The Travel Runner

Compare TrainingPeaks vs. Strava. Find out which analysis tool is right for your endurance training sessions in this Strava vs. Training Peaks breakdown.

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There seem to be only two giants in the fitness tracking world: Training Peaks and Strava.

Both training tools have excellent features for runners and cyclists, but which is right for you?

In this post, we’ll give an overview of the two and their features so you can find the best one.

So, let’s get into it!

Overview of TrainingPeaks and Strava

TrainingPeaks

TrainingPeaks is arguably the most popular training option for athletes and coaches.

Its focus on powerful analysis tools makes it a top option for anyone who likes to get deep insights from their training.

Some notable features include:

• Training Stress Scores (TSS)
• Heart rate, Rating of Perceived Exertion (RPE), and power analysis
• Long-term performance reviews and planning
• Workout and training plan customization
• Compatibility with various training devices, like power meters
• Chronic Training Load (CTL) and Acute Training Load (ATL)

So if you value detailed analysis, plenty of graphs and charts, and an ideal tool for endurance athletes who want to get the most out of every workout — then TrainingPeaks probably fits your needs.

Strava

Strava is a great tool that mixes social and competitive elements.

With a simple dashboard, in-depth analysis, and a great social component, Strava is fantastic for those who want to connect with a community while also training.

Some of its top features include:

• Highlights and achievements
• Segment leaderboards and challenges
• Route planning for finding routes near you
• Performance metrics and analysis, like Relative Effort (RE), Grade Adjusted Pace (GAP), etc.
• Integration with various fitness devices and services

If you want the benefits of what TrainingPeaks provides but is less in-depth for your endurance training, Strava is an excellent choice.

Training and Workout Features

TrainingPeaks Capabilities

TrainingPeaks is like a serious coach who wants to help you peak daily.

With detailed workout analysis, planning, and a great performance management chart, you get all the tools you need to track your progress.

Some of the key features include:

• Training Stress Score (TSS): A metric used to track the intensity and duration of a workout, helping you gauge overall training load.
• Power and heart rate analysis: Detailed data on power output and heart rate during workouts allow you to monitor their performance and adjust training intensity as needed.
• Customizable workout builder: The ability to create tailored workouts and training plans, incorporating various exercise types, intensities, and durations.
• E-coach communication: A platform for communication between athletes and their coaches, enabling easy sharing of workout plans, progress updates, and feedback.
• Performance Management Chart (PMC): A way to track how fit and fresh you are during your training. This is excellent to use for tapering.

Strava Capabilities

Strava, on the other hand, is the fun coach that wants you to improve but hopes you’re having fun.

While it provides plenty of analysis tools like a power curve, heart-rate data, and Relative Effort (RE), its features are rudimentary compared to TrainingPeaks. However, it makes up for that with the social aspect and the “group” feeling it provides. 

Some notable Strava capabilities include:

• Activity sharing: You can upload and share their workouts with friends and followers, providing motivation and fostering camaraderie among athletes.
• Segments: Strava users can define specific sections of a route and compare their times to those of other athletes who have completed the same section, encouraging friendly competition.
• Clubs and challenges: You can join clubs and participate in challenges created by other community members or Strava, further promoting engagement and motivation.
• Route planning: Strava offers a route planning tool that allows you to create custom routes for running or cycling, taking into account factors like distance, elevation, and surface type.
• Fatigue and Form: A quick metric so you know how you’re performing during your training (similar to the PMC for TP)

While both offer fantastic features, they cater to different audiences and motivations. 

So, you’ll see a slight difference in their analysis.

Analysis and Performance Metrics

TrainingPeaks Analytics

Just like TP is the serious coach, it’s also the math teacher that comes ready with all the graphs, charts, and tools you need.

Some of the top metrics are:

• Training Stress Scores (TSS)
• Heart rate analysis
• Power analysis
• Cadence
• Recovery tracking
• Race preparation and goal-setting

These reasons are why professional coaches choose TP. Its in-depth tracking, graphs, and charts provide data at a glance. Plus, it has planning tools to help properly shape an endurance athlete’s training plan.

And speaking of training plans, TP gives you the option to purchase a training plan straight through the dashboard.

