Comparison · Checked on November 3, 2026
OpenAthlete vs TrainingPeaks
TrainingPeaks has been the default for endurance coaching for years. Many coaches use it, many sell plans on its marketplace, and its Performance Management Chart taught a generation of athletes what CTL and TSB mean. It's a mature product, and it works.
Two things changed the picture. Garmin bought it on July 22, 2026. And the bill grows with the roster: athletes need Premium for their workouts to reach the watch, and coaches pay per Premium athlete. OpenAthlete does the core of the job for free, with no per-athlete fee.
A better pick if
TrainingPeaks
You sell plans on a marketplace, ride on TrainingPeaks Virtual, or your athletes need store apps today.
A better pick if
OpenAthleteYou coach athletes on mixed watches, want workouts on the watch without Premium, and would rather not pay per athlete.
At a glance
TrainingPeaks and OpenAthlete, side by side
Every claim about TrainingPeaks 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- Who owns it
TrainingPeaksGarmin, since July 22, 2026[1]
OpenAthleteAn independent developer in Grenoble. No investors.
- Open source
TrainingPeaksNo
OpenAthleteYes, AGPL-3.0[2]
- Self-hosting
TrainingPeaksNo
OpenAthleteYes, free, from one Docker Compose file[2]
- Price for athletes
TrainingPeaksBasic account free. Premium $19.95/month or $134.99/year, before tax[3]
OpenAthleteFree, every feature. Supporter is optional: €5/month or €50/year
- Planned workouts sent to the watch
TrainingPeaksPremium only[3]
OpenAthleteFree: Garmin, Suunto, COROS. Not Polar.
- Coach plans
TrainingPeaks$21.99/month with 4 Basic + 1 Premium athlete; $54.99/month from 5 Basic athletes[4]
OpenAthleteFree up to 5 athletes, then €50/year for as many as you like
- Per-athlete fee
TrainingPeaks$9 down to $4.50 per Premium athlete per month[4]
OpenAthleteNone
- Setup fee
TrainingPeaks$99, waived with a promo code[4]
OpenAthleteNone
- Built-in AI
OpenAthleteYour own key (OpenAI, Anthropic, Mistral…) on every plan, or an allowance with Supporter. MCP server for Claude and ChatGPT.
- Training load (fitness, fatigue, form)
TrainingPeaksYes: the Performance Management Chart, built on TSS[3]
OpenAthleteCTL, ATL and TSB from heart rate (TRIMP) or session RPE, projected over planned sessions. Formulas in the source code.
- Native mobile apps
TrainingPeaksiOS and Android
OpenAthleteInstallable web app today. iOS and Android apps coming soon.
- Plan marketplace
TrainingPeaksYes[3]
OpenAthleteNo
- Indoor training app
TrainingPeaksTrainingPeaks Virtual[3]
OpenAthleteNo
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.
Ownership
What changed on July 22, 2026
Garmin announced it had acquired TrainingPeaks and TrainHeroic. Terms weren't disclosed. The press release says nothing about watches from other brands, and some outlets report that Garmin said compatibility won't change. We take that at face value.
The question isn't whether your COROS keeps syncing next month. It's who decides, in five years, what an independent coaching platform is for.
Read Garmin's press releaseStrengths
Each one is better at something
Where OpenAthlete is better
No Premium tax on the watch
Planned workouts reach Garmin, Suunto and COROS watches on the free plan. On TrainingPeaks that's a Premium feature, paid by the athlete or by the coach.
A flat price for coaches
Five athletes free, then €50 a year for the whole roster. No setup fee, no per-athlete line on the invoice. Thirty athletes all on Premium cost $3,082.68 a year on TrainingPeaks.
Your AI, your model
Turn a sentence into a structured session, get a short read of each activity, and a few questions after each run that log effort and pain for the coach. With your own key on any plan, or from Claude and ChatGPT through the MCP server.
Nobody can buy it out from under you
The code is AGPL-3.0. If our servers disappeared tomorrow, you could run the same platform yourself, from your data export.
Where TrainingPeaks is better
Native apps, today
Mature iOS and Android apps in the stores. Ours are in testing; until then, OpenAthlete is an installable web app.
The marketplace
If you sell training plans, TrainingPeaks puts them in front of buyers. OpenAthlete has no store and no athlete billing.
TrainingPeaks Virtual
An indoor training app comes with it. We don't make one.
The common language
TSS, IF and the PMC are what many coaches and athletes already speak. OpenAthlete computes load from heart rate (TRIMP) or session RPE, so the numbers won't match one to one.
Price
What a coach pays in a year
Move the slider to your roster size. List prices from each vendor's pricing page.
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.
OpenAthlete
Supporter, unlimited athletes
€50per year
TrainingPeaks
$1,700.28
Athletes on Premium, needed for workouts to reach their watch
Nolio
€358.80
Coach plan for this roster size, monthly billing
Final Surge
$468
Coach plan, monthly billing (17% less if paid yearly)
List prices on each vendor's pricing page, checked on November 3, 2026. US dollar prices are before tax; OpenAthlete prices include VAT. Sources: TrainingPeaks, Nolio, Final Surge.
Moving over
Switching from TrainingPeaks
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 TrainingPeaks 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 TrainingPeaks
We haven't verified TrainingPeaks' bulk export, so check its help centre before you count on it. Your accounts are the simpler start: Strava or COROS bring your whole history, Garmin and Suunto the last 30 days, and FIT files cover the rest.
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
Yes. OpenAthlete is free on our servers with every feature: calendar, workout builder, workouts sent to Garmin, Suunto and COROS, training load, analysis, and coaching up to 5 athletes. Supporter (€5/month or €50/year) adds AI on our keys and unlimited athletes. Self-hosting is free, with no limits.
No. TSS is TrainingPeaks' metric. OpenAthlete computes load as Banister TRIMP from heart rate, or as session RPE (RPE × minutes) when there's no heart rate, then derives fitness (CTL, 42 days), fatigue (ATL, 7 days) and form (TSB). The formulas are in the source code.
Nobody outside Garmin knows, and we won't guess. The acquisition press release doesn't mention other brands. What we can say: OpenAthlete isn't owned by a watch maker, and its code is open, so no buyer can close it.
Your activities, yes. Strava and COROS bring your whole history, Garmin and Suunto the last 30 days, and you can upload older FIT, GPX and TCX files in bulk. Planned workouts and plans don't come across; rebuild your staple sessions as templates.
Coaching is free up to 5 athletes and unlimited with Supporter at €50 a year. You get a team overview with compliance and form, alerts for reported pain and inactivity, bulk move and copy on an athlete's calendar, and chat. There's no club account or marketplace yet.
Other comparisons
Try OpenAthlete next to TrainingPeaks
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