Vamo vs Nike Run Club
Nike Run Club is the best free running app there is: around 300 guided runs, six coach-built plans from 5K to marathon, and it costs nothing. It stops at running.
There is no strength work, no nutrition, and Nike does not describe its plans as adjusting to your results. 99 a month and does the things Nike Run Club leaves out.
Facts checked 2 September 2026. Sources at the foot of the page.
Price
What each one costs
Vamo
£7.99a month
- Yearly
- £95.88, twelve months. No separate yearly plan.
- Free, always
- Logging, history and charts, any programme you already have, recipes.
- Free trial
- 14 days, or 30 with a friend's code.
Nike Run Club
Freea month
- Yearly
- Free
- Free
- Everything: guided runs, the six plans, Apple Watch, Garmin and COROS sync.
- Free trial
- Not needed
Nike Run Club lists no in-app purchases on the UK or US App Store, September 2026. It needs a free Nike Membership. Checked 2 September 2026 against the sources at the foot of this page. Prices change. If something here is out of date, email support@vamo.fit and we will fix it. Vamo's price is the UK App Store price; the App Store shows your local price before you subscribe. See the terms.
Choose Vamo if
Where Vamo has the edge.
You want your plan to change when you miss a run or set a PB
You lift as well as run and want one programme
You want your food planned against your mileage
You want paces set from your own 5K time, not a level you picked
Choose Nike Run Club if
Where Nike Run Club has the edge.
You want to run, full stop, and want it free
A voice in your ear is what gets you out of the door
You want a fixed 8- or 18-week plan you can follow to the letter
You run with an Apple Watch and leave the phone at home
Side by side
What each one does
Vamo
- Adapts to your week: Yes. Rewrites next week from what you logged.
- Gym programmes: Yes. Gym programmes with sets, reps and working weights.
- Run, ride, swim plans: Yes. Running, cycling and swimming plans.
- Meal plans: Yes. Meal plans and macro targets.
- Barcode food logging: Yes. Food logging with a barcode scanner.
- Pattern insights: Yes. Reads your patterns and tells you what they mean.
- Human coach: No. A human coach.
- Health and Strava sync: Yes. Apple Health and Strava sync.
- Sleep score: Yes. Sleep scored from your watch.
- Rewrites next week from what you logged
- Yes. Check-ins and logged sessions rebuild the week ahead: volume, loads and effort.
- Gym programmes with sets, reps and working weights
- Yes. Periodised blocks. Working weights come from the lifts you have logged.
- Running, cycling and swimming plans
- Yes. 5K to marathon plans, FTP-based rides, swim sets from your CSS time.
- Meal plans and macro targets
- Yes. Targets from your goal, a weekly meal plan, recipes and one-tap swaps.
- Food logging with a barcode scanner
- Yes. Scan a barcode or pick a recipe. Logging is free, always.
- Reads your patterns and tells you what they mean
- Yes. Pulse: one to three patterns from your logs, in plain English, when there is one.
- A human coach
- No. Not at launch. Vamo is the programme, not a person.
- Apple Health and Strava sync
- Yes. Apple Health for steps, weight and sleep. Strava for your runs and rides.
- Sleep scored from your watch
- Yes. Every night scored out of 100, and the score's drift shows up in Pulse.
Nike Run Club
- Adapts to your week: No. Rewrites next week from what you logged.
- Gym programmes: No. Gym programmes with sets, reps and working weights.
- Run, ride, swim plans: Partly. Running, cycling and swimming plans.
- Meal plans: No. Meal plans and macro targets.
- Barcode food logging: No. Food logging with a barcode scanner.
- Pattern insights: No. Reads your patterns and tells you what they mean.
- Human coach: No. A human coach.
- Health and Strava sync: Yes. Apple Health and Strava sync.
- Sleep score: No. Sleep scored from your watch.
- Rewrites next week from what you logged
- No. Six fixed-length plans. Nike does not say they adjust to your results.
- Gym programmes with sets, reps and working weights
- No. Running only. Nike Training Club is a separate app.
- Running, cycling and swimming plans
- Partly. Running only, and done well: guided runs and 5K to marathon plans. No cycling or swimming.
- Meal plans and macro targets
- No. Nutrition tips inside plans. No targets or meal plans.
- Food logging with a barcode scanner
- No. Not a food app.
- Reads your patterns and tells you what they mean
- No. Run stats and trends. No reading across sleep, food and training.
- A human coach
- No. Audio coaching from Nike's coaches. No one-to-one.
- Apple Health and Strava sync
- Yes. Standalone Apple Watch app, Garmin and COROS sync, export to Strava.
- Sleep scored from your watch
- No. Not a sleep tracker.
YesPartlyNo
The difference
What Vamo does that Nike Run Club does not
Paces from your numbers
Nike's plans are built for a level. Vamo's running plan takes your 5K time and sets easy, tempo, interval and long-run paces from it, then blends towards your goal time as the block progresses, never more than 5% faster than you have shown you can run.
A missed run changes the plan
In Nike Run Club a missed session is yours to reschedule. Vamo's weekly check-in feeds the engine: low recovery brings a lighter week, a good one lets the mileage climb, and the long run never grows more than 10% week on week.
The rest of the week
Runners lift, and runners eat. Vamo writes the strength days alongside the runs, plans your food against the mileage, and reads your sleep from your watch. Nike Run Club leaves all three to other apps.
Questions
Vamo or Nike Run Club?
Is Nike Run Club really free?
Yes. There are no in-app purchases; you need a free Nike Membership. Vamo's logging, history and any programme you already have are free too. Generating and adapting plans is £7.99 a month after a 14-day trial.
Do Nike Run Club plans adapt?
Nike says its guided runs are built to suit your experience level. It does not describe the plans as automatically adjusting when you miss a run or beat your target. Vamo rebuilds the week from your check-in.
Can I use both?
Yes. Some people run Vamo's plan and use Nike Run Club's guided audio on easy days. Nike Run Club can upload runs to Strava, and Vamo connects to Strava too.
Which is better for a first 5K?
If you have never run before and want a free, friendly voice, Nike Run Club's Getting Started plan is hard to beat. If you also want strength work, food, and a plan that flexes around a bad week, that is Vamo.
Ready? Vamo.
14 days free. Answer a few questions and your first block is built before you put the phone down. It starts changing from the first session you log.
14 days free, then £7.99 a month. Renews automatically through your Apple ID until you cancel, which you can do any time in your account settings. iPhone only for now.