Comparison · Checked on November 3, 2026
OpenAthlete vs Strava
Strava is where your running club lives. Kudos, segments, routes, the photos from Sunday's ride: nobody does the social side better, and we're not trying to.
OpenAthlete does the other half: planning the next block, sending structured workouts to the watch, tracking fitness and fatigue, working with a coach. You can use both. Connect Strava and every activity comes in, history included.
A better pick if
Strava
You want the feed, kudos, segments and routes. Keep it.
A better pick if
OpenAthleteYou want to plan, send workouts to the watch and follow your load, for free.
At a glance
Strava and OpenAthlete, side by side
Every claim about Strava links to the page we read it on. Where we couldn't check something, there's no row.
- Yes
- Partly
- Not offered, or not listed on the vendor's own pages
OpenAthlete- What it's for
StravaSharing: feed, kudos, clubs, segments, routes
OpenAthletePlanning, analysis and coaching
- Open source
StravaNo
OpenAthleteYes, AGPL-3.0[1]
- Self-hosting
StravaNo
OpenAthleteYes, free, from one Docker Compose file[1]
- Price for athletes
StravaFree app; subscription €59.99/year (Family €99.99, Student €29.99)[2]
OpenAthleteFree, every feature. Supporter is optional: €5/month or €50/year
- Feed, kudos, segments
StravaIts core: feed, kudos, clubs, segments[2]
OpenAthleteNone. Your training is seen by you and your coaches.
- Training plans
OpenAthleteYou build the blocks, alone or with a coach. Free plans on this site import straight into the calendar.
- Coaching athletes
StravaNot a coaching tool
OpenAthleteFree up to 5 athletes, unlimited with Supporter (€50/year)
- Training load (fitness, fatigue, form)
StravaFitness Score, on the subscription[2]
OpenAthleteCTL, ATL and TSB from heart rate (TRIMP) or session RPE, projected over planned sessions. Formulas in the source code.
- Native mobile apps
StravaiOS and Android
OpenAthleteInstallable web app today. iOS and Android apps coming soon.
Sources
Checked on November 3, 2026. List prices as each vendor shows them: USD before tax, euros with VAT. Spotted something out of date? Write to contact@openathlete.org and we'll fix it.
Strengths
Each one is better at something
Where OpenAthlete is better
A real training calendar
Plan sessions, races and blocks, drag templates in, copy a week, and see done against planned at a glance.
Workouts on the watch
Structured sessions like 5 × 4' at threshold go to Garmin, Suunto and COROS watches, with your zones.
Training load you can read
Fitness, fatigue and form from heart rate or RPE, projected over what you've planned. The formulas are public.
Your data stays yours
No public feed, no ads. Open source code, servers in France, full JSON export and complete account deletion.
Where Strava is better
The social network
Feed, kudos, clubs and comments from friends. OpenAthlete has messaging with your coach, not a social feed.
Segments and routes
Segment leaderboards and route building. We have neither.
Phone apps
Mature iOS and Android apps. Ours are in testing; until then, OpenAthlete is an installable web app.
Price
What a self-coached athlete pays in a year
The paid tier of each product, at list price. OpenAthlete's free plan already has every feature.
Free isn't a trial
Every feature is free, on our servers and on yours. If OpenAthlete saves you a subscription, Supporter (€50/year) adds AI on our keys and unlimited athletes, and pays for the servers. A coffee helps too.
OpenAthleteFree plan, every feature
€0/year
OpenAthlete SupporterSupporter: AI on our keys, unlimited athletes
€50/year
StravaIndividual subscription
€59.99/year
Strava + RunnaStrava and Runna together
€139.99/year
Checked on November 3, 2026. USD prices are before tax, as published; euro prices include VAT. Bar lengths convert at about 1 USD = 0.87 EUR.
Moving over
Using Strava and OpenAthlete together
What really comes across, and what doesn't.
Create a free account
Athlete, coach or both. No card, no trial clock.
Connect your watch accounts
In Settings > Connectors, press Import all activities. Strava and COROS bring your whole history (COROS serves 50 files a day, so it takes a few days). Garmin and Suunto bring the last 30 days; Polar, new activities only.
Upload older files
For anything older, upload FIT, GPX or TCX files from your watch app, many at once, up to 20 MB each. FIT and TCX keep their laps. Files already imported are skipped.
Rebuild your key sessions
Planned workouts and plans from Strava don't come across. Save your staple sessions once as templates, or describe one in a sentence and let the AI structure it.
Bring your athletes, or your coach
Invitations go by email, both ways. Each athlete connects their own watch, so their activities follow them.
About Strava
There's nothing to leave. Connect Strava in Settings > Connectors, press Import all activities, and keep posting to Strava as usual. Connect your watch brand directly too if you want planned workouts on it.
What OpenAthlete doesn't do (yet)
- Store apps: iOS and Android are in testing. Today it's an installable web app.
- No plan marketplace, no athlete billing.
- No club or team account. An athlete can have several coaches, and that's it for now.
- No workouts sent to Polar. No Wahoo, Zwift or Apple Watch.
- Metric units only.
- No automatic plan generator: the AI writes sessions, you build the plan.
Questions
For training, yes: planning, structured workouts, training load and coaching. For the social side, no. You can keep Strava for that and connect it.
No. It imports from Strava (every new activity, plus your full history on request) and sends nothing back.
Both, ideally. Strava brings your history in quickly. Your watch account (Garmin, Suunto, COROS) is what receives planned workouts, and Garmin, Polar, Suunto and COROS also share wellness data like sleep and HRV.
Yes, every feature, on our servers or yours. Supporter (€5/month or €50/year) adds AI on our keys and unlimited coached athletes. Strava's subscription is €59.99 a year.
Other comparisons
Try OpenAthlete next to Strava
Free, every feature, no card. Connect your watch and compare on your own training.
Free forever. No credit card.