TL;DR: Vekta versus TrainingPeaks is, in our view, the defining platform contest in endurance sport right now. TrainingPeaks goes back to the late 1990s (about TrainingPeaks, 25 Years of Progress): the TSS, CTL and ATL framework (TSS explained), a long device list, a training plan marketplace and Coach Match. Vekta launched in April 2025 (Vekta launch announcement) and builds on Critical Power and W’ modelling with AI throughout; by its own count, seven WorldTour-level teams moved to it from TrainingPeaks (Vekta vs TrainingPeaks). In our view Vekta leads on analytics and automation, and TrainingPeaks leads on ecosystem, devices, strength training and the business side of coaching. In neither vendor’s documentation did we find a place to record a lactate step test and detect LT1 and LT2 from it. Coachbox builds its platform around that kind of physiological testing: lactate testing with LT1/LT2 detection in under a minute, free accounts for the athletes you coach, coach education in the Coachbox Academy, and coach pricing from 19 EUR per month billed yearly, excl. VAT. Three platforms, three different ideas of what coaching software is for.
Update, 22 July 2026: Garmin has acquired TrainingPeaks and TrainHeroic from Peaksware Holdings (Garmin press release). The prices and features below are the ones TrainingPeaks lists on its own site on 29 September 2026. For what the deal does and does not change, read Garmin acquires TrainingPeaks.
The Case for Vekta
Vekta launched from Paris in April 2025 (Vekta launch announcement) and, in our view, became the biggest story in endurance software within a year. The reasons are substantive.
A Performance Model Built on Current Science
TrainingPeaks anchors its load metrics to a threshold you set, such as FTP, and blends training stress into one score (TSS explained). Vekta takes a different route. Critical Power defines the boundary between sustainable and unsustainable effort, W’ quantifies the finite capacity above it, and Vekta derives both from training data, updated daily, with no test required; a lab or field-test value can be entered by hand (Vekta vs TrainingPeaks). Cycling and running zones update daily from those values.
Load is split rather than blended: Vekta Volume tracks total work, Vekta Intensity tracks the physiological cost relative to current capacity (with an altitude adjustment), and longer-horizon Load and Strain metrics build on those separate signals (Vekta vs TrainingPeaks, Vekta Load and Strain). A four-hour endurance ride and a one-hour VO2 max session stop looking identical.
AI That Does the Work
Vekta uses AI for concrete tasks. Machine learning detects and classifies intervals in every uploaded session; in a benchmark Vekta published itself in March 2026, across 50 sessions, Vekta reported 97.54 percent mean detection accuracy against 48.24 percent for TrainingPeaks’ rule-based detection (Vekta interval benchmark). Vekta generates an AI summary after every session for coach and athlete, its AI workout builder turns a plain-language description, or a voice note on mobile, into a structured session, and session comparison surfaces similar past workouts (Vekta vs TrainingPeaks). You can also connect Vekta to Claude or ChatGPT and ask about any athlete you coach (Vekta for coaches). We did not find a built-in AI assistant in TrainingPeaks’ 2026 coach guide (TrainingPeaks coach guide).
The WorldTour Moved
Vekta lists seven WorldTour-level teams as partners: Lidl-Trek, Decathlon CMA CGM, Team TotalEnergies, Team Jayco AlUla, Liv AlUla Jayco, FDJ United-SUEZ and Team AMANI (The WorldTour is moving to Vekta), and says all seven previously used TrainingPeaks as their primary platform (Vekta vs TrainingPeaks). Vekta also notes that FDJ-Suez uses TrainingPeaks for delivery and communication and Vekta for analysis. Riders Eddie Dunbar and Valentin Madouas have joined Vekta as athlete investors and founding members of its Athlete Advisory Board (Vekta). Lidl-Trek’s Head of Performance, Josu Larrazabal, sums up the reason on Vekta’s site: less time processing data, more time on the human connection with riders (Vekta vs TrainingPeaks).
Free Coaches, Full Mobile, Fast Shipping
Coaches use Vekta for free; a seat costs 19.99 EUR per month or 179.99 EUR per year per athlete (Vekta does not say whether this includes VAT), with a 14-day free trial (Vekta pricing, Vekta vs TrainingPeaks). The athlete can pay for their own subscription, or the coach pays through a workspace billed per active athlete (Vekta billing). The mobile app supports full workout creation and editing, including by voice, and Vekta says it ships major updates every one to two weeks (Vekta vs TrainingPeaks). It keeps a public roadmap (Vekta roadmap). Migration from TrainingPeaks includes FIT files, workout summaries, comments and the workout library, with team-assisted bulk imports (Vekta vs TrainingPeaks), and up to five years of history imports automatically after a device connection (Vekta for coaches).
