Zwift Plus review: 4K video routes from Cape Town to Utah, and a coach that adapts when you don't
By Brian McGuigan · 4 November 2026 · 8 min read
Zwift Plus is worth trying if you want structure that bends around real life, and the real-world video routes are a genuine treat. I've spent my first week and a bit on the free trial, riding new roads and letting the new coach build my plan. Here's how it went.
I've been a Zwift fan for years. It's my go-to every winter here in the Netherlands, and the races are where it really comes alive: they start calm and get spicy fast. So when Zwift launched a new premium tier on 29 October 2026, I signed up to test it straight away.
This review isn't sponsored. I tested Zwift Plus on the free trial and plan to carry on as a paying member.
What is Zwift Plus?
Zwift Plus costs €29.99 a month, €10 more than a standard membership (€19.99), and adds two things on top of everything you already get (Tour Magazin):
- Zwift Video: real roads filmed in 4K, with Zwift's game layer (power-ups, XP, leaderboards) on top.
- Zwift Coach: an adaptive training plan built around your goal, which reshuffles itself when life gets in the way.
In the UK it's £26.99 a month, and annual Plus is $299 in the US against $199 for standard (DC Rainmaker). Zwift is offering a free one-month trial of Plus, but the trial reportedly has to be activated by 12 November, so don't sit on it. If you subscribe through Apple, expect to pay more.
Zwift Video: real roads, Zwift feel
The video routes are the best-looking indoor riding I've done. Zwift launched with 21 routes covering 385 km across six countries, all filmed by its own crew rather than borrowed from Rouvy, which Zwift bought in April (Escape Collective). Every route can be lapped, and Zwift plans to add new ones regularly through 2027.
- Western Cape, South Africa: Chapman's Peak, Clarence Drive, Bain's Kloof Pass, Du Toitskloof Pass
- French Alps: Col du Galibier (Lautaret), Cime de la Bonette, Upper Bonette
- Mallorca: Sa Calobra, Coll de Femenia
- Tenerife: Teide Plateau
- Lofoten, Norway: The Midnight Sun Road, Eggum Coastal, Nappvang Glow
- Utah and Colorado, USA: The Hogsback, Arches National Park, Glen Canyon, Colorado River Sunrise, Dolores Dirt
- Scottish Highlands: Glen Etive, Quinag Highlands, Glen Garry Wilds
Distances and elevation for each are on the Zwift support page and Zwift Insider's master list.
A taste of home
I'm from Cape Town, so seeing Chapman's Peak and Clarence Drive on the list made my week. Chappies is 11.4 km with 183 m of climbing in Zwift; Clarence Drive is 16.7 km with 186 m. Both hug the coast with mountains on one side and the ocean on the other, and they're exactly the roads I'd send any visiting cyclist to.
My ride: The Hogsback, Utah
My first Plus ride was The Hogsback, an 18.5 km route along a narrow ridge road in southern Utah. The visuals are stunning: big desert views, clean footage and the familiar Zwift banners for sprints and KOMs layered onto the road. It felt great, and it pulled me into a harder effort than I'd planned: 19.3 km in 43 minutes, 428 m of climbing, 584 calories and 71 stress points.
That was meant to be a rest day. The coach noticed, logged it as a VO2max session and told me what was coming next, which brings me to the second half of Plus.
Zwift Coach: a plan that adapts
Zwift Coach's best trick is the one-tap adapt button: skip a session or ride off-plan, and it offers to rebuild the week. Setup is a short questionnaire in the Companion app. I chose:
- Goal: Build speed (8 weeks)
- Experience: Competitive
- Hours per week: 5
- Training days: Tuesday, Friday, Sunday, with Sunday as the long day
The coaching isn't pure AI, and I think that's a good thing. The training load and workout choice come from models built by one of the people behind BestBikeSplit; AI then picks which Zwift ride fits, whether that's a structured workout, a RoboPacer group, a normal route or a video route (DC Rainmaker). So my plan mixes things like Threshold #2, Norwegian Strength Training and even the Eggum Coastal video route in Norway.
What I love
- Adapt Plan when you miss a session. I missed a Tuesday ride and the app flagged it with a simple Adapt Plan or Not Now choice. One tap and Friday's session switched from Threshold Development to VO2 Development.
- It counts my outside rides. A 2 h 10 min outdoor ride from my Wahoo synced in, and the weekly review noted I'd gone past my goal. The plan adjusted around it rather than piling on more.
- Quick feedback after each ride. After The Hogsback it told me what I'd actually done, how it compared with the plan, and what was next.
Why I haven't followed it to the letter
Honestly, I've ridden off-plan more than on it. Right now my focus is strength work to fix my knee so I can run properly again, with Challenge Almere 70.3 and other triathlons on the list for next year. Zwift Coach only builds cycling plans; it sees runs as training load but won't prescribe them, and strength sessions aren't part of it either. Even so, having a structured plan quietly waiting for me is real motivation to keep the bike ticking over.
The downsides
The biggest catch is price: Plus is 50% more than standard Zwift, and you pay for both features whether you want one or both. Other things worth knowing:
- No group events on video routes yet. Races, group rides and MeetUps aren't available on Zwift Video at launch, though Zwift says they're coming soon (Domestique).
- Low camera height. Footage is filmed at roughly rider eye level, so in a busy bunch you spend a lot of time looking at other riders' backs.
- Small library. 21 routes is a fraction of Rouvy's thousands, and there are no race-specific courses yet.
- Cycling only. No run or strength prescriptions, and no export of plan workouts to a bike computer for outdoor rides yet.
- Streaming needs decent Wi-Fi. A later update added an option to pre-cache a whole video, which helps in pain caves with patchy signal (Zwift Insider).
What other reviewers say
Most reviewers agree the video quality is a step up and the coaching is solid if not revolutionary. DC Rainmaker found the video routes felt premium and properly Zwift-like, and said the coach adjusted sensibly even when he ignored it about half the time. Velo rated the coaching engine highly, enough to question paying for a separate training app, but felt it needed more feedback at launch and wasn't drawn to video routes personally. Cyclingnews points out TrainerRoad and Xert already offer adaptive training inside Zwift, so the real draw is having it all in one place.
My verdict
If you already ride Zwift through the winter and want a plan that fits around outdoor rides and missed days, Plus is easy to justify. The video routes are the icing: gorgeous, and for me a little bit of home. If you only race and free ride, or you already pay for TrainerRoad or Rouvy, the free month will tell you whether the extra €10 earns its keep.
Good for: cyclists who want structure without a human coach, winter Zwifters who are bored of virtual worlds, anyone mixing indoor and outdoor rides.
Skip it if: you need run and swim plans for triathlon, or you mainly ride Zwift for races and group events.
I'll keep using it through the winter as I rebuild towards next season, and I'll post an update once I've stuck to a full block. Planning your own season? The events calendar has races across the UK and Europe, and the fuelling planner works out what to eat on longer rides.
FAQ
How much is Zwift Plus? €29.99 a month in Europe, £26.99 in the UK and $29.99 in the US.
Is there a free trial? Yes, Zwift is offering a free one-month trial for a limited time.
How many video routes are there? 21 at launch, covering 385 km across six countries.
Is Zwift Coach AI? Partly. Training load and workout choice use established training models; AI picks which Zwift ride, route or workout fits your plan.
Does it work with outdoor rides? Yes. Synced outdoor rides count towards your training load and the plan adapts, though plan workouts can't be pushed to your bike computer yet.
Is there a South African route? Four: Chapman's Peak, Clarence Drive, Bain's Kloof Pass and Du Toitskloof Pass.
Brian