The archive · Consumer Apps · Financial decision · 2022–2023
Strava bets subscribers accept its first price hike in 13 years
Strava's first price rise since 2009 doubled US monthly rates and hid exact prices; the January 2023 backlash forced an apology and a clearer policy.
Strava
What the business is
Strava is a social network for athletes that tracks runs, rides and dozens of sports, with a free tier and a paid subscription for analytics, routes, segments and heatmaps; subscriptions are its singular revenue source and its January 2023 statement claims 100M+ people and 8B+ uploads.
How it started
Strava launched in 2009 and, per its January 2023 statement, grew past 100M people and 8B uploads. Subscriber pricing barely moved for a decade — DC Rainmaker's account shows the same $59/year since March 2013 — while the company concentrated on subscribers as its singular revenue source under a founder-CEO, cutting free features and adding what paying members wanted. Costs kept climbing: wages, infrastructure, and local-market swings such as sterling's autumn 2022 slide.
What happened
The first rises appeared quietly in UK accounts in late 2022 (£6.99 to £8.99 monthly, £47.99 to £54.99 annual). In January 2023 US subscribers reported annual renewals jumping from $59 to $79.99 (some Canadians to $99) and monthly rates from $5.99 to $11.99–$12.99 — a doubling in places — while many users got no notice and Strava's support article said the new price would only appear 30 days before renewal. Pressed by DC Rainmaker for a simple price table, Strava PR lead Michael Joseph answered 'That's our full press statement', and Strava's signup pages showed no price at all; Ray Maker then VPN-tested new-subscriber pricing by country and found the US at roughly $79/year and $12.99/month.
How it ended up
The backlash drew an apology the same day: Strava's 'Clarifying Subscription Pricing Confusion' statement said it had 'moved too fast', promised consistent pricing by country, pointed subscribers to a per-region pricing page, and noted monthly members could shift to annual to avoid the largest increase. Commenters reported cancelling — a seven-year Canadian subscriber, a US member since 2014 — and by 25 Jan 2023 Strava had posted prices per region on its website but still published no master list, with the increase itself still in force.
Background
Strava is the social network for athletes: it tracks runs, rides and dozens of sport types, offers a free tier, and sells subscriptions for analytics, route planning, segments and heatmaps. Its January 2023 statement put the community at more than 100M people and 8B uploads, and the company has treated paying subscribers as its singular revenue source since a founder returned as CEO.
In January 2023 Strava enacted its first subscriber price increase since launching in 2009. Some users saw annual renewals rise from $59 to $79.99 (Canadians up to $99) and monthly rates double from $5.99 to $11.99–$12.99, while others saw no change; many got no notification, and Strava's own support article said the new price would surface only 30 days before renewal. When DC Rainmaker asked what the price was, Strava's PR lead replied 'That's our full press statement', and the site listed no price at signup.
The backlash came the same day: 384 comments on DC Rainmaker, cancellation posts on r/Strava, and a 110-point HN thread. Strava answered with 'Clarifying Subscription Pricing Confusion', apologizing that it had moved too fast, promising consistent pricing by country, and steering monthly subscribers to annual plans to dodge the largest jump. By 25 January 2023 it showed prices per region on its website but still published no master list, and the increase remained in force.
What has to be true
- Subscribers are Strava's singular revenue source, so a pricing mistake hits the whole business model rather than one product line.
- The increases were uneven by country, plan and renewal date — a doubling for some and nothing for others — so no single explanation could fit everyone.
- Strava refused to disclose actual prices even when a press outlet asked directly, turning an ordinary rise into a trust story.
- Users were anchored to a decade of flat pricing, so a sudden ~34% annual or ~100% monthly jump without notice read as punishment rather than investment.
What can be applied
A first price rise after a decade needs honest numbers: Strava met cancellation posts partly because it would not state prices — hiding a real increase makes it look worse.
Aftermath
As of 25 Jan 2023 Strava is still running the price increase, but the rollout left visible damage: it apologized for moving too fast, promised country-consistent pricing, and began showing rates per region without publishing a full list. Documented cancellations include long-tenured subscribers in the US and Canada, and coverage framed the episode as a communications failure. Whether the higher prices stick or churn outweighs the gain was not yet answerable from the source reporting.
Sources
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