The quick answer
- Want a free plan with a coach? Nike Run Club.
- Own a Garmin watch? Garmin Coach — free and adaptive.
- Brand new to running? NHS Couch to 5K.
- Like building your own sessions? Apple Watch Custom Workouts.
- Mostly here for your friends? Strava’s free tier.
- Have a plan but struggle to stick with it? Run&Grow — every run grows a plant.
Why people are looking for a Runna alternative
Runna is a good app. Its plans are personal, they move around your week, and many runners love them. People look elsewhere for three simple reasons:
- The beginner plans are no longer free. On 5 June 2026, New to Running, Return to Running and Path to parkrun moved into the paid subscription. People already on those plans can finish them, but new runners now get only Week 1 free.
- It is a monthly bill. At $19.99 or £15.99 a month, a 16-week training block on the monthly plan costs about $80 or £64.
- It is now part of Strava. Strava owns Runna and sells a Strava + Runna bundle. That is great value if you want both, but some runners just want one simple, free app.
What Runna costs (October 2026)
| Region | Monthly | Yearly |
|---|---|---|
| United States | $19.99 | $119.99 |
| United Kingdom | £15.99 | £99.99 |
| Australia | A$29.99 | A$179.99 |
| Eurozone | €19.99 | €119.99 |
From runna.com/pricing, checked October 2026. Week 1 of any plan is free and there is a 7-day free trial. The Strava + Runna bundle is $149.99 / £119.99 a year.
Runna alternatives compared
| App | Best for | Price |
|---|---|---|
| Nike Run Club | Free plans with audio coaching | Free |
| Garmin Coach | Free adaptive plans on a Garmin watch | Free with a Garmin watch |
| NHS Couch to 5K | Total beginners | Free |
| Apple Watch Custom Workouts | Do-it-yourself intervals | Free (built in) |
| Strava | Friends, clubs and segments | Free tier + subscription |
| Run&Grow | Motivation to keep showing up | Free on iPhone |
Prices and features checked October 2026. Always check the official listing before you subscribe.
Free plan + a reason to show up
Follow any free plan, and Run&Grow grows a plant for every run it reads from Apple Health. Free on iPhone.
Get the free appFree on iPhone · Also on Android
The 6 alternatives, one by one
Free plans with audio coaching · Free
Nike Run Club
The closest free swap for most people. Nike Run Club has a 4-week Get Started plan for beginners, an 8-week 5K plan and a 14-week half marathon plan, plus audio guided runs for easy days, long runs and speed work. The plans do not reshape themselves around you like Runna, but every run can be done as a guided run.
Pick it if: You want a free plan and a coach in your ears.
Official site or listing →Free adaptive plans on a Garmin watch · Free with a Garmin watch
Garmin Coach
Free adaptive plans in the Garmin Connect app for 5K (6 to 20 weeks), 10K (10 to 21 weeks) and half marathon (12 to 26 weeks), from coaches Greg McMillan, Amy Parkerson-Mitchell and Jeff Galloway. Workouts sync to your watch. This is the nearest free match to Runna’s “plan that changes with you” idea.
Pick it if: You already wear a Garmin and want a plan that adjusts.
Official site or listing →Total beginners · Free
NHS Couch to 5K
Made by the UK Department of Health and Social Care with the BBC. A run-walk plan you can finish in as little as 9 weeks, with a voice coach, timers and your own music. It is the free answer to Runna’s New to Running plan, and it works anywhere, not only in the UK.
Pick it if: You are starting from zero and want a gentle, proven plan.
Official site or listing →Do-it-yourself intervals · Free (built in)
Apple Watch Custom Workouts
The Workout app on Apple Watch lets you build a session with a warm-up, repeating work and recovery intervals, and a cool-down. Each part can be by time or distance, and you can set a pace for outdoor runs. Copy a session from any free plan and your watch will guide you through it.
Pick it if: You like having a plan on paper and your watch on your wrist.
Official site or listing →Friends, clubs and segments · Free tier + subscription
Strava
Strava owns Runna, and new Strava training plans now come through Runna. So Strava is not really a plan alternative. But if what you liked about Runna was the community and the race buzz, the free Strava feed and clubs may be all you need.
Pick it if: You care more about your running friends than a plan.
Official site or listing →Motivation to keep showing up · Free on iPhone
Run&Grow
Not a training plan app, and we will not pretend it is. Run&Grow is a GPS run tracker where every run grows a plant in your garden. It reads runs from Apple Health, so runs from your Apple Watch, Nike Run Club or Garmin still count. No public feed and no pace shaming. Skip a week? Your garden waits.
Pick it if: Your plan is fine. Getting out the door is the hard part.
Official site or listing →Which Runna plan maps to which free option?
- New to Running → NHS Couch to 5K, or our free couch to 5K plan. See also the best couch to 5K apps.
- Path to parkrun → Any couch to 5K plan works, because parkrun is a free, timed 5K (3.1 miles) every Saturday morning. Our parkrun beginner’s guide explains how it works in the UK and Australia.
- Return to Running → Start with three easy runs a week. Our running 3 days a week plan is a simple base.
- 5K, 10K and half marathon → Nike Run Club plans or Garmin Coach. Use our pace calculator to set your easy and race paces.
Local notes: US, UK and Australia
- US: Turkey trot season is close. Thanksgiving is Thursday 26 November 2026, and many turkey trots are 5K (3.1 miles). Start a free plan this week and you have about five weeks to get ready.
- UK: Winter running means dark evenings. A run-walk plan like NHS Couch to 5K is easy to fit into a lunch break, and parkrun gives you a free Saturday 5K to aim for.
- Australia: Spring and early summer are here, so it is a good time to start. Run early to beat the heat. Runna costs A$29.99 a month in Australia, so the free options save the most here.
Can you use two apps at once?
Yes, and it is often the best setup. One app gives you the plan, and another keeps you motivated. On iPhone, Apple Health connects them. Follow your plan in Nike Run Club, Garmin Connect or the Apple Watch Workout app, and let Run&Grow read those runs from Apple Health. The plan tells you what to run. The garden gives you a reason to actually go.
Still deciding? See our Nike Run Club alternatives, the Strava alternatives list, or the best free running apps. If you want running to feel like a game, try our gamified running apps guide.
Frequently Asked Questions
- Is there a free alternative to Runna?
- Yes. Nike Run Club has free training plans and audio guided runs. Garmin Coach plans are free if you own a Garmin watch. NHS Couch to 5K is a free beginner plan. And the Apple Watch Workout app lets you build your own interval sessions for free. None of them adapt quite like Runna, but they cost nothing.
- How much does Runna cost in 2026?
- As of October 2026, Runna costs $19.99 a month or $119.99 a year in the US, £15.99 a month or £99.99 a year in the UK, and A$29.99 a month or A$179.99 a year in Australia. Week 1 of any plan is free, and there is a 7-day free trial.
- Are Runna’s beginner plans still free?
- No. On 5 June 2026, New to Running, Return to Running and Path to parkrun became part of the paid Runna subscription. People who were already on one of those plans can finish it. If you are a brand new runner, NHS Couch to 5K or the Nike Run Club Get Started plan are free options.
- Who owns Runna?
- Strava owns Runna. Strava also sells a Strava + Runna bundle for $149.99 or £119.99 a year (as of October 2026), which is cheaper than buying both annual plans separately.
- Can I use a free plan and still track my runs in a fun way?
- Yes. On iPhone, apps that save your runs to Apple Health can feed other apps. For example, you can follow a free plan in Nike Run Club or on your Apple Watch, and Run&Grow will read those runs from Apple Health, so every run still grows a plant in your garden.
Keep your plan. Grow a garden.
Run&Grow turns every run into a plant, so you can see your consistency grow. Free on iPhone, and it works with Apple Health and Apple Watch.
Get the free appFree on iPhone · Also on Android