Compare
The best running apps in 2026, compared on what they actually do
Waypath is a GPS running, trail and live-tracking app for iPhone and Apple Watch, built in Europe, that lets anyone follow a run live from a browser link without installing an app.
This is a comparison written by the maker of one of the apps in it, so read it as such. What it tries to do is be specific: prices as published, features as documented, and the phrase “not verified” wherever we could not confirm a competitor's detail from its own material. Every app here is good at something, and the table is built so you can find the one that is good at your thing.
Side by side
Eight running apps on eleven questions
| Waypath | Strava | Nike Run Club | Runkeeper | Komoot | AllTrails | Runna | Garmin Connect | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Price of the paid tier | $4.99 a month, $29.99 a year, or $59.99 once (lifetime) | $11.99 a month or $79.99 a year | No paid tier | Go: $9.99 a month or $39.99 a year | Premium: €6.99 a month or €59.99 a year, plus one-off map regions | Plus: $35.99 a year. Peak: $79.99 a year | $19.99 a month or $119.99 a year; $149.99 a year with Strava | Connect+: $6.99 a month or $69.99 a year, plus the device |
| Subscription required to record? | No. Recording is free and unlimited | No | No, entirely free | No | No | No | Yes, it is a coaching subscription | No, with a Garmin device |
| Live tracking | Free. A link for a run or an event course, opened in any browser, no app or account for spectators | Beacon, to nominated contacts, free in the app | Not verified | On the paid Go tier | To contacts, added in a 2026 update | Live sharing on the paid Plus tier | Not verified | LiveTrack to contacts, free with a device; extras on Connect+ |
| Offline maps | No downloadable region. Records anywhere by GPS; unseen map tiles need a network | On the paid tier | Not verified | Not verified | Yes, per-region purchases; on Apple Watch since January 2026 | On the paid Plus tier | Not verified | On the watch, many models |
| Trail database | 426,029 waymarked trails in 37 countries from OpenStreetMap, with dated condition reports | Routes and heat maps built from activity data | None | Not verified | Tours and community highlights, sport-specific routing | Its own catalogue with a very large review and photo corpus | None | Courses and route suggestions |
| Apple Watch | Yes, records without the phone; measured heart rate and calories; pacer in Always-On | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes, with offline navigation since January 2026 | Yes | Yes | No. Garmin devices only |
| GPX export | Yes, GPX 1.1 on every activity, free | Yes | No official export | Yes | Yes | Not verified | Not verified | Yes |
| GPX file import | Not yet. Imports past workouts from Apple Health | GPX, TCX and FIT | No | GPX, TCX and FIT via the website | Yes | Not verified | Not verified | Yes |
| Where your data is stored | One server in Lauterbourg, France (EEA) | United States, per its privacy policy | Not verified | Not verified | EU servers in Luxembourg and Germany | Not verified | Not verified | Not verified |
| Analytics or advertising SDKs | None | Not verified | Not verified | Not verified | Not verified | Not verified | Not verified | Not verified |
| Social | Follow, react, comment, repost; clubs, events and challenges; end-to-end encrypted messages | The largest network in endurance sport; segments and leaderboards | Challenges and a Nike community | Groups and challenges | Community highlights and following | Reviews, photos and lists | Community features around plans | Connections, challenges and badges |
| Platforms | iPhone and Apple Watch. Android planned for January 2027 | iPhone, Android, web | iPhone, Android | iPhone, Android | iPhone, Android, web | iPhone, Android, web | iPhone, Android | iPhone, Android, web, with a Garmin device |
Written on 4 September 2026 and correct to the best of our knowledge on that day. Competitor apps and prices change often; where a competitor detail is marked "not verified" we could not confirm it from the vendor's own material and you should check theirs. Waypath is not affiliated with, endorsed by or sponsored by any company named here, and all trademarks belong to their owners.
Which one
The short version, by what you want
You want the people
Strava. It is the largest network in endurance sport, with segments, leaderboards and the clubs your friends are already in. $79.99 a year for the analysis; recording and Beacon are free.
You want a coach
Runna, or Nike Run Club if you want it free. Runna writes an adaptive plan for $119.99 a year; Nike gives guided runs and plans at no cost, with no export.
You want to be watched on a course
Waypath. A free link that opens in any browser with no app and no account, for one run or an event field. Nothing else here is built for a course.
You want a map for a trek
Komoot or AllTrails. Both download offline maps on their paid tiers; Komoot's Apple Watch app navigates without the phone.
You own a Garmin
Garmin Connect. The core is free with the device, LiveTrack included, and the data is deeper than a phone can measure.
You want your data in Europe
Waypath, on one server in France, or Komoot, on EU servers. Strava stores in the United States under standard clauses; the rest are not verified.
Our entry
What Waypath is, in one paragraph
Waypath records 56 sports with GPS on iPhone and on Apple Watch without the phone. It carries 426,029 waymarked trails in 37 countries from OpenStreetMap with dated condition reports, shares a live position through a browser link that needs no app or account, exports every activity as GPX 1.1 for free, draws a personal heat map, and keeps everything on one server in Lauterbourg, France with no analytics or advertising SDK. Recording, live sharing, clubs, events, the trail catalogue and one saved route are free. Premium, $29.99 a year or $59.99 once, adds the analysis layer, the hill-aware pacer, unlimited routes and the full heat map. It has no Android app until a planned January 2027, no downloadable offline map, no GPX file import yet, and none of Strava's network.
How this was made
What counts as verified
Waypath's own facts come from this site and its App Store listing. Competitor prices are the US or EU list prices published by each vendor or reported by the press on 4 September 2026; regional pricing varies. Where a feature is listed as “not verified”, we found no statement from the vendor confirming or denying it and chose not to guess. If you are the vendor and something here is wrong, the contact page reaches the person who wrote it, and the page will be corrected.
Two things this page deliberately does not do: rank the apps, and describe anyone's app as the best. The right app depends on what you want from it, which is why the table has eleven rows and not a score.
Questions
Questions people ask
Head-to-head pages: Strava, Komoot, AllTrails, Garmin Connect.
Which running app is free?
Nike Run Club is entirely free. Waypath, Strava, Runkeeper, Komoot and AllTrails record for free with paid tiers on top. Garmin Connect is free with a Garmin device. Runna is a paid coaching subscription.
Which running apps have live tracking?
Waypath (free, by browser link, for a run or an event course), Strava Beacon (free), Garmin LiveTrack (free with a device), Runkeeper Go and AllTrails Plus (paid), and Komoot (added in 2026). Nike Run Club and Runna: not verified.
Which running apps have offline maps?
Komoot, AllTrails Plus and Strava's paid tier have downloadable maps; Garmin watches carry maps on the device. Waypath records offline but has no downloadable map region.
Which running app keeps data in Europe?
Waypath stores everything on one server in France. Komoot processes location data on EU servers. Strava states its data is stored in the United States. The others are not verified.
Which running apps export GPX?
Waypath (free, every activity), Strava, Runkeeper, Komoot and Garmin Connect export GPX. Nike Run Club has no official export. AllTrails and Runna: not verified.
Is Waypath the best running app?
No app is the best for everyone, and this page does not rank them. Waypath is the one to pick if you want a free live link for a course, a large waymarked trail catalogue with condition reports, or data kept in the EEA.
Try one alongside the one you have.
Waypath records unlimited activities for free, shares a live link at no cost, and exports every activity as GPX so nothing is stuck here.
Requires iPhone. There is no Android app today; one is planned for January 2027.