Comparison
RestOrTrain vs JOIN
RestOrTrain learns from your ride notes, post-workout feedback and conversations. It uses that knowledge alongside your training history and recovery data to plan your season and build your workouts. It explains its decisions and answers questions about your training. JOIN has no chat, so what you tell RestOrTrain cannot reach JOIN.
JOIN adjusts its cycling plan automatically for skipped or replaced workouts, changes to your available days and Oura Readiness or WHOOP Recovery scores.
At a glance
| RestOrTrain | JOIN | |
|---|---|---|
| What it learns from | RestOrTrain: Everything you tell it, ride notes and post-workout feedback; your training history, strengths, weaknesses, power profile, sleep, HRV, resting heart rate, training load, plan and calendar | JOIN: Completed and skipped workouts, Oura Readiness and WHOOP Recovery scores; no conversation |
| How workouts are made | RestOrTrain: Creates workouts for your training needs; accepts requests and edits in chat | JOIN: Selects and tunes workouts from a library of 400+ |
| Questions and explanations | RestOrTrain: Answers questions and explains decisions using your training data and conversations | JOIN: No chat for questions or explanations |
| Recovery data | RestOrTrain: Sleep, HRV, resting heart rate and WHOOP Recovery; no direct Oura connection | JOIN: Oura Readiness and WHOOP Recovery; no raw sleep or HRV; soreness and recovery checks can override the score |
| Charts | RestOrTrain: Built-in charts plus new bar or line charts on request | JOIN: Built-in charts and dashboards |
| Sports planned | RestOrTrain: Cycling, running, swimming and triathlon; gym sessions with exercises and sets | JOIN: Cycling, with running workouts alongside it |
| Platforms | RestOrTrain: iOS, Android and macOS | JOIN: iOS, Android, macOS and web |
| Price, US App Store | RestOrTrain: A few questions a month free, then Pro: $14.99 a month or $134.99 a year; prices vary by region | JOIN: Listed purchases: $11.99-$22.99 a month or $59.99-$109.99 a year; website lists a 7-day free trial; no free version |
| Indoor workout player | RestOrTrain: Smart trainer control with ERG; free for every account | JOIN: Smart trainer control with ERG; included in the subscription |
Prices and JOIN's features checked October 9, 2026.
What you tell it after a ride
Ask RestOrTrain why you struggled on Saturday despite a high WHOOP Recovery score. It considers your own sleep and HRV, the training load leading into the ride and the notes you left afterward. You can ask a follow-up question about its explanation.
Tell it that your knee hurts on climbs. That detail becomes part of what it knows about you and informs later training recommendations. It learns from every interaction and acts on what it learns. You can read the facts remembered from your chats in the Memory list on the Profile tab.
You can also ask about fueling or race pacing in your own language. It gives concise, concrete, world-class recommendations based on your training. With Pro, send it your route's GPX and it tells you how to pace each climb.
Season phases and workouts you can discuss
RestOrTrain builds your season toward your goal in dated phases, such as base, build and taper. Each phase has a range of weekly hours and an explanation of its purpose. You can see how the work fits into the season and ask why a particular session is on the calendar.
It fills your week with workouts it has built for you. If you want another session, describe the intervals you want in chat and it creates the workout. You can also ask it to adjust the efforts or recoveries in an existing session. There is no library to search through.
Tell it your race dates and the days you will be away, and it marks them on the calendar. Planned workouts go to your connected devices automatically. A calendar subscription also puts them in Apple Calendar or Google Calendar.
Charts of the training block you want to examine
JOIN shows the charts and dashboards built into its app. In RestOrTrain, ask to see how your power at threshold changed across a training block. It draws a bar or line chart in the reply from your calculated training data.
You choose the measure and the period you want to examine. To look more closely at an individual session, you can inspect its power curve, intervals and time in zones.
Frequently asked questions
Can I keep using WHOOP or Oura?
RestOrTrain reads WHOOP Recovery along with sleep, HRV and resting heart rate. WHOOP does not supply rides. There is no direct Oura connection. Sleep, HRV and resting heart rate can also come from Garmin, COROS or Intervals.icu, and from Apple Health on iPhone.
Will my workouts still reach my bike computer and Zwift?
Yes. RestOrTrain sends planned workouts automatically to Garmin Edge and compatible Garmin watches, Wahoo ELEMNT, Hammerhead Karoo and COROS. It also sends them to Zwift and Rouvy. In Zwift, each workout appears on its scheduled day. Sending workouts is free, and you can download .fit and .zwo files.
Can I use it instead of JOIN's indoor player?
Yes. The free indoor player runs on iPhone and Android with a Bluetooth smart trainer that supports FTMS. It plays planned cycling workouts with power targets, including workouts you request in chat. A heart-rate strap is optional. You can use ERG for automatic power control or turn it off, and adjust intensity in 1% steps from 50% to 150%. The workout continues with your phone locked.
Can I move from cycling with some running to a full triathlon plan?
Yes. RestOrTrain builds one plan around your goal and week, with structured swimming, cycling and running workouts. It also supports a single sport or running and cycling together. Gym sessions include the exercises and sets. JOIN adds running workouts to its cycling plan.
Will I still get FTP estimates and workout scores?
Yes. Both apps estimate FTP and grade workouts. RestOrTrain estimates FTP from your power curve. A ride matched to a planned workout receives a Workout Score out of 100, with an explanation. You can also see your power bests from 5 seconds to 60 minutes and their percentiles against other riders.
Can I use RestOrTrain on my Mac or in a browser?
The iPad app runs on Macs with Apple chips. RestOrTrain also runs on iPhone and iPad with iOS 18 or later, and on Android 8 or later. It has no web version. JOIN supports web access.
Try RestOrTrain
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Last updated October 10, 2026