Looking for a Zwift alternative?
Short answer: it depends on what bothers you about Zwift. If it is the price, the same training every time, or leaderboards you never appear on, then Pixel Watts was built for you. If what you want is the biggest field of riders in the world, stay with Zwift — we are telling you that here rather than talking it down.
The table
| Pixel Watts | Zwift | MyWhoosh | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Price / month | from €7.99 | €19.99 | free |
| Free forever | 60 min/month, every mode | 25 km/month | ✓ completely |
| Approach | Arcade game | Simulation + social | Simulation |
| Runs in the browser | ✓ no install | — app download | — app download |
| Physics publicly verifiable | ✓ proof bench | — | — |
| Leaderboards by W/kg class | ✓ A–D + FTP-normalised | — categories within a race | — |
| Huge live field of riders | — ghosts & bots | ✓ the incumbent | in part |
| Smart trainer (FTMS/Bluetooth) | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ |
As of August 2026, sources: zwift.com · mywhoosh.com · rouvy.com. Prices change — tell us if a number here has gone stale.
Where Zwift stays the right choice
Zwift has the largest live field, the most organised racing and a social ecosystem ten years in the making. If riding alongside thousands of real people at once is the point for you, nowhere else gives you that — including us.
Where MyWhoosh stays the right choice
MyWhoosh is entirely free and surprisingly complete for it. If you want to spend nothing and a classic simulation suits you, go and look at it.
Where Rouvy stays the right choice
Rouvy rides on filmed real roads: actual video, your avatar rendered in with augmented reality. If you want to see Alpe d'Huez as it really looks, that is the place. It costs €179.99 a year (single plan, as of August 2026) with a free tier of 20 km a month. The full comparison sits on our own Zwift vs Rouvy page.
And the training specialists?
TrainerRoad, Xert and TrainingPeaks are not worlds, they are structured training planners — strong if you want a coach in app form and do not care about graphics. They solve a different problem than Zwift or us: plan instead of play. If you want both, export any Pixel Watts ride as FIT and analyse it there.
The head-to-heads in detail: MyWhoosh vs. Zwift · Zwift vs. Rouvy
What Pixel Watts does differently
- It is a game, not a simulation. Worlds instead of workouts: The Road to ride, Watt Defense to hold. Your legs are the controller — training you repeat because you want to.
- The physics is publicly verifiable. Every app claims “realistic”. Our proof bench is open: real anchors like Alpe times and coast-down runs, recomputable by anyone.
- Leaderboards you can actually appear on. Scored by W/kg class A–D and FTP-normalised — a beginner with a clean race stands at the top, not only the 5 W/kg block.
- No download. Open a browser, pair the trainer over Bluetooth, ride. There is a Mac app and an iPad app for those who want them; neither is required.
- A third to half the price. From €7.99 a month, cheaper yearly — and a free tier with 60 minutes a month in every mode, no card.
60 minutes a month, free — enough to know whether it is for you.