Runna vs Nike Run Club: free or paid?

Runna and Nike Run Club (NRC) are two of the apps runners compare most. People who search “strava vs runna” often go on to search “runna vs nike run club”, according to Google Trends. The short version: one is a paid coach that plans every run, the other is a free tracker with a great voice in your ear. Here is how they compare, checked in October 2026.

Runna vs Nike Run Club at a glance

Price: free vs about $10 a month

This is the biggest difference. Nike Run Club is free. Its App Store listing does not show any in-app purchases, and that includes Guided Runs and training plans.

Runna is paid. As of October 2026 it costs $19.99 a month or $119.99 a year in the US, £15.99 or £99.99 in the UK, and A$29.99 or A$179.99 in Australia. The yearly plan works out at about $10 a month. Without paying you get week 1 of any plan and basic run recording. Runna’s beginner plans (New to Running, Return to Running and Path to parkrun) used to be free, but became paid on 5 June 2026.

Already pay for Strava? Strava announced it was buying Runna on 17 April 2025, and there is now a yearly Strava + Runna bundle for $149.99 or £119.99. That is about $50 less than buying both yearly plans on their own. Our Runna price guide lists every trial and discount.

Training plans: personal vs ready-made

Runna asks for your goal race, race date, recent times and how many days you can run. It then builds a plan with a set pace for every session, adds strength work and adjusts the paces as you log runs. It covers everything from a first 5K to an ultramarathon. If you want to break 2 hours in a half marathon on a set date, this is what you pay for.

Nike Run Club has ready-made plans, such as a 4-week get-started plan, a half marathon plan and a 12-week marathon plan. They are good, simple and free, but they are not built around your exact times the way Runna’s are. One catch: Nike’s listing says plans are only available in the US, UK, Japan, China, Brazil, France, Germany, Spain and Italy.

Want a free plan without an app? See our half marathon plan for beginners or the Couch to 5K plan.

A plan tells you what. This helps you want to.

Run&Grow is a free iPhone run tracker. Every run grows a plant in your garden. Skip a week? Your garden waits.

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Free on iPhone · Also on Android

Coaching in your ears: NRC’s Guided Runs

NRC’s best feature is its Guided Runs: audio runs led by Nike coaches that talk you through the session. There are easy runs, treadmill runs, speed intervals and mindful runs. For a lot of people, a calm voice saying “you’re doing great, slow down a bit” is what makes running stick. Nike says Guided Runs are available in select countries.

Runna has guided sessions too, with pace targets and audio cues during intervals. It feels more like a coach with a stopwatch: clear and focused on hitting the numbers. Which one you prefer depends on whether you run for the numbers or for the feeling.

Apple Watch, Garmin and Apple Health

• Apple Watch: both have Apple Watch apps. NRC needs watchOS 10 or later. Runna’s watch app shows your pace target and cues for each part of a workout. For more choices, see our best Apple Watch running apps.
• Garmin: Runna sends workouts to Garmin watches that support Garmin Coach. If you run with a Garmin, that is a point for Runna.
• Apple Health: both can save your runs to Apple Health, so your running history is not stuck in one app.

Which should you pick?

A simple test: start with NRC because it is free. If you book a race and find yourself wanting a pace for every session, try Runna’s 7-day trial. Set a reminder to cancel the day before it ends if you are not sure.

Comparing more apps? See Runna alternatives, Nike Run Club alternatives, Nike Run Club vs Strava and Coopah vs Runna.

Where Run&Grow fits

Run&Grow is not a training plan or an audio coach, so it does not replace either app. It helps with a different problem: wanting to go out at all. Every GPS run grows a plant in your garden, so each easy run counts, not just the fast ones. There is no public feed and no pace shaming, and if you skip a week, your garden waits.

Run&Grow reads runs from Apple Health. So if Runna, NRC or your Apple Watch saves a run to Apple Health, it can count in your garden too. If plans feel like homework, our list of gamified running apps has more ideas.

Notes for the US, UK and Australia

• US: Runna is $19.99 a month or $119.99 a year. If you are training for a Thanksgiving turkey trot on 26 November 2026, NRC’s free Guided Runs are plenty for a 5K.
• UK: Runna is £15.99 or £99.99. Its Path to parkrun plan is built around a Saturday 5K, but it is no longer free.
• Australia: Runna is A$29.99 or A$179.99. NRC’s listing does not include Australia for training plans, so check the app before you count on one. Summer is coming, so plan runs for early morning.

Setting a goal pace? Our free pace calculator works in km and miles.

Keep running, keep growing

Run&Grow turns every run into a plant, so you can see your consistency grow. Free on iPhone, and it reads your runs from Apple Health.

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Free on iPhone · Also on Android