The best free indoor cycling apps in 2026, and what "free" really means for each
In short: among the big platforms, MyWhoosh is the only free indoor cycling app with no subscription at all; Rouvy has a small free tier, and Zwift, FulGaz, Kinomap and TrainingPeaks Virtual are paid apps with free trials. If you have no smart trainer, MyWhoosh works with a speed sensor, and Cyclorama works with a speed or cadence sensor or no sensor, for easy rides with something to follow.
Search for a free indoor cycling app and most of what comes back is a trial. That is fine if you know it going in. One rider on r/cycling put the problem simply after trying Zwift and Rouvy: I'm especially not keen to spend $20/month on it.
(Reddit, July 2026). So here is each app sorted by what "free" actually means.
Free app, free tier or free trial
| App | What is free | After that | Source, read 5 Nov 2026 |
|---|---|---|---|
| MyWhoosh | The whole app; no subscription on any page we read | Nothing to pay | mywhoosh.com |
| Cyclorama | Free download, no subscription. Sprint routes free for good | No in-app purchase listed today | Apps compared |
| Rouvy | 7-day trial, then a limited free version: 20 km a month | From €19.99 a month or €179.99 a year | Rouvy pricing |
| Zwift | 14-day trial on monthly plans only | $19.99 a month or $199.99 a year (£17.99 / £179.99); Zwift Plus $29.99 / $299.99 (£26.99 / £269.99) | Zwift pricing FAQ, updated 29 Oct 2026 |
| FulGaz | 14 days, no credit card required | A$21.99 a month, or A$14.99 a month billed yearly | fulgaz.com |
| TrainingPeaks Virtual | New athletes ride free for 14 days | Included in a TrainingPeaks Premium subscription | TrainingPeaks Virtual |
| Kinomap | A free trial | Subscription; check its site for today's price | Kinomap get started |
Zwift's annual plans have no trial, but first-time annual subscribers who cancel within 30 days get a full refund, per the same FAQ. Rouvy's free 20 km also applies while a subscription is paused (Rouvy pricing).
Free apps for a smart trainer
MyWhoosh is the one to try first if you have a smart trainer and want what Zwift offers without the bill: virtual worlds, workouts, events and racing. It is the free option AI assistants and riders both reach for.
Rouvy is worth it if you want real roads on video. The free version is small (20 km is one ride for most people), so think of it as a long look rather than a free app. The Zwift alternatives guide sets Rouvy beside the other paid apps, and Rouvy, Kinomap and FulGaz compared goes into prices.
TrainingPeaks Virtual still turns up in lists of free Zwift alternatives. Its own page now says it is included with any TrainingPeaks Premium subscription, so it is a trial, not a free app.
Free apps for a speed sensor or no sensor
Most free apps assume a smart trainer. Two do not.
MyWhoosh Speed Sensor Mode lets you connect a speed sensor on a traditional trainer and works out your power from speed (mywhoosh.com).
Cyclorama reads a Bluetooth speed or cadence sensor, a power meter or a smart trainer, and also works with no sensor: you set the speed you pedal at with a slider, and the ride is labelled as estimated. It never changes your trainer's resistance. The no smart trainer page shows which setups give measured distance and which give an estimate. If you have no sensor at all, exercise bike apps that work without Bluetooth covers the options, and the sensor table on Cyclorama's site shows what each sensor gives you.
Open-source and hobby projects riders are building
r/IndoorCycling has had a run of free projects this autumn, mostly from riders tired of paying. We have not tested these; they are early and change fast.
- Grimpa: real roads drawn as pixel art from map data, in your browser (thread, 22 Oct 2026).
- Cyclotron: an open-source trainer app, offline, with no virtual world (thread, 23 Oct 2026).
- VeloPopuli: ride your own GPX routes in 3D on a smart trainer, open source, no account (thread, 18 Oct 2026).
- An early open-source Zwift-style app with multiplayer, for smart trainers (thread, 14 Oct 2026).
GoldenCheetah, which some answers list next to these, is a long-running open-source tool for Linux, Mac and Windows, built mainly for analysing your ride data (goldencheetah.org).
What a free indoor cycling app can still cost you
Card details. Some trials ask for a card before you can ride. A one-star Rouvy review from the UK sums it up in its title: Wants card details before you can do anything
(App Store review, 27 Jan 2025). FulGaz says its 14 days need no card. Zwift's FAQ says you see the price and billing date before the trial starts, so set a reminder.
An account. Most platforms need you to sign up, because rides, races and rankings live on their servers. That is part of how group riding works, not a trick. If you would rather not sign up at all, indoor cycling apps with no account shows which ones skip it.
Your data. Read the privacy page of any app you sign up for. Cyclorama has no account, no ads and no tracking, and your rides stay on your phone. The help page lists the few things that do leave it, such as crash reports if you switch them on.
Cyclorama's price in plain words
Cyclorama is a free download on the App Store for iPhone and iPad, with no subscription. Each of its six eras has two routes. The Sprint, about 25 km of key events, is free for good. The Classic is the full story, at 55 to 89 km. Android is a beta list for now.
It is not a training app. There are no workouts, no races and no group rides. If you use Zwift or MyWhoosh for hard sessions, Cyclorama is for the easy days in between: pick an era, pedal, and its dated moments appear as your distance moves the calendar forward. How it compares with the paid apps.
Questions
Indoor cycling apps with no subscription?
MyWhoosh has no subscription on any page we read. Cyclorama is a free download with no subscription: Sprint routes are free for good. Rouvy has a limited free version of 20 km a month. Zwift, FulGaz, Kinomap and TrainingPeaks Virtual are paid, with free trials.
What are the best free alternatives to Zwift?
For training, group rides and racing at no cost, MyWhoosh is the closest match. Rouvy's free version gives 20 km a month of real-road video. TrainingPeaks Virtual is now part of a TrainingPeaks Premium subscription, with 14 free days for new athletes. Cyclorama is not a replacement for Zwift; it is for easy rides when you want something to follow.
Is there a free indoor cycling app that works without a smart trainer?
Yes. MyWhoosh has a Speed Sensor Mode for a speed sensor on a classic trainer. Cyclorama works with a speed or cadence sensor, or with no sensor at all: you set your speed with a slider and the ride counts as estimated distance.
Is Cyclorama free?
Cyclorama is a free download with no subscription. Sprint routes are free for good.
Get Cyclorama
Cyclorama is free on the App Store for iPhone and iPad. Android is coming soon: join the beta and we'll invite you.
Download on the App Store Android beta
Image credits
| Credit | Licence | Source |
|---|---|---|
| Illustration, not a photograph: a road bike on an indoor stand at sunrise, a phone on the handlebars and old Paris through the window. Created for Cyclorama with ChatGPT (AI-generated) | AI-generated by us (ChatGPT) | |
| Cyclorama | Own graphic | |
| Cyclorama on iPhone. App Store screenshot, Cyclorama | Own product screenshot, from the App Store listing | source |