RaceJoy vs Strava Beacon vs HypeLap for Race Spectators
How RaceJoy, Strava Beacon and HypeLap differ for friends and family following a runner: what spectators need, what they see and what they can send.
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Full disclosure: I built HypeLap, so I have a stake in this comparison. I’ve kept to what each company says on its own pages, and I left out anything I couldn’t confirm.
If a friend or family member is running a race, you probably want two things. You want to see how they’re doing, and you’d like them to know you’re thinking of them while they run.
A few tools do part of that, and they were built for different jobs. Here is how RaceJoy, Strava Beacon and HypeLap compare for the people on the sidelines.
Three questions that decide it
- Do spectators have to install anything? Some tools need an app on both phones, and some work from a link.
- Can spectators send something to the runner? Following along is one thing, and being heard is another.
- Does it work at this race? Some tools only work at races that sign up for them.
RaceJoy
RaceJoy is a mobile app, and its FAQ says it isn’t available from a web browser. On its spectator page, RaceJoy says both the runner and the spectator must download the app and keep their phones with them. Tracking uses the position of the runner’s phone, and spectators get progress alerts that include location, pace, elapsed time and estimated finish time.
For cheers, spectators can send pre-recorded audio cheers or personalized text-to-cheer messages before, during and after the race. RaceJoy’s FAQ says its features are free for participants and for supporting friends and family.
RaceJoy only works at races that offer it. The FAQ says tracking and cheers are available at “Featured Races” that have contracted with RaceJoy, which are marked with a RaceJoy Ready badge. Other races listed in the app may not offer them, so check your race’s listing first.
Strava Beacon
Strava Beacon shares your location in real time while you record an activity in the Strava phone app. You can choose up to three safety contacts, and each gets a text with a link that opens in their phone’s browser. They don’t need the Strava app or a Strava account. The link updates about every 15 seconds, and it needs cell service. It doesn’t work in airplane mode.
When you finish recording, your contacts can no longer see your current location.
Beacon is something you start yourself, so it doesn’t depend on the race. Strava’s article describes it as location sharing with the people you choose. It doesn’t describe it as a race-day spectator tool, so how well it fits one is up to you.
HypeLap
HypeLap is built for race day and for friends who are watching. Here is what it does, and what it doesn’t.
- Spectators: friends and family open the runner’s link in any phone browser. No app and no account, and watching and cheering are free.
- What they see: rank, pace and progress along a visual track. It deliberately does not show a map of where the runner is. That’s a privacy choice, so friends can follow how the race is going without seeing exactly where the runner is.
- Cheers: supporters can send an air horn, a cowbell, a text message or a voice note up to 15 seconds long. The sound plays in the runner’s earbuds over their music, and the runner can mute or block anyone.
- Any race: it uses the runner’s own iPhone or Apple Watch, so it doesn’t depend on the race offering it.
The trade-offs are real. The runner’s app is on iPhone and Apple Watch for now, and Android is listed as coming soon. The runner pays for live tracking (Runner Pro is $39.99 a year, and there’s a single-race pass too), while spectators pay nothing. And because there’s no map, a spectator can’t use it to work out which street corner to stand on.
Side by side
| RaceJoy | Strava Beacon | HypeLap | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Spectator needs the app | Yes | No (link opens in a browser) | No (link opens in a browser) |
| What spectators see | Live tracking with progress alerts | Live location, updated about every 15 seconds | Rank, pace and progress on a track (no map) |
| Works only if the race offers it | Yes (RaceJoy Ready races) | No, you start it yourself | No, uses the runner’s own phone or Watch |
Cheers are the other difference. RaceJoy offers audio cheers and text-to-cheer messages, and HypeLap offers sounds, text and 15-second voice notes that play in the runner’s earbuds.
So which one should you use?
- Your race offers RaceJoy: look at the race’s listing and use it. It’s the official option for that event.
- You want friends to watch free from a link and be heard in the runner’s ears, at any race: that’s what I built HypeLap for.
- You want to share where you are on a training run with a few people: Strava Beacon is made for that.
They aren’t mutually exclusive. A runner can use Beacon on a long training run and share a HypeLap link on race day.
Before race day
Whatever you choose, test it ahead of time. Send the link to a friend on an Android phone and see what they see, and make sure the runner can hear the cheers at a volume that suits them. Race morning is no time to discover a setting.
If you want to try HypeLap, there’s a demo race you can watch without signing up at hypelap.com. I also wrote about how friends and family can follow a runner and cheer them on, and there’s a short guide on how to follow a runner live.
Sources
I checked these pages in October 2026:
- RaceJoy FAQ and RaceJoy for spectators
- Strava Beacon (Strava support)
- HypeLap: Strava alternative for race day
Features and prices change, so check each company’s site for current details. Strava and RaceJoy are trademarks of their owners, and HypeLap isn’t affiliated with or endorsed by them.
