Strava
The value is the network, the data or the infrastructure. Keep paying.
Records runs and rides and turns them into a social feed: segments with leaderboards, clubs, route planning and training analysis on top of GPS files.
Build me a private training log over my own GPS files. Accept that the social half cannot be built. STACK - Astro with a Node adapter, SQLite via better-sqlite3 - Files as FIT, TCX or GPX, parsed on upload and kept as the source of truth INGEST - Watch exports dropped into a folder, or uploaded through the browser - Parse to a normalised stream: time, latitude, longitude, elevation, heart rate, cadence, power - Deduplicate on start time plus duration, because watches export the same activity twice THE NUMBERS THAT ARE ACTUALLY HARD - Elevation gain: smooth the barometric or SRTM elevation before summing, and state the threshold used — raw sums are nonsense - Moving time: a speed threshold with hysteresis, not a simple cut-off - Normalised power over a 30-second rolling average to the fourth power, if power exists ANALYSIS - Weekly volume, distance and elevation; a fitness and fatigue model from daily training load - Personal bests over standard distances, computed by sliding window across every activity MAPS - Render the track as SVG over OpenStreetMap tiles; respect the tile usage policy or self-host tiles PRIVACY - A privacy zone around home: clip the first and last radius from every track before it is stored, not before it is displayed WHAT IS NOT HERE - Segments, leaderboards, kudos, clubs — the network, which is the product Include a README on the elevation smoothing, the moving-time rule and the tile policy.
What you lose
- Segments and leaderboards, which only exist because everyone else is on it too
- Clubs, kudos and the social loop that is the actual reason people keep training
- Route planning built from where millions of other people actually ride and run
- Integrations with every watch and bike computer on the market
- Years of your own history, already there and already comparable
If you would rather not build
- Garmin Connect — free with the watch, weaker social features
The escape hatch
open source · no votes, no paid placement
Wanderer
$0Self-hosted trail database with maps, statistics and GPX import.
open-wanderer/wandererfree · open source
GoldenCheetah
$0Serious desktop training analysis for power, heart rate and fitness modelling.
GoldenCheetah/GoldenCheetahfree · open source
Why this verdict
our own opinion · changed only by a person
22/100
Verdict no at 22: the analysis is buildable and the prompt gets the parts people quietly get wrong. But Strava is a network — segments and clubs have no meaning with one member, and that is what the subscription is really for.
History
tracked since 9 Aug 2026 · nothing is ever overwritten
Nothing recorded yet. This chart fills in once the page has visitors, votes or prompt copies — it will not draw a flat line to look busy.
Questions about Strava
answered from the record above
Is Strava free?
No — the plan we track is $11.99 a month. Subscription at $11.99/month or $79.99/year; recording activities is free, while segments, routes and analysis are paid.
Can you replace Strava by building your own?
KEEP IT. The value is the network, the data or the infrastructure. Keep paying. Replacement score 22 out of 100, build time longer than it saves. Read what you lose before you decide.
How much does Strava cost?
$11.99 a month on Subscription — $143.88 a year. Recorded 9 Aug 2026.
What do you lose by replacing Strava?
Segments and leaderboards, which only exist because everyone else is on it too; Clubs, kudos and the social loop that is the actual reason people keep training; Route planning built from where millions of other people actually ride and run; Integrations with every watch and bike computer on the market; Years of your own history, already there and already comparable. If any of those carry weight for you, keep paying.
Is there an open-source alternative to Strava?
Yes: Wanderer, GoldenCheetah. The prompt on this page is for when you want it your way instead.
Related entries
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