Comparison

Session vs Rounds

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

Head to head
About

Session

Features
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Session is the interval training timer that adapts to YOUR sport. Whether you're running, doing HIIT, Tabata, or any other interval workout, Session lets you build fully customized workouts: number of reps, length of each phase, type of effort (sprint, recovery, endurance, exercise, warm-up). WHY SESSION? โ€ข 100% custom workouts โ€” create as many phases as you want, in any order you want โ€ข Real-time visual timeline โ€” see exactly where you are in your workout at a glance โ€ข Customizable alerts โ€” sound, vibration, or voice guidance so you stay focused without looking at your screen โ€ข Works with the screen locked โ€” start your workout, pocket your phone, go โ€ข Music-friendly โ€” alerts come through clearly, even over your playlist โ€ข No sign-up required โ€” open the app and go, no account needed โ€ข Free, no ads, no in-app purchases WHO IS IT FOR? Runners, athletes in conditioning, interval trainers, HIIT and Tabata fans, or anyone who needs a reliable, simple interval timer. Your data stays on your phone. No account, no ad tracking. Your sport. Your pace. Your Session.

About

Rounds

Features
Read full description

You set the work, you set the rest, and the timer takes it from there. Before every change it turns red and beeps once a second, so the end of a step reaches you with your eyes down. Made for HIIT, tabata, boxing rounds, MMA, BJJ and muay thai, EMOM and AMRAP, circuit training, planks, jump rope, dead hangs and run-walk intervals. Ready-made workouts start with one tap, and anything you build yourself is yours to repeat. No account, no sign-up, no email address. Your workouts live on your device and travel between your devices through your own iCloud. Two ways to train Workout: you add exercises one at a time, give each one its own time, and drop rests in between. Take an exercise from the 45 built in across seven categories, or type your own name. What you type stays in the app, so next time it is one tap. Intervals: rounds of work and rest, with no exercise names. Set three numbers and you are done. Ten rounds of ninety seconds with thirty off, or eight rounds of twenty on and ten off, take the same three moves. Either one saves as a template with the times already in it. Edit it, duplicate it to change one thing without touching the original, put it in the archive, or delete it. The last seconds In the middle of an exercise you are looking at the floor, not at the screen, so the end of a step has to reach you without being read. The timer turns red and beeps once a second before every change. You choose how long that warning runs: the last 10, 5 or 3 seconds, set separately for exercises and for rests, because the end of a rest needs more notice than the end of a plank. The sound plays even when the phone is on silent, the way the built-in Clock does. If you would rather feel it than hear it, there is vibration. The screen stays awake while the timer runs, and time is counted from the clock, so the countdown does not drift. What you see while you work One number, big enough to read from the floor, and a ring that empties as the step runs out. The whole screen carries the phase: your accent color for work, a cool color for rest, red for the last seconds. Portrait and landscape are the same layout. Every start opens with three seconds of Get ready, so the first exercise does not catch you halfway through a movement. Every workout carries its own timer theme: animated ones, Christmas and Halloween included, plus one you build yourself, and new ones arrive with updates. Now and then something happens on screen, a reindeer licks the glass or a ghost swoops past, while the numbers stay in view. On top of that: seasonal app colors, a stopwatch mascot, more than a dozen countdown and finish sounds, more than thirty typefaces, and an emoji on each workout so you know it on the list without reading. On the Mac The same app in a window, with a sidebar for your workouts and the archive, a search field, a details panel, and the countdown filling the whole window. New workout is โŒ˜N, intervals โ‡งโŒ˜N, and โŒ˜, opens settings. Build a workout at the desk and it is on the phone by the time you are on the mat. Rounds Premium No ads. Your first 7 days are free, with no card and everything unlocked. After that, Rounds Premium is a yearly or monthly subscription that renews automatically unless you cancel it in your Apple Account settings at least 24 hours before the period ends. One plan covers iPhone, iPad and Mac. If you bought Rounds ad-free earlier, you keep everything. What the app does not do It does not weigh you, count calories or draw charts. It does not talk to a watch or to Health. It has no account. The only thing you give it is the name you type at the start, so it can greet you. When you leave the app, the timer stops and waits for you. Rounds speaks ten languages and follows the one your device is set to. Support: https://nanas.pro/support Privacy: https://nanas.pro/legal/privacy#rounds Terms of Use: https://www.apple.com/legal/internet-services/itunes/dev/stdeula/

Screenshots

Session4 screens
Rounds4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is in-app purchases: Session at none against Rounds's 3. Session also leads on iOS requirement (15.6 vs 18.0). On price, update cadence, ads 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. Rounds sells 3 in-app purchases, starting at $2.99 per month. Session asks for nothing beyond the download.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

Both ship on a similar rhythm, roughly every 5 days. The most recent releases landed on November 10, 2026 and October 31, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard2 real differences ยท 4 level
Session versus Rounds: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterSessionRounds
PriceFreeFree
Update frequencyEvery 5 daysEvery 5 days
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesNo โ€” betterYes
DevicesiPhone, iPad, iPodiPhone, iPad, Mac
Requires iOS15.6 โ€” better18.0
Further details โ€” not scored
Size42 MB3 MB
Age rating4+4+
DeveloperVincent DOLLOAdrian Skobiej

In-app purchases

None

Session

No in-app purchases

3 purchases

Rounds

Subscriptions2
  • Rounds Premium (Monthly)$2.991 Month
  • Rounds Premium (Yearly)$9.991 Year
One-time1
  • Rounds without ads$9.99

Questions

Is Session free?
Session is free to download, with no in-app purchases.
Is Rounds free?
Rounds is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Do Session or Rounds have ads?
Neither Session nor Rounds shows ads.
Which is updated more often, Session or Rounds?
Session ships an update every 5 days, and Rounds every 5 days. Most recently, Session was updated on November 10, 2026 and Rounds on October 31, 2026.

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