8 Music Apps That Will Help Your Running

Best Music Apps for Running

You may be lost on where you can find music apps and how different apps work. Use this guide to find the best apps for fueling indoor and outdoor runs or your next workout.  

Spotify   One of the most comprehensive free music apps, Spotify is a massive resource with thousands of songs and albums available to stream for free apart from some 30-second advertisements. You can pay for the premium version and have no commercials. Download music to your phone to be played offline when running in the mountains, or anywhere without service. Spotify is perfect for playlists. Search or create your own; it’s a simple app that anyone can use.  

Shazam   This is another free music app that doesn’t exactly work through playlists. You’re at the gym and an awesome song comes on, but you have no idea what it is. Open Shazam, let the app listen to the song and within 30 seconds you have the name and artist. Shazam is a great way to find songs for your workout playlist when you’re out and about. 

Google Play Music   Google Play Music works pretty much exactly like Spotify, along with allowing you to upload 50,000 songs from your own collection. It’s a great app if you want to mix your own music with streaming and is one of the more personalized music apps. Based on your tastes and activities, it can suggest songs for you. Go to the gym every Tuesday? On Tuesday mornings it will suggest workout songs for you.  

Zombies, run!   Not exactly the normal music you would listen to while working out, but Zombies, run! has helped keep me going when I’ve gotten tired. It’s a great app where you listen to a story being told as if you are the main character. Zombies chase you often and you must pick up the pace to get rid of them. The story is interesting and can be creepy at times. The free version makes you wait to play missions, but pay a one-off fee and get everything at once.  

RockMyRun   You’ve heard of Mapmyrun. Well here comes Rockmyrun. This app is perfect for runners who need a good mix of fast tempo songs to keep up motivation. You can connect with MapMyRun so the software knows when you need a fast song to get you through faster-paced runs. You do need to pay for the ad-free time.  

Deezer   The Deezer app works very similarly to Spotify. You can stream music easily but have to pay in order to download and listen offline. A great service with a huge music library.  

GYM Radio   The perfect music app for gym lovers. Features three stations; cardio, gym, and hardcore. Choose your exercise and the mix of music matches your mood. Cardio is pop, upbeat songs to keep you happy. GYM is steady, focus type music and hardcore…imagine metal and rock songs.  

PaceDJ   The app for those who don’t want to stream. This app catalogs the music on your phone and organizes it into various tempo playlists. It has a nice guide to make playlists. If you want simplicity and little fuss when making playlists, this app is for you.  

Good Luck!

Have fun finding the right music apps for you! Most are free and work great when cell service is good. Listening to music during your workout can motivate and energize you, so try out a few of these music apps and find one that works for you. 

Zac Green is chief editor of popular music blog ZingInstruments.com. He believes that music isn’t just a thing you do – it’s a mindset, an attitude, a way of life.