Comparison

Interval Timer vs SplitCue

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

Head to head
About

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.

Highlights
  • Intuitive design
  • Customizable time intervals
  • Warm-up and cool-down timers
  • Voice and vibration notifications
  • Background music support
  • Foreground/background operation
Features
Read full description

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/

About

SplitCue

This app provides structured interval training for runners with AI-generated plans and real-time audio cues. It allows users to build custom workouts, track pace and distance, and receive guidance to focus on their run without constantly checking their phone.

Highlights
  • AI training plans for various race distances
  • Customizable interval workouts by time or distance
  • Real-time GPS pace tracking
  • Voice and haptic audio cues
  • Live Activity and Dynamic Island integration
  • Workout history, maps, and personal records
  • Chat-based coaching and voice commands
Features
Read full description

SplitCue (formerly PaceCue) is a structured interval timer built for runners. Build a workout or a full training plan, press start, and get voice and haptic cues that tell you when to speed up, slow down, warm up, and cool down — so you can leave your phone in your pocket and focus on the run. AI Training Plans Pick the race you are training for — 5K, 10K, half marathon, marathon, or a custom distance — then add a goal time, race date, and how many days a week you run. SplitCue builds the plan from your running profile and recent runs, and puts each workout on a calendar so you always know what to run today. Training phases show where you are in the build. Talk to your coach in chat, or just speak: move a long run, ease off a hard day, swap a workout, or add strides. Build any workout in seconds Stack intervals by time or by GPS distance, with repeat counts, effort levels, and target paces. A distance repeat ends when you have covered the distance. Start from 18 built-in workouts — Tempo Run, Fartlek, Pyramid, Hill Repeats, 400m Repeats, Mile Repeats, 5K and 10K runs, a half-marathon run/walk, and more — or design your own. Your library is grouped into Easy, Tempo, Intervals, Long Runs, and Race. AI Workout Builder Describe the run you want — "30-minute tempo with a warmup and strides" — and SplitCue generates a complete interval workout from your profile. Refine it in conversation or by voice, then save it and go. Real-time GPS pace Track pace, distance, and elevation through every interval. Set a target and SplitCue announces it when the interval starts, then calls out your current pace as often as you choose — from every 15 seconds up to every 2 minutes — or only on intervals that have a target. Use minutes per mile or minutes per kilometer, and pick a short or long pace average so track repeats stay quick and long runs stay steady. Audio cues that stay out of your way Choose voice, beeps, both, or silent. Pick any voice on your device, including enhanced voices. Music ducking lets cues cut through Spotify, then hands the volume back. Set countdown warnings at 3, 5, 10, 15, or 30 seconds before each transition, and keep haptics on when you want a cue you can feel. Lock Screen & Dynamic Island A Live Activity shows your current interval, the countdown, and what is next — on the Lock Screen and in the Dynamic Island. Maps, records, and history Every completed run is logged with duration, distance, and splits, including pace versus target. Open a run to see your route, an elevation profile, and your pace uphill, on the flat, and downhill. Tag how it felt, the effort, the weather, and who you ran with. Stats keep personal records — fastest mile, 5K, 10K, and half marathon, plus longest run and elevation — along with milestones and trends for pace, distance, and time. Export a backup anytime, or sign in with Apple and let cloud sync keep workouts and history on all of your devices. Share a workout Send any workout as a link friends can open in one tap. You can share a finished run the same way, splits included. Free to start The timer, presets, custom workouts, pace tracking, Live Activities, voice cues, maps, and history are free. Your first AI training plan is included, along with five AI-built workouts. SplitCue Pro is an optional subscription that unlocks unlimited AI training plans and unlimited AI-built workouts. Questions or ideas? Reach us at brandon@getsurmount.com. Terms of Use: www.apple.com/legal/internet-services/itunes/dev/stdeula/

Screenshots

Interval Timer4 screens
SplitCue4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is review sentiment: SplitCue at 100% against Interval Timer's 21%. SplitCue also leads on rating (5.0 vs 4.5) and update cadence (every 3 days vs monthly). Interval Timer's advantage is ratings volume (538 vs 3) and device support (3 vs 1). On price, ads, in-app purchases and monetization model 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

CostPrice · In-app purchases · Ads · Monetization

Both are free to download. Interval Timer sells 3 in-app purchases, starting at $2.99 per month and SplitCue sells 2 in-app purchases, starting at $3.99 per month. Whichever you choose, the download price is not the number that matters.

ReceptionRating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings

SplitCue holds the better App Store score, 5.0 against 4.5. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: Interval Timer has 538 ratings behind it against 3, 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 100% of SplitCue's.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

Interval Timer ships an update monthly, SplitCue every 3 days. The most recent releases landed on November 1, 2026 and October 31, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard6 real differences · 4 level
Interval Timer versus SplitCue: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterInterval TimerSplitCue
PriceFreeFree
Rating4.5 (538 ratings)5.0 (3 ratings) — better
Positive reviews21.1% of reviews100.0% of reviews — better
Number of ratings538 — better3
Update frequencyMonthlyEvery 3 days — better
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesYesYes
MonetizationFree with in-app purchasesFreemium
DevicesiPhone, iPad, Apple Watch — betteriPhone
Requires iOS26.016.4 — better
Further details — not scored
Size16 MB63 MB
Age rating4+4+
DeveloperRoma SosnovskyToddly LLC

Customer experience

Interval Timer

All ratings536 ratings
Positive86.8%
Neutral3.4%
Negative9.9%
Written reviews95 reviews
Positive21.1%
Neutral8.4%
Negative70.5%

SplitCue

All ratings3 ratings
Positive100.0%
Neutral0.0%
Negative0.0%
Written reviews1 reviews
Positive100.0%
Neutral0.0%
Negative0.0%

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)
Show 1 more
  • Congratulatory audio cue at the end

SplitCue

Not enough reviews yet to summarise bugs or requests.

In-app purchases

3 purchases

Interval Timer

Subscriptions2
  • Interval Run Pro Monthly$2.991 Month
  • Interval Run Pro Annual7 Days trial$19.991 Year
One-time1
  • Full Version$2.99
2 purchases

SplitCue

Subscriptions2
  • PaceCue Pro Monthly$3.991 Month
  • PaceCue Pro Annual$29.991 Year

Questions

Is Interval Timer free?
Interval Timer is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Is SplitCue free?
SplitCue is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Which has better reviews, Interval Timer or SplitCue?
SplitCue is rated higher. Interval Timer averages 4.5 out of 5 from 538 ratings, while SplitCue averages 5.0 from 3 ratings.
Do Interval Timer or SplitCue have ads?
Neither Interval Timer nor SplitCue shows ads.
Which is updated more often, Interval Timer or SplitCue?
Interval Timer ships an update monthly, and SplitCue every 3 days. Most recently, Interval Timer was updated on November 1, 2026 and SplitCue on October 31, 2026.

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