# StepUp vs StepsApp > Pick StepUp for a goal built from your own walking, free GPS walks with their route, no ads, and steps that never reach our servers. Pick StepsApp if friends keep you walking: it has groups, leaderboards and streak freezes. Both are free to download, have Apple Watch apps, and count from the same iPhone data. - URL: https://www.getstepup.app/compare/stepsapp-vs-stepup - Author: Dheeraj Kumar Sharma, founder of StepUp - Published: 2026-11-07 - Updated: 2026-11-07 - Apps checked: 2026-11-07 ![The icons of StepUp and StepsApp over mens running in a marathon](https://pub-48d2217e0886430fa61a96fad22cffa7.r2.dev/Guides/stepup-vs-stepsapp.webp) *image credit: Unsplash* We make StepUp, so we aren't neutral, and we'd rather say so up front. StepUp, on the App Store as StepUp: Step Counter & Walks, builds your goal from your own walking, records your walks with their route for free, and keeps your steps off our servers. StepsApp is a popular step counter built around friends and leaderboards. It was checked against its US App Store listing and its privacy policy on 7 November 2026, and StepUp's details come from the app itself. Where a listing doesn't say whether an app does something, we say so rather than guess. - Best for a goal built from your walking: StepUp - Best for walking with friends: StepsApp ## At a glance StepUp is built around your own walking: a goal drawn from your history, walks with their route, and metrics that say how you walk, not just how much. StepsApp is built around other people: groups, leaderboards and challenges. They agree on the basics. Both count your steps with no extra hardware, work with Apple Health, have an Apple Watch app, widgets and streaks, and are free to download with an optional paid tier. Neither counts better than the other: on an iPhone, step apps start from the same motion data, as [Counting steps on iPhone](https://www.getstepup.app/guides/iphone-step-count) explains. ## The apps ### 1. StepUp - Made by us, the makers of StepUp - Price: Free with no ads, with optional StepUp Pro - Best for: People who want a target that starts from what they walk now, and walks they can look back on - Good: A weekly walking plan from your real history, never more than 10% above your normal; GPS walks with their route on iPhone or Apple Watch, free; Nine walking metrics, five of them free; Expeditions: journeys along real routes, a little every day; Eight Apple Watch complications, and 17 widgets; A small download, about 46 MB; Your steps and walks never reach our servers - Less good: No groups, leaderboards or challenges; Out since November 2026, so it's still gathering its first ratings; English only; Needs iOS 17 or later, and watchOS 11 for the Watch app; You have to sign in with Apple or Google; The plan and Golden Hour are free for your first week, then need Pro, as do four metrics, the bigger widgets and some routes ### 2. StepsApp (StepsApp GmbH) - Price: Free with ads, with an optional Pro subscription - Best for: Staying consistent with streaks, and competing with friends, family or coworkers - Good: Groups, leaderboards and challenges; Daily goals and streaks, with streak freezes; Syncs with Garmin, Oura, Fitbit, Whoop, Polar and Amazfit; Home Screen and Lock Screen widgets, and an Apple Watch app; In English and 30 more languages, with VoiceOver and wheelchair support; Exports your data; Runs on iOS 15 or later - Less good: The free version shows ads; GPS workouts, advanced goals and advanced analytics need Pro; Its App Store label says identifiers and usage data may be used to track you; Its goal is one you set: the listing doesn't mention one built from your history; A big download, over 430 MB - Link: https://apps.apple.com/us/app/stepsapp-pedometer/id1037595083 ## Side by side | Feature | StepUp | StepsApp | | --- | --- | --- | | Price | Free with no ads, optional Pro | Free with ads, optional Pro | | Step goal | One you set, or a weekly plan from your history (first week free) | Daily goal, advanced goals with Pro | | GPS walks | Free, on iPhone and Apple Watch | With Pro | | Walking metrics | Nine metrics, five free | Trends, records, advanced analytics with Pro | | Streaks | Yes, no freezes | Yes, with freezes | | Widgets | Home and Lock Screen, some with Pro | Home and Lock Screen | | Apple Watch | Yes, from watchOS 11, with 8 complications | Yes, from watchOS 9 | | Download size | About 46 MB | About 436 MB | | Friends | Share cards only | Groups, leaderboards, challenges | | Other trackers | Only what they write to Apple Health | Syncs with Garmin, Oura, Fitbit, Whoop, Polar, Amazfit | | Export your data | No | Yes | | Wheelchair support | No | Yes | | Languages | English | English and 30 more | | On the App Store | Since November 2026, no ratings yet | Since 2015, 4.8 from about 304,000 ratings | | Needs | iOS 17 or later | iOS 15 or later | ## Where StepUp is better - **A goal that starts from you.** StepUp reads your history from Apple Health and builds a week of targets, with each day its own number. [Why fixed step goals fail](https://www.getstepup.app/guides/why-fixed-step-goals-fail) explains why that helps. The plan needs Pro after your first week, though the goal you set yourself stays free. - **Free walks with a route.** Recording a walk with GPS is free in StepUp, on iPhone and Apple Watch, with a replay afterwards. StepsApp's listing puts GPS workout tracking in Pro. - **How you walk, not just how much.** [Tempo](https://www.getstepup.app/metrics/tempo) says how brisk you are and is free. [Evenness](https://www.getstepup.app/metrics/evenness) shows how even your steps are, and needs Pro. [Walking metrics, explained](https://www.getstepup.app/guides/walking-metrics-explained) goes through all nine. - **No ads, and a small app.** StepUp has no ads at any tier, and it's about a tenth of StepsApp's download size. ## Where StepsApp is better - **Other people.** If walking against friends or coworkers keeps you going, StepsApp has this and StepUp doesn't. StepUp lets you share cards of your walks, and that's all. - **A forgiving streak.