Strava Analytics

While Strava does offer some performance metrics and analytics tools, it is often more focused on the social aspect of tracking workouts.

Strava’s key analytics features include:

• Personal records (PRs)
• Weekly and monthly training summaries
• Segment performance trend
• Fitness and freshness chart to monitor performance
• Training log to track training plans

Based on these metrics, Strava is more aimed at the casual athlete. With the ability to track some performance metrics (but not as in-depth), it’s an excellent platform for those who value the social component over the training component.

Plus, it offers the ability to find a training plan within the app.

Social and Community Features

While both TrainingPeaks and Strava offer tools for tracking and analyzing workouts, they differ significantly in their focus on social and community features.

TrainingPeaks Connections

Since TrainingPeaks is for the serious runner and coach, it has many integrations to help import your workouts.

But it doesn’t have anything like Strava’s social feed.

Here are a few popular options:

• Garmin Connect (GC)
• Suunto 
• Polar
• Wahoo
• Zwift
• Apple Watch
• Coros
• TrainerRoad
• And many more

A key aspect of TrainingPeaks is connecting with a coach and receiving personalized feedback, making it perfect for those who want a more structured training experience.

Strava Connections

Like TP, Strava gives you plenty of integrations to help load your data.

Plus it has a social feed similar to Facebook or Twitter where you can view friends workouts!

Here are the most popular choices for integrations:

• Wahoo
• Coros
• Garmin Connect
• Zwift
• Whoop
• Suunto
• Samsung
• Nike+
• And many more

But this is where they differ.

Strava expands on the “connection” component by offering clubs to join and connecting users through segments and activity sharing.

For example, you can give “kudos” to runners, similar to a “like” on Facebook.

This social focus helps create a sense of community instead of a more individual focus.

One other popular feature is segment leaderboards. Here, athletes can compete for the fastest time on a route and then compare against other athletes who ran the route.

The good news is that they can both be used on a smartphone, which is nice to see!

Pricing and Subscription Plans

TrainingPeaks Plans

TrainingPeaks offer two types of plans: for Athletes and Coaches.

The TrainingPeaks premium subscription for Athletes includes the following:

• Detailed workout summaries
• Fitness improvement tracking
• Drag-and-drop workout builder
• Heart Rate, Pace, and Power charts
• Weekly fitness summary
• And more

This plan starts at $19.95/month.

For coaches, you have two premium version options: Basic and Unlimited.

The basic plan gives you access to the following:

• 1 Premium athlete (you can add more for an extra cost —  $9/month)
• 4 Basic athletes

Meanwhile, the Unlimited plan gives you the same, but with unlimited Basic athletes.

The Basic plan starts at $19/month, and the Unlimited plan starts at $49/month.

Strava Plans

Strava offers a single subscription plan. 

With Strava Premium, you get the following:

• Segments (KOMs, Local Legends, etc.)
• Advanced performance metrics (like HR, Power, etc.)
• Route planning
• Training log
• Goal setting features
• And more

Pricing for Strava Premium is simple. You can pay $11.99/month or $79.99/year. 

With the free version of your Strava account, you get the basic features without advanced metrics.

Which is right for you?

Which one is right for you will come down to answering a simple question.

What type of runner are you?

If you want every training data metric like FTP, Training Stress Balance (TSB), and more, then you’ll probably find that TrainingPeaks is a way better option for you. While the data from your Strava is probably quite good for most people, more serious runners are probably going to find it less useful.

If you’re a more casual runner and love the social aspect of running, then using Strava could be a great choice. You can track metrics from your training sessions (especially with the paid version) and also connect with a huge number of runners. But it may not be enough to convince people to ditch Training Peaks.

So, which is worth getting is ultimately up to you and your preferences!

Which do you choose in the Strava vs. TrainingPeaks battle?

Both TrainingPeaks and Strava offer their own features that are great for customers.

But which is best depends on your goals and will take some experimenting.

If you feel Strava isn’t the best alternative for TP, then maybe you’ll like these TrainingPeaks alternatives, like Intervals.icu or Golden Cheetah.

If you’re using TP or Strava, let me know why you prefer it in the comments!