Pricing
Most of Bao is free.
Couch to 5K, your watch, your runs, and everything that lets a plan fit around your week cost nothing. Bao Plus is for when you're training for a race.
Free
£0 for as long as you like
- Couch to 5K, start to finish
- Sessions sent to your Garmin watch
- Run tracking with your phone's GPS, with voice cues (Android)
- Runs from Garmin, Strava, Health Connect or any watch's FIT file
- Move a run up to three days either way
- Time off for holidays and busy weeks
- Ill or injured? Your streak waits
- Make any session easier in one tap
- Sleep, heart rate and other sport shape the day's session
- Saturday parkrun planned in
- On Android and the web, with one account
No ads, and your data is never sold.
Bao Plus
£5.99 a month
or £39.99 a year, which works out at £3.33 a month
Two weeks free, no card needed
Everything in Free, plus a plan for your race:
- Plans for a faster 5K, 10K, half marathon and marathon
- Keep building after Couch to 5K, towards 10K and beyond
- Built around your race day, with recovery weeks and a proper taper
- Intervals, tempo, hills, strides and progression runs, varied week to week
- Steps up when you're cruising, eases off when it's hard
- Run by pace or by heart rate
- B races and parkruns as tune-ups, with their times setting your paces
- Your likely race times, updated as you train
Payments open soon, and until then it's all free. The first 200 members will pay £29.99 a year for as long as they stay.
How Bao compares
Checked in November 2026 against each app's own pages, with UK prices. Prices change, so do check. If anything here is out of date, tell us at [email protected] and we'll fix it.
| Bao | Runna | Coopah | Kiprun Pacer | Garmin Coach | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Price | Free · Plus £5.99/month | £15.99/month, £99.99/year | About £14.99/month, £79.99/year | Free | Free with a Garmin |
| Free plan for beginners | ✓ | ✕ | ✕ | ✕ | With a Garmin |
| Plans from 5K to marathon | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | 10K and up | Up to half marathon |
| Move a run to another day | Up to 3 days, any week | Within limits | ~ | – | ✕ |
| Time off without breaking the plan | ✓ | ✓ | – | – | ~ |
| Make a session easier in one tap | ✓ | ~ | – | – | – |
| Sleep and heart rate change the day | ✓ | ✕ | – | – | ~ |
| Other sport counts towards tiredness | ✓ | – | ✕ | – | ✓ |
| Works in a web browser | ✓ | ✕ | ✕ | ✕ | ~ |
| Workouts on a Garmin | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ |
| iPhone and Apple Watch app | ✕ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✕ |
| Human coaches | ✕ | – | ✓ | ✕ | ✕ |
✓ yes ~ partly ✕ no – not that we could find
Why runners pick Bao
- Weeks rarely go to plan. Move a run, take time off or be ill, and the plan adjusts without losing your streak.
- On a heavy day, one tap gives you an easier session. Change your mind and put it back.
- Your sleep, heart rate and other sport decide how hard today should be, not only your last run.
- Kiprun Pacer is free too, but starts at 10K. Bao takes you from your first run to the marathon, and the first part is free.
- Plus costs less than half as much as Runna, and you can try it for two weeks without a card.
- It works in any browser, so it's there on a laptop or an iPhone as well.
Questions about paying
Do I need a card for the free fortnight?
No. It starts when you finish Couch to 5K or set up a race plan, and ends after two weeks. You're only charged if you choose Plus.
What happens if I don't pay after two weeks?
Your plan waits for you. Your runs, streak and badges stay, you can still track and bring in runs, and you can switch to Couch to 5K for free whenever you like.
How do I cancel?
In Google Play's subscriptions if you paid there, or in your account on the web. You keep Plus until the end of the period you've paid for.
Can I get a refund?
Yes. Ask within 14 days of a payment and we'll refund it. Email [email protected].
Where do I pay?
On Android through Google Play, or on the web. Plus then works on every device you sign in on.
Are prices in my currency?
Yes: pounds in the UK, euros in the eurozone and US dollars elsewhere. UK and EU prices include VAT; US prices are before any sales tax.