8 rowing training apps for Android
Netflix pushed Crew Girl live this week, and search interest around home rowers has jumped alongside it. A teen rowing drama does what running dramas did for treadmills a decade ago: it makes the machine at the back of the garage look like a way in, not a punishment. The catch is that a rowing erg on its own is just a fan and a display. What turns twenty minutes of pulling into structured training is the app you pair with it.
We picked eight Android apps that cover the range: the free Concept2 companion most rowers already use, live-class subscriptions that map a screen to your PM5, a workshop-quality form coach, an open-source option for the paranoid, and general fitness apps that can log a rowing session cleanly next to your other cardio. Every pick below resolves on Aptoide, so you can side-load it on a phone or a rooted Android head unit without a Google account.
Quick comparison
| App | Best for | Free plan | Starting price | Standout feature |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| ErgData | Concept2 owners | Fully free | Free | Native PM5 pairing and Logbook sync |
| Kinomap | Route videos with resistance | 14-day trial | Around $12/mo | Real-world video routes for indoor rowers |
| Coxswain | Open-source PM5 companion | Fully free | Free | Local storage, no account, GPLv3 |
| CITYROW Go | Live and on-demand classes | 7-day trial | Around $29/mo | Row plus off-erg strength blocks |
| RP3 Rowing | Force curve analysis | Fully free | Free | Stroke-by-stroke force profile |
| Rowing Coach 4.0 | Form drills for beginners | Full app free with ads | Around $3 one-time | Voice-guided technique cues |
| Wahoo Fitness | Multi-sport tracking | Fully free | Free | ANT+ and Bluetooth sensor fan-in |
| Polar Beat | Heart-rate zone training | Fully free with a Polar account | Free | Personalised zones with a Polar HRM |
What to look for in a rowing training app
Concept2 PM5 pairing. If you row on a Model D, E, or RowErg, the PM5 monitor broadcasts every stroke over Bluetooth. Any serious app should read that feed directly and store the workout in your Concept2 Logbook so your data survives an app change later.
Structured programming. Intervals, distance pieces, and heart-rate zones matter more than a leaderboard. The apps below either ship a workout library or let you build custom pieces with target splits and rest.
Stroke-rate and split coaching. Rowing rewards a steady rate and a target 500-metre split. Real-time cues in either voice or a big-number display keep both honest across a 30-minute piece.
Class streaming or route videos. Live instruction is what most people are actually paying for when they subscribe. A good class app schedules sessions, saves favourites, and works on a tablet propped on the erg's monitor arm.
Heart-rate and sensor support. ANT+ or Bluetooth heart-rate belts, cadence sensors, and smart trainers all speak the same protocols the pro apps use for cycling. The rowing apps that support them can pull together a fuller session log.
Data export. Look for FIT, TCX, or a direct sync to Strava, Concept2 Logbook, or Apple Health so a subscription cancellation does not erase your history.
1. ErgData, the Concept2 companion most rowers already have
ErgData is the free app Concept2 ships to pair a phone with the PM5 monitor on its Model D, E, and RowErg machines. It shows a bigger, cleaner view of the metrics the monitor already displays, records every workout to your Concept2 Logbook account, and pushes results to Strava and Apple Health without a subscription. Custom workouts, splits, and heart-rate targets are built in.
Where it falls short: the interface is functional rather than pretty, and there are no live classes or coaching. If you do not row on a Concept2, most of the app is inert.
Pricing: Free. A Concept2 Logbook account is free too.
Platforms: Android and iOS. Pairs over Bluetooth with any PM5.
Download: Aptoide · Google Play
Bottom line: the first app to install if you own a Concept2, and probably enough on its own for the first few months.
2. Kinomap, route videos matched to your rower
Kinomap started as a route-video app for indoor cyclists and now runs the same trick on rowing machines. It plays a first-person video of a real river or coastline, adjusts the playback speed to your split, and layers structured intervals, coached sessions, and multiplayer challenges over the top. The library covers thousands of rowing videos filmed with a stroke-rate track. Compatible rowers include Concept2, WaterRower, NordicTrack RW, and any erg that speaks the FTMS standard.
