Fitness app Strava has placed its popular annual 'Year in Sport' summary behind a paywall for the first time, requiring an $80 yearly subscription. The feature, which debuted in 2016, previously offered free animated graphics of users' athletic achievements. The change has sparked disappointment among users who value its motivational and social aspects.
Strava, a San Francisco-based fitness-tracking app originally designed for cyclists to log rides, released its 'Year in Sport' wrap-up earlier this month. Unlike in previous years since its 2016 launch—a year after Spotify's Wrapped—the recap is now exclusive to subscribers paying $80 annually. The company relaunched its subscription model this year, raising the fee from $60 in 2023, and positioned the feature as a premium insight tool.
Strava's FAQ explains: "With the relaunch of our subscription this year, we wanted to clarify the core benefits of Strava—uploading activities, finding your community, sharing and giving kudos—remain as accessible as possible. The benefit of the subscription ensures that myriad activities get transformed into insights... including Year in Sport and monthly stat cards."
Spokesperson Chris Morris echoed this in a statement: "Our goal was to give our users ample notice before the personalized Year In Sport was released." He declined to address specific reasons for the timing. The app's user base has grown to 50 million monthly active users this year, nearly tripling since 2020, per Sensor Tower data. Its valuation stands at $2.2 billion as of May 2025, according to PitchBook. CEO Michael Martin told the Financial Times in October of plans to go public, noting the company's rare growth profile attracts banker interest.
Users have voiced frustration over the paywall, seeing it as limiting free marketing and social sharing. Shobhit Srivastava, a user in India, pleaded on social media: "let the plebs see their Year in Sport too, please." He added by email: "When someone makes a video of your achievements and tells you that these are the people who stood right behind you, motivated you, cheered for you—that feeling is of great significance to me!"
Estonian startup founder Dominik Sklyarov called it a "money hungry move" on X, while Reddit user 'andrewthesailor' noted: "they want me to pay to look at data I gave them... you are also paying with your data." Sana Ajani, a former premium user, expressed annoyance: "I would’ve expected some overall stats for everyone and extra stats for subscribers... surprised that Strava is limiting its reach."
Amateur triathlete Matt Cook, a decade-long user, said the change creates awkwardness: "It makes me not want to share [my Strava year-end results] because it feels like I’m flexing."
This follows other moves, including a 2023 AI initiative dubbed 'Athlete Intelligence' that some viewed as underwhelming, and an earlier 2025 patent lawsuit against Garmin that was quickly dropped.
