“Used this app for years. The whole plan user to be free. Now you need to pay if you want to progress past day 4. So disappointing. Uninstalled.”
Independent automated assessment · 1 signal source · 428 reviews scanned · analyzed 2026-10-04.
C25K® Couch to 5K: Run Trainer
Zen Labs FitnessThe OFFICIAL C25K® (Couch to 5K) - Easy 5k Running App for Beginners C25K is…
4.6 ★64,112 ratings
5M+Downloads
4+Age rating
—App size
Free · In-app purchasesIn-app purchases
About this app
The OFFICIAL C25K® (Couch to 5K) - Easy 5k Running App for Beginners
C25K is the ultimate running trainer, designed to get you from couch to 5K in just 8 weeks. Whether you're looking for an easy 5K running trainer, need a run tracker to monitor your progress, or want a proven method for reaching your fitness goals, C25K is the ideal solution. With gradual progression from couch to 5K, the proven C25K program was designed for inexperienced runners, joggers and walkers who are just beginning their running journey. The plan's structure prevents new runners from giving up and challenges them to continue moving forward. C25K is an easy 5K, starting with a mix of running and walking, gradually building up your running cadence, stamina and endurance.…
Preview
Real screenshots from the store listing.
Independent evidence report
Evidence and review signals
This is where the page changes from an app-store listing into an evidence report: findings, important reviews, pricing and a dated history.
Which version this describes
When we ran this analysis, and what the store lists now.
We cannot tell which version of the app this analysis describes. It was run 2026-10-04 , and the app may have changed since.
The store currently lists version VARY, updated 2026-01-12.
What we measured
Each line is a measurement published as a measurement, never a verdict.
Each line is a measurement, published as a measurement. Where we have not looked, the line says so rather than reading as a zero.
Developer replies to reviews
Replies to at least 1 review in 20
Price in the store description
States no price and billing period
Cancelling, in the store description
Does not say how to cancel
Themes reported by reviewers
1 theme reported
Counted from the reviews we have read for this app. "No theme reported" means no theme reached our reporting threshold — it is not a finding that nothing is wrong with this app, and we do not say it is.
Five-star share of ratings
80–89% five-star
Arithmetic on the stores' own published rating counts. It says nothing about why the ratings fall where they do.
In the package we scanned
No package has been scanned for this app, so nothing is published about what it ships. That is an absence of evidence about the app, not a finding about it.
Graded bands · predicate set 1.4 · how these are measured
What the analysis found
App-specific findings, grouped by what each one rests on. How they are graded lives on its own page.
Positive evidence 1
Things this app does right, published at the same strengths as the catch list.
Developer says data deletion can be requested
The developer's data-safety disclosure on the store states that users can request deletion of their data, or the app's own text offers a way to delete the account. This restates what the developer declares; it is not a test of whether deletion works. Apple publishes no equivalent disclosure, so on an Apple-only listing only the app's own text can support it.
What we saw: The developer's store data-safety disclosure states that data deletion can be requested; we have not seen a deletion control in the app's own text
One source only — shown, not confirmed 1
A single kind of evidence. We publish these because withholding them would be the bigger distortion, and we do not treat any of them as a finding we stand behind.
Reported by users: Paywall blocks the basics
The core of the app — not extras — sits behind payment, or previously-free function moved behind a paywall.
What we saw: Paywall blocks the basics: raised by 18 distinct reviewers (4.2% of 428 reviews scanned)
Highlighted reviews
Representative public review excerpts shown as user reports, not Appworthy audit evidence.
“I have used this app several times over the last ~12 years. It's been an enormous help every time. I recently decided to do another 5k, and was dismayed and disgusted to learn that everything after the first 2 weeks is now locked behind a…”
“NOT WORTH! ALL BEHIND PAYWALL!! Used to rave about this app. Would tell everyone to get it! Just started running again and you can't go past week 2 before having to pay for a program that used to be free. Not worth the download, don't…”
Assessment & version history
App changes and Appworthy events in one timeline.
Store listing updated to version VARY.
What this app sells
Useful store-disclosed pricing, kept below the app listing.
Items shown0
Lowest—
Highest—
Google Play does not publish per-purchase prices.