-run pace zone estimates on planned sessions (plan-anchored β€” not HR or medical zones). Subscribe in the app via Apple (auto-renewable). Manage or cancel anytime in Settings β†’ Apple ID β†’ Subscriptions. AI COACHING (OPTIONAL) Enable AI coaching in Settings for plan adjustments from summarized Health metrics β€” never raw GPS tracks. Or keep a local plan with zero server traffic. You can turn AI off anytime. SHARE YOUR PROGRESS Export branded share cards β€” race countdown, week in review, latest workout β€” as square or 9:16 Story images. REQUIREMENTS β€’ iPhone (iOS 17+) β€’ Paired Apple Watch (watchOS 10+) for scheduled Watch workouts β€’ Not optimized for iPad in this version Training guidance only β€” not medical advice. Consult a physician before starting or changing any exercise program. Privacy: https://www.getmarathoncoach.com/privacy Support: https://www.getmarathoncoach.com/support

Screenshots

RunOrithm4 screens
Marathon Coach4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is update cadence: Marathon Coach at every 4 days against RunOrithm's every 2 weeks. On price, ads, in-app purchases and device support there is nothing between them.

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

CostPrice Β· In-app purchases Β· Ads Β· Monetization

Both are free to download. RunOrithm sells 1 in-app purchase, starting at $29.99 per year and Marathon Coach sells 2 in-app purchases, starting at $12.99 per month. Whichever you choose, the download price is not the number that matters.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

RunOrithm ships an update every 2 weeks, Marathon Coach every 4 days. The most recent releases landed on September 29, 2026 and October 11, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard1 real difference Β· 5 level
RunOrithm versus Marathon Coach: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterRunOrithmMarathon Coach
PriceFreeFree
Update frequencyEvery 2 weeksEvery 4 days β€” better
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesYesYes
DevicesiPhoneiPhone
Requires iOS17.617.0 β€” better
Further details β€” not scored
Size4 MB22 MB
Age rating4+4+
DeveloperMIHAI STANCIUJon Sern Lim

In-app purchases

1 purchases

RunOrithm

Subscriptions1
  • Yearly Access7 Days trial$29.991 Year
2 purchases

Marathon Coach

Subscriptions2
  • Marathon Coach Pro Monthly$12.991 Month
  • Pro Annual$99.991 Year

Questions

Is RunOrithm free?
RunOrithm is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Is Marathon Coach free?
Marathon Coach is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Do RunOrithm or Marathon Coach have ads?
Neither RunOrithm nor Marathon Coach shows ads.
Which is updated more often, RunOrithm or Marathon Coach?
RunOrithm ships an update every 2 weeks, and Marathon Coach every 4 days. Most recently, RunOrithm was updated on September 29, 2026 and Marathon Coach on October 11, 2026.

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