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New STRAVA API UPDATE, what the message means

  • June 1, 2026
  • 15 replies
  • 2211 views
abrego
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You probably have received THE EMAIL. 

Little summary:

Good news everyone: Strava just sent an official update and it looks like they were listening.

Here's what's changing and what it means for those of us stuck on the athlete limit:

The immediate fix: Standard Tier developers can now self-upgrade to 10 athletes directly from the API settings dashboard, no form, no queue, no waiting for a response from developers@strava.com, I have emailed them 10 times in the last 2 weeks, so they will be happy as well I think. Go do it now, I would.

The new tier structure:

  • Standard Tier: up to 10 athletes, self-managed, no formal review
  • Extended Access Tier: higher rate limits, greater user capacity, prioritized developer support, access to Partner APIs, and no Strava subscription required

Go to strava.com/settings/api to see what TIER you’re in.

Key dates to have on your radar:

  • June 1, 2026: changes are live. New tiers active, self-upgrade available now
  • June 30, 2026: Standard Tier developers will need a Strava subscription to keep API access. Extended Access Tier is not affected. They just made the API a paid one, I personally like this.
  • September 1, 2026: Club Activities, Club Admins, Club Members and Segments Explore endpoints deprecated
  • June 1, 2027 — technical changes required: new API base URL (https://www.api-v3.strava.com) and authorization tokens must go in request headers, not form params

Also launching: an official Strava MCP for athletes who want to interact with their own data through AI tools, included with a Strava subscription. This will kill a lot of apps that used AI to analyze data, I think.

It's not a perfect solution for everyone, the subscription requirement for Standard Tier will sting for some, but the direction is right and the silence is finally broken. Credit where it's due.

    15 replies

    Michal11
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    • Michal11
    • Hub Explorer
    • June 1, 2026

    I am alone coder and rider, i just upload my rides via api and now i am so destructive to pay for this modest api usage when I use 100 request in a month. Way to go strava. Bye.

      N
      • NicoBulo
      • Hub Starter
      • June 2, 2026

      Thanks to this ”Standard Tier developers will need a Strava subscription to keep API access.” I discovered “Ride with GPS”. With a free API https://ridewithgps.com/api/v1/doc.

        T
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        • ThaYoung1
        • Hub Rookie
        • June 2, 2026

        I'm in the same situation as @Michal11. Based on the official Strava communication, I find it unclear what will be the exact impact for my situation. 

        I created an application for a third party platform and have hundreds of installs (each user creates his/her own API Application in Strava for this). If the API moves behind a paywall, I see no other solution than to stop and retract the application. Coping with my frustration will then be done by canceling my Strava Premium subscription. If that’s the case it's also a ‘So long Strava’ from my side.

        Michal11
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        • Michal11
        • Hub Explorer
        • June 2, 2026

        I'm in the same situation as @Michal11. Based on the official Strava communication, I find it unclear what will be the exact impact for my situation. 

        I created an application for a third party platform and have hundreds of installs (each user creates his/her own API Application in Strava for this). If the API moves behind a paywall, I see no other solution than to stop and retract the application. Coping with my frustration will then be done by canceling my Strava Premium subscription. If that’s the case it's also a ‘So long Strava’ from my side.

        I  am not that angry, just feel disrespected. But anyway, I am stuck with 3 month free sub now, and I will decide at a later term. I really do not want to lose 4 years of my work and hours of fun with strava.But if you already have a premium subscription you’re not affected, just the users using your app besides you - which is not my case, so I cannot tell too much. Anyway this move should have been more clear and communicated more before (or it was and i am not aware) 

         

        T
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        • ThaYoung1
        • Hub Rookie
        • June 9, 2026

        I read more info about the pricing of the Strava API (the non MCP). Looks like I will have to pay 11 dollars per month for using it. That's not viable for the free App I service for my couple of hundreds of users. 

        So I am gonna stop delivering that App. Last week I canceled my Strava membership. Gonna move to the free tier from now on and hope they make the API available to a broader public again lateron. I will also look a bit more into Garmin Connect to see if that fits me more.

        So long Strava, maybe we meet again later.

        Jan_Mantau
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        • Jan_Mantau
        • Hub Powerhouse
        • June 9, 2026

        I read more info about the pricing of the Strava API (the non MCP). Looks like I will have to pay 11 dollars per month for using it. That's not viable for the free App I service for my couple of hundreds of users. 

        So I am gonna stop delivering that App. Last week I canceled my Strava membership. Gonna move to the free tier from now on and hope they make the API available to a broader public again lateron. I will also look a bit more into Garmin Connect to see if that fits me more.

        So long Strava, maybe we meet again later.

        If you already had a membership (the one you cancelled) there wouldn’t have been any additional costs.

        H
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        • HyperJason
        • Hub Starter
        • June 10, 2026

        I’m a subscriber, but I feel the restrictions are unfair to ordinary developers. I won’t renew when my subscription runs out.

