Apps for Indoor Rowing Sessions

The apps worth having for indoor rowing sessions are ErgData for tracking if you have a PM5, a metronome for rate and a heart rate app if you train by zones. Most people need only the first, and a playlist covers the rest. App features and prices change often, so check the current store listing before you rely on one.

Compare the apps

App	Best for	Works with	Cost (checked 30 Oct 2026)
ErgData	Tracking and your logbook	Concept2 PM5 only	Free
ErgZone	Programming workouts, live targets	Concept2, RP3 and other named machines	Free plan, Premium $4.99 a month
EXR	Virtual racing in 3D worlds	Bluetooth rowers, including Concept2	14-day trial, then €9.95 a month
WaterRower Connect	WaterRower tracking	S4 monitor with Bluetooth ComModule	Check current listing
Polar Beat	Heart rate with Polar sensors	Polar H9, H10 and OH1	Free
Metronome app	Holding a stroke rate	Any phone	Often free

ErgData (Concept2)

ErgData is Concept2’s free app for connecting a phone or tablet to a Performance Monitor by Bluetooth. It works with the PM5 only. It offers live displays including data, a pace graph, a table and a pace boat, and it syncs your sessions automatically to your online Concept2 logbook. After a session, it gives you analysis of intervals, stroke graphs and heart rate zones, and it can send workouts on to Strava or Garmin Connect.

Why it helps:

• Your results are saved without you having to write down splits.
• You can check whether your 5k pace is improving across a block.
• You can set up workouts on the PM5 from your phone and save favourites.
• You can join the daily leaderboard and online challenges if you want to.

If you have a Concept2 RowErg, this is the first app to install. Learn what the metrics mean before you chase the numbers: drag factor explained and stroke rate guide are good starting points.

ErgZone and EXR

ErgZone suits rowers who follow structured workouts. It programmes sessions onto the machine, shows live targets for pace, rate, watts and heart rate zones, and uploads to the Concept2 logbook. The free plan covers unlimited custom workouts, and Premium adds extras such as unlimited history and file downloads.

EXR is for rowers who get bored. You row in virtual worlds, often alongside others, with challenges and achievements. It is the one to try on a free trial first, for 14 days, to see whether you still open it in week two.

A rowing metronome

A metronome or stroke rate app gives you a beat to match. It is useful if you drift above or below the rate your session calls for, or if you want to practise a slow recovery. In most such apps you set a rate in strokes per minute and sometimes a drive-to-recovery ratio, and the app marks each phase with different tones.

Here is the sum for 20 strokes per minute, with a ratio of 1:2:

Rate	Time per stroke	Drive	Recovery
18 spm	3.3 seconds	1.1 seconds	2.2 seconds
20 spm	3 seconds	1 second	2 seconds
24 spm	2.5 seconds	0.8 seconds	1.7 seconds

Row to the beat for 10 minutes to learn the rhythm. Try one or two free apps and keep the one whose sound is easiest to follow.

A heart rate app

If you wear a chest strap or optical monitor, an app that shows zones lets you keep easy sessions easy and hard sessions hard. Polar Beat is a free training app that pairs with Polar’s H9, H10 and OH1 sensors. On a PM5 you can also pair an ANT+ or Bluetooth Smart chest belt with the monitor itself, and ErgData can show heart rate from an Apple Watch. Zones are estimates and your maximum heart rate is individual, so treat the numbers as a guide. See heart rate zones for rowing and heart rate monitors: essential rowing equipment.

Music and podcasts

A streaming service such as Spotify lets you build playlists for different sessions. Matching tempo to rate is simple arithmetic: divide the track’s beats per minute by your stroke rate. At 20 strokes per minute, a 120 beats per minute track gives 6 beats per stroke, so 2 beats on the drive and 4 on the recovery. Podcasts or audiobooks work well for long, easy sessions, but for technique work you may want silence or a metronome instead.

A training log

If you don’t use ErgData, a notes app or spreadsheet works well. Record the date, session, distance or time, average split, average rate and a one-line note on how it felt. Reviewing 4 weeks of notes shows what is working.

Choosing sensibly

1. Start with one app. For most people with a Concept2, it is ErgData.
2. Add a second only if you have a specific problem: a metronome for rate, a heart rate app for zone control.
3. Check compatibility with your monitor, phone and any heart rate device. WaterRower’s S4 needs the Bluetooth ComModule add-on for apps, and listings say it doesn’t fit Version 1 monitors.
4. Beware of subscriptions. At €9.95 a month, 12 months of EXR at the monthly price is €119.40, so make sure you will use it.
5. Treat the numbers as feedback. An app can’t fix technique. It only shows you where to look. For structured sessions, see our plans, and for tracking progress, see measuring your results when using a rowing machine.