TrainerRoad alternative
A century plan without the membership.
TrainerRoad charges $21.99 a month or $209.99 a year for a membership with a workout library and plans that keep adapting while you stay subscribed. Century Plan charges $19 for one event, or $39 once if you want to build another plan when the next start line shows up.
Those membership rates are the published TrainerRoad prices and can change. Check trainerroad.com/pricing before you decide.
What you are actually buying
Both products end in time on the bike. The difference is the contract. A membership makes sense if you want a large library of structured workouts, FTP tests inside the app, and a plan that reshuffles itself while you keep paying. A one-time plan makes sense if you already know the event, you want the weeks written down, and you do not want another renewal.
Century Plan asks for the event date, the distance, the climbing, the hours you ride now, your longest recent ride, how many days you can ride, whether you have an indoor trainer, and an optional FTP. The structure is calculated: hours rise slowly, every few weeks backs off, the long ride grows toward a cap for that event, and the last weeks taper. If you enter an FTP, the rides use power zones. If you leave it blank, the same rides use heart rate and RPE. The model writes the short coaching note. It does not invent the durations.
This is not a copy of TrainerRoad. There is no workout library, no adaptive FTP ramp test, and no plan that watches your power meter between sessions. You get a week-by-week schedule for a century, a metric century, or a gran fondo, with fueling notes on the long rides and a pacing note for the climbs.
Price, side by side
| TrainerRoad | Century Plan | |
|---|---|---|
| Price | $21.99 / month or $209.99 / year | $19 once, or $39 lifetime |
| What you pay for | Membership while it renews | The plan you generated |
| Workouts | Structured library and adaptive plans | Week-by-week rides for one event |
| Zones | Power-based inside the app | Power if you enter FTP, otherwise heart rate and RPE |
| Missed weeks | Adaptive, while subscribed | Lifetime can rebuild from a week |
| Take it with you | Inside TrainerRoad | Calendar file, CSV, print or PDF |
| Account | Required | Checkout email, plus restore |
When this is the wrong tool
If you want someone to rewrite Tuesday because your knee is cranky, this is not that product. There is no chat and no daily check-in. Lifetime lets you rebuild the remaining weeks from today if you missed a block. It does not watch your head unit. If you are injured, pregnant, or new to exercise, talk to a professional before you follow any of it. The disclaimer is on every plan for that reason.
What the free preview shows
You get the phase map, the peak hours, the predicted finish, the climb note, and week 1 in full, including zones. The other weeks are locked on the server. Paying $19 unlocks that generated plan, the zone table, the weekly-hours chart, a calendar file, a CSV, and a print view you can save as a PDF. Paying $39 unlocks plans you generate later and the rebuild from a chosen week.
Questions people ask before they leave a membership
Century Plan is not medical advice and is not a substitute for a physician, a coach, or a bike fit. Stop if you feel chest pain, dizziness, or pain that changes your pedal stroke. If you are new to riding, injured, pregnant, or managing a health condition, talk with a professional before you start.