Where it falls short: the subscription is the price of a low-end gym, and the app is only useful while it is streaming. A weak home connection can drop resolution mid-piece.
Pricing: 14-day free trial, then around $12 per month or $84 per year for the full library.
Platforms: Android, iOS, Fire TV, Apple TV, and Chromecast.
Download: Aptoide · Google Play
Bottom line: the pick if you get bored of a static screen and want a river to row down.
3. Coxswain, the open-source PM5 recorder
Coxswain by Sven Meier is a community-built alternative to ErgData for Concept2 owners who would rather keep their data local. It reads the PM5 over Bluetooth, records intervals, distance pieces, and time trials, and exports to FIT or a plain CSV for Strava or your own scripts. There is no account, no cloud, and no ads. The code is on GitHub under GPLv3.
Where it falls short: the interface is spartan, translation coverage varies, and there is no automatic sync to the Concept2 Logbook. If a workout matters for a ranking, you will still open ErgData.
Pricing: Free forever, GPLv3.
Platforms: Android only. Works with any PM5-equipped Concept2 rower.
Download: Aptoide · Google Play
Bottom line: the option to reach for if you want a Concept2 companion that will still work in five years without a login prompt.
4. CITYROW Go, live classes without the CITYROW hardware
CITYROW built its reputation on studio classes that mix rowing intervals with mat-based strength work. The app opens the same content to anyone with a compatible rower, including the CITYROW Max, the Hydrow, and any FTMS-standard machine. Class lengths run from ten minutes to about an hour, instructors call splits and stroke rates aloud, and off-erg blocks slot between rows so a session doubles as a full workout.
Where it falls short: the monthly fee is higher than most rowing subscriptions, and the free trial is short. Not every class connects to your rower's metrics live; some track only through your phone's timer.
Pricing: 7-day free trial, then around $29 per month or $290 per year.
Platforms: Android, iOS, Apple TV, Fire TV, Roku, and web.
Download: Aptoide · Google Play
Bottom line: the closest thing to a boutique studio class if you would rather someone else programme the session.
5. RP3 Rowing, force curve analysis for the technical rower
RP3 makes a competition-grade dynamic ergometer used by national rowing teams, and its Android app is where their coaches read the force profile of every stroke. Pair a phone or tablet with an RP3 Model S or Model T over Bluetooth and the app draws the force curve stroke by stroke, tracks power in watts, and lets you save sessions to compare a warm-up piece with the same effort a month later. Anyone with an RP3 gets the app for free.
Where it falls short: the app only pairs with RP3 hardware. On a Concept2 it will not connect at all.
Pricing: Free with an RP3 rower.
Platforms: Android and iOS. Pairs with RP3 dynamic ergometers.
Download: Aptoide · Google Play
Bottom line: the reference tool for RP3 owners who want to fix technique with data rather than a mirror.
6. Rowing Coach 4.0, drills and cues for beginners
Rowing Coach 4.0 by MAPITECH is a technique trainer aimed at people who bought an erg and have no idea whether their stroke sequence is right. Short video drills walk through the catch, drive, finish, and recovery, and a voice coach cues stroke rate targets during a live session. The paid unlock removes ads and opens the full library of interval programmes.
Where it falls short: the app does not pair with a rower's monitor, so metrics still come from the PM5 itself. Video production is functional rather than cinematic.
Pricing: Free with ads. Full unlock is a one-time purchase of around $3.
Platforms: Android only.
Download: Aptoide · Google Play
Bottom line: the cheapest way to stop rowing with your arms and start driving with your legs.
7. Wahoo Fitness, multi-sport tracking with sensor fan-in
Wahoo's app began life as a cycling companion and now records rowing, running, treadmill, and generic indoor sessions alongside its stronger sport modes. On a rower it will not read the PM5's stroke rate the way ErgData does, but it will fan in heart-rate belts, cadence sensors, and smart trainers over ANT+ or Bluetooth, then push a merged FIT file to Strava, Training Peaks, or Apple Health. The rowing profile is a good fit for people who ride and lift on the same log.
