The best Zone 2 apps,
fairly compared.

At a glance

Competitor details are from their public product pages and are summarised, not exhaustive. Features and prices change, so check each app's own site before you buy. Checked October 2026. Last updated 15 October 2026.

Apple Workout app

Built into every Apple Watch. During a workout it shows your heart rate and which of five zones you're in, and custom workouts can alert you when you leave a heart rate range. Your history lives in the Fitness and Health apps.

• Choose it if you want zone feedback during a workout and nothing more to install or pay for.
• Consider something else if you want a weekly Zone 2 total across all your workouts, a plan for the week, or coaching that tells you what to do in words.

Garmin Connect and Garmin Coach

Garmin's companion app for its watches and bike computers, with detailed training metrics and history. Garmin Coach adds free adaptive running plans on compatible watches. Garmin also offers an optional paid Connect+ tier.

• Choose it if you already train with a Garmin and want everything in Garmin's ecosystem.
• Consider something else if you want live Zone 2 coaching on your iPhone. Many Garmin watches can broadcast heart rate to an iPhone app, and Garmin workouts that sync to Apple Health still count elsewhere.

Runna

A running app built around training plans for race goals, from a first 5K to a marathon, with guided sessions that sync to popular watches. It's a paid subscription.

• Choose it if you're a runner training for a race and want a structured, pace-based plan.
• Consider something else if your aim is easy aerobic base across walking, cycling, rowing and running, measured in Zone 2 minutes rather than race paces.

WHOOP

A screenless wearable sold as a membership. It tracks heart rate around the clock and turns it into daily strain, recovery and sleep scores, with heart rate zones for workouts.

• Choose it if you want round-the-clock recovery and sleep tracking from a dedicated band.
• Consider something else if you already own an Apple Watch or a chest strap and mainly want Zone 2 training, without new hardware or a membership.

Polar Flow

Polar's free app and web service for its watches and heart rate sensors, with training history, heart rate zones and training programs. Polar's chest straps are a common choice for accurate heart rate.

• Choose it if you train with a Polar watch.
• Consider something else if you use a Polar strap with an iPhone or Apple Watch and want live Zone 2 cues and a weekly goal. Standard Bluetooth straps work with many iPhone apps.

Zone 2 Base (ours)

An iPhone and Apple Watch app just for easy, steady endurance training. Pick the days you can train and an on-device coach turns a weekly goal, like 150 minutes, into sessions, then rebuilds the plan after every workout. During a workout the screen glows in your zone colour and says In zone, Pick it up or Ease off, with haptics and voice cues through your AirPods.

• Heart rate from Apple Watch, any standard Bluetooth chest strap, or a Garmin that broadcasts heart rate. Every workout with heart rate in Apple Health counts toward your week, whichever app recorded it.
• Your real Zone 2. Five zone methods (% of max, heart rate reserve, threshold, MAF 180, manual), and a check that reads heart rate drift on long, easy sessions and suggests when to move your ceiling.
• Private. No account. Plans are worked out on your iPhone; on Apple Intelligence devices, Apple's on-device model writes the weekly summary.
• Price. Free: live coaching, Apple Watch app, weekly ring, widgets, Live Activity and your first AI weekly plan. Pro: $3.99 a month, $34.99 a year with a 7-day free trial, or $79.99 once.
• Limits. iPhone and Apple Watch only for now (no Android or iPad app), and no race plans: it's built for aerobic base, not race-day pacing.

How to pick

• You just want to see your zone: the Workout app on your Apple Watch, or your Garmin or Polar watch's own app.
• You're training for a running race: Runna, or Garmin Coach if you have a Garmin.
• You care most about sleep and recovery: WHOOP.
• You want to bank a weekly amount of Zone 2, from any activity, with live coaching and a plan: Zone 2 Base. You can keep your watch and its app; Zone 2 Base reads what they save to Apple Health.

Questions

Do I need a separate app for Zone 2 if I have an Apple Watch?

No. Apple's Workout app shows heart rate zones during a workout for free. A dedicated app helps if you want a weekly Zone 2 target across all your workouts, a plan for the days you can train, or plain live cues to ease off or pick it up.

What's a good Zone 2 app for iPhone without an Apple Watch?

Any app that reads a standard Bluetooth heart rate strap works with just an iPhone. Zone 2 Base reads Bluetooth chest straps and Garmin watches that broadcast heart rate, and counts workouts other apps save to Apple Health.

Is Zone 2 Base free?

The core is free: live coaching, the Apple Watch app, the weekly ring, widgets, Live Activity and the first AI weekly plan. Pro is $3.99 a month, $34.99 a year with a 7-day free trial, or $79.99 once (US prices; local prices are shown in the App Store).

Apple, Apple Watch, iPhone and Apple Intelligence are trademarks of Apple Inc. Garmin, Garmin Connect and Garmin Coach are trademarks of Garmin Ltd. Runna, WHOOP and Polar are trademarks of their owners. Zone 2 Base isn't affiliated with or endorsed by any of them. Spotted something out of date? Tell us and we'll fix it.