Are you comparing TriDot vs Zwift?
TriDot and Zwift are two apps that endurance athletes will certainly hear about. TriDot will allow you to create personalized triathlon and running plans, while Zwift doesn't have training plans but has a very fun virtual world you can ride in with a smart bike trainer.
While each app offers training plans, the type of athlete they're best for is different.
The main difference between TriDot and Zwift is that Tridot is primarily designed to offer triathlon and running plans that prepare you for a race, while Zwift is designed for cyclists who want to ride and race in a virtual world alongside other cyclists.
In this article, we'll discuss all the pros and cons of Tridot and Zwift, and we'll answer the following questions you might have:
- What are the main features of TriDot and Zwift?
- What are the pros and cons of TriDot and Zwift?
- How much do TriDot and Zwift cost?
- Are TriDot and Zwift good for beginners?
- What athletes should consider TriDot vs Zwift?
BONUS: We'll also be discussing our app MOTTIV, which is a really good alternative to TriDot and Zwift if these two apps don't sound quite right for you.
TriDot vs. Zwift vs. MOTTIV Summary
TriDot Review
TriDot Overview
TriDot is a computer app and smartphone based app that creates training plans for running races and triathlons. The app creates detailed workouts to prepare for triathlons from sprint to Ironman distance and running races from 5k to marathon (but there's a catch with the running races.)
TriDot offers performance metrics to monitor your progress and a neat score where you rank out of 100 in your swim, bike, and run skills.
TriDot is primarily focused on helping triathletes, and while the company has recently launched RunDot, they still aren't supporting running races fully (more on this below.)
Compared to Strava, TriDot is much better for athletes who want a training plan that's created for them to prepare for triathlons and running races.
TriDot Pros
- Integrations: TriDot connects with a lot of devices and apps, such as Garmin, Polar, Strava, Wahoo, Rouvy, Trainerroad, and Suunto.
- Offers premium training options: Athletes who use higher priced plans on TriDot can choose to add features like strength training, find a 1-on-1 coach to work with, or even use RaceX to get a race strategy plan.
- Performance metrics: TriDot tracks your performance statistics, and the swim, bike, and run scores are a nice bit of motivation to give you incentives to keep training regularly.
- Minimal user interface: Once you download and learn how to use TriDot, the layout is visually attractive and feels modern.
- Plans and schedules can be customized: Training plans aren't strictly template training plans. TriDot users can customize their calendar and weekly training schedule.
TriDot Cons
- Expensive: TriDot doesn't have a free version and will cost at least $99/month if you want to add more than three races at a time, and get strength training in your plan. The lowest-priced plan is $14.99, and on that plan, athletes can only train for one Sprint or Olympic triathlon, nothing more.
- No running plans (pretty much): Running plans are clearly not given as much importance as triathlon training plans for athletes. Even when you sign up with what TriDot calls their run training app, Rundot, you just get kicked over to TriDot. Athletes can't add 5k or 10k races as their most important race of the year.
- Adding races: Adding races can be confusing for athletes and has noticeable limitations. Adding a race requires users to get redirected to RaceX, and adding races that aren't in their database is difficult.
- Questionable tactics: TriDot has used some "questionable" communications tactics in the past. They used to use a marketing tactic where athletes would have to apply to become a TriDot athlete, even though every single person who applied got accepted. During the winter of 2022-23, they teased free use of the app if athletes took part in a study, which came across as just a way to hook athletes into using the app with a long free trial. And recently, they've "launched" RunDot, which was touted as their running-specific training app, but when you sign up, you'll just get redirected to the normal TriDot app.
- Odd user experience: Some odd things happen when using the app. For example, when you try to load your future calendar, the app will look like you're loading the future weeks, but it just keeps loading your current week. There are a number of odd user interface experiences like this that are noticeable when you first start using the platform.
