Yes, we would all rather ride outside. But the best indoor cycling apps can help you get fitter and faster when weather, work and the rest of your life stop you from getting out.
What's more, the best smart trainers and training apps have made indoor cycling more realistic and effective than ever.
Zwift has established itself as the go-to training app, but there are plenty of alternatives if you want to mix up your indoor cycling experience.
Many of the best indoor training apps use a subscription model, often costing between £10 / $10 and £20 / $20. But there are cheaper options and if you don't want to part with your cash just yet, we have a separate guide to the best free indoor cycling apps.
Here are our favourite indoor cycling apps, plus the best of the rest that are worth checking out. At the end of this article, we've included a brief guide to apps and indoor training.
- Editor's note: This list was updated on 24 October 2025 with updated information on the apps listed below. We have also removed some entries, including as BKOOL and FulGaz, as they have been acquired by Rouvy.
Best indoor cycling apps in 2025
Zwift
Founded by gamers with a love of cycling (and some good investment), Zwift transformed the indoor riding experience.
With virtual group rides and races going on almost constantly, it’s easy to jump in with a group for an easy spin or an all-out slugfest. You can also ride on your own, or tackle one of Zwift’s many structured training plans and workouts after taking a Zwift FTP test.
The platform’s racing aspect has also taken off, with categorised Zwift races to join based on your power-to-weight ratio if you want to stoke your competitive fire.
Zwift frequently adds gamified elements, bringing further interactivity, including introducing steering to all courses within the game (provided you have the right equipment). There is also Zwift messaging, which enables you to message other riders.
More recently, Zwift has produced hardware to improve your Zwift experience. It released Zwift Play controllers and has worked with Wahoo to launch the Kickr Core Zwift One and Zwift Ride modular budget smart bike.
Routes include the fictional Watopia and Neokyo worlds, and routes inspired by real-world courses.
- Read more: Our complete guide to Zwift
- Platform: iOS, Android, Windows, macOS, Apple TV
- Cost: £17.99 / $19.99 per month (or £179.99 / $199.99 per year)
- Free trial period: 14 days with monthly subscription
- Device compatibility: ANT+, Bluetooth
- Primary features: Solo and social riding, virtual racing, training and structured workouts
- Website: Zwift.com
Rouvy
Rouvy contains a mix of virtual riding, racing and training plans.
The app offers augmented-reality riding, enabling you to race your friends, similar to Zwift. However, instead of a fully animated world, the app adds avatars, road signs and finish banners to high-definition, real-life footage of roads worldwide. At present, there are thousands of routes covering more than 25,000km.
For example, you can train specifically for UK sportives on simulations of the Yorkshire hills the pros rode in the 2014 Tour de France or ride stage routes from the grand tours. Rouvy says it's used by sponsored teams, Lidl-Trek and Visma–Lease a Bike to reconnoitre stages and races on its calendar.
There's a competitive side to Rouvy too, enabling you to create or join races. Rouvy rewards you for using the app with coins, which you can spend on upgrading your avatar and in-app bike.
Rouvy has a range of training plans, and there are in-built tests including FTP ramp testing, which feed into its power zones for your workouts. Its workout creator enables you to design training sessions to match your goals.
The company has also bought out rivals FulGaz and Bkool, merging the latter's offering with Rouvy's platform.
- Read more: Our full guide to Rouvy
- Platform: iOS, Android, Windows, macOS, Apple TV
- Cost: £17.99 / $19.99 per month, £159.99 / $179.99 per year
- Free trial period: 7 days
- Device compatibility: ANT+, Bluetooth
- Primary features: Video routes, augmented reality routes, training
- Website: Rouvy.com
Wahoo SYSTM
Wahoo SYSTM is an online training platform that provides structured workouts, with lots of enriching features to make them more bearable.
It focuses on helping you to build and follow a training plan, alongside a large library of workouts and content.
Wahoo styles its membership Wahoo X, so this is what you'll see offered when you sign up to access Wahoo SYSTM.
Aimed at time-crunched athletes, Wahoo SYSTM uses Wahoo’s proprietary Four Dimensional Power (4DP) profile (a kind of advanced FTP profile, more akin to Critical Power) to help tailor training plans and workouts to your fitness, strengths and weaknesses.
Wahoo SYSTM also has an ‘intuitive training plan builder’, which enables users to customise training plans to suit their own goals and fitness. It takes into account both your indoor and outdoor riding, as well as any off-bike cross-training you may do.
Wahoo SYSTM has also imported content from The Sufferfest. Race simulations combine first-person camera footage and race data from elite riders, scaled to your fitness level, while there are also sessions set to videos of iconic cycling routes.
- Read more: Our full guide to Wahoo SYSTM
- Platform: iOS, Android, Windows, macOS
- Cost: £14.99 / $17.99 per month (or £149.99 / $179.99 per year)
- Free trial period: 14 days
- Device compatibility: ANT+, Bluetooth
- Primary features: Comprehensive workout library, customisable training plan, incorporates Wahoo RGT, The Sufferfest and additional content
- Website: wahoofitness.com/systm
TrainerRoad
Riding a trainer aimlessly, staring at the wall is about as much fun as sitting in a waiting room at the dentist with no WiFi.