Where it falls short: rowing is not a first-class sport in Wahoo's world. There are no rowing-specific workouts, and metrics rely on connected sensors rather than the erg itself.
Pricing: Free. Wahoo X, the paid training platform, adds structured plans from around $15 per month.
Platforms: Android, iOS, and Wahoo hardware.
Download: Aptoide · Google Play
Bottom line: the right log if rowing is one of three or four sports you rotate through, not the main event.
8. Polar Beat, heart-rate zone training done properly
Polar Beat is Polar's free training companion, and it does one thing well: it reads a Polar heart-rate belt or an OH1 arm strap, calculates zones from a real fitness test, and coaches your effort against them in real time. On a rowing session that means the app will call out when you drift out of zone 2 during a 40-minute steady piece or push into zone 4 when the programme said zone 3. Sessions sync to the Polar Flow web dashboard and export to Strava.
Where it falls short: the zone science is only as accurate as the fitness test, and the app is most useful with Polar hardware. Rowing-specific coaching is limited to generic cardio guidance.
Pricing: Free with a Polar account. Requires a compatible HR sensor for full coaching.
Platforms: Android and iOS. Compatible with Polar and most standard Bluetooth HR belts.
Download: Aptoide · Google Play
Bottom line: the companion to run alongside ErgData or Coxswain when you care about heart-rate discipline more than splits.
How to choose
Start with ErgData if you have a Concept2. It is free, it pairs cleanly, and it keeps the Logbook history rowers care about. Add Kinomap when a black PM5 screen stops motivating you and a video of the Thames does. Pick Coxswain instead of ErgData if a corporate account and cloud sync are things you actively want to avoid. Reach for CITYROW Go when you would rather follow an instructor for 30 minutes than programme intervals yourself, and you own a rower that streams FTMS.
Buy an RP3 to unlock RP3 Rowing, or borrow one at a boathouse to see what a force curve looks like on your stroke. Install Rowing Coach 4.0 in your first month with a new erg if you have never rowed on water. Log rowing sessions in Wahoo Fitness when it lives on the same page as your cycling and lifting. Layer Polar Beat on top of any of the above once you have a heart-rate belt and want zones to mean something.
The one thing not to do is buy a subscription before you have rowed for a month with the free apps. ErgData plus a fifteen-dollar chest strap covers 90 per cent of what a beginner needs to see whether rowing sticks.
FAQ
What is the best free rowing training app for Android?
ErgData if you own a Concept2. It pairs with the PM5, records intervals and distance pieces, syncs to the Concept2 Logbook, and costs nothing. Coxswain is the strong open-source alternative for the same hardware.
What rowing app do most home rowers use?
ErgData is the default for Concept2 owners, and Concept2 is the machine most home rowers buy. Beyond that, Hydrow and Peloton members use their own apps on the paired hardware, and CITYROW Go is the most common subscription among people who bring class-style workouts to a generic rower.
Can I use an app to track my stroke rate without a Concept2?
Yes, on rowers that broadcast the FTMS Bluetooth standard. Kinomap, Wahoo, and most connected-rower apps will read stroke rate and split from a WaterRower, NordicTrack RW, or Hydrow. On older air rowers with no smart monitor, only a phone-based session timer works.
Do these apps work with a heart-rate belt?
ErgData, Coxswain, Wahoo Fitness, and Polar Beat all read Bluetooth heart-rate belts. Kinomap and CITYROW Go support them too, though setup varies by class. A Polar H10 or Wahoo Tickr is a safe pick that pairs with anything.
Is there a rowing app with real-world routes like Zwift?
Kinomap is the closest match. It plays first-person videos of real rivers, canals, and coastlines and matches playback speed to your split. Rowing-specific worlds inside Zwift itself do not exist yet, and the Hydrow app keeps its cinematic rows locked to Hydrow rowers.
How do I move my rowing history if I switch apps?
Sync everything to the Concept2 Logbook first. It stores workouts from ErgData and Coxswain, and most other apps can either import from Logbook or read the same FIT files. Strava is a reasonable secondary log for cross-sport history.