- Confusing setup: Generally, there are a lot of different offerings that can make it confusing to use the app. Should you use RunDot, why is RaceX a separate app, and why do you need RaceX just to add a race to your TriDot account? Which of the five different pricing options should you use? When I sign up, it says I'm on the Mark Allen plan, which costs $149/month, but I didn't choose that plan, so why am I on the most expensive plan?
- Set up requires time to learn: There are a number of areas of the app where how to use the app isn't easy. For example, learning how to change your weekly training schedule or even add a race takes several minutes to figure out how to do.
TriDot Ease of Use
When you first sign up for TriDot, it will take some time to figure out all the nuances of using the app. It's not going to be intuitive and will take some time to learn.
After a day or two with the app, most users should be able to start using TriDot training easily enough. They just have to understand how to work around some of the limitations.
Who is TriDot Best For?
Tridot is best for triathletes who don't want strength training in their plans and want a training plan created for them.
TriDot Pricing
- Free: No free plan
- Paid: A subscription is at least $14.99/month, but really, the full version people will want costs $99/month
Zwift Review
Zwift Overview
Zwift is a computer and smartphone-based indoor cycling app that connects to bike trainers and fitness devices like heart rate monitors.
In the Zwift virtual world, you can cycle around and explore, finish fitness challenges, ride with friends, or join a virtual race with other people from around the world. The community of athletes from all around the world is incredibly motivational and makes indoor riding much more enjoyable.
Zwift also has thousands of pre-made workouts that you can perform in the app. You can create your own workouts or load up workouts from your MOTTIV training plans.
Compared to Tridot, Zwift does not offer training plans itself. However, Zwift’s virtual world is a very engaging experience for riders to ride and race indoors using a smart bike trainer that gets controlled by the Zwift app.
Zwift Pros
- Virtual world: Riding in the virtual world Zwift created feels like you're riding outside when you have a really nice indoor bike trainer setup.
- Huge community: Zwift has roughly 1 million users, so you'll have no shortage of athletes you can ride with. The community features are very motivating and make you feel like you're actually riding with other people.
- Races: Zwift races are incredibly intense; they're some of the hardest workouts you can possibly do. Zwift racing has become so large that some riders even specialize in virtual racing and not real-life bike racing.
- Badges: Many people get into the gamification of Zwift and start pursuing all the badges, achievements, and rides that they can collect.
Zwift Cons
- Expensive: While Zwift itself is not expensive, getting a bike trainer setup that provides a realistic cycling experience may cost thousands of dollars.
- Training plans: Zwift doesn't really offer any structured training plans to prepare for races
- Graphics: Zwift was released in 2013, and the graphics haven't changed much since. Many people find the graphics cartoony and not realistic.
- Workouts: Zwift pre-made workouts are very random, not relating to any specific goal or training plan. Some coaches have criticized Zwift training plans for being created to be interesting and hard, as opposed to effective or good.
- Stats: Zwift tracks all of your activities but doesn't really do any performance tracking to let you know how you're progressing or if you're making any progress at all.
- Pricing: Zwift is primarily an app that's used in the winter months, but there's no annual membership option or long-term pause feature, so many athletes cancel Zwift outright every single year.
Zwift Ease of Use
Zwift is very easy to use once you have your indoor bike trainer setup put together.
The user interface is very easy to understand every single ride. The only thing that's a little confusing to learn about as a new user is that to use the full features of Zwift, you need the Zwift Companion app.
Who is Zwift Best For?
Zwift is best for athletes who want to ride indoors on a smart bike trainer setup. If you want to ride around and collect achievements or race in virtual events, the Zwift app will be great for you.
If you have a training plan from another app, like MOTTIV, you can perform your bike workouts from the MOTTIV app in Zwift.
Zwift Pricing
- Free: No free plan
- Paid: $14.99/month, no annual option
BONUS: MOTTIV Review
MOTTIV Overview
MOTTIV is an app that can be used on the web (desktop) or via a mobile smartphone that creates a personalized training plan for athletes looking to prepare for any combination of running races, triathlons, cycling events, duathlons, and swimruns.
