Verithiathe honest score on any app
Updated July 2026 · real, multi-region App Store reviews
Head-to-head

Runna vs C25K® 5K Running Coach & Map

Runna 4.9★ · Free + IAP 75
Winner Runna
C25K® 5K Running Coach & Map 4.8★ · Free to download 60

Runna is the better choice for serious runners seeking comprehensive, personalized training and advanced features, despite its higher price and occasional technical glitches, while C25K is best for absolute beginners focused solely on completing a 5K, provided they are willing to pay for the full program.

Full reviews: Runna · C25K® 5K Running Coach & Map

Runna offers a more sophisticated and personalized coaching experience with strength and flexibility training, appealing to a wider range of runners, but users report significant technical issues and a high price. C25K is praised for its effectiveness in getting beginners to a 5K, but recent changes have put most of its program behind a paywall, frustrating long-time users.

Head to head

Features & Training Programs edge: RunnaR2R3R8R9
Runna Runna offers comprehensive training plans for various distances, including half and full marathons, with integrated strength and flexibility workouts. Users appreciate the live pace tracking, coaching guidance, and customizable workouts R2R8R17. However, some find the plans too aggressive for beginners or those returning from injury, and there's a lack of trail-specific running programs R3R9R12.
C25K® 5K Running Coach & Map C25K is highly effective for absolute beginners aiming to complete a 5K, with a gradual progression that many find manageable . However, the app is very basic, lacks advanced features, and some users find the coach's tone annoying .
Ease of Use & Reliability tieR1R5R6R10
Runna Runna's interface is generally liked for its setup and clarity, with features like calendar planning . However, it suffers from significant technical issues, including glitches, inaccurate GPS, Apple Watch and Garmin compatibility problems, and music interruptions R1R6R10. The voice coach is often described as robotic and poorly timed R5.
C25K® 5K Running Coach & Map C25K is praised for being easy to use and straightforward for beginners . However, some users report freezing, buggy behavior, and issues with music playback . The UI is considered basic, and buttons are sometimes too close together, leading to accidental actions .
Price & Value tieR4R13R16R17
Runna Runna is expensive, costing $20/month, which many users find prohibitive, especially for beginners R4R17R37. While some find it worth the price for its comprehensive coaching and sophistication R17, others feel it's too much given the app's bugs and limited free features R13R16.
C25K® 5K Running Coach & Map C25K has recently shifted much of its program behind a paywall, with only the first few weeks available for free R63R64R75. This change has angered many long-time users who previously had free access or paid for a 'lifetime' pro version . The subscription cost is $30 for 3 months or $40 for a year, which some consider overpriced for a basic app R61.
Customer Support & Cancellation edge: C25K® 5K Running Coach & MapR1R7R10R12
Runna Runna users report significant difficulties with canceling subscriptions, describing it as a "logistical nightmare" with non-functional links, third-party hoops, and unresponsive bot customer service R1R7R12. Some also mention poor support for technical issues R10.
C25K® 5K Running Coach & Map Reviews for C25K do not frequently mention customer support or cancellation issues, but one user asked for refund contact information after experiencing tracking problems .
Pick Runna if

you are an experienced runner or serious about training for specific races (like a half or full marathon) and want a comprehensive coaching app with strength and flexibility integration, and you are willing to pay a premium for advanced features despite occasional technical issues R2R8R17.

Pick C25K® 5K Running Coach & Map if

you are an absolute beginner looking for a simple, structured program to get you from couch to 5K, and you are prepared to pay for the full program after the initial free weeks .

Evidence note: Runna's recent reviews are more negative, focusing on bugs and cancellation issues, which contrasts with its high lifetime rating. C25K's recent reviews are heavily skewed by user frustration over the app's shift from largely free to paid, impacting its overall perception despite many positive experiences with the program itself.

Frequently asked

Is Runna free to use?
Runna offers a limited free experience, but most features and training plans require a paid subscription, which costs around $20 per month R4R13R16.
Can I use C25K for free?
C25K is free to download and offers the first few weeks of its program for free, but the majority of the training plan and advanced features, including Apple Watch integration, are locked behind a paid subscription, which costs $30 for 3 months or $40 for a year R61R63R64R75.
Which app is better for Apple Watch integration?
Both apps have reported issues with Apple Watch integration; Runna users frequently mention problems with workouts not starting, syncing, or recording accurately R6R10R36R37, while C25K requires a paid subscription to use its Apple Watch app and some users report freezing and notification issues R75.
Is Runna suitable for beginners?
While Runna offers beginner plans, some users find the progression too fast and the initial workouts too challenging for true beginners, potentially leading to injury or feeling unprepared R3R28R33R42.

What reviewers actually said

Built only from these 120 real reviews (foreign ones translated). Superscripts jump to the quote here. Apple has no per-review links, so [ref] opens that app's reviews on the App Store.

