Comparison

Loop vs Stride

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

Head to head
About

Loop

Features
Read full description

LOOP — EVERYTHING YOUR WATCH KNOWS, IN ONE CLEAR OVERVIEW Your Apple Watch measures more than you ever get to see. Loop shows all of it on one calm page, no searching, no tapping through menus. Open the app and your latest run is right there: distance, pace, heart rate, splits, the weather, the route. Swipe for the run before it. CLASSIC DESIGN Warm paper, one amber accent, big clear numbers. No loud colors, no feed, no ads, no account, no subscription. Loop is designed like a good instrument: everything you need, nothing that distracts. THE WEATHER DURING YOUR RUN What no other app does: the weather at the moment you ran. Temperature, feels-like, rain and UV, and for every kilometer whether you had a headwind or a tailwind, calculated from the wind direction and your heading. Now you know why that one kilometer felt harder. WHEN TO GO A score from 1 to 10 for running, cycling, walking and outdoor sports, right now and hour by hour for the rest of the day, with the reason: warm, wind, rain, strong sun. "Best from 6 to 8 pm" — that's all you need to know. EVERYTHING YOUR WATCH RECORDS • Splits per kilometer or mile with pace, heart rate, wind and temperature • Heart rate, cadence, running power, stride length, ground contact time, vertical oscillation, elevation • Cycling power, cadence and speed from paired sensors • The route on a map • Charts in your order: put what matters to you at the top RECORDS Your fastest 1, 2, 5, 10, 15, 20 km, half marathon, 25, 30, 40 km, marathon and 50 km — the top three per distance, even when it was a stretch inside a longer run. A run with a record gets a medal. WORKOUTS Create a pace run, heart rate run or intervals on your iPhone (warm-up, blocks by distance or time, repeats, cool-down). They go to the Watch by themselves. While running you see a speedometer: up is on target, left too slow, right too fast; outside the band you get taps. Share a workout as a TCX file with Strava, Garmin or Komoot. LIST AND FAVORITES All workouts by month, filtered by running, cycling, walking, swimming, other, distance and favorites. Tap and you're in the run. PRIVACY Everything stays on your iPhone. Loop only reads from Health, writes nothing, and has no server of its own. Weather comes from Apple Weather. For iPhone, with workouts from Apple Watch or any app that writes to Health, such as Strava or Garmin. English, Dutch, German, French and Spanish. Kilometers or miles, °C or °F, following your device.

About

Stride

Features
Read full description

Stride is the running tracker that helps you run smarter, not just further. Record every run with accurate GPS, see your pace, distance and route in real time, and follow a training plan shaped around your goal and experience. Whether you are starting your first 5K or building towards a marathon, Stride keeps you moving forward. TRACK EVERY RUN • Accurate GPS tracking of distance, pace, time and route • Outdoor runs, indoor runs, trail runs, walks and cycling • Live stats on screen and audio coaching in your ear • Auto-pause when you stop at a crossing • Route maps for every run you save TRAIN WITH A PLAN • Personal plans based on your goal, experience and the days you can run • A clear workout for today, every day • Weekly distance goals that keep you consistent SEE YOUR PROGRESS • Full run history with splits and details • Personal records that update automatically • Weekly and monthly progress charts • Achievements, challenges and personal missions to stay motivated SHARE YOUR RUNS • Beautiful run cards to share with friends or save to Photos • The start and end of your route are hidden automatically to protect your privacy WORKS WITH APPLE HEALTH • Save your runs to Apple Health so they count towards your activity • Keep your running history in one place YOUR DATA STAYS YOURS • Runs, routes and your profile are stored on your device • Delete your account and data at any time from Settings • Light, Dark or System theme STRIDE PRO Unlock the full coaching experience: • Advanced run analysis • Personal running profile • Smart route recommendations • Adaptive workouts that respond to how you run • Advanced personal missions • Smart coaching insights • No ads Stride Pro is available as a monthly or yearly auto-renewing subscription, with a free trial for new subscribers. Payment is charged to your Apple ID account when you confirm the purchase, or when the free trial ends. The subscription renews automatically unless it is cancelled at least 24 hours before the end of the current period. Your account is charged for renewal within 24 hours before the current period ends. You can manage or cancel your subscription in your App Store account settings at any time after purchase. Any unused part of a free trial is forfeited when you buy a subscription. Stride is not a medical device. Talk to a doctor before starting a new exercise programme. Privacy Policy: https://sites.google.com/view/strideruntracker-privacypolicy Terms of Use: https://sites.google.com/view/strideruntrackerite-termsofuse

Screenshots

Loop4 screens
Stride4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is in-app purchases: Loop at none against Stride's 3. Loop also leads on ads (none vs shown) and update cadence (daily vs fortnightly). On price, device support and iOS requirement there is nothing between them.

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

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

Both are free to download. Stride sells 3 in-app purchases, starting at $2.99 per month. Loop asks for nothing beyond the download.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

Loop ships an update daily, Stride fortnightly. The most recent releases landed on October 18, 2026 and October 9, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard3 real differences Ā· 3 level
Loop versus Stride: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterLoopStride
PriceFreeFree
Update frequencyDaily — betterFortnightly
AdsNo — betterYes
In-app purchasesNo — betterYes
DevicesiPhone, Apple WatchiPhone, iPad, Apple Watch — better
Requires iOS17.0 — better18.0
Further details — not scored
Size4 MB14 MB
Age rating4+4+
DeveloperDimitry van den BergVarsha Patel

In-app purchases

None

Loop

No in-app purchases

3 purchases

Stride

Subscriptions2
  • monthly$2.991 Month
  • yearly$29.991 Year
One-time1
  • lifetime$59.99

Questions

Is Loop free?
Loop is free to download, with no in-app purchases.
Is Stride free?
Stride is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Do Loop or Stride have ads?
Stride shows ads; Loop does not.
Which is updated more often, Loop or Stride?
Loop ships an update daily, and Stride fortnightly. Most recently, Loop was updated on October 18, 2026 and Stride on October 9, 2026.

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