In need of a convenient way to track your running and cycling performance? Strava could be just the app you’re looking for.
We’ve put together this guide to break down everything you need to know about Strava, including what the app can do, how much it costs and what you’ll get if you pay for the subscription tier.
What is Strava?
Strava is a fitness app that helps you track your running and cycling performance on your iPhone or Android using data from your smartphone, GPS-supported smartwatch or head unit.
It’s also a social network, meaning you can share your races and workouts with friends and followers on your Strava feed, post photos, build communities and leave kudos and comments on others’ activities.
You can find a popular route or plan your own on Strava and upload it to your phone or GPS device for easier navigation. For competitive athletes, there’s also Segments, a feature that generates a leaderboard of times set by other users on popular roads and trails.
One of the most useful features on Strava is Beacon. This allows you to share your real-time location with someone you trust so they can make sure you get home safe.
Is Strava free?
Creating a Strava account is free but, for those looking to get the most out of the fitness app, there’s an optional subscription service that costs $5/£6.99 a month or $59.99/£47.99 a year.
Free users can access activity recording, device support, the social network and Beacon location sharing on their smartphone.
However, many of Strava’s best features are exclusive to the paid plan.
These include the ability to plan and discover routes within the app and the option to view a personal heatmap of all of your runs and rides. Segments is also a subscription-exclusive features, meaning you’ll need to pay if you want to compete with your friends, other athletes or your past attempts on popular roads and trails.
Paid users also have the option to see all their training in one place and chart their progress with analysis tools. You can import your HR and power data, set customised time, distance and performance goals and identify connections between your training patterns and performance using this feature.
Finally, paid users can use Beacon on Garmin and Apple wearables, meaning you won’t need to worry about taking your phone out to track your location and send it to your friends and family at home.
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Editorial independence
Editorial independence means being able to give an unbiased verdict about a product or company, with the avoidance of conflicts of interest. To ensure this is possible, every member of the editorial staff follows a clear code of conduct.
Professional conduct
We also expect our journalists to follow clear ethical standards in their work. Our staff members must strive for honesty and accuracy in everything they do. We follow the IPSO Editors’ code of practice to underpin these standards.