  1. [R2] Runna 5/5 · US Half marathon training: I am the type of person that has to be told what I need to do to be better. Runna is a coach that keeps you on pace, target time, and pushes you there. I love it and can’t wait to run my first half with it in my ear!
  2. [R3] Runna 3/5 · US Disappointed: I used runna to improve my 5k pacing, I was excited because I’ve heard great things. Not only did I run a slower 5k than my usual/previous 5ks but I also had to stop so many times because the plan made me so unprepared. Very disappointed.
  3. [R8] Runna 5/5 · US Game changer: I used to train with groups. This marathon training, I decided to go solo. This app is like having your own running coach. It provides strength, flexibility and running programming and schedules everything into a workable routine.
  4. [R9] Runna 3/5 · US Works well as long as you have no injuries: This is a great plan for as long as you’re injury free. There’s no clear mechanism to pause or adapt workouts if you have significant pain or injury. The vacation mode workaround is clunky and doesn’t provide guidance on adapting the plan.
  5. [R1] Runna 1/5 · US Messy App: As an experienced runner, I thought I’d be able to hop in buy a subscription and be able to use this digital format, but unfortunately, there’s no desktop support to it which is totally fine, but the app is glitching and it doubles up your runs and I have several runs scheduled in one day and I bought the yearly subscription and I found out you can’t get a refund because I don’t fall wi
  6. [R5] Runna 4/5 · US Almost perfect: Love this app so far - it’s been as good as Zwift or Sufferfest for training, but for running. My only criticism is I wish it had better AI Coach voices aside from the standard female robot.
  7. [R6] Runna 3/5 · US Amazing, when it works.: Many times, the app does not properly communicate with my Apple Watch so I cannot actually start the Runna workout on my watch-face. (It starts to load, but then never actually starts the workout on my watch, and I end up having to use the default Apple Watch tracking feature while also using the Runna app on the phone screen, which probably isn’t as accurate and doesn’t g
  8. [R10] Runna 2/5 · US Apple Watch Compatibility Issues: Good training program however very frustrating compatibility issues with Apple Watch Ultra 2. Every time a run was completed on the watch the run would have to be manually synced to the runna app in order for it to be shown as completed. Sometimes would have to attempt a sync several times before the workout successfully migrated to the iOS app. I talked to seve
  9. [R4] Runna 1/5 · US $20/month after week 2: Simply trying to go from couch to 5k. Nobody in their right mind with no running experience is going to pay $20/month after week 2. Misleading. Sad.
  10. [R13] Runna 1/5 · US Only if you pay: The app is essentially featureless unless you pay for it. Free features are almost non existent.
  11. [R16] Runna 1/5 · US So disappointed: I used to love this app! Now all of a sudden they force you to purchase a membership it’s no longer free.
  12. [R17] Runna 5/5 · US Wow: I was hesitant since it is $20 a month but I am blown away by the sophistication and compatibility of this app with my Garmin watch. I have enjoyed every workout including the strength training. I love this app!
  13. [R7] Runna 1/5 · US IMPOSSIBLE TO CANCEL: DO NOT GET THIS APP! The training plans are fine, but it is virtually impossible to cancel, you have to jump through 3rd party hoops and depending on how you sign up you can’t change your email. It is a logistical nightmare, better off with something else.
  14. [R12] Runna 3/5 · US Great for road, room for improvement for TRAILS: 1 star for each of the following areas: usability, functionality, features. -2 stars for lack of trail-specific running and the website not working that is linked all over the app to control your account. To cancel my subscription, I had to dig through my emails, and a link was provided in small light grey font to cancel and it took me to a websi
  15. [R61] C25K® 5K Running Coach & Map 1/5 · US Overpriced: $30 for 3 months or $40 for the year for a running app? Ridiculous.
  16. [R63] C25K® 5K Running Coach & Map 3/5 · US Still Have to Pay For It: I’m happy with the app and how far I’ve come with my running, but it’s still not free, the free part ends with the second week of the program.
  17. [R64] C25K® 5K Running Coach & Map 1/5 · US Put the program that used to be free behind a paywall: This program was totally free for years and now you want to charge me for anything beyond week 2 day 1. Unbelievable. 👎🏼👎🏼
  18. [R75] C25K® 5K Running Coach & Map 3/5 · GB Get ready to pay!: If you download this because it says it offers an Iwatch app, get ready to have to pay a stupid monthly price to be able to leave your phone at home and run with your watch!!!
  19. [R36] Runna 3/5 · GB Great, but…: This is a really good app in principal; however it’s recently started to drop the connection to my I-watch. I add it back before every run, but it’s usually dropped out again by the end of the run and doesn’t record that I’ve done anything, which is really frustrating. If this was fixed, it would get 5 stars!
  20. [R37] Runna 2/5 · US Want to like it!: I love the concept and found this app very motivating. At $20/month, it’s too pricey to have so many bugs. The Apple Watch integration does not work and resulted in a workout not getting recorded on my watch nor Runna, which was frustrating! And I had to toggle the sync button and manually import most workouts, which takes a minute and is frustrating. If Runna can fix these two b
  21. [R28] Runna 2/5 · US Does not adapt to feedback: I started the New To Running Plan and stuck with it for 10 weeks. It started out great, but after about a month the distances started increasing faster than I could keep up. Despite providing feedback after each run by either putting “it’s too hard” or “distance too long”, the app just continued to ramp up quicker than I was progressing. I’m disappointed, as that make
  22. [R33] Runna 3/5 · US NOT for beginners: App is ok but don’t be fooled by any ads you see, you have to be extremely comfortable with running to begin with. I used to run about 2-3 miles/week so wanted to see if I could do the easiest 5k program here and yes the first run is almost 3 miles. I’m also I think 8 or 9 weeks in and my long run this weekend is 7 miles. Not happening. The progression from one week to the next
  23. [R42] Runna 3/5 · GB Too much too fast: I really enjoyed using the app and the workouts however the speed at which it increases the distance and speed workouts has left me with my first running injury (stress fracture). It could be made easier to adjust workouts, it’s also super expensive.

Synthesized from 120 recent App Store reviews · updated July 2026 · View on the App Store