On top of that, riding with little regard for your goals and training zones isn’t really doing anything for your fitness, if you really want to make the most of your time on the turbo.
TrainerRoad takes a less-is-more approach to the indoor training app, focusing heavily on relatively short, measured interval training sessions. The aim is to make you fitter and faster without the bells and whistles other apps may offer.
While some folks may have the discipline to guide themselves through workouts in their basements, most people (including the majority of the BikeRadar staff) aren’t that mentally tough. But if a coach or an app is there walking you through that sweetspot or VO2 max session, all you have to do is pedal.
The app’s adaptive training feature acts like an AI coach by tailoring sessions to your current condition. The software interprets your data and makes the training schedule easier if you’re fatigued, or harder if you’re fresher or getting stronger.
The interface is clean and simple; just follow the targets for power (and sometimes cadence) for the prescribed duration. The bar graphs show what is coming up, and the text explains the ‘why’ behind the ‘what’.
- Read more: Our complete guide to TrainerRoad
- Platform: iOS, Android, Windows, macOS
- Cost: $21.99 per month or $209.99 per year
- Free trial period: 30-day money-back guarantee
- Device compatibility: ANT+, Bluetooth
- Primary features: Laser-focus on interval training and training plans
- Website: Trainerroad.com
MyWhoosh
MyWhoosh offers a similar experience to Zwift, with communal rides, events and races all being held in a virtual world.
If you recognise the name, it's because you've seen it emblazoned across Tadej Pogačar's bottom as he disappears over the horizon at yet another race. MyWhoosh is based in the UAE and offers free access to its platform.
Better yet, MyWhoosh gives cash prizes to winners of races on its platform. Its Sunday Race Club final offered a prize pot of over £65,000 / $85,000 in 2024.
It's not just about racing though and, as with other platforms, you can also ride at your own pace.
Its virtual worlds used to be dominated by sand, but now you can ride virtual courses set in Switzerland and Belgium.
- Read more: Our complete guide to MyWhoosh
- Platform: iOS, Android, Windows, macOS
- Cost: Free
- Free trial period: N/A
- Device compatibility: ANT+, Bluetooth
- Primary features: Competitions, prizes
- Website: MyWhoosh.com
icTrainer
At a price of only £24.99 / $29.99 / €29.99 per year, icTrainer undercuts the majority of the competition, but offers much of the same functionality, including real route videos and the option to upload and follow your own .gpx files.
Comprehensive data feeds include power and heart rate, although only via BLE and not ANT+.
Value-adds include in-app video chat, which you don’t get on Zwift or much of the competition, free music to match your tempo, an integrated web browser to watch Netflix while you work out and offline operation, so you’re not tied to a live internet link.
There’s a comprehensive range of workouts and tests, as well as the option to craft your own sessions, and the software enables two users to ride in parallel. icTrainer offers a 30-day free trial too.
- Platform: iOS, Android, Windows, macOS
- Cost: £24.99 / $29.99 / €29.99 per year
- Free trial period: 30 days
- Device compatibility: Bluetooth only
- Primary features: Real video, in-app video chat, will work offline
- Website: icTrainer.de
Indoor cycling apps explained
How to get the most out of indoor training
For most of these apps, you’ll want to know your Functional Threshold Power (FTP) to get the most from the workouts.
Don't worry if you don't know it because the apps will all be able to help you determine what your FTP is – and, in turn, establish your training zones. Just be warned that finding your FTP generally involves a 20-minute all-out effort or a ramp test, so it's no walk in the park.
Racing, training or there for the ride?
While most indoor cycling apps serve a similar purpose – to make indoor training more enjoyable and effective – they can broadly be split into a few categories depending on what you want from the experience, including intervals, racing and interactive tourism.
Some apps, such as TrainerRoad, are straight-up training tools – think personalised workouts based on power output with a specific training goal in mind.
Wahoo SYSTM allows you to build and follow a dedicated training plan from a large workout catalogue, and also incorporates many of the features previously found on The Sufferfest, including pro race footage to train alongside.
Others, such as Rouvy, use on-bike video from around the world, with your pedal power driving the scenic view – and, if you have a smart trainer or smart bike, the route driving the resistance.
And then there's Zwift, where you can do interactive rides, workouts and races on gamified virtual courses, with your speed based on your power-to-weight ratio in real-time.
The best indoor cycling app for you depends on what you want to do and, ultimately, what you want to achieve.
Some people will prefer completing interval sessions and following personalised training plans, while others may prefer an indoor training experience similar to a video game.
What you need to start cycling indoors
We've created a beginner's guide to indoor cycling, where we detail all the equipment you need to start riding indoors.
For those looking to jump in and purchase their first smart trainer to start using these apps, we've also written a smart trainer best list and buyer's guide.