For the complete picture, see our Vekta Review.
The Case for TrainingPeaks
In our view TrainingPeaks did not become the reference point of this market over two decades by accident, and writing it off after the WorldTour departures would be premature.
The Shared Language and the Biggest Ecosystem
TSS, IF and NP are registered trademarks of TrainingPeaks (about TrainingPeaks), and in our experience many coaches and athletes talk about training load in those terms. TrainingPeaks says it connects with more devices and apps than any other endurance training app, with a list that includes Garmin, Wahoo, Zwift, WHOOP, Suunto, Oura, COROS, Apple Watch, Polar and TrainerRoad (compatible apps & devices). Vekta connects with Garmin, Wahoo, COROS, Hammerhead, Zwift, Oura, WHOOP and more, and reads CORE, Stryd and Tymewear data from the session files (Vekta device sync). It skips aggregators like Strava by design, and names Apple Watch, Polar, Suunto and FORM goggles as hardware it does not yet integrate with directly (Vekta vs TrainingPeaks). If your athletes’ hardware is diverse, TrainingPeaks covers more of it. TrainingPeaks also met 13 partner teams at WorldTour training camps in 2026 (TrainingPeaks), so it remains in the professional peloton too.
A Business Platform, Not Just a Training Platform
TrainingPeaks reports more than 100,000 marketplace visits per month and 70,000+ training plans sold in 2023 (coach pricing). TrainingPeaks Payments handles recurring athlete billing inside the coach account (TrainingPeaks Payments), Coach Match connects athletes with accredited coaches (Coach Match program), and TrainingPeaks University offers courses for coaches (coach pricing). Vekta itself says it has no marketplace, no athlete billing or invoicing automation and no accredited coach education (Vekta vs TrainingPeaks). For coaches who sell plans at scale, TrainingPeaks has infrastructure the other two platforms in this comparison do not offer today.
Strength, Triathlon and Breadth
TrainingPeaks has a Strength Builder with more than 1,000 exercises with videos and instructions, and a planned TSS field for strength workouts; the builder itself runs on the desktop site (Strength Builder FAQs). Vekta describes its strength support as marking off-device sessions as completed (Vekta vs TrainingPeaks). TrainingPeaks covers cycling, running, swimming and triathlon, estimates fat and carbohydrate calories for power-based rides with a model built with Dr. Iñigo San Millán (Fueling Insights), and syncs menstrual cycle data from Garmin Connect (Women’s Health). Vekta lists women’s health as not currently available, and prescribes a carbohydrate target in grams per hour with each session instead (Vekta vs TrainingPeaks).
The Cost of the Incumbent
TrainingPeaks’ Coach Edition costs 21.99 USD per month with 4 Basic athletes and 1 Premium athlete, or a 54.99 USD base price for 5 or more Basic athletes, plus 9 USD per month per Premium athlete, with volume discounts. A 99 USD start-up fee applies, which TrainingPeaks waives with a coupon code it lists on the same page, and “additional taxes may apply” (coach pricing). Many features, including the Performance Management Chart, advanced metrics and Fueling Insights, are Premium features (Basic vs Premium), and messaging is limited to Premium athletes and coaches (TrainingPeaks Messaging). Power-duration modelling lives in WKO5, a separate 169 USD one-time desktop purchase (WKO5). TrainingPeaks suggests threshold increases when a workout beats the current threshold, and you accept them (threshold calculation). On mobile you add workouts by type, duration and from your library (mobile app); we did not find the structured workout builder in the mobile app. Our TrainingPeaks Review covers the details.
Where Both Fall Short
Zoom out from the model contest, and the two platforms share gaps that matter to some working coaches.
Lactate Testing Lives Elsewhere
Vekta estimates CP and W’ from field data and lets you enter a lab or field-test value by hand (Vekta vs TrainingPeaks); TrainingPeaks builds zones from threshold heart rate, power or pace (zones calculator). In neither vendor’s documentation did we find a place to record a lactate step test or detect LT1 and LT2 from measured blood lactate. Coaches who test athletes, and coaches who sell testing as a service, then run the test in a separate tool and carry the resulting thresholds over by hand.
