Runtime vs Rise to 5K
Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both apps, side by side — with what reviewers say about each.
Runtime
Track your runs, walks, hikes, and jogs with detailed statistics including route, time, speed, pace, and altitude. Supports Apple Watch, widgets, and shoe mileage tracking. Visualize your progress with 3D maps and share your workouts.
- Route, time, speed, pace, and altitude tracking
- Apple Watch integration
- Stopwatch widget and Notification Center control
- Shoe mileage tracking
- 3D map visualization of routes
- Pedometer functionality
- Exportable KML and GPX files
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**New in Runtime 2.3** watchOS 2, iOS 9, and 3D Touch Support! **New in Runtime 2.2** Apple Watch and Split Times! **New in Runtime 2.1** Shoe Tracking and HealthKit! **New in Runtime 2.0** Stopwatch Widget, Detailed Running Statistics, Live Running Map View Runtime is a simple run tracking app that takes advantage of the latest features in iOS 8, the iPhone 5s, and the iPhone 6. Use Runtime to track your route, time, speed, pace, and altitude everywhere you go for a run/walk/hike/jog/jaunt etc. Runtime supports Apple Watch for controlling your run right from your wrist. Use Apple Watch to start a run, view stats on your progress while you're on the go, including pace, distance, time, location, and split times and a complete elevation profile. Runtime for Apple Watch is an incredibly advanced stopwatch right on your wrist. You can also control your workout without the stopwatch widget. Quickly start a new run from Notification Center, pause a run without launching the app, and view your time, distance, and steps all from the convenience of the Today screen. Keep track of the mileage on your shoes with the new Shoe Closet feature to add your shoes to Runtime and automatically log the distance you run on each shoe. Visualize your content. Organize your routes and times into places and view rich 3D map images of each run. View pace and elevation details for each run. Runtime supports the M7 motion co-processor, which allows you to use Runtime as a pedometer. Open the menu to view how many steps you've taken today and this week. Runtime will also use the M7 to show you when and where you stopped to rest on the trail. Time spent walking is highlighted yellow, while normal activity is highlighted orange. Share your workouts with friends and other apps. Runtime can export KML and GPX files that you can use with other apps. GPX files can be used for geotagging your photos, or for location simulation in Xcode! **New in Runtime 2.0** Runtime is now FREE! Track your runs in the app and in HealthKit, start new runs with the stopwatch widget, and view a detailed map of your route, all for free. You can also upgrade to Runtime’s Advanced Features, which include: - Track the distance run on each of your shoes. - Adding multiple places that you want to track workouts. - Create custom workouts. Use the Interval Timer to configure high and low intensity alerts with custom alert tones for a rich custom workout experience! - Use the cutting edge Flyover feature to get a cinematic tour of your tracked routes! - View detailed stats for every place you run to track your trends over time. Additional features include: - State Restoration - Backup data with Dropbox import/export* - Add notes to each run - AirDrop or email your route to friends - Share your run on Twitter and Facebook - Deferred Location updates can help save battery power on long runs (iPhone 5 and up) * Dropbox import/export requires a Dropbox account. Learn more about Dropbox at dropbox.com. Disclaimer: Continued use of GPS running in the background can dramatically decrease battery life. Learn more about Runtime at conradstoll.com/runtime
Rise to 5K
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You don't need to be a runner to start. You need eight weeks, three short runs a week, and a reason to come back on the days it rains. Rise to 5K is an 8-week run-walk plan built mainly for people who don't run yet or are just starting out. A voice tells you when to run and when to walk, over your music, with the phone in your pocket. Every run you finish raises the sun on your home screen. Start in the dark, and 24 runs later it's morning. It works for regular runners too! Just start an open run and run your way. No account, no sign-up. Your runs stay on your phone. THE PLAN CARRIES YOU • Eight weeks, three runs a week, gently building from one-minute jogs to a full 5K. • A voice tells you when to run and when to walk — over your music or podcast, with the screen off and the phone in your pocket. • Leave the app mid-run and the timer floats over whatever you're watching. • Life happens: miss a week and the plan bends softer, never harder. It suggests, you decide. EVERY RUN EARNS A SUNRISE • The sky on your home screen turns from night to dawn as runs are done — your progress is the view. • Sunrises mark the moments worth keeping: first run, first full week, halfway to dawn. Never a punishment, never a guilt trip. • A quiet log remembers every run — including how it felt. DISTANCE, PACE AND ROUTE • Live distance and pace under the clock, measured by your phone's GPS while you run. • Finish and see where you went: your route drawn as a map — or as a constellation, when you're offline. • Share a run as a night-sky card with your route written in stars. • It all stays on your phone. Routes are never uploaded, and deleting a run deletes its route. Don't want it? One switch turns tracking off, on the screen before every run. RUN YOUR WAY • No plan today? An open run lets you conduct it: warm up, run, walk, whenever you say. The ladder draws itself as you go. SIMPLE ON PURPOSE • No account, no sign-up — open the app and start. • Your runs live on your phone; back them up to a file whenever you like, restore them anywhere. The couch has had you long enough. The sun's coming up.
Screenshots
Verdict
The clearest difference is in-app purchases: Rise to 5K at none against Runtime's 1. Rise to 5K also leads on update cadence (every 5 days vs every 2 months). Runtime's advantage is iOS requirement (9.0 vs 15.0). On price, ads and device support 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
Both are free to download. Runtime sells 1 one-off in-app purchase. Rise to 5K asks for nothing beyond the download.
Runtime ships an update every 2 months, Rise to 5K every 5 days. The most recent releases landed on October 15, 2026 and October 6, 2026 respectively.
| Parameter | Runtime | Rise to 5K |
|---|---|---|
| Price | Free | Free |
| Rating | 2.3 (3 ratings) — better | — |
| Positive reviews | 64.0% of reviews | — |
| Number of ratings | 3 — better | — |
| Update frequency | Every 2 months | Every 5 days — better |
| Ads | No | No |
| In-app purchases | Yes | No — better |
| Monetization | Free with in-app purchases | — |
| Devices | iPhone, iPod, Apple Watch | iPhone, iPad, iPod |
| Requires iOS | 9.0 — better | 15.0 |
| Further details — not scored | ||
| Size | 24 MB | 7 MB |
| Age rating | 4+ | 4+ |
| Developer | Conrad Stoll | YUN QUAN BRYAN MARK TEO |
In-app purchases
Runtime
- Runtime Advanced Features$4.99
Rise to 5K
No in-app purchases









