LeCoach vs Runna: which running coach app fits you?

LeCoach is built around that conversation: ask why today's run is easy, or tell it you're away next weekend, and it shows the change in your calendar for you to save. Runna's help centre describes in-app support chat with its customer team and Workout Insights, AI feedback after a workout that doesn't change the plan. We found no AI coach you can chat with on its site or in its help centre, though we didn't test the app itself.

LeCoach writes every workout for you, from your goal, your week, your threshold pace, zones and experience, and each type of workout steps up from the last time you did it. You can combine running and cycling, and strength and mobility workouts sit on the same calendar. Runna builds your plan from your onboarding answers, with coach-built plans at levels from beginner to Elite Plus. It estimates a time from your ability, and doesn't let you train toward a goal time you choose.

A good coach makes the small calls alone and asks about the rest. LeCoach works that way. It makes small, safe changes every night, each marked Adjusted with an Undo button. After a missed session, your daily report gives you a few ways to catch up. When a pattern keeps coming back, the Monday roundup asks why before anything changes, because a busy month and a plan that's too hard need different fixes. Runna mostly leaves it to you: you move or skip a run, you switch on Not Feeling 100% yourself, and Plan Realignment only comes up after more than three missed runs or a full week, and can't be undone once you confirm it.

Runna's help centre doesn't describe any use of HRV or sleep data, and says heart rate is shown but doesn't change your plan. Its explanation of how it reduces injury risk lists your answers, ability, distance, race times, deload weeks and build limits. LeCoach scores your HRV, sleep and resting heart rate against your own last 7 and 28 days, and on a Fair or Low day with a hard session planned it asks what you want to do. Your workouts use pace targets, and heart rate targets can sit next to them.

Runna shows you what to run and why at the level of the session, with pace insights and post-workout feedback. LeCoach adds a Plan Health Score for the whole plan, a score for how each run compared with the plan, fitness, fatigue and form charts, and a Monday roundup that looks back and ahead.

LeCoach costs €7.99 a month, or €5.59 a month billed yearly (€67.10), with a 14-day trial and no card. Runna costs $19.99 a month or $119.99 a year, with a 7-day free trial, and there's a $149.99 yearly bundle with Strava. LeCoach connects directly to Garmin, and to more than 20 other platforms through a free Intervals.icu account, including COROS, Suunto, Zwift, Wahoo, Rouvy and MyWhoosh.