The Athlete Who Does Not Pay
On Vekta we did not find a free athlete tier: each athlete needs a seat at 19.99 EUR per month (VAT basis not stated), paid by the athlete or by the coach’s workspace (Vekta billing). On TrainingPeaks the Basic athlete account is free, with planning tools, the PMC, advanced metrics and Fueling Insights behind Premium at 19.95 USD per month or 134.99 USD per year, plus taxes (athlete pricing, sales tax, Basic vs Premium). A coach with juniors, club riders or budget-sensitive athletes either pays for them or works with a reduced feature set for part of the roster.
The Business Side on Vekta
TrainingPeaks covers much of the business around coaching: the marketplace, Payments, Coach Match and TrainingPeaks University. Vekta says it has no marketplace, no athlete billing or invoicing automation and no accredited coach education, and that it focuses on performance, with documentation and start guides that teach the platform (Vekta vs TrainingPeaks). We did not find a channel that brings new athletes to a coach on Vekta’s coach page (Vekta for coaches) or in its comparison with TrainingPeaks.
The Multi-Tool Stack Returns
In our view, a coach who wants modern analytics, lactate testing and the business tools cannot get all of it from either platform alone. The result is a familiar stack: a delivery platform, a testing tool and, on Vekta, separate billing (Vekta vs TrainingPeaks), each with its own subscription.
The Case for Coachbox
Coachbox covers ground both platforms leave open: lactate testing inside the coaching platform.
Testing Built In, Not Bolted On
Every Coachbox coaching plan includes lactate testing. Type in the values or photograph a paper protocol, and Coachbox detects LT1 and LT2 in under a minute. The resulting zones go into the athlete’s profile, and a branded PDF report covers the test results. When a new test updates the zones, Coachbox keeps the earlier values instead of erasing them, so you can follow how the athlete’s zones evolve. A lactate test can also include spirometry data. Every plan includes 5 to 20 free tests at the start of your license, then 3 to 6 EUR per test excl. VAT depending on the plan. Vekta models physiology from training data (Vekta vs TrainingPeaks). TrainingPeaks works from the threshold you set (zones calculator). Coachbox measures it.
A Platform Your Whole Roster Can Use
Athletes of a Coachbox coach use the app for free. Coach plans run from Base at 19 EUR per month billed yearly (25 EUR billed monthly) with 5 athletes included, to Prime at 149 EUR billed yearly (190 EUR monthly) with 100 athletes; Build costs 49 EUR per month billed yearly (65 EUR monthly) with 25 athletes. Above the included number you pay 2.50 to 1.50 EUR per extra active athlete per month, depending on the plan. All prices excl. VAT. An athlete counts as active when they have workouts planned in the future, so following an athlete’s data without planning ahead does not count toward your plan.
The Practice Around the Platform
Coachbox AI answers questions about your athletes and writes changes straight into the training plan, and an MCP connection links Coachbox to ChatGPT, Claude and other assistants. Messaging with every athlete you coach is part of every plan, on web and mobile. HRV, sleep and resting heart rate sync from the device, and injuries are logged as milestones. The Coachbox Academy builds coaching knowledge alongside the software, and Coachbox helps athletes find a coach who fits their sport and goals. A marketplace and athlete payment automation are planned but not live yet. Device sync covers Garmin, Polar, COROS, Suunto, Wahoo, Apple Watch, Fitbit and TomTom, and 25,000+ users in 35+ countries have logged more than 12 million workouts.
Some of this is common ground. Vekta has chat inside its session analysis (Vekta vs TrainingPeaks). TrainingPeaks has messaging for Premium athletes and coaches (TrainingPeaks Messaging). Vekta also connects to Claude and ChatGPT (Vekta for coaches). TrainingPeaks also has an education program and a coach-matching service (coach pricing). The honest limits: Coachbox does not match Vekta’s CP/W’ modelling, durability analysis or ML interval detection, and it does not match TrainingPeaks’ marketplace, billing tools or device list. It competes on a different axis: measured physiology inside the coaching platform, and free accounts for the athletes you coach.
For the direct comparisons, see Coachbox vs Vekta and Coachbox vs TrainingPeaks.
