Some questions only comparison can answer: Did you ride faster this year than last? Who covered more elevation — you or your training partner? Did the longer warm-up actually improve your average power? Pulling both GPX files into a spreadsheet and matching timestamps is tedious. Stamptivity's Compare tool loads two files side by side and does the alignment for you.

What You Can Compare

Two attempts at the same route — time trial, Strava segment, weekly loop
Your performance vs. a training partner's — same event, different files
This season vs. last season — same route, different conditions or fitness
Two different routes — not the same path, but you want to compare the effort (distance, elevation, HR)

What the Compare Tool Shows

Summary stats — distance, moving time, average speed, elevation gain, average heart rate, max speed — for both files side by side, with the difference highlighted
Synchronized charts — speed, elevation, and heart rate plotted on a shared timeline, both files on the same axes
Route map — both GPS routes drawn on the same map in different colours
Playback — scrub or play through both activities simultaneously; a dot on each route moves with the timeline

Step-by-Step

1. Get Your Files

Export your two activity files. They can be GPX or FIT and don't need to be the same format:

Strava — open each activity → ⋯ → Export GPX
Garmin Connect — gear icon (⚙) → Export to GPX (or Export Original for FIT)
Wahoo — USB from ELEMNT, activities folder

2. Open the Compare Tool

Go to Stamptivity Compare. Two drop zones appear: File A and File B.

Drop one file into each zone — or click to browse.

3. Read the Summary

The summary cards show each metric for both files with the absolute difference. Values that differ significantly are highlighted so you can spot them at a glance.

4. Explore the Charts

Scroll down to the charts section. Each chart plots both files on the same axes — File A in one colour, File B in another. Hover over any point to see the exact value at that moment in the activity.

The X-axis is time (not distance), so files of different lengths still align at the start.

5. Use Playback

Click Play to animate both routes on the map simultaneously. Use the speed selector to replay at 1×, 5×, 10×, or faster for a quick visual run-through. Drag the timeline slider to jump to any point in the activity.

Reading the Results

Green/blue difference — the second file (B) is higher or better
Orange difference — the second file is lower or slower
A value of ±0 means both files recorded the same number

When comparing two different activities rather than the same route, pay attention to relative trends in the charts rather than absolute summary differences — average speed on a flat 40 km ride versus a hilly 40 km ride will differ for reasons that have nothing to do with fitness.

Tips

Heart rate comparison is often more useful than speed comparison when routes differ — HR reflects effort, speed reflects terrain.
If you're comparing the same route on different days, the route map overlay shows whether your lines diverged (different road choices, GPS drift).
After comparing, if you want a shareable stats image of either activity, drop the file into Stamptivity Stamp.

What File Formats Are Supported?

The Compare tool accepts .gpx and .fit files. You can mix formats — one GPX and one FIT in the same comparison works fine.

How to Compare Two Cycling or Running Activities Side by Side