Endomondo ran for well over a decade and accumulated users who had recorded every run and ride of their adult lives in it. When it closed, those users discovered the thing that matters most about a tracking platform: whether the history comes out in a form anything else can read.
Where former users went
Most moved to one of three places. Strava for the social and competitive layer, Garmin Connect for those already using the hardware, and Runalyze or similar for people who wanted analysis without a feed. Each is a different trade between community, depth and independence. None of the three reproduces what closed, and most people accepted that quickly.
A smaller group moved to self-hosted options, which solve the underlying problem permanently at the cost of running software yourself. For anyone who has now lost a decade of history once, that trade looks considerably more reasonable than it did beforehand. Losing a decade of history once changes how the maintenance cost reads.
| Platform | Suits | Trade |
|---|---|---|
| Strava | Segments, social, competition | Analysis depth needs a subscription |
| Garmin Connect | Existing Garmin hardware owners | Weaker outside that ecosystem |
| Runalyze | Detailed analysis without a feed | Steeper learning curve |
| Komoot | Route planning and exploring | Less focused on training load |
| Self-hosted | Permanent control of your history | You maintain it |
Moving the history across
The rule that matters is to move original files, not exported tracks. A bulk archive returns activities as the device recorded them, including heart rate and power. A per-activity download produces a plain GPX, which discards every channel except position, elevation and time. The difference is invisible until you look for a heart rate that is no longer there.
Import the originals into the destination using its own bulk tool, then check a handful of older activities for heart rate before deleting anything. Discovering that ten years of history arrived without physiological data is considerably worse after the source has gone than before. Check before you delete, while the original account still exists to re-export from.
What will not transfer
Achievements, friend connections, comments and any fitness model the old platform computed are properties of that service. They do not export in a useful form and they do not import anywhere. Activities transfer; standing and social graph do not, and planning for that beforehand avoids disappointment. Screenshot anything you want to remember, because it will not survive the move.
Choosing so this does not happen again
Judge a replacement partly on how completely it hands data back. Every platform in this category records competently. They differ considerably in whether a bulk archive returns original device files or a simplified reconstruction, and that difference only becomes visible at the worst possible moment. Request one archive in your first week and you will know which kind you chose.
Endomondo migration questions
Can I still recover my Endomondo data?
Not from the service itself, which has closed. If you took an export before it shut down, those files remain importable anywhere. If not, the history is gone, which is the reason every guide on this subject now leads with taking an archive while a platform is still running. Closure notices rarely give long enough to act comfortably.
Which Endomondo alternative is closest in feel?
For most former users, Strava for the social side or Garmin Connect for straightforward logging. Neither reproduces it exactly. Endomondo sat between a training log and a social app, and the current market splits those functions more sharply than it used to. Most former users ended up with two apps where they previously had one.
Will my heart rate data survive the move?
Only if you migrate original device files rather than GPX exports. GPX has no standard place for heart rate, so a track exported that way arrives without it. Bulk archives return the original uploads, which is why they are the route worth using. Verify it on one old activity before you trust it with ten years of them.
Is self-hosting realistic for a normal user?
More than it was. Several projects install with a single container and import standard files. It is genuinely more work than an account on a hosted service, and it is the only option that guarantees nobody else decides when your training history stops existing. For anyone burned once, that guarantee is the entire argument.
On exports and formats, see getting your data out. More comparisons in tracking apps.