Interval Timer vs Custom Running Intervals
Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both apps, side by side — with what reviewers say about each.
Interval Timer
Organize your running and high-intensity interval training sessions with ease. Quickly set up custom time intervals for running, walking, warm-ups, and cool-downs. Receive voice and vibration notifications for interval changes, and enjoy background music playback.
- Intuitive design
- Customizable time intervals
- Warm-up and cool-down timers
- Voice and vibration notifications
- Background music support
- Foreground/background operation
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Interval Run is a running interval timer for iPhone and Apple Watch. Create run/walk intervals, sprint sessions, and HIIT workouts in seconds. Train with voice announcements and haptic cues, control workouts from Apple Watch, save sessions to Apple Health, and track your workout history. Choose from 25+ ready-made running workouts or build your own. Follow intervals from the Lock Screen and Dynamic Island, and focus on your run. 25+ READY-MADE RUNNING WORKOUTS • Explore run/walk workouts, running intervals, sprints, hill repeats, tempo runs, fartlek sessions, ladders, pyramids, and more • Find workouts for speed, endurance, recovery, and different training goals • Start any workout immediately or customize it to match your training • Save your favorites to My Workouts for quick access BUILD YOUR OWN INTERVAL WORKOUT • Create simple run/walk intervals or advanced multi-step workouts • Add warm-up, running, walking, recovery, rest, and cool-down sections • Set a custom duration for every step • Repeat intervals and complete workout blocks • Add custom cues to guide you through each workout step • Build sprint, HIIT, cardio, and structured running sessions • Save multiple workouts and reuse them anytime • Preview the complete workout before you start VOICE & HAPTIC INTERVAL CUES • Hear clear voice announcements at every interval transition • Feel haptic cues when it’s time to run, walk, recover, or rest • Keep your workout active while your iPhone is locked or the app is in the background • Follow your current interval from the Lock Screen and Dynamic Island with Live Activities • Listen to music, podcasts, or audiobooks while you train RUN WITH APPLE WATCH • Sync workouts to Apple Watch • Start, pause, and control workouts directly from your wrist • Run phone-free with your workouts ready on Apple Watch • Follow interval progress without repeatedly checking your phone • Track heart rate, distance, and active energy during your workout • Get haptic interval cues directly on your Watch • Save completed workouts to Apple Health TRACK YOUR TRAINING • Browse completed workouts in calendar and history views • Review workout duration, intervals, distance, and active energy • Look back at your running and interval training over time • Share your workout results • Export and restore backups of your workout data MADE FOR RUNNERS WHO TRAIN WITH INTERVALS Whether you’re starting with beginner run/walk intervals, adding speed work to your weekly training, preparing for a 5K or another race, or creating a challenging HIIT session, Interval Run keeps every interval clear from start to finish. Use it as a simple run/walk timer, a running interval timer for speed training, an Apple Watch interval timer for phone-free workouts, or a flexible workout builder for more advanced structured sessions. From beginner run/walk workouts to sprints, tempo runs, hill repeats, fartlek training, and custom multi-step sessions, Interval Run adapts to the way you train. Start with one of 25+ ready-made workouts or create your own. Interval Run handles the timing so you can focus on your training. Some features shown, including the full workout library, advanced workout creation, multiple saved workouts, and full workout history, require Interval Run Pro. Terms of Use: https://www.apple.com/legal/internet-services/itunes/dev/stdeula/
Custom Running Intervals
Create custom running workouts with flexible intervals based on time or distance. Track progress, build training plans, and analyze past runs with detailed results. Your data is private and stored securely on your device or iCloud.
- Configurable time or distance intervals
- Repeatable interval blocks
- Training plan calendar
- Historical run analysis
- Apple Watch monitoring
- iCloud synchronization
- Data privacy
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This is a flexible custom interval timer and training scheduler with historical analysis, and you are the only one who has access to your data! As a runner, I’ve had challenges finding a running timer that can manage my more involved interval combinations. Custom Running Intervals allows you to build variable activities with repeatable blocks of intervals. Intervals can be by time or by distance with 3 intensities - walk, steady, and fast. You can repeat your intervals a specific or indefinite number of times, for a defined amount of time, or for a given distance. With an inexpensive upgrade, you can create as many combinations of repeatable sets in the variations you choose, build a training plan on a calendar, see results of past runs, and export results to other apps. Also, your data is only available to you - even I can’t see it. Your data will only exist on your phone, or in your own iCloud storage if you choose. If you save your data to iCloud (by default), you can view the results on any other iPhone or iPad that shares the same iCloud account. Features: 1. Configurable intervals - distance (miles, kilometers), time (hours, minutes, seconds). 2. Configurable repeat blocks of intervals - # of times (or until stopped), distance, time. 3. Clone activities (use an existing activity - repeats and intervals - as a basis to create a similar activity). 4. Apple Watch monitoring and control and heart rate (iPhone app must be started). 5. Configurable settings. 6. Audio cues by voice, tone, or both (in Settings). 7. Pause, Resume, or Stop an activity, Skip repeat blocks. 8. View current elapsed time, distance, interval progress, overall pace. 9. End an in-progress repeat block (and proceed to the next). 10. Results by interval and repeat block, as well as default distance unit (each mile or kilometer). 11. Results (including steps, time, distance, and pace) available immediately after run. 12. Map view to verify GPS location prior to starting run. 13. Map view of running route in results including markers by mile/kilometer and pauses. 14. Helpful on-screen guide when creating first activity and configuring. 15. Activities and results stored in iCloud for synchronization across devices and data loss prevention. Apple Watch If you have an Apple Watch, you can also start, pause, and stop an activity in progress from the watch. NOTE: the Apple Watch app (included with your iPhone download) communicates with the iPhone app, so the app must be started on both the watch and phone to use the watch app. Apple Watch Features: 1. View existing activity configurations. 2. Start an activity (if iPhone app is started). 3. Pause, Resume, or Stop an activity. 4. View current elapsed time, distance, interval progress, overall pace. 5. End an in-progress repeat block (and proceed to the next). Available Full Features (In App Purchase) 1. Configure an activity with multiple repeat blocks for more complex intervals (standard version allows one repeat block) 2. Add planned training runs on a Training Calendar for a selected custom interval (free version allows up to 5). 3. View and filter a graph of your pace over time for activities (free version allows up to 5 past runs). 4. View the results of your runs on the Training Calendar including a map of the route. weather conditions, elevation, pace, and heart rate. 5. Create repeatable training plans to easily add planned runs to the Training Calendar. 6. Sort your past results by date, total time of run, distance, and pack. 7. Export your results (current or history) in GPX format for importing to other trackers. 8. Fix GPS for anomalies. 9. Import results in GPX format from any tracker app. 10. Track miles run on your pairs of shoes. 11. Manually enter results for a run if you forget to track. 12. Manually edit the time and distance for a run. 13. Share a run with photo to social media and other apps. 14. Track a run on a cruise ship.
Screenshots
Verdict
The clearest difference is rating: Interval Timer at 4.5 against Custom Running Intervals's 2.0. Interval Timer also leads on ratings volume (534 vs 1) and review sentiment (21% vs 0%). Custom Running Intervals's advantage is iOS requirement (16.0 vs 26.0). On price, update cadence, ads and in-app purchases 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. Interval Timer sells 3 in-app purchases, starting at $2.99 per month and Custom Running Intervals sells 1 one-off in-app purchase. Whichever you choose, the download price is not the number that matters.
Interval Timer holds the better App Store score, 4.5 against 2.0. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: Interval Timer has 534 ratings behind it against 1, so its average is the more settled of the two. Written reviews point the same way: 21% of Interval Timer's written reviews are positive against 0% of Custom Running Intervals's.
Both ship on a similar rhythm, roughly every 3 months. The most recent releases landed on October 14, 2026 and October 9, 2026 respectively.
| Parameter | Interval Timer | Custom Running Intervals |
|---|---|---|
| Price | Free | Free |
| Rating | 4.5 (534 ratings) — better | 2.0 (1 ratings) |
| Positive reviews | 21.1% of reviews — better | 0.0% of reviews |
| Number of ratings | 534 — better | 1 |
| Update frequency | Every 3 months | Every 3 months |
| Ads | No | No |
| In-app purchases | Yes | Yes |
| Monetization | Free with in-app purchases | Free with in-app purchases |
| Devices | iPhone, iPad, Apple Watch | iPhone, iPad, Apple Watch |
| Requires iOS | 26.0 | 16.0 — better |
| Further details — not scored | ||
| Size | 16 MB | 11 MB |
| Age rating | 4+ | 4+ |
| Developer | Roma Sosnovsky | John Mallonee |
Customer experience
Interval Timer
Custom Running Intervals
Bugs and requests
Interval Timer
Reported bugs
4 issues- Timer resets or freezes during workout
- Prompts not working when phone is locked or in pocket
- Unexpected interval changes or duration changes
- Compatibility issues with music playback
Requested features
6 requests- Option to pause/resume timer
- Larger time remaining display
- Apple Watch app
- Ability to play audio prompts even with screen off
- More interval options (run/walk/jog)
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- Congratulatory audio cue at the end
Custom Running Intervals
Not enough reviews yet to summarise bugs or requests.
In-app purchases
Interval Timer
- Interval Run Pro Monthly$2.991 Month
- Interval Run Pro Annual7 Days trial$19.991 Year
- Full Version$2.99
Custom Running Intervals
- Full Capabilities$0.99
Questions
Is Interval Timer free?
Is Custom Running Intervals free?
Which has better reviews, Interval Timer or Custom Running Intervals?
Do Interval Timer or Custom Running Intervals have ads?
Which is updated more often, Interval Timer or Custom Running Intervals?
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