The best Strava apps for runners in 2026 are intervals.icu or Runalyze for training analysis, Runna or Strava's own subscription for training plans, Cadence Prints or Elevaprint for posters of your runs, and CityStrides or Statshunters for exploring new streets. Each connects to your Strava account, and most have a useful free tier.
Disclosure: I make SHUTT, an iPhone app that puts Strava stats on your photos and videos. That category is not ranked here; it has its own comparison of overlay apps. Every fact below comes from each app's own website, store listing or support pages, checked on 18 October 2026. Prices are shown exactly as listed, in the currency the page showed.
What changed in how apps can use Strava data?
One change matters before choosing any of these. Under Strava's API agreement, an app may show your Strava data only to you. Strava's current agreement, effective 1 June 2026, says so plainly, and the rule has applied since late 2024:
- intervals.icu announced that from 1 December 2024, activities synced from Strava are visible only to the athlete, not to coaches or followers.
- Runalyze keeps Strava-synced activities private by default and says its friend and coach features cannot show them.
What to do about it: if a coach or club needs to see your runs in one of these apps, connect your watch (Garmin, COROS, Polar and others) to the app directly instead of going through Strava.
Training analysis
| App | What it does for a runner | Platforms | Price (18 Oct 2026) |
|---|---|---|---|
| intervals.icu | Fitness, fatigue and form, interval detection, training calendar, workout builder | Web | Free; Supporter $4 a month |
| Runalyze | VO2max estimate, race predictions, training load, detailed statistics | Web | Free with ads; Supporter €2.50 a month or €27.50 a year; Premium €5.50 a month or €60 a year |
| Smashrun | Visual running stats, badges, pace trends and goals | Web | Free; Pro €45 a year |
| VeloViewer | Deep Strava analysis, 3D profiles, explorer tiles; built mostly for cyclists but covers runs | Web | Free for 25 activities; PRO £10, PRO+ £20 a year |
intervals.icu is the pick for most runners who want numbers. It is free without a time limit, it finds the reps in an interval session on its own, and the fitness chart answers "am I improving or just tired". Importing your full history is a Supporter perk.
Runalyze is the better choice if you want an estimate of your race times and VO2max, and it is the only one here with its own poster tool. Its Premium tier adds AI assistant access.
Smashrun is the friendliest of the four, with badges and clear charts rather than a coach's dashboard.
Elevate, the browser extension that added fitness trends to strava.com, has not been updated in the Chrome Web Store since December 2024, so it is not recommended here.
Training plans and coaching
| App | What it does | Platforms | Price (18 Oct 2026) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Runna | Personalised plans from 5 km to ultra, with strength work and a race time estimate | iOS, Android | $19.99 a month or $119.99 a year, first week free |
| Strava subscription | Running training plans, Fitness & Freshness, Grade Adjusted Pace, Athlete Intelligence summaries | iOS, Android, web | €4.17 a month or €49.99 a year (EU), 30-day free trial |
| TrainAsONE | AI coach that rebuilds the plan as you train | Web, iOS, Android, Garmin | Free plan; Premium £9.99 a month or £99 a year |
Runna is the most complete of the three for runners. Strava now owns it, but Runna says it stays a separate business, and Runna Premium is not part of a Strava subscription. Strava also sells a Strava and Runna bundle, listed at €129.99 a year in the EU. Runna sends its workouts to Strava.
Strava's own subscription is the cheapest route if you already pay for Strava: it includes training plans. Its Athlete Intelligence summaries explain pace, grade-adjusted pace, heart rate and zones after each run, on mobile only.
TrainAsONE has the most useful free plan of the three: its free tier imports activities from Strava and keeps adjusting a plan.
Posters, prints and maps of your runs
| Service | What you get | How it reads your runs | Price (18 Oct 2026) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Cadence Prints | Route map posters, one run or many on a sheet | Strava, GPX or KML | Prints from $39 (12 x 16 in) to $79; framed $119 to $249; digital $20; shipping included |
| Athlete Prints | Framed route posters and t-shirts, famous race routes | Strava (optional) or GPX | From A$79 for a poster, A$129 framed |
| Elevaprint | Map wall-art posters of a run or a famous race | Strava, GPX, or a race list | From $19, shipping included |
| My Adventure Maps | Route and heatmap posters, t-shirts | Strava, GPX, TCX or FIT | Free preview; digital €7.95; A4 €24.95 to 50 x 70 cm €44.95 |
| Runalyze posters | Heatmap, grid, calendar and circular posters of your runs | Runalyze's Strava sync | Part of Runalyze Premium |
| GpxTrackPoster | Grid, calendar, circular and heatmap posters, as SVG files | Strava API, with your own developer keys | Free, open source |
For a single race or a favourite route, a print service is the easy option: connect Strava, pick the run and order. For a whole year of running on one sheet, look at the heatmap posters from My Adventure Maps or Runalyze. If you are comfortable with a command line, GpxTrackPoster is free.
For a race result on a photo rather than a print, the guide to making a race poster from a Strava activity covers the options.
Routes, heatmaps and exploration
| App | What it does | Platforms | Price (18 Oct 2026) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Strava Heatmaps | Global heatmap of popular routes; Weekly, Night and Personal heatmaps | Web and app | Global free; the others need a subscription |
| Statshunters | Explorer tiles, max square, full heatmap, badges | Web, browser extension | Free sign-up with Strava |
| CityStrides | Run every street of your city: street completion, LifeMap, route builder | Web | Free; Supporter $5 a month or $50 a year |
| Wandrer | Points for new roads, towns and neighbourhoods | Web, browser extension, Garmin, Wahoo, Karoo | Free for 50 past activities; paid tier shown after sign-in |
| komoot | Route planner and navigation for runs | iOS, Android, web | Free to start with one region |
CityStrides is the one to try if exploring is the motivation: it shows how much of your city you have covered, street by street, and the free plan has no activity limit.
Statshunters is the tool behind the "explorer tile" and "max square" game: every square of a grid you have run through counts, and its browser extension shows unvisited tiles inside Strava's and komoot's route builders.
Strava's Global Heatmap is free for everyone and remains the quickest way to find where people run in a new city. The Personal heatmap, of everywhere you have been, needs a subscription.
komoot's running page says you can link Strava so planned routes appear in Strava and finished runs upload automatically.
How should you choose?
- You want to know if training is working: intervals.icu, free.
- You want a plan to follow: Runna if you want the most complete app, or Strava's subscription if you already pay for it.
- You want something on the wall: Cadence Prints or Elevaprint for one run, My Adventure Maps or Runalyze for a year.
- You want a reason to run new streets: CityStrides or Statshunters.
- You want your run on a photo for Instagram: see the overlay app comparison, where SHUTT is one of nine options.
