Top Five Apps Every Cyclist Should Know About

Strava

Best For: Performance Tracking & Social Sharing

Price: Free with an option to upgrade to Premium; various discounts and free trials available

Strava is a top choice for cyclists, runners, swimmers, walkers and other fitness enthusiasts – and for good reason.

The app uses GPS to accurately track your activities, log detailed performance statistics that help you monitor your performance over time.

Beyond tracking, Strava is also a social app. You can join challenges to earn virtual trophies, follow friends, give ‘kudos’ on their workouts and explore popular routes. There’s even an option to share your rides directly to Instagram and Facebook.

The free version offers plenty, including metrics such as speed, power output, time, distance and elevation. Upgrading to premium unlocks deeper insights, route creation and recommendations, downloadable maps and access to heatmaps that show where others are cycling.

At the end of the day, if it’s not on Strava, did it even happen?

Komoot

Best For: Route Planning & Navigation

Price: Free with optional upgrades for region bundles and Premium features

Komoot is perfect for outdoor adventurers who love discovering new places. It’s built around intuitive route planning so you can create tailored journeys based on things like your fitness level and terrain preferences, as well as distance, difficulty and public transport links – perfect if you don’t have a car.

You can also explore detailed maps, get turn-by-turn voice navigation and access offline routes. The app also highlights points of interest like scenic viewpoints, cafés and trailheads to help take your bike ride to the next level.

The free version gives you access to one region’s maps and basic route planning. Upgrading unlocks multiple regions, worldwide offline maps, sport-specific maps and features like multi-day route planning and live tracking.

RideWithGPS

Best For: Route Planning, Navigation & Ride Analysis

Price: Free with optional Premium and Basic subscription plans

RideWithGPS is perfect for cyclists who enjoy planning detailed routes and tracking performance, whether you’re commuting, training, or cycling for leisure.

Like Komoot, it’s a powerful mapping tool for discovering, planning, organising, and sharing rides; however, RideWithGPS stands out for its advanced route-building tools and granular control. This means if you want deeper analysis, more customisation and precise ride reporting, this app is a strong choice.

The free plan includes unlimited ride recording, basic route planning and access to core stats. A Premium subscription goes further with turn-by-turn voice navigation, mobile route planning with heatmaps, offline support for remote areas and the ability to edit routes on the fly. The maps are clear and cyclist-friendly by showing whether the route features gravel roads, trails or is paved. Some users have noted that the jump from free to premium doesn’t always feel as substantial as they’d hoped, which is something to bear in mind.

Zwift

Best For: Indoor Training & Virtual Riding

Price: Subscription based but free trials available

Zwift is an online, interactive platform that’s transformed the indoor cycling experience, elevating it to a dynamic and game-like experience. You pedal on your indoor trainer or bike to send an avatar around a virtual course. The app takes input from your bike and uses an algorithm to translate this data into your speed. Essentially, the harder you pedal, the faster you go, taking into consideration things like weight and power.

You can ride through immersive environments like Watopia (Zwift’s own fictionalised island world) or London. Training plans, fitness tests and events are also available to help keep you motivated and continuing to improve your performance.

With millions of users, Zwift is a global cycling community of its own. It’s suitable for everyone and can be done from the comfort of one’s own home.

First Aid by British Red Cross

Best For: Quick Access to First Aid Guidance

Price: Free

This app gives you clear, step-by-step advice for dealing with common first aid situations such as cuts, burns, sprains, strokes and even heart attacks. It includes videos, quizzes, and interactive content to help you learn and build confidence before you ever face an emergency. Everything is available offline, so it’s reliable even in remote areas without any signal.

For cyclists, it’s especially useful for handling accidents like falls, bleeding, or heat exhaustion during rides. It provides reassurance that you’ll know what to do when it matters most. Although it's not a cycling app per se, it's still incredibly valuable.