Strava’s Paywall Problem
Strava launched in 2009 as a free GPS tracker with a social layer. But as the company has tried to become profitable, it has steadily moved features behind a subscription. Today, Strava’s subscription costs $7.99/month or $79.99/year. Segments, training load, GPX export, offline maps, route planning, and voice feedback — all locked.
Athlr was built to solve this. Every feature Strava charges for is free on Athlr.
Feature Comparison
| Feature | Athlr | Strava Free | Strava ($80/yr) |
|---|---|---|---|
| GPS recording — all sports | ✓ Free | ✓ | ✓ |
| Per-km / per-mile splits | ✓ Free | ✓ | ✓ |
| Personal records | ✓ Free | ✓ | ✓ |
| Social feed + kudos | ✓ Free | ✓ | ✓ |
| Segments + leaderboards | ✓ Free | ✕ Locked | ✓ |
| Training load (ATL/CTL/TSB) | ✓ Free | ✕ Locked | ✓ |
| GPX export | ✓ Free | ✕ Locked | ✓ |
| Offline map tiles | ✓ Free | ✕ Locked | ✓ |
| Route planning | ✓ Free | ✕ Locked | ✓ |
| Voice feedback per km | ✓ Free | ✕ Locked | ✓ |
| Direct messaging + group chat | ✓ Free | ✕ | ✕ |
| Health sync | ✓ Free | ✓ | ✓ |
| Activity heatmap | 🔜 Pro | ✕ Locked | ✓ |
| Activity comments | 🔜 Coming | ✓ | ✓ |
| Watch companion app | 🔜 v2 | ✓ | ✓ |
| Account required | Optional | Required | Required |
| Price | $0 | $0 | $80/yr |
Segments: Athlr Gives Away What Strava Sells
Strava locked segments in 2020. The backlash was massive — it was the feature most closely associated with Strava’s early appeal. Today you can see you ran through a segment, but not your time, without paying.
Athlr’s segments are fully free. Create them from any recorded activity; every new activity is auto-matched and ranked. No limit on how many you can create or follow.
Training Load: Know When to Push
The ATL/CTL/TSB model developed by Dr Andrew Coggan is the most evidence-based way to avoid overtraining. TrainingPeaks charges $19/month for it. Strava includes a version in its subscription. Athlr calculates it automatically, free, from your full activity history.
Not sure what ATL, CTL, and TSB mean? Read our deep-dive: Training Load Explained — ATL, CTL and TSB for runners.
Where Strava Still Wins
- Community size. 100M+ users means more segments near your home, more athletes to follow. Athlr is growing — the network effect takes time.
- Watch companion apps. Strava has native Apple Watch and Wear OS apps. Athlr imports from watches via HealthKit/Health Connect today; a companion app is on the roadmap.
How to Switch from Strava to Athlr
- In Strava: enable Strava → Apple Health (iOS) or Strava → Health Connect (Android) sync so historical workouts flow to your health platform.
- In Athlr: open Health Sync → tap Connect → select date range. All activities appear automatically, including GPS routes.
Prefer a full archive? Request a Strava bulk GPX export and import activities individually.
Try Athlr free — no account needed
Segments, training load, offline maps, and GPX export all included at $0.
Download Athlr →