Three-Way Comparison Table
| Feature | Vekta | TrainingPeaks | Coachbox |
|---|---|---|---|
| Performance model | CP, W’, Pmax from training data, daily updates (source) | Threshold-based (FTP, threshold HR or pace), TSS (source) | Zones from measured lactate tests |
| Lactate testing | Not found in their documentation; lab or field-test values can be entered by hand (source) | Not found in their documentation (source) | Built in: type the values or photograph a paper protocol |
| LT1/LT2 detection | Not found in their documentation (source) | Not found in their documentation (source) | Automatic, in under a minute |
| Zone updates | Automatic, daily, from field data (source) | Suggested threshold increases from workouts (source) | Zones updated from each test; earlier zones kept |
| AI | ML interval detection, session summaries, workout builder, Claude and ChatGPT connection (source) | No built-in AI assistant found (source) | Coachbox AI assistant, MCP connection, automatic LT1/LT2 detection |
| Load model | Volume and Intensity separated, Load and Strain (source) | TSS, CTL, ATL (source) | Training load and PMC |
| Durability analysis | Yes, 0 to 50 kJ/kg (source) | Not found in their documentation | Not available |
| Messaging | Chat in session analysis (source) | Premium athletes and coaches, web and mobile (source) | Every athlete you coach, web and mobile |
| Strength training | Mark off-device sessions as completed (source) | Strength Builder, 1,000+ exercises, desktop builder (source) | Strength and core workouts in the training plan |
| Marketplace | Not offered, per Vekta (source) | Yes, 70,000+ plans sold in 2023 (source) | Planned, not live yet |
| Athlete billing | Not offered, per Vekta (source) | TrainingPeaks Payments (source) | Planned, not live yet |
| Coach education | Documentation and start guides; no accredited education, per Vekta (source) | TrainingPeaks University (source) | Coachbox Academy |
| Athlete acquisition | Not found on their site | Coach Match (source) | Athletes find a coach through Coachbox |
| Device sync | Garmin, Wahoo, COROS, Hammerhead, Zwift, Oura, WHOOP and more; CORE, Stryd and Tymewear data from session files (source) | Garmin, Wahoo, Zwift, WHOOP, Suunto, Oura, COROS, Apple Watch, Polar, TrainerRoad and more (source) | Garmin, Polar, COROS, Suunto, Wahoo, Apple Watch, Fitbit, TomTom |
| Mobile workout creation | Yes, including voice (source) | Add workouts by type, duration or from a library; structured builder not found on mobile (source) | Plan on the go in the mobile app |
| Languages | English, per the App Store listing (source) | English, French, German, Italian, Japanese, Polish, Portuguese, Russian, Spanish, some on mobile only (source) | Not part of this comparison |
| What the coach pays | Free (source); optionally pays athlete seats through a workspace (source) | 21.99 USD/month (4 Basic, 1 Premium athlete) or 54.99 USD/month base for 5+ Basic athletes, plus 9 USD/month per Premium athlete, plus a 99 USD start-up fee that a listed coupon waives, excl. taxes (source) | 19 to 149 EUR/month billed yearly (25 to 190 EUR monthly), 5 to 100 athletes included, then 2.50 to 1.50 EUR per extra active athlete, excl. VAT |
| What the athlete pays | 19.99 EUR/month or 179.99 EUR/year per athlete, unless the coach pays; VAT basis not stated (source) | Basic free; Premium 19.95 USD/month or 134.99 USD/year, excl. taxes, which depend on where you live (source, tax) | Free with a coach |
| Free trial | 14 days (source) | Coaches 7 days (source), athletes 14 days of Premium (source) | 14 days, no credit card |
| Elite use | 7 WorldTour-level partner teams (source) | 13 partner teams met at 2026 WorldTour camps (source) | From IRONMAN world champions to swim coaches and cycling labs |
We show each vendor’s prices as it lists them and do not convert between currencies. Vekta lists prices in EUR and supports several other currencies, but we did not find whether its listed prices include VAT; business buyers can add a VAT number at checkout (Vekta billing). Because Vekta does not state its VAT basis, we do not convert its prices. TrainingPeaks lists prices in USD and adds sales tax or VAT on top, depending on the buyer’s US state or at the rate of the buyer’s EU country (TrainingPeaks sales tax). Because that tax depends on where you buy, we show TrainingPeaks’ prices excl. taxes and do not convert them. Coachbox lists its prices without VAT; athletes coached on Coachbox pay nothing, so the athlete row needs no VAT basis for Coachbox.
The three products bill in different ways, so we don’t add them up into one monthly or yearly total per roster. On Vekta the cost sits with each athlete’s seat, paid by the athlete or by you (Vekta billing). On TrainingPeaks it depends on your coach tier and on how many of your athletes need Premium (coach pricing). On Coachbox it depends on your plan and on how many of your athletes have workouts planned in the future.
Real Coaching Scenarios
Scenario 1: Performance Cycling Coach With Paying Athletes
You coach 12 committed cyclists, all on power meters, all willing to pay for their own tools. Your service is analysis: you live in power files and your athletes expect insight nobody else gives them.
