CompareXert

A Xert alternative in plain language

Xert models your fitness from every ride. Instead of one FTP, its Fitness Signature uses three values: Peak Power, High Intensity Energy and Threshold Power. When you ride above your Maximum Power Available (MPA), Xert calls it a breakthrough and updates the signature.

Xert uses its own terms, such as MPA, XSS (Xert Strain Score) and Magic Buckets. Some riders like that depth. Torque is for riders who want the same kind of help in watts, heart rate and plain words.

A rider on a white Colnago on a coast road, the sea behind him

Torque and Xert side by side

FeatureTorqueXert
Plans your week for youYesYes
Changes the plan when you miss a dayYesYes1
Plans around your work and family daysYesNot confirmed2
Sessions in watts and heart rateYesNot confirmed3
Plain-language read of every rideYesNot confirmed4
Rides outside and indoorsYesYes
Controls a smart trainerYesYes5
Works without a power meterYesNot confirmed2
Price$9.99 a month or $79.99 a year$14.99 a month or $99.95 a year
PlatformiPhoneWeb, iOS, Android, Garmin, Karoo

Prices checked October 2026 from their websites. Prices in US dollars.

  1. 1Xert's daily targets adapt to your completed activities.
  2. 2Not described on their website, so we left it blank.
  3. 3Xert's model is built on power. We didn't confirm heart rate targets.
  4. 4Xert explains rides in its own terms, such as MPA and breakthroughs.
  5. 5Through the Xert EBC app.

Choose Xert if you want a detailed model of your fitness and like learning its terms.

Choose Torque if you want the same kind of help in watts, heart rate and plain sentences.

The ride's figures: time, load, intensity

How Torque plans your week

Torque plans your week around work and family, gives you a few sessions that work, and gets you faster on the hours you have.

  1. Someone choosing a goal in Torque at a café table: what are you training for?
    1

    What are you training for?

    An event, a winter base, a kind of rider you want to become, or just getting fitter. Torque builds the plan around it.

  2. A rider at a café table looking at the coming weeks in Torque, each session a circle
    2

    See the weeks ahead

    Every session for the coming weeks, set to the days and hours you have. Each circle is a session and its load.

  3. A phone leaning on a coffee cup on the kitchen counter, showing today's session in Torque: sweet spot 3 × 10
    3

    Ride the session

    Each session has its time, its power in watts and its heart rate. Ride it outside, or indoors on your trainer.

What Xert does well

  • A fitness model. The Fitness Signature updates on its own when you ride above your MPA.
  • Adaptive Training Programs. Daily targets that change with your current status and your goals.
  • Head units. Native apps for Garmin Edge and Hammerhead Karoo, plus iOS and Android.
  • A long trial. 30 days free, with no card.
  • Any ride can be structured. Magic Buckets turns any ride into a structured workout.

When to choose Xert

  • You want a detailed model of your fitness, beyond one FTP number.
  • You want to follow sessions on a Garmin Edge or Hammerhead Karoo app.
  • You use Android, or want to plan in a web browser.
  • You like learning terms such as MPA and XSS and using them to plan.

When to choose Torque

  • You want watts, heart rate and plain sentences, not new terms to learn.
  • You have about 6 hours a week, and the days change from week to week.
  • You want every ride to count, including club rides and rides you cut short.
  • You want a short note after each ride on what it did for your fitness.
  • You want the week planned around your calendar, next to work and family events.

Questions

Does Torque use its own metrics like XSS or MPA?

No. Torque shows fitness, fatigue, load and FTP. Every session has its time, its power in watts and its heart rate, and the note after each ride explains it in plain words.

Does Torque work with Hammerhead Karoo?

Yes. Hammerhead and Wahoo connect directly to Torque. Torque itself is an iPhone app.

Is Torque cheaper than Xert?

Torque is $9.99 a month or $79.99 a year. Xert is $14.99 a month or $99.95 a year, checked October 2026. Torque is free for 14 days, Xert for 30.

Do I need a power meter for Torque?

No. Torque is best with one: your sessions come in watts and your FTP is estimated from your rides. It works without one too: every session is set in heart rate from your own rides.

Try Torque free for 14 days.

Every feature from day one, and no card to start. Torque isn't on the App Store yet. Leave your email and you'll hear the day it is.

Get Torque

More comparisons