Comparison

Ayro vs First Gear

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

Head to head
About

Ayro

This app offers a structured breathwork training system to improve performance, endurance, recovery, and focus. It uses a measurable baseline test and personalized training blocks to track progress and adapt to your goals. Quick tools are available for specific moments like pre-workout or mid-day resets.

Highlights
  • Measurable baseline breath-hold test (BOLT)
  • Personalized training blocks based on goals
  • Progress tracking and retesting
  • Quick tools for specific moments
  • Immersive visual and haptic guides
  • Integration with Apple Health
Features
Read full description

AYRO: TRAIN YOUR BREATHING. INCREASE YOUR PERFORMANCE. Most breathwork apps give you a library. Ayro gives you a training system: a measurable baseline, a structured block built around your goals, and a retest that shows exactly what changed. Your breathing efficiency is measurable. It's trainable. And a consistent practice reshapes how you perform under pressure, recover from effort, focus through noise, and hold steady under stress. WHAT IMPROVES - Endurance. Be steadier when it's hard. Build tolerance for breathlessness so intense moments feel manageable instead of overwhelming. - Recovery. Become stronger and faster-recovering. Train techniques that support endurance and bring you down faster after effort. - Mind. Stay sharper and more focused. Develop sustained attention that holds through deep work, long days, and high pressure. START WITH YOUR BASELINE The BOLT (Body Oxygen Level Test) is a quick breath-hold measurement that gives Ayro an objective starting point: measured in seconds, not a vibe check. Your score maps to one of six training levels. Most untrained people score 10 to 20 seconds. Elite endurance athletes often exceed 40. YOUR TRAINING BLOCK Instead of scrolling a library wondering what to do next, Ayro builds a structured training plan: matched to your BOLT level and weighted by the outcomes you're actually training for. Complete your block. Retest your BOLT. Your next block meets you at your new level. QUICK TOOLS FOR SPECIFIC MOMENTS - Pre-Workout Activation: prime your system before training - 2-Minute Reset: clear your head mid-day - Focus Primer: sharpen attention before deep work - Post-Workout Downshift: help your body recover faster - Sleep Wind-Down: ease your system into rest BUILT FOR REAL PRACTICE - Breathing ring: immersive visual guides every phase in real time - Phase haptics: feel each breath without looking at your screen - Spoken and audio cues: hands-free guidance - Picture in Picture: breathing ring floats over your screen when you switch apps THE SCIENCE Structured breathing practice improves Heart Rate Variability (HRV), stress recovery, endurance capacity, and sustained attention. The difference between a real training approach and random sessions is progress you can measure. Ayro is built on established techniques: reduced breathing, breath-hold tolerance training, resonance-frequency breathing, and nasal breathing protocols, the same foundations used by elite athletes, coaches, and practitioners worldwide. FOR ANYONE BUILDING A PRACTICE Athletes. Runners. Office workers reclaiming focus. Students under pressure. Anyone who wants a steadier, more capable nervous system. This is breathing as a learnable skill: practiced deliberately, tracked honestly, developed over time. PRIVACY Your health data stays with you. We write to Apple Health (as mindfulness minutes) with your permission and never sell personal data. SUBSCRIPTIONS Weekly, monthly, and annual plans with a free trial. Auto-renews unless turned off at least 24 hours before the end of the current period. Manage in your Apple Account Settings. Unlocks full access to all training blocks, exercise categories, cue methods, and progress tracking. NOTE Not medical advice. Individual results vary. Terms of Use: https://www.ayro.fit/terms/

About

First Gear

This app guides beginner runners through walk-run intervals using live heart rate data. It adapts to your recovery needs and offers voice cues directly on your Apple Watch, allowing your phone to stay home. Focus on consistent progress without pressure or guilt.

Highlights
  • Heart rate-guided walk/jog intervals
  • Apple Watch voice cues
  • Adaptive recovery adjustments
  • Outdoor route maps by effort
  • Session history and trends
  • Integration with Apple Health
Features
Read full description

