PEAKVO2 vs VO2boost: Which VO2 Max App Fits Your Training?

A runner training outdoors with earphones for voice coaching cues Run these workouts on your iPhone, or hands-free on Apple Watch. Get PEAKVO2

VO2boost and PEAKVO2 are both research-based VO2 max apps that run proven protocols and track your VO2 max. VO2boost is running-focused, with real-time heart-rate-triggered voice coaching, selectable coaches, and cadence guidance. PEAKVO2 is Apple Watch native and works across any activity, with spoken cues, heart rate zones, and built-in beep and Cooper tests. Pick VO2boost for running-focused voice coaching; pick PEAKVO2 for wrist training across any activity.

One thing worth stating up front, since it is sometimes described the other way: PEAKVO2 also coaches you by voice. It speaks a cue at each phase change, for example telling you to switch to recovery, so audio guidance is not the dividing line. Both apps talk you through the session. What differs is emphasis: a running-focused coach versus an Apple Watch app for any activity.

PEAKVO2 vs VO2boost at a Glance

PEAKVO2 VO2boost
FocusVO2 max training, any activityRunning-focused VO2 max program
Protocols4x4, Tabata, HIIT 30/30, Billat, Ronnestad, VO2 3x3 and 5x3, Tempo4x4, Billat, Ronnestad, Zone 2, Tempo and Threshold
Voice coachingSpoken cues at each phase changeReal-time, heart-rate-triggered, selectable coaches
Heart rateZones tied to each protocolHeart-rate-triggered cues
Cadence metronomeNot advertisedYes, SPM metronome
Field testsBuilt-in beep and Cooper testsCooper test
VO2 max trackingYes, trend over timeYes, plus pace gains and zone time
Apple WatchRuns on the wrist, no phone neededNot advertised
PlatformiPhone and Apple WatchAndroid now, iOS coming
Price3 workouts free, then $0.99/mo, $9.99/yr, $19.99 lifetime$14.99 one-time founder price, then $39.99, optional Coach Pass $14.99/yr

What VO2boost Is

VO2boost is a running app built to improve your VO2 max, from Rogue Inventions. It runs ready-made, research-based protocols, the Norwegian 4x4, Billat 30/30, Ronnestad 30/15, Zone 2 endurance, Tempo and Threshold, and a Cooper test for a baseline. Its signature feature is real-time voice coaching with heart-rate-triggered cues that tell you when your effort is too high or too low, with four selectable coach personas (one free, three via a Coach Pass). It adds an SPM metronome for cadence and tracks pace gains, zone time, and your VO2 max trend. It launched on Android, with iOS coming, priced at $14.99 as a founder one-time purchase (later $39.99), with a 14-day free trial. For runners who want strong, guided voice coaching, it is a well-built, focused choice.

What PEAKVO2 Is

PEAKVO2 is an interval training app for iPhone and Apple Watch, built around VO2 max, and it works for any activity, running, cycling, rowing, or bodyweight, not just running. It ships eight validated protocols, the Norwegian 4x4, Tabata, HIIT 30/30, Billat 30/30, Ronnestad 30/15, VO2 Max 3x3, VO2 Max 5x3, and Tempo Run, with full-screen color-coded phases, automatic transitions, a haptic tap at each switch, spoken audio cues that announce each phase, and the heart rate zones each protocol depends on. It runs natively on Apple Watch with no phone needed, tracks your VO2 max trend over time, includes built-in beep and Cooper field tests, and lets you build your own intervals. It is a training app, not a testing service.

The Core Difference: A Running Voice Coach vs Apple Watch for Any Activity

Both apps run the same kind of proven protocols, both track VO2 max, and both talk you through the workout, so the choice is about emphasis.

VO2boost is built for runners, and its standout is voice coaching: heart-rate-triggered cues and selectable coaches, plus cadence guidance, all aimed at the run. If you run and you want that coaching in your ear, it is a strong fit, and its heart-rate-triggered cues are more elaborate than a simple phase announcement. PEAKVO2 is built around the Apple Watch and works for any activity, so the sessions run on your wrist with spoken cues and heart rate zones whether you are running, on the bike, on the rower, or doing bodyweight intervals, and it adds a beep test alongside Cooper and a custom builder. If you want wrist-based training across more than running, that is the reason to choose PEAKVO2; if you want a running-focused voice coach, VO2boost fits.

Who Each One Is For

Build your aerobic engine with PEAKVO2

Guided VO2 max protocols, the Norwegian 4x4, Tabata, REHIT, and more, on iPhone and Apple Watch, with spoken cues, heart rate zones, built-in beep and Cooper tests, and your VO2 max tracked over time. Three workouts free.

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Cristian Serb

I'm the developer of PEAKVO2. I built it because I was doing the Norwegian 4x4 myself and wanted the timing handled on my wrist so I could just train. I took my own VO2 max from about 41 to 51 with it. PEAKVO2 on the App Store.