Best running app for beginners
Runked is a running app with a first-5K plan for people who cannot run yet: a run/walk plan of intervals that grow into continuous running, a rank after your first run, Bronze with no weekly goal so a beginner only climbs, and trophies scored on effort. It is a subscription (free to download, with a 7-day free trial on the yearly plan) and iPhone only. The other apps here: NHS Couch to 5K is a free nine-week walk-run program with audio coaching. Nike Run Club is free, with guided audio runs and structured plans. Strava is a social network for athletes, with a feed, clubs and segment leaderboards. Runna builds a personalized plan around your goal and ability, at $119.99 a year with no free tier.
5 apps, compared for a total beginner
| App | Free usefulness | Structure for week 1 | Pressure level | Progression visibility |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Runked | None: free to download, then $59.99/yr after a 7-day free trial or $11.99/wk; the subscription covers tracking, rank, trophies, streaks, device sync and plans | A first-5K run/walk plan: ten stages of intervals that grow into continuous running, laid out on the days you can train, with a 3-minute walk warm-up and cool-down | Trophies are scored on effort, so a beginner's hard week earns more than a faster runner's easy one, and Bronze has no weekly goal; it is still a comparative, ranked layer | Rank runs Bronze→Olympian, earned in trophies, and it can rise or fall; a new runner with no history starts in Bronze and is ranked after the first run |
| Nike Run Club | Everything; the full app, no paywall | 6 free structured plans, including a 4-week starter, plus 300+ guided audio runs from coaches | Low: no public leaderboard by default, coaching is encouraging rather than comparative | Run Levels rise with lifetime distance (no documented way down), a mileage odometer, not a running rank |
| Couch to 5K (NHS) | Fully free: no ads, no in-app purchases | A fixed 9-week walk-run program, audio-coached, week 1 defined exactly | Very low: a solo program, no social feed, no leaderboard, nobody to compare against | Program week/day counter only; no running rank, and the program ends at week 9 |
| Strava | Free tier: unlimited GPS tracking, social feed, clubs, top-10 segment leaderboard | None built in: training plans are Premium-only; a beginner gets a tracker and a feed | Higher: a public feed, kudos and segment leaderboards compare raw pace against everyone, beginner or not | No fitness-aware rank; personal records and segment times only, unadjusted for ability |
| Runna | None: no permanent free tier; 7-day trial, then $19.99/mo or $119.99/yr | A coach-built plan tailored to your ability from day one, plus bundled strength/stretch sessions | Low: Runna Score is a private, individual adherence metric, with no leaderboard | Runna Score tracks personal adherence to your own plan, staying private and non-comparative |
The apps, one by one
Runked: a first-5K plan with a rank
Pick "Run my first 5K" as your goal and Runked builds a run/walk plan: ten stages of intervals that grow into continuous running, starting with 1 minute of running and 1 minute 30 of walking, eight times, and ending on a race-day session. Every session opens with a 3-minute walk warm-up and closes with a 3-minute walk cool-down, and the sessions are laid out on the days you say you can train. Your rank appears after your first tracked run, earned in trophies on the Trophy Road. Trophies are scored on effort, so a beginner's hard week earns more than a faster runner's easy one, and Bronze has no weekly goal, so a beginner only climbs. The plan comes with the same subscription as everything else in the app. Where it falls short: iPhone only (iOS 17+), no Android or web, no free tier, and no guided audio runs.
Nike Run Club: free guided runs
Nike Run Club is free, with no premium tier: guided audio runs, six structured plans including a 4-week starter, and low-pressure friend challenges you can ignore entirely. Where it falls short: its 4-week starter plan is shorter and less clinical than a dedicated couch-to-5K program, and its Run Levels track lifetime distance rather than anything resembling skill.
Couch to 5K: a fixed nine-week program
The Couch to 5K structure is public domain, and the NHS's own app is a free implementation of it: no ads, no in-app purchases, a fixed nine-week walk-run progression with audio coaching, on iOS and Android. It is built for someone who has never run before: week 1 day 1 is defined for you, and there is nobody to compare yourself against. Where it falls short: it's one fixed program that ends at week 9, and other apps built on the same C25K structure vary in price and quality. For the two side by side, see Runked vs Couch to 5K apps.
Strava: a social network for athletes
Strava is a social network for athletes, with a feed, clubs and segment leaderboards. Where it falls short for a total beginner specifically: there's no built-in beginner program, training plans sit behind Premium, and its public feed and segment times compare raw pace to everyone on that stretch of road regardless of a first-timer's ability, which can feel discouraging before you've built any base.
Runna: a personalized paid plan
Runna's plans are personalized from day one: goal, ability, session frequency, equipment, plus non-running sessions like strength and stretch work scheduled alongside your runs. Where it falls short: no permanent free tier, so a beginner pays $119.99 a year (or $19.99/mo) before knowing if running sticks, and there's no gamified or competitive layer at all: Runna Score is a private adherence number.
Which should you pick
- Want a run/walk plan for a first 5K and a rank from your first run: Runked, a subscription on iPhone.
- Want it free, with nobody watching: NHS Couch to 5K, a fixed nine-week program, on iOS and Android.
- Want audio coaching in your ears, free: Nike Run Club, with guided audio runs and starter plans.
- Want a running community from day one: Strava, which has a social feed and segment leaderboards that compare raw pace.
- Have the budget, want a plan built entirely for you: Runna, at roughly double Runked's price.
- Need Android: NHS Couch to 5K runs on iOS and Android. Runked is iPhone only.
Find out where you stand
Runked is free to download and starts with a 7-day free trial on the yearly plan. Connect your watch or track your first run, and meet your Runk.
Download on App StoreFrequently asked questions
Which app is best for couch to 5K?
Runked builds a first-5K run/walk plan: ten stages of intervals that grow into continuous running, and it ranks you after your first run. It is a subscription, $59.99 a year after a 7-day free trial, on iPhone only. The NHS's own Couch to 5K app is free, with no ads or in-app purchases, on iOS and Android, running a fixed nine-week walk-run program with audio coaching. Nike Run Club is free, with a 4-week starter plan and guided runs.
Do beginners need a paid app?
No. NHS Couch to 5K and Nike Run Club are fully free with no premium tier, and Strava's free tier covers running and tracking. Runked is free to download but needs a subscription, $59.99 a year after a 7-day free trial, and its first-5K plan is part of it. Runna ($119.99/yr, no free tier) also charges for its personalized plan. A paid app is not needed to get off the couch.
Which app won't make me feel slow?
Runked scores effort relative to your own fitness: trophies reflect how long and how hard a run was for you, a beginner's hard week earns more trophies than a faster runner's easy one, and Bronze has no weekly goal. It does place you on a ranked ladder. NHS Couch to 5K and Nike Run Club compare you to no one by default: no public leaderboard, no pace-based ranking. Strava's public feed and segment leaderboards compare raw pace.
When should I add a training plan?
From the start, if you use Runked: its first-5K plan is a run/walk plan for someone who cannot run yet, and its other plans cover 5K, 10K, half marathon and marathon goals. NHS Couch to 5K and Nike Run Club's starter plan are fixed beginner programs that cost nothing. Runna's plans are personalized from day one, at $119.99 a year.