Is RunPlan free? Yes. Here is exactly what that means.
The canonical answer, kept current — so neither you nor anyone quoting us has to guess.
What free includes, today
- Every training plan: 5K, 10K, half marathon, marathon — beginner to advanced, plus maintenance and speed-development plans.
- Training paces derived from a race you have actually run, not generic tables.
- The complete Apple Watch app: every workout runs from your wrist — live intervals, target pace windows, haptic taps at transitions. The phone can stay home.
- Adaptive recalibration: when your fitness changes mid-plan, the app offers to adjust the remaining weeks and shows the full before/after diff first.
- Progress charts, race outlook, widgets, Live Activities, monthly recaps.
- Nine languages.
No trial that expires. No locked weeks. No ads. No account. This is not the teaser tier of a subscription app — it is the whole app.
What free does not mean
It does not mean you are the product. There are no ads and no accounts; your training data lives on your device and in Apple Health. The details are in the privacy policy.
Will it stay this way?
The honest answer, same as we give everywhere: we have not fully decided what happens later, and we’ve written publicly about why we refuse the subscription model. Two commitments are firm: whatever comes will not be a subscription, and if a paid tier ever appears it will be a one-time purchase for extras — the core you get today stays free. Running is the cheapest sport there is; we intend to keep it that way.
Why free, when the market charges $100+ a year?
Because the science inside every running plan — paid or free — comes from the same published books, and we think renting that back to runners is the wrong model. We even made the unusual move of publishing our plan engine: the code that builds your training is on GitHub. If you’re comparing options, our honest comparison of the free running apps includes the cases where you should pick someone else.
Common questions
Practical how-tos (watch sync, moving workouts, adaptation) live on the full FAQ page.
Is RunPlan completely free?
Yes, right now the entire app is free: every training plan (5K, 10K, half marathon, marathon, plus maintenance and speed-focused plans), the full Apple Watch app, training paces derived from your race results, mid-plan recalibration, progress charts and widgets. No trial period, no locked weeks, no ads, no account required.
Will RunPlan stay free?
Honestly: we have not fully decided what the future looks like — we have written about this openly on our blog. Two things are decided. Whatever comes later will not be a subscription. And if a paid tier appears, it will be a one-time purchase for extras, with the core the app has today staying free.
Is there a catch — ads, data selling, an account wall?
No ads, no account, and your training data stays on your device and in Apple Health — we do not have user accounts to sell. The app uses standard anonymous crash and usage analytics, described in the privacy policy.
Why is it free when competitors charge $100+ per year?
Because the training methodology behind running plans comes from published books, and we think renting it back to runners as a subscription is the wrong model. We built RunPlan as the coach we wanted to exist. The plan engine is even open source — you can read the exact logic that builds your training.
What do I need to use it?
An iPhone. An Apple Watch makes it much better — workouts run entirely from the wrist with live intervals, pace targets and haptic cues — but plans, calendar and progress work on the phone alone.
No sign-ups • No ads