        P
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        • Pieterbas
        • Hub Rookie
        • June 10, 2026

        Good afternoon,

        I have a question related to the paid API. I understood that you need to create different Strava accounts per application and per environment (development, testing and production). Do I have to get a paid subscription for each or is there something like you need at least one paid subscription per developer?

        J
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        • jojin
        • Hub Starter
        • June 17, 2026

         

        Hello Strava Team,

        We are currently using the Strava API in our application and recently received information about the paid API program.

        At the moment, our application has approximately 4,856 connected athletes, and we would like to better understand what level of access or pricing plan would apply to us.

        Could you please provide information about:

        • Whether our current API usage requires a paid plan.
        • Which pricing tier would apply to an application with around 4,856 connected athletes.
        • What costs we should expect.
        • Any limits or requirements associated with the paid API program.

        We would appreciate any guidance so we can ensure our application remains compliant with Strava's API policies.

        Thank you for your help.


         
        Jan_Mantau
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        • Jan_Mantau
        • Hub Powerhouse
        • June 17, 2026

        ​@jojin There isn’t a paid plan but the API developer will need a normal Strava subscription.

        S
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        • SamVDV
        • Hub Starter
        • June 24, 2026

        ​@jojin There isn’t a paid plan but the API developer will need a normal Strava subscription.

        I read more info about the pricing of the Strava API (the non MCP). Looks like I will have to pay 11 dollars per month for using it. That's not viable for the free App I service for my couple of hundreds of users. 

        So I am gonna stop delivering that App. Last week I canceled my Strava membership. Gonna move to the free tier from now on and hope they make the API available to a broader public again lateron. I will also look a bit more into Garmin Connect to see if that fits me more.

        So long Strava, maybe we meet again later.

        The Garmin Connect API is only available for business use. Have a look at Intervals.icu if you already upload your activities to Garmin Connect, they have an integration with Connect and a free API.

        R
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        • RunPattern
        • Hub Starter
        • June 25, 2026

        I am a lone coder and want to progress to more than 10 users. I don't mind paying a monthly charge and I already have a subscription. I have applied for more, its just I haven't heard anything.

        There just seems very little information on limits, costings and waiting time until I hear back.

        Have I don't something wrong?

         

         

        Scott

        Jan_Mantau
        Forum|alt.badge.img+26
        • Jan_Mantau
        • Hub Powerhouse
        • June 25, 2026

        I am a lone coder and want to progress to more than 10 users. I don't mind paying a monthly charge and I already have a subscription. I have applied for more, its just I haven't heard anything.

        There just seems very little information on limits, costings and waiting time until I hear back.

        Have I don't something wrong?

         

         

        Scott

        -Limits: If you have applied with the review form, you did it correctly

        -Costs: None if you already have a subscription

        -Waiting time: Between 2 days with a positive response and many months without useful response

        N
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        • npatch
        • Hub Rookie
        • July 3, 2026

        I'm in the same situation as @Michal11. Based on the official Strava communication, I find it unclear what will be the exact impact for my situation. 

        I created an application for a third party platform and have hundreds of installs (each user creates his/her own API Application in Strava for this). If the API moves behind a paywall, I see no other solution than to stop and retract the application. Coping with my frustration will then be done by canceling my Strava Premium subscription. If that’s the case it's also a ‘So long Strava’ from my side.

        I  am not that angry, just feel disrespected. But anyway, I am stuck with 3 month free sub now, and I will decide at a later term. I really do not want to lose 4 years of my work and hours of fun with strava.But if you already have a premium subscription you’re not affected, just the users using your app besides you - which is not my case, so I cannot tell too much. Anyway this move should have been more clear and communicated more before (or it was and i am not aware) 

         

        Similar feelings. I only embellished the data sent by my device with TotalSteps (which the device keeps, just doesn’t store in the .fit they send over to Strava) so I can do the step challenges. Very few requests per month to do so. I can still do it without the API access, but it’s a chore and it’s annoying because to do it, I still have to do the same requests more or less, just from the browser which uses a different API, so it feels laughable. Is that worthy of 12$/month? Nah. I won’t even bother with the free 3 months, as it matters not if you’re not inclined to get a subscription, it just prolongs the problem for 3 months.

        B
        Forum|alt.badge.img

        My Strava account is 16 years old and I record all of my activities (running, cycling, workouts) here. In the last year I got serious about my health and widened my activities and needed more measurement. To reduce friction for this effort, I created a personal web application to make it easier for me to record my workouts and treadmill walks in addition to my normal running and cycling activity. 

        It was very disheartening to see my application suddenly stop working because Strava is now requiring a subscription for continued use of the API. In my case, I’m running a self-hosted, single-user (me) app that writes to only my account, making roughly a handful of requests a day. Now I’m back to the friction of having to enter my workouts manually again on the website.

        Please consider removing the subscription requirement for hobby and personal apps. Because of this change, I’m now looking for a different service to use for the first time and that’s really disappointing. 

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