# Chronic Friends vs StartRunning

The clearest difference is device support: StartRunning at 4 against Chronic Friends's 2. On price, update cadence, ads and in-app purchases there is nothing between them.

Both are free to download. Chronic Friends sells 4 in-app purchases, starting at $19.99 per month and StartRunning sells 1 one-off in-app purchase. Whichever you choose, the download price is not the number that matters.

Chronic Friends ships an update every 8 days, StartRunning fortnightly. The most recent releases landed on October 9, 2026 and October 4, 2026 respectively.

## The numbers

| Metric | Chronic Friends | StartRunning |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Price | Free | Free |
| In-app purchases | Yes | Yes |
| Ads | No | No |
| Update frequency | **Every 8 days** | Fortnightly |
| Size | 51 MB | 29 MB |
| Requires iOS | 15.1 | **15.0** |
| Devices | iPhone, iPod | **iPhone, iPad, iPod, Apple Watch** |
| Age rating | 17+ | 4+ |
| Developer | [Gerard Mir Ferrera](https://appshunter.io/developer/6792334660) | [Patrick Engels-Kolodziej](https://appshunter.io/developer/1885876143) |

## What reviewers say

### Chronic Friends

[App page](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/chronic-friends-symptom-log/id6792334658)

**Features:** macOS Compatibility, Vision Pro support

**In-app purchases (4)**

| Purchase | Price | Billing |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Premium Monthly | $19.99 | per month |
| Premium 6 Months | $87.99 | per 6 months |
| Premium Yearly | $167.99 | per year |
| Premium Lifetime | $599.99 | one-time |


### StartRunning

[App page](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/startrunning-zero-to-5k/id6805030775)

**Features:** macOS Compatibility, Apple Watch app, Vision Pro support

**In-app purchases (1)**

| Purchase | Price | Billing |
| --- | --- | --- |
| StartRunning Lifetime | $6.99 | one-time |


## Frequently asked questions

### Is Chronic Friends free?

Chronic Friends is free to download, with in-app purchases available.

### Is StartRunning free?

StartRunning is free to download, with in-app purchases available.

### Do Chronic Friends or StartRunning have ads?

Neither Chronic Friends nor StartRunning shows ads.

### Which is updated more often, Chronic Friends or StartRunning?

Chronic Friends ships an update every 8 days, and StartRunning fortnightly. Most recently, Chronic Friends was updated on October 9, 2026 and StartRunning on October 4, 2026.

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*Compared by [AppsHunter](https://appshunter.io/) from daily US App Store data. Review summaries are generated from verbatim App Store reviews.*