The short answer
For an individual track athlete who trains on a phone, an AI app that grades your form automatically beats a manual video tool. Track & Field AI is the best fit for solo athletes across all events with a free first analysis. Onform and Dartfish are stronger for coaches and teams but cost more and need you to do the analyzing.
Key takeaways
- Manual tools (draw and scrub) need a coach's eye; AI tools tell you what is wrong
- Coach and team platforms cost $49 to $1,600 a year and assume someone reviews the film
- Solo athletes want event-specific AI feedback and a free way to try it
- Pick by who reviews the video: you, your coach, or an algorithm
- Filming setup matters more than the app you choose
What a track video analysis app actually does
Two very different tools get called "video analysis apps." The first kind is a manual tool: it lets you scrub frame by frame, draw angles, and compare two clips side by side. It is only as good as the eye watching it. The second kind is an AI tool: it reads your video and tells you what changed and what to fix, without you knowing what to look for. For an athlete training alone, that difference is the whole decision.
Why this matters now
Coach's Eye, the app that defined manual video review for individual sports, shut down in September 2022. Millions of athletes moved on, and AI-native tools filled the gap.
Source: AlternativeTo, Coach's Eye listing
The apps, compared
Track and field video analysis apps at a glance
Prices are entry-level and change; verify before you buy. The right column is the pick for a solo track athlete.
| App | Manual or AI | Events | Entry price | Best for |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Track & Field AI | AI feedback | All track and field | Free first analysis | Solo athletes |
| Onform | Manual + coach tools | Multi-sport | About $49/yr | Coaches and teams |
| Dartfish | Manual, pro features | Multi-sport | About $84/yr | Institutions |
| Hudl Technique | Manual | Team sports first | Team plans, $400+/yr | School programs |
Track & Field AI: best for solo athletes
If you film yourself and want to know what to fix, this is the one built for that job. It grades each event the way a coach would, block start through finish for a sprint, approach through clearance for a vault, and reports back in coaching language rather than raw numbers. The first analysis is free with no card, which is the lowest-friction way to see whether AI feedback is useful for you.
- Covers every event: sprints, hurdles, relays, jumps, throws, pole vault
- AI flags the specific phase costing you, then suggests the cue
- Works from a normal phone video, no extra gear
- Honest by design: it will say a rep was incomplete rather than invent a fix
Onform and Dartfish: best when a coach does the analyzing
Onform is a polished, coach-facing tool used by college programs, with drawing, voiceover, and athlete-coach sharing. Dartfish is the long-standing professional standard with features like stromotion and simulcam. Both are excellent, but both assume a knowledgeable person reviews the footage, and both cost real money per year. For a self-coached athlete, you are paying for a canvas you still have to read yourself.
Watch the price jump
Hudl Technique is built for teams, and the platform's plans run from a few hundred to over a thousand dollars a year. For one athlete reviewing their own form, that is the wrong tool at the wrong price.
How to choose
- You train alone and want answers: an AI app like Track & Field AI.
- Your coach reviews film with you: Onform or Dartfish.
- You are a school or club buying for a roster: Hudl or Dartfish at the team tier.
The cheapest tool that can't tell you what to fix isn't cheap. It's a coach you still have to hire.
Track & Field AI coaching desk
The part no app fixes: how you film
Every tool here is only as good as the clip you feed it. Shoot side-on, in landscape, from about 30 feet, and keep the whole movement in frame. Get that right and even a free analysis is sharp. Get it wrong and the most expensive platform on the market is guessing.