Athletes just need to enter the dates and distances of their races, how much time they're able to train, and their current fitness abilities, and they'll receive a personalized training plan that gets them ready for all their races at the same time.
Of course, we're biased, but we believe MOTTIV excels at keeping athletes on track to reach their goals. Getting a training plan is one thing, but having the support and motivation you need to stick to that plan is far more important. MOTTIV keeps you motivated throughout the training process so you always know that you're on track and your goals are within reach.
MOTTIV Pros
- Ease of use: MOTTIV is designed for athletes who want a training plan that's done for them and easy to follow. All you need to do is input a little bit of data, then be ready to show up willing to work and follow the plan every day you have training scheduled.
- Unlimited training plans: Whether you have one race or 20 races to train for, MOTTIV can create a training plan that gets you ready for all of them. Premium members can add as many races as they want at no additional cost.
- Strength & Mobility: MOTTIV strength and mobility workouts are full-length videos that you can follow along with to make sure you're doing the right thing.
- Nutrition guidance: Eating the right thing before, during, and after your workouts will make every single workout you complete much more effective. Every single workout in the MOTTIV app has nutrition recommendations that are personalized to you.
- Progress stats: MOTTIV tracks and displays all your workout and progress stats for you. You don't need to learn how to work the app or where to find stats to know if you're on track or not. MOTTIV easily shows you what you need to know to know if you're headed in the right direction.
- Motivation: MOTTIV has some really excellent features that help keep you on track with your training plan because we all need a little support sometimes.
- Cost: MOTTIV provides all your endurance training, strength training, mobility training, personalized workout nutrition, and stats tracking, all in one place for one flat fee. Getting all these services separately elsewhere would cost well over $60/month.
MOTTIV Cons
- Workout complexity: Some people find some of our workouts a little bit hard to understand when they first start using the app.
- Device connections: MOTTIV currently offers full workout synchronization with Garmin, as well as connections to many other popular apps/devices such as Strava, Training Peaks, Zwift, Wahoo, and more. But, our list of possible sync connections isn't as robust as some other platforms.
- Lack of flexibility: While most people want a training plan they can follow without thinking about it, there are a few people want a training plan that they can customize themselves to add and subtract workouts as they see fit. MOTTIV is designed strictly for you to follow along as close as possible.
- Slower interface: MOTTIV hasn't been around for as long as TriDot or Zwift, so some screens take a few extra seconds to load.
MOTTIV Ease of Use
MOTTIV is designed to be the easiest app for endurance athletes to use. All you need to enter to create a personalized training plan are your race dates and distances, how much time you're able to train, and your current fitness abilities.
In addition to it being easy to create training plans, the MOTTIV app has features throughout the app that tell you why and how to perform every aspect of your training so you're never left guessing.
Who is MOTTIV Best For?
MOTTIV is best for athletes who are looking for a holistic training plan that includes endurance workouts, strength training, mobility workouts, and nutrition guidance.
If you are the type of person who wants to know what to do and have just a little help to know that you're on track and doing it right, then MOTTIV is for you.
MOTTIV Pricing
- Free: Free plan
- Paid: $19.99/month, $179.99/year
TriDot vs. Zwift vs. MOTTIV: Which One is Better?
When comparing Tridot, Zwift, and MOTTIV, the answer to which one is better is like most things: it depends.
It's tough for us to recommend TriDot, considering you can get more for free at MOTTIV than what you get for $14.99/month with TriDot. And, you actually get more on MOTTIV's $19.99/month plan than what you get for $99/month at Tridot.
If you're someone who already has your training plan taken care of and you're primarily looking to make your indoor bike training experience more fun, then Zwift is for you.
If you're looking for a training plan app that can create a personalized training plan for multiple races at a time and keeps you motivated to stay on track to reach your goals, then MOTTIV is the app for you.
