Comparison

Workrate vs Fondo

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

Head to head
About

Workrate

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100 burpees in 20 minutes sounds simple until you're five minutes in, breathing hard, and have no idea if you're ahead or behind. Workrate starts from your target. Enter the reps, the minutes and the movement, and it builds the pacing plan: how many reps each round, and when to rest. Press start and follow the audio cues. HOW IT WORKS • Set the target: reps, minutes, and a movement tag like 6-count burpees, Navy Seal burpees, push-ups or kettlebell swings. • Pick a pacing plan and preview it round by round. Swipe to compare plans for the same target. • Follow the cues: a 3, 2, 1 countdown before each round ends, a go tone for the next one, and a final tone at the end. Haptics too, if you want them. • Keep Workrate open on screen. It stops the screen from sleeping during a workout, and your music keeps playing under the cues. • Log what you got each round and see it against the plan. FREE • Every minute: your reps spread across one-minute rounds (EMOM style). • Steady pace: one rep at a time, evenly spaced to hit the target exactly. • Sets: a set count you choose, with rest between sets. • Freestyle: just a duration. Run the clock and log your reps. • Your full workout history, round by round. • Every sound pack, including the coach voices. WORKRATE PRO: PAY ONCE, NO SUBSCRIPTION • Three more pacing plans: Phased ramp, Rest hoarding and Surge minutes. • Progress trends: your best, your average and your reps over time for each movement. • Pro is free for your first 5 workouts, so you can try every plan before you decide. SAME TARGET, A DIFFERENT WAY TO GET THERE Stuck at the same count for weeks? Keep the target and change the pacing. Workrate is built for single-movement volume: 200 burpees in 20 minutes, 150 push-ups in 15, 300 swings in 15. Rounds are at least one minute long, so it isn't a 30-second interval timer. YOUR DATA STAYS ON YOUR PHONE No account, no sign-up, no cloud sync, no ads. Workouts, tags and notes are stored on your device. Anonymous usage analytics can be turned off in Settings. WHAT IT ISN'T Workrate isn't a coach. It won't pick your exercises, judge your form, or change the plan mid-workout. It's for people who already know the work and want a better way to structure it. Terms of Use: https://getworkrate.app/terms Privacy Policy: https://getworkrate.app/privacy Questions or feedback: support@getworkrate.app

About

Fondo

Features
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Fondo helps you build your aerobic base with Zone 2 training: the intensity at which you can still hold a conversation, the one that improves endurance and recovery. A GOAL EVERY WEEK • Choose how many Zone 2 minutes to do each week: Fondo counts them and tells you how many are left, day by day. • The 80/20 balance shows whether you're keeping about 80% of your time easy. TRAIN WITH A STRAP OR APPLE WATCH • Connect a Bluetooth heart rate strap (Polar, Garmin, Wahoo and other compatible straps) or train directly with Apple Watch. • Pick the zone to hold, the whole zone or just its lower or upper half, and your goal: time, distance or distance in zone. • If you leave your zone, a voice tells you to slow down or push a little, and tells you when you're back. On Apple Watch you get distinct haptics. • Alerts that don't nag: choose immediate, steady or rare. Small swings around the zone limit are ignored. • Your music is lowered only while the voice speaks, then comes back. • Heart rate, zone and time stay visible on the Lock Screen and in the Dynamic Island. RUNNING AND WALKING • Distance, average pace and elevation gain from GPS and barometer, even with the screen locked. No map, no stored route. • Adjustable metronome over your music, to keep a higher cadence and a shorter stride. • Countdown before you start, with pause. INTERVALS • Ready-made workouts: Norwegian 4Ɨ4, 30/30 and 5Ɨ3′, with adjustable repetitions, durations and zones. • A guide for each workout: what it's for, how to do it and a practical tip. • Spoken cues at every phase change: warm-up, work, recovery, cool-down. THE SCIENCE, WITH SOURCES • A page explains what research says about Zone 2, mitochondria, the 80/20 rule and intervals, with the studies cited. Including what Zone 2 doesn't do. ZONES MADE FOR YOU • Zones calculated from your max and resting heart rate, using the Karvonen method or % of max HR, or set manually. • With the Health app, Fondo estimates your max heart rate from your age and reads your resting heart rate. HEALTH, WIDGETS AND TRENDS • With Health, workouts from Apple Watch and other apps count too; workouts recorded with Fondo are saved to Health, with heart rate and distance. • Widgets for the Home Screen and Lock Screen. • Trends: Zone 2 minutes per week, resting heart rate and VO2 max. ONE PRICE, FOREVER Fondo is free to download with a 14-day full trial, no sign-up and no card required. Then a one-time purchase unlocks everything forever: no subscription, no ads. If you don't unlock, your week and zones remain available. PRIVACY No account, no servers, no tracking. Your data stays on your iPhone, your Apple Watch and in the Health app. Fondo is not a medical device and does not replace medical advice.

Screenshots

Workrate4 screens
Fondo4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is iOS requirement: Workrate at 16.4 against Fondo's 18.0. On price, update cadence, ads and in-app purchases 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. Workrate sells 1 one-off in-app purchase and Fondo sells 1 one-off in-app purchase. Whichever you choose, the download price is not the number that matters.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

Workrate ships an update weekly, Fondo every 4 days. The most recent releases landed on October 26, 2026 and October 29, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard1 real difference Ā· 5 level
Workrate versus Fondo: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterWorkrateFondo
PriceFreeFree
Update frequencyWeeklyEvery 4 days — better
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesYesYes
DevicesiPhoneiPhone, Apple Watch — better
Requires iOS16.4 — better18.0
Further details — not scored
Size57 MB6 MB
Age rating4+12+
DeveloperHlynur StefanssonLorenzo Franceschini

In-app purchases

1 purchases

Workrate

One-time1
  • Workrate Pro$14.99
1 purchases

Fondo

One-time1
  • Fondo Full$4.99

Questions

Is Workrate free?
Workrate is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Is Fondo free?
Fondo is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Do Workrate or Fondo have ads?
Neither Workrate nor Fondo shows ads.
Which is updated more often, Workrate or Fondo?
Workrate ships an update weekly, and Fondo every 4 days. Most recently, Workrate was updated on October 26, 2026 and Fondo on October 29, 2026.

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