** Streak freezes keep a run alive through a missed day. StepUp's streaks have no freezes. - **A long record.** StepsApp came out in 2015 and has about 304,000 ratings, averaging 4.8. StepUp came out on 2 November 2026 and is still gathering its first. - **Other devices.** Its listing names syncing with Garmin, Oura, Fitbit, Whoop, Polar and Amazfit. StepUp only sees what those devices write to Apple Health. - **More people can use it.** It runs on older iPhones, comes in 31 languages, and supports wheelchair users. StepUp is English only, needs iOS 17, and has no wheelchair mode. - **Your data, in a file.** StepsApp lists data export. StepUp doesn't have one. ## Where do your steps go? This is the clearest difference between the two, and it comes with a trade-off. **StepUp** reads your steps, heart rate and walks from Apple Health and uses them on your devices, so they never reach our servers. Its App Store label has no tracking section. We do keep your account and what you tell us, such as your name, email, goals, plan answers and any weight you enter, and we collect usage data and crash reports. **StepsApp** syncs your steps. Its privacy policy (version 1.5, March 2026) says it keeps step data for three years after your last sync, names cloud providers such as Google Cloud and Amazon Web Services, and uses step data and your profile for leaderboards, challenges and rankings, which you can turn off. It names advertising partners such as Google AdMob and Meta Ads, and you can turn off personalised ads. It uses AI providers such as OpenAI and Replicate for optional insights. Its App Store label says identifiers and usage data may be used to track you across other companies' apps and websites. The trade-off is real: a leaderboard needs your steps on a server. If you want one, that's the cost of it, and StepsApp lets you switch it off. ## Pricing Both apps are free to download, and both sell a paid tier. Prices vary by country and change, so check each App Store page for today's. - **StepUp Pro** comes as Individual or Family, for up to six people, and as a monthly, yearly or one-time Lifetime purchase. It adds the full walking plan, four more metrics, Golden Hour, all your history, every widget and Expedition route, and more share cards. If Pro ends, nothing is deleted. - **StepsApp Pro** is a subscription. It adds advanced analytics, GPS workout tracking, advanced goals, more streak freezes, premium customisation and an ad-free app. ## Which should you pick? - **You've tried fixed goals and they never stuck:** StepUp. The [daily step goal calculator](https://www.getstepup.app/tools/step-goal) gives you a number to start with today. - **You want to see a route of every walk without paying:** StepUp. - **You want to know how you walk, not just how much:** StepUp. - **You'd rather an app maker didn't hold your steps:** StepUp. - **Friends or coworkers keep you walking:** StepsApp. StepUp has nothing like its groups and leaderboards. - **You wear a Garmin, Oura ring or Whoop:** StepsApp, which names them in its listing. StepUp only sees what they write to Apple Health. - **You don't read English, or you use a wheelchair:** StepsApp. - **You only want the count:** [Apple Health on its own](https://www.getstepup.app/compare/apple-health-vs-step-counter-app) may be all you need. - **You want to see more options:** our [best step counter apps for iPhone](https://www.getstepup.app/compare/best-step-counter-apps-iphone) compares seven. ## What we measured We didn't race the two apps' step counts, because on an iPhone they start from the same sensor data, so a difference would mostly show which data each app was reading. This page compares what each app says it does, what its privacy label and policy say, and, for StepUp, what the app's code does. It isn't a hands-on test of StepsApp. ## How we checked StepUp's details come from the app itself at version 1.0.1, and from its own App Store listing on 7 November 2026. StepsApp 8.15.7 was checked that day against its US App Store listing, including its privacy label, and against its privacy policy, version 1.5. "No" in the table for StepUp means the app doesn't do it. We didn't test StepsApp by hand, so everything about it is what StepsApp says. Apps change often, so check a listing before you pay for anything. We'll check these again at least every three months. ## Questions ### Is StepUp or StepsApp better? It depends what keeps you walking. StepUp is better for a goal built from your own history, free GPS walks and keeping your steps off its makers' servers. StepsApp is better for groups, leaderboards and syncing with other trackers, and it has a long record. We make StepUp, so weigh that. ### Is StepsApp free? Yes, it's free to download, with ads. An optional Pro subscription removes the ads and adds GPS workout tracking, advanced goals, advanced analytics and more streak freezes. StepUp is free to download too, with no ads and an optional Pro. ### Do StepUp and StepsApp count steps differently? Not in any way that matters. On an iPhone, step apps start from the same motion data, so where you carry your phone changes your count far more than which app you use. Pick for what each app does with the count. ### Does StepUp have leaderboards like StepsApp? No. StepUp has no groups, leaderboards or challenges, and your steps and walks never reach our servers. You can share a card of a walk. If competing with friends keeps you going, StepsApp is the better choice. ### Can you use StepUp and StepsApp together? Yes. Both work with Apple Health, so both can show the same steps from your iPhone and Apple Watch. Some people might use StepUp for their own goal and walks, and StepsApp for a group at work. ## Sources - [StepsApp Pedometer on the App Store](https://apps.apple.com/us/app/stepsapp-pedometer/id1037595083) - [StepsApp Privacy Policy, version 1.5](https://steps.app/privacy) - [StepUp: Step Counter & Walks on the App Store](https://apps.apple.com/us/app/stepup-step-counter-walks/id6810955150) - [StepUp Privacy Policy](https://www.getstepup.app/privacy)