Survey reveals a surprising amount of you are paying for Strava

Source: Android Authority

I’m too lazy to be a Strava user, but I’m fully aware that it’s an immensely popular app that falls somewhere between a training log and a social media platform. I’m also familiar with the business model it employs to encourage members to pay for the premium version, which is probably easier to justify mentally if it’s seen as benefiting your health — I do the same rationalizing with my Duolingo subscription. We were keen to find out whether you pay for Strava, so we ran a poll among our readers. I was quite surprised by the percentage of you who actually do.

Poll Overview

Motivation

The poll was prompted by an opinion piece from my colleague Ryan Haines, who explained why Strava went from his favorite running app to something he now barely tolerates. After years as a paying subscriber, he argued that Strava has become far too aggressive about locking away personal data and other features unless you cough up for Premium. For him, the fun and freedom that originally made Strava appealing have eroded to the point that he’s now treating it less like a training tool and more like a glorified kudos machine.

Results

As the chart shows, 31 % of you pay for Strava. While that’s less than one‑third, it seemed surprisingly high to me. There may be some selection bias—people who pay for Strava might be more likely to read an article about it—but we didn’t even specify that we only wanted answers from Strava users, so some of the “No” camp might not even have the app installed.

Comparison with Other Services

Ryan might bemoan Strava’s model, as another colleague of mine laments Duolingo’s tactics, but if it drives three in ten people to subscribe, I doubt the platforms will care. Most apps won’t see that kind of subscription uptake, but the ubiquitous ones can. For example, according to its own figures, approximately 39 % of Spotify users pay for the ad‑free version (source).

Community Reactions

Subscription Decisions

The comments section on Ryan’s article largely reinforced his view that something about Strava has shifted. A few readers said they’d either stopped paying for Strava or never subscribed in the first place, often because they already rely on other devices and apps for tracking and analysis. One commenter summed that up neatly: “I paid for Garmin devices and didn’t need to pay for a service,” while another noted that Strava’s attempted legal action against Garmin only added to their disillusionment.

User Experience Concerns

Others focused less on the data itself and more on how Strava feels to use now. Some described growing tired of constant subscription nudges or a social layer that no longer adds much value. One reader said they’d found the kudos culture “overwhelming,” while another wrote that Strava had come to dominate their social‑media time without really giving much back.

The strongest reaction came from a former paid subscriber who said the app brought them “nothing but misery,” explaining that they’d started to feel anxious about their runs and how they would appear on Strava. If an app that purports to help makes the exercise experience worse, it may be time to look elsewhere or ditch the tech altogether.