Rowly

For rowing on the water

Your phone is your rowing computer

Rowly shows your split per 500m, stroke rate, distance and time while you row. It uses the GPS and motion sensors in the phone you already have, so there is nothing else to buy.

Download on theApp Store Coming soon to Google Play

Free to download. Recording, keeping and sharing your sessions is free, and it will stay that way.

Rowly's live screen during a row: split 1:54 per 500 metres, stroke rate 24, distance 3.46 kilometres, heart rate 156 in zone 3.

Why Rowly exists

I row, and I wanted to see my pace and stroke rate on the water without buying a separate device. The free options I found didn't give me enough to train with, so I built Rowly for rowers like us.

Recording, keeping and sharing your sessions is free, and it will stay that way. Premium is there when you want to understand your rowing in more depth, and it helps me keep improving the app.

Erik Visser, rower and maker of Rowly

Big numbers you can read mid-stroke

The live display is made for a moving boat: large figures, high contrast and nothing you need to tap while you row.

  • Live split, stroke rate, distance and time
  • Pick the fields you want to see
  • A high-contrast theme for bright sunlight
  • The screen locks 3 seconds after Start, so a splash can't end your session. Long press to unlock.
  • No need to wait for GPS: time and strokes count straight away, distance as soon as GPS finds you
A saved session in Rowly: the route on a map and statistics such as total time 55:00, distance 11.42 km, rowing pace 2:07 per 500m and 1142 strokes.
Free

Everything you need to record, keep and share your rowing

No account, no time limit, no catch.

  • Live tracking with your own display fields
  • A logbook with a calendar and your weekly and monthly volume
  • A title, notes, effort and boat type for each session
  • Your fastest 500m and 2k
  • Heart rate from a Bluetooth chest strap or your Apple Watch
  • Strava upload and GPX export
  • Back up and restore your whole logbook
Premium

Understand your rowing

For when you want to know why a session felt the way it did, and whether your technique is moving in the right direction.

Splits chart of a 3 by 8 minute session, with pace and stroke rate per piece and a bar for every 500 metres.
Splits and pacingEvery 500m, and how even your pacing was.
Stroke rate plotted against pace, showing an optimal rate of 30 and an average of 9.94 metres per stroke.
EfficiencyThe stroke rate that gives you your best pace, and your distance per stroke.
Technique trends: metres per stroke at 20 to 24 strokes per minute rising over three months.
Technique trendsYour distance per stroke at each rate, week by week.
Personal bests: fastest 500m, 1k, 2k, 5k and 6k, and most distance in 30 and 60 minutes.
All your recordsFrom 1k to 60 minutes, kept up to date for you.

Also in Premium

  • Rhythm and consistency score
  • Stroke curves from the motion sensors
  • Replay any session
  • Stroke and GPS data export (CSV)

Try it free for 28 days

Monthly, yearly and lifetime options are available in the app, and every subscription helps me keep improving Rowly. The free features stay free either way.

New in 2.0

Heart rate from your wrist or a strap

Rowly for Apple Watch. Start a row on your iPhone and the watch app starts with it, sending your heart rate live to the phone. When you stop, the workout is saved to Apple Health.

Prefer a chest strap? Any Bluetooth heart rate strap that uses the standard heart rate profile works, on iPhone and Android.

Afterwards you see your average and maximum, heart rate over the session and your time in each zone. Heart rate is free for everyone.

Heart rate analysis of a session: average 146, maximum 180, a heart rate chart with zone bands and time in each zone.

Share it on Strava, or take it anywhere

Connect your Strava account and upload a session straight from Rowly, with heart rate if you recorded it. Or export a GPX file for any other app. Both are free.

Questions

Do I need any extra hardware?

No. Rowly uses your phone's GPS for pace and distance and its motion sensors to count strokes. A heart rate strap or an Apple Watch is optional.

Which boats does it work for?

Any boat on the water, sculling or sweep: singles, doubles, pairs, quads, fours and eights. Coxswains can use it too, and you can note the boat type on each session.

Rowly is made for rowing on the water. Pace and distance come from GPS, so it isn't meant for a rowing machine.

Where do I put my phone in the boat?

Rowly feels each stroke through the boat, so the phone should move with it. Fix it in a phone holder or with a strap so it can't slide or bounce.

Any direction works: Rowly learns which way the boat moves in the first strokes. Upright gives the best stroke data. A waterproof case or pouch is worth it.

Where is my data stored?

On your phone. Rowly doesn't need an account, and your sessions, GPS tracks and heart rate stay on your device unless you upload a session to Strava or export it yourself.

To find bugs and see which features are used, the app sends anonymous usage statistics and crash reports. These never include your location or session details, and you can turn analytics off in the settings. The privacy policy has the details.

How much does Premium cost?

The app shows the current prices for your country under Premium. There are monthly, yearly and lifetime options, and you can try everything free for 28 days first.

Is Rowly available for Android?

Almost. Rowly for Android is coming to Google Play soon. Heart rate works there with a Bluetooth chest strap.

Something isn't working, or I have an idea

I'd like to hear it. Email me at rowly@ecvis.nl.

Take it out on your next row

Free to download, no account needed.

Download on theApp Store Coming soon to Google Play