Best choice: Vekta. In our view the modelling depth is the strongest of the three, the AI takes over much of your file review, your coach access is free, and each athlete’s seat includes the power-duration modelling (Vekta vs TrainingPeaks) that TrainingPeaks sells separately as WKO5 (WKO5). This is the practice Vekta was built for.
Scenario 2: Established Coach Selling Plans at Scale
You coach 15 athletes directly but earn a growing share of income from training plans sold to athletes you never meet, and your roster spans Apple Watch, Polar and Garmin hardware.
Best choice: TrainingPeaks. The marketplace is your storefront (coach pricing), Payments handles your billing (TrainingPeaks Payments), and the device list covers Apple Watch, Polar and Garmin (compatible apps & devices). Vekta says it has no marketplace (Vekta vs TrainingPeaks), and the Coachbox marketplace is planned but not live yet.
Scenario 3: Coach Who Tests Athletes
You coach 20 endurance athletes and run lactate step tests every 8 to 12 weeks. On Vekta or TrainingPeaks, we did not find a place for the test itself, so each one means a separate tool and carrying thresholds over by hand.
Best choice: Coachbox. The chain from test to zones to plan sits in one place. LT1 and LT2 come out in under a minute, the zones land in the athlete’s profile, and the branded report is ready the same day. Testing becomes a service you sell rather than admin you absorb.
Scenario 4: Club Coach With a Mixed Roster
You coach 30 athletes in Belgium: a few juniors, some club riders, some serious amateurs. You cover platform costs yourself, and most of your athletes would never pay for software.
Best choice: Coachbox. Free athlete accounts get the whole roster on board. Build at 49 EUR per month billed yearly (excl. VAT) includes 25 athletes, and each extra active athlete costs 2 EUR per month (excl. VAT). On Vekta you pay a seat for every athlete who does not buy their own, at 19.99 EUR per month (VAT basis not stated) (Vekta billing, Vekta pricing); on TrainingPeaks your Basic athletes use the free account and each athlete who needs Premium features costs 9 USD per month, excl. taxes (coach pricing).
Who Should Choose What
Who should use Vekta
- A data-driven cycling coach whose value lives in analytical depth
- Coaching committed athletes who pay for their own seat at 19.99 EUR per month, VAT basis not stated (Vekta pricing), or coaching a small roster whose seats you cover
- Ready to leave FTP behind for CP/W’ modelling with daily updates
- Keen on AI that takes over daily analytical work
- Working with athletes on Garmin, Wahoo, Hammerhead, COROS or Zwift (Vekta device sync)
Your stack: Vekta for analysis and delivery, plus separate tools for testing, billing and education if you need them.
Who should use TrainingPeaks
- Selling training plans through the marketplace or finding athletes via Coach Match
- Billing athletes inside the platform with TrainingPeaks Payments
- Coaching a roster with diverse hardware, from Apple Watch to Polar
- Invested in the TSS, CTL and ATL framework you and your athletes already use
- Programming strength as a structured part of your prescription
Your stack: TrainingPeaks for delivery, marketplace and billing, WKO5 for power-duration modelling, and a testing tool if you test.
Who should use Coachbox
- An endurance coach who tests athletes, or wants testing to become a billable service
- Coaching a real-world roster across budgets and sports, where most athletes will not pay for software
- Looking for free athlete accounts and a plan with a set number of athletes included
- Wanting messaging, education and a coach-finding service next to testing in the same subscription
Your stack: Coachbox for testing, planning and communication in one place, plus separate billing until athlete payments go live.
The Bigger Picture
In our view, Vekta versus TrainingPeaks is a genuine generational contest: modern performance modelling with AI built in against a two-decade ecosystem with a long device list and business tools. Vekta has momentum and the WorldTour partners it lists. TrainingPeaks has the marketplace, the devices, Payments and the installed base. For pure training analytics, we think the frontier has moved toward Vekta.
Both platforms center coaching on the analysis and delivery of training. A working coach’s practice can be wider than that: measuring athletes in a lactate test, and getting every athlete, not just the paying ones, onto one platform. On those points the two rivals are more alike than different.
That is where Coachbox sits: not a deeper model than Vekta, not a bigger ecosystem than TrainingPeaks, but lactate testing and coaching in one platform, with free accounts for the athletes you coach. If you’re weighing all your options, our Vekta Alternatives and TrainingPeaks Alternatives guides cover the full field.
The right choice depends on what your coaching actually is: a modelling practice, a plan business, or a coaching relationship built around measured physiology.