Starting running, or starting again? First Gear guides easy jogs and walking breaks using your live heart rate. Your Apple Watch speaks the cues, so your phone can stay home. ON THE WAY TO A FIRST 5K Most beginner 5K plans run on a stopwatch: jog for 60 seconds whether you are ready or not. First Gear listens to your heart instead, so the easy effort that builds toward a 5K never turns into a slog, and a hard day gets more room to walk instead of a failed workout. Your coach calls out each mile or kilometer as you pass it. A ROUTINE YOU CAN KEEP Sessions aim for 20 minutes, or the length you set from 10 to 60. Start with three days a week, with room to walk whenever you need to. Six stages shape your coaching range while keeping the run length you choose. Qualifying sessions can offer the next stage. You choose whether to try it or stay where you are. COACHING THAT PAYS ATTENTION Your coach can give you more room for walking recovery on warm days, after a break, or when recent sessions felt hard. It explains the adjustment before you start. After a run of shorter outings, it can set a shorter goal instead. There is no daily readiness rating. You choose your run length and how the top of your heart rate range is set: First Gear's estimate, MAF, Zone 2 (Apple's own on iOS 27) or your own number. ON YOUR WATCH, THEN ON YOUR PHONE • Voice cues guide when to jog and when to walk • Two coach voices, Lana and Cal • Guided mobility before you set off • Outdoor route maps shaded by effort • Session history, heart-rate charts, and Easy score trends • Workouts saved to Apple Health Your Easy score shows time inside your coaching range during scored portions of a session. It is feedback on that session, not a fitness test. NO WATCH? RUN WITH YOUR IPHONE (BETA) With AirPods Pro 3 or Powerbeats Pro 2, your coach can run on your iPhone instead. It reads the heart rate your earbuds measure and speaks through them, and your run shows on the Lock Screen while the phone stays in your pocket. Phone runs are outdoors for now, and they count like any other run. NO STREAKS. NO GUILT. No catch-up workouts. A break does not take away your stage. Your coach makes room for your return, and your badges stay yours. No account required. Set up on iPhone, run with Apple Watch, and review your sessions afterward on your phone. First Gear requires an iPhone with iOS 18 or later and, for watch runs, an Apple Watch with watchOS 11 or later. Phone runs, in beta, need iOS 26 or later and AirPods Pro 3 or Powerbeats Pro 2, and setup offers them only when none of its heart-rate questions applies to you. SUBSCRIPTION First Gear Coaching. 7 days free, then billed monthly or yearly, at the price shown in your local currency before you confirm. Payment is charged to your Apple Account at confirmation of purchase. The subscription renews automatically unless it is canceled at least 24 hours before the end of the period, and you can manage or cancel it in your Apple Account settings. Cancel at least a day before the free week is up and you pay nothing. Terms of Use (EULA): https://www.apple.com/legal/internet-services/itunes/dev/stdeula/ Privacy Policy: https://firstgear.run/privacy

Screenshots

Ayro4 screens
First Gear4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is ads: Ayro at none against First Gear's shown. Ayro also leads on ratings volume (32 vs 3). On price, rating, update cadence 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. Ayro sells 8 in-app purchases, starting at $3.99 per 7 days and First Gear sells 2 in-app purchases, starting at $4.99 per month. Whichever you choose, the download price is not the number that matters.

ReceptionRating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings

On the App Store both sit at effectively the same score — 4.8 for Ayro against 4.7 for First Gear. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: Ayro has 32 ratings behind it against 3, so its average is the more settled of the two.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

Ayro ships an update weekly, First Gear every 5 days. Both last shipped on October 31, 2026.

Scorecard2 real differences · 8 level
Ayro versus First Gear: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterAyroFirst Gear
PriceFreeFree
Rating4.8 (32 ratings) — better4.7 (3 ratings)
Positive reviews100.0% of reviews—
Number of ratings32 — better3
Update frequencyWeeklyEvery 5 days — better
AdsNo — betterYes
In-app purchasesYesYes
MonetizationFreemiumFree with in-app purchases
DevicesiPhone, iPadiPhone, Apple Watch
Requires iOS18.018.0
Further details — not scored
Size38 MB153 MB
Age rating12+17+
DeveloperLaya Labs, Inc.Rubber Bands LLC

Customer experience

Ayro

All ratings32 ratings
Positive96.9%
Neutral3.1%
Negative0.0%
Written reviews5 reviews
Positive100.0%
Neutral0.0%
Negative0.0%

First Gear

All ratings3 ratings
Positive100.0%
Neutral0.0%
Negative0.0%

In-app purchases

8 purchases

Ayro

Subscriptions8
  • Ayro Pro Weekly7 Days trial$3.997 Days
  • Ayro Pro Monthly7 Days trial$9.991 Month
  • Ayro Pro Monthly7 Days trial$19.991 Month
Show 5 more
  • Ayro Pro Quarterly7 Days trial$29.993 Months
  • Ayro Pro Annual Discount3 Days trial$39.991 Year
  • Ayro Pro Quarterly7 Days trial$44.993 Months
  • Ayro Pro Annual7 Days trial$79.991 Year
  • Ayro Pro Annual7 Days trial$119.991 Year
2 purchases

First Gear

Subscriptions2
  • First Gear Monthly7 Days trial$4.991 Month
  • First Gear Annual7 Days trial$29.991 Year

Questions

Is Ayro free?
Ayro is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Is First Gear free?
First Gear is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Which has better reviews, Ayro or First Gear?
Ayro is rated higher. Ayro averages 4.8 out of 5 from 32 ratings, while First Gear averages 4.7 from 3 ratings.
Do Ayro or First Gear have ads?
First Gear shows ads; Ayro does not.
Which is updated more often, Ayro or First Gear?
Ayro ships an update weekly, and First Gear every 5 days. Most recently, Ayro was updated on October 31, 2026 and First Gear on October 31, 2026.

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