No monthly bill
Indoor season is long. With FORGE Ride you ride all winter without paying a subscription: every road, events, workouts and online riding are free.
FORGE Ride · Compared
A free alternativeto Zwift.
Same trainer, same sensors, no subscription. FORGE Ride is an online cycling game made in Québec, with real roads from Montréal to Mount Fuji, and an app that plans your training and your meals. Here is how it compares, honestly.
- Price
- 0 $
- Routes
- 51
- Continents
- 5
- Made in
- Québec
Side by side
What changes,what doesn’t.
The other game’s column describes it in general terms, as we understand it today; its offer can change. Check its own site for its current price.
| FORGE Ride | Zwift | |
|---|---|---|
| Price | Free. No subscription, no credit card. | A paid monthly subscription. |
| Bluetooth smart trainers | Yes: FTMS, Tacx, Wahoo and others, with slope and ERG mode. | Yes. |
| Basic trainer | Yes, with a speed sensor on the wheel or a cadence sensor (estimated power). | Yes, with a speed sensor. |
| Where to play | Windows PC, or in the browser (Chrome or Edge for Bluetooth). | More platforms: computers, phones, tablets and TV. |
| The roads | 51 routes, including real roads traced from maps and the real relief: Montréal 2026, Québec, the great climbs of the Tour and the Giro, Mount Fuji. | Mostly made-up worlds and circuits inspired by cities. |
| Running | Yes, FORGE Run: the same roads on your treadmill. | Yes. |
| Training plan and nutrition | Yes: the FORGE app builds your plan (gym, running, cycling) and your menu with a nutrition coach. | Training plans in the game. |
| Rewards | Real prizes to earn: a pin, a bottle, a T-shirt, a bag, a jacket. | Virtual gear for your avatar. |
| People online | It’s the beginning: each road shows how many riders are on it right now. | A big community, people online at any hour. |
Your roads, the real ones
The Tour de l’Île and the Worlds circuit on Mount Royal, the Chemin du Roy, Charlevoix, Mont-Tremblant, then the Alpe d’Huez, the Stelvio and Mount Fuji, traced from the real road.
The 51 routesMore than a game
The FORGE app comes with it: a training plan for the gym and the road, a nutrition coach, recipes, and one rank where your rides count, with real prizes at the end.
The app
To be fair
What Zwift does better, for now
- Far more people online at any hour: FORGE is just starting.
- Apps on more devices: Mac, iPhone, iPad, Android and TV. FORGE Ride runs on Windows and in Chrome or Edge.
- Years of organised events and teams. FORGE runs an event every 30 minutes and grows week by week.
Switching
Five minutes,same trainer.
- Close the other game: your trainer talks to one game at a time.
- Download FORGE Ride for Windows, or open it in the browser from the app.
- CONNECT: the game finds your trainer and your sensors by itself.
- Enter your FTP, or take the FTP test in the game.
- Sign in to ride online, and pick a road.
Is FORGE Ride really free?
Yes. The game, every road, online riding, events and workouts are free, on a Windows PC and in the browser. No credit card.
Does my trainer work with FORGE Ride?
If your trainer works over Bluetooth with another cycling game, it works with FORGE Ride: FTMS, Tacx (FE-C), Wahoo, power meters, speed and cadence sensors, heart-rate straps. The Devices page has the list.
Can I keep Zwift and try FORGE?
Yes. Both install side by side. Just close one before opening the other: a Bluetooth trainer talks to one game at a time.
Does FORGE Ride run on a Mac or an iPad?
On a Mac, yes, in Chrome or Edge (Bluetooth works there). On iPad and iPhone, Safari has no Bluetooth: the FORGE app, on its way to the App Store, will fix that.
Can I bring my history?
Your rides import into the FORGE app as GPX or TCX files (from Strava or Garmin Connect, for example). Enter your FTP in the game, or take FORGE Ride’s FTP test.
Is FORGE related to Zwift?
No. FORGE is an independent project, made in Québec. Zwift is a trademark of Zwift, Inc.; it is named here only to compare.
Zwift is a trademark of Zwift, Inc. FORGE is not affiliated with, endorsed by or sponsored by Zwift, Inc. The comparison is made in good faith from public information and may change.