Strava's Runna App: Worth the Premium in 2025? Review & Breakdown

The fitness tracking landscape, particularly within the running and cycling communities, saw a notable shift when Strava acquired Runna in early 2025.

While their value propositions differ somewhat, the overlap is clear.

With Strava's near-ubiquitous presence among runners, this review dissects whether Runna, under its new parentage, delivers sufficient value to justify its cost and if Strava's investment translates into a genuinely essential tool for runners of all levels.

Runna's Pitch: The Pocket Running Coach

Runna positions itself as a personalized running coach and training calendar.

The core concept involves an onboarding process designed to understand your running profile.

Based on this, you select a training plan, potentially targeting a specific race, and fine-tune variables to tailor the app's guidance.

Onboarding & UX: Quick Entry

The onboarding is a brief survey, suggesting it takes about one minute, to gauge running familiarity, available training frequency, and similar basic parameters.

Core Features Analysis: Plans, Predictions, and Performance Metrics

Runna's primary offering revolves around its training plans and performance analysis. Key features include:

• Training Plans & Run Recommendations: The app provides a variety of workouts and run suggestions.
• Runna AI Analysis (Beta): A newer feature offering post-run analysis.

• Predictive Analysis: Estimates race finish times across various distances.
• Runna Score: A metric indicating progress against your running goals.

• Performance Benchmarks: Tracks personal bests (feels more accurate than Strava) and other achievements.

The app interface is structured around five main tabs:

• Today: An overview of the current day's scheduled run, weather, plan week, and access to general guides and run type selection.
• Plan: Details the currently selected plan, week progression, pace insights, race time estimates, and a history of completed weeks.
• Activities: Lists completed workouts with filtering options. Users can rate workouts and view detailed breakdowns. A sub-tab, "Performance," offers the Runna score, overall stats, and personal bests.
• Communities: A social feed with event-specific and sub-group tabs.
• Support: A FAQ section with detailed guides and resources.

Beyond these, the app's feature set is relatively contained. While run analysis is present, it's less comprehensive than Strava's native capabilities.

Premium Breakdown & Cost

Runna's premium subscription is priced at:

• Annually: €120
• Monthly: €20

They offer a free trial of 7 days, with the promise to remind you before the trial is over.

They also include a referral program, which offers a $12.50 gift card for their apparel line. If you'd like to try out the app and extend your trial into 2 weeks, the screenshot below includes my actual code so you can try it out for yourself.

Premium access unlocks the entire workout library, device synchronization (Apple Watch, Garmin, Strava, etc.), and the promise of improvement.

Is Runna Free with Strava Premium?

No, Runna is not included for free with a Strava Premium subscription. Even after the acquisition, Runna requires its own paid subscription. Strava Premium and Runna Premium are billed and managed separately, with no bundled discount or access as of this review.

Value of Premium: Overpriced for the Offering?

My experience after a one-month trial, chosen during a period of varied and intense speedwork, suggests the app is overpriced for the value delivered.

Beyond basic tracking and calendar integration for planned workouts, its utility felt limited.

The "Runna AI Analysis," even in beta, offers little more than a cursory overview.

While convenient to have in one place, a similar analysis could be achieved by feeding a run overview screenshot into any competent LLM.

The Strava Factor: Strategic Acquisition, Muted Synergy

Strava's acquisition of Runna makes strategic sense: it fills a gap in Strava's native offerings (structured training plans, which were previously clunky or non-existent) and absorbs a potential competitor.

For the end-user already embedded in the Strava ecosystem, however, the immediate synergy feels minimal.

Strava lacked robust plan-following; Runna provides it.

But it's more of a bolt-on solution than a deeply integrated enhancement for existing Strava power users.

My Unfiltered Experience: Good for Beginners, Limited Longevity

My opinion: Runna is too expensive for experienced runners who understand training principles.

However, an absolute beginner with no running background, seeking workout variety and seamless integration with a new running watch, could find initial value. The app excels at "barrier removal" by packaging watch-compatible workouts and introducing novel run types.

The caveats are significant. This value diminishes quickly as a runner gains experience.

The plans can become stale, and I found the progression logic questionable.

My experience was that the app would introduce a novel workout type, then simply increase distance to imply progression, rather than more nuanced adjustments like easier warm-ups before tackling longer distances at speed, a potentially problematic approach for new runners, risking injury.

Ideal User Profile: A Niche Fit

Runna might be justifiable if you:

• Do not pay for Strava Premium.
• Are unfamiliar with free running guide-workout alternatives like Nike Run Club (Full App Review here)
• Have disposable income from canceled subscriptions.
• Are training for a specific race.
• Are entirely new to running.
• Just bought a fitness tracker and want an all-in-one, heavily guided solution.
• This is the first running app that you found.

For anyone not fitting this highly specific profile, €20 per month could be better allocated. Feeding Strava stats into an LLM could replicate ( \approx 90% ) of Runna's planning and analysis functionality, with the only trade-off being manual calendar input.

Conclusion: Is Runna Worth It?

For most runners, especially those with some experience or access to other tools (including free ones or even basic AI prompting), Runna's current price point is difficult to justify.

It offers convenience and a structured introduction for absolute novices, but its value proposition erodes rapidly as user knowledge and experience grow.

The Strava acquisition, while logical for Strava, doesn't inherently make Runna a must-have for Strava's existing user base.

If you fit the narrow "ideal user" profile, it might serve a temporary purpose. Otherwise, your money and time are likely